HISTORY OF PHYSICAL ASTRONOMY.

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At several of tlie stations in Lombardy , where the eclipse was observed,only two protuberances were visible.

Sig. Santini states, that at Padua , the luminous protuberances pre-sented the appearance of irregular columns of smoke, undulating uponbroad bases, and seeming to ascend from behind the body of the moon *.

Sig. Biela, who observed the eclipse at the same city, states, that thereappeared at the lower part of the moon’s limb, three pyramids of a darkreddish colour, resembling burning coal, or rather approaching to thecolour of purple. Two of these pyramids were near each other; thethird, which was the largest, was more to the left, but still was to theright of the point at which the sun was about to reappear. The light ofthe sun first appeared in isolated points, which in a few instants unitedtogether, and formed an excessively slender lunule. The lunule had alreadybeen formed a few seconds, when the reddish pyramids disappeared!.

The following interesting account of the luminous protuberances is givenby M. Littrow of Vienna .

“ Shortly after the formation of the ring there appeared luminous spotsin several points of the contour of our satellite. Three of these spotswere particularly remarkable. Their colour was red with a tinge of blue.They very much resembled the summits of the glaciers gilded by therising or setting sun ; only they did not terminate in peaks. The largestspot was about 5' in height, and was about S' broad at its base. Their as-pect, which was first white, changed to rose colour and then to violet; andafterwards passed in a reverse order through the same tints. . . . Theprotuberances were visible before they assumed a coloured hue, and theycontinued to be visible after their colour was dissipated.”!

M. Otto Struve has stated, that at Lipesk, a little before the reappear-ance of the sun, M. Schidlow'sky perceived several rose-coloured flameswhich appeared suddenly to burst out at several parts of the lunar disk.They resembled mountains, whose height, by estimation, appeared to beabout 2'. A very large part of the lunar dish was garnished with a similarreddish bordering. M. Schidlowsky was unable to examine the entirecontour of the moon, for soon after he observed the phenomenon, thesun reappeared.

The first question which naturally suggests itself upon the perusal ofthe foregoing statements is this—do the luminous protuberances noticedby the various observers belong to the sun or to the moon ? Admittingthat they were appendages of the moon, they may he conceived as repre-senting either mountains on her surface or clouds suspended in her atmo-sphere. To adopt the former of these explanations, however, would beassigning to the lunar surface inequalities, vastly exceeding those dedu-cible from other phenomena of a less doubtful nature. Nor is the sup-position of a meteorological origin more probable, since it appears from amultitude of considerations that if an atmosphere really exist about themoon, it is utterly incapable of holding in suspension clouds of suchenormous magnitude as the apparent dimensions of the protuberanceswould indicate. The conclusion, therefore, seems to be unavoidable, thatwhatever be the real nature of the phenomena, they cannot he referable tothe moon.

But, on the other hand, if they be admitted to be clouds suspended in

* Giornale dell’ J. R, Istituto del Lombardo, tom. iv„ p. 378.t lb., p. 332. + Annuaire, 1846, p. 434.