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History of physical astronomy from the earliest ages to the middle of the nineteenth century : comprehending a detailed account of the establishment of the theory of gravitation by Newton, and its development by his successors : with an exposition of the progress of research on all the other subjects of celestial physics / by Robert Grant
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HISTORY OF PHYSICAL ASTRONOMY.

equalled a star of the fourth magnitude, but it gradually became larger.When it attained the size of a star of the second magnitude, the edge ofthe sun emerged from behind the moon, and it then ceased to be visible.He remarks that it appeared so near the edge of the moon as to leave nodoubt of its belonging to the body of the sun*. He, in fact, supposed thephenomenon to arise from the sun being visible through a hole in thebody of the moon. There can be no doubt, however, when we take intoconsideration the contiguity of the luminous point to the edge of thelunar disk, as well as its deep red colour and its gradual increase ofapparent magnitude, that it was exactly of the same nature with thoseluminous points that were seen at several places during the total eclipseof 1842.

With respect to the total eclipse of 1800, Ferrer remarks that, a fewseconds before the emersion of the sun, he observed a zone to issue con-centric ivith the sun, similar to the appearance of a cloud illuminated bythe solar rays f.

It has been mentioned that, during the total eclipse of 1842, there wasseen at Toulon a band of red light around a portion of the moon’s limb.The following observations of the same eclipse afford evidence of asimilar phenomenon.

Signor Santini states, that while engaged in watching the last fragmentof the solar light, in order to determine the instant of total immersion,there appeared on the right as well as on the left several luminous streaksseparated by obscure and even absolutely dark intervals, which vanished alittle before the immersion of the last point of the solar disk f

Signor Conti mentions in his account of the eclipse, that, previous tothe emersion of the sun, there appeared a reddish arc of light on the rightside of the lunar disk. When it became a little brighter, he perceivedanother vivid light separated from the former by a dark interval. Thephenomenon was visible only for a short time §.

Sig. Pietropoli, who also observed the eclipse at Padua, states that pre-vious to the total immersion, he perceived below to the right two verybeautiful patches of light \\.

Sig. Radman, another observer at Padua, appears to have witnessed thephenomenon both before and after the total obscuration. He assertsthat no sooner was the sun totally obscured, than there appeared a veryslender streak of a reddish light, surrounding somewhat less than half thecircumference of the moon, disposed equally on each side of the placewhere the last ray of the sun was extinguished. He adds, that it soonvanished, but that it reappeared at the instant of the emersion of thesun 11.

M. Schumacher thus describes the appearance presented by the moon’slimb immediately previous to the termination of the totality of the eclipse.“ A little before the emersion of the sun, there appeared near that part

* Phil. Trans., 1779, p. 110.

f Trans. Amer. Phil. Soc., vol. vi., p. 274. The following account of this phenomenonis given by Mr. Garnett, who assisted Ferrer in his observations. “ Before the end of thetotal eclipse, the west limb of the moon begun to be illuminated, and the light increasedso rapidly, that I at last mistook it for the sun’s egress, and called the time to Mr. Ferrer;but he saw the error, and still kept his eye to the glass, when the first solar ray nearlyblinded him.”— Tilloch 's Journal of Natural Philosophy, vol. xix., p. 322.

f Giorn. dell’ 1st. del Lomb,, tom. iv., p. 379. § Ibid., p. 380.

|| Ibid., p. 303. U Ibid., p. 384.