Part 2

Before giving a description of the photograms of the Total Eclipse, it will be necessary to refute some opinions that have gratuitously been given respecting them. After I had carefully examined the negatives, and made drawings, I had the drawings and the negatives compared by Mr. Langton, who expressed his opinion that they were faithful copies; and when I found that it would be many months before I could get funds to print my Report, it was agreed upon, after consulting some friends, that the negatives of totality should be sent to England. Unfortunately, I selected Mr. De la Rue as the fittest person to examine them. He never acknowledged the receipt of them, and, after many months, Mr. Falconer, who had returned to England, sent me a copy of a letter to him, from Mr. De la Rue:

"THE OBSERVATORY, CRANFORD, MIDDLESEX, "Dec. 27th, 1869.

"My Dear Sir,-I am very sorry to have caused any uneasiness to Commander Ashe; but one circumstance and another have delayed my writing to him. I have received his papers, which I sent to the Astronomical, and later on, the original negatives, which arrived safely, although Commander Ashe had neglected the precaution of protecting them with a covering of glass. There is evidence in these negatives of the telescope having moved, or, perhaps, followed irregularly, during the exposure of the plates, and this renders the dealing with the negatives very difficult; moreover, it contradicts the theory set forth by Commander Ashe in respect to a certain terrace-like formation in the prominences, and also the rapid shooting out of a certain prominence. The American photographs are very much more perfect than those sent by Commander Ashe; in fact, they leave nothing to be desired. To correct the defects of duplication in Commander Ashe's photographs, would entail some expense, [I understand that Mr. De la Rue has spent 300 pounds, in patching up Major Tennant's photograms.] and much trouble; and it would be necessary for hint to re-write his paper.

"I have only returned to my house (after an absence of a year) a few months ago, and have had Major Tennant's paper to see through the press; so that my correspondence has fallen greatly into arrears. Wishing you the compliments of the season, I am, with best regards,

"Yours sincerely, "WARREN DE LA RUE.

"Alexander Pytts Falconer, Esq., "Bath."

Here is a very serious charge. I am accused of foisting on the public a marvellous account of the eclipse, which my own negatives contradict; but I shall have no difficulty in shewing conclusively that Mr. De la Rue has made a blunder, when he says that "there is evidence of the telescope having moved, or, perhaps, followed irregularly." It would have been better had Mr. De la Rue produced his evidence before he takes upon himself to assert that the negatives contradict my statements.

But the crimes I am charged with are, that on the 7th of August last, some person or persons did, accidentally or maliciously, disturb the telescope, during the exposure of plates Nos. III. and IV., and that the said plates mislead, and are not faithful representations of the phenomena seen and also, that they contradict the statements of Commander Ashe, with regard to the "rapid shooting out of a certain prominence."

In clearing myself of these heavy charges, I shall divide my evidence into two parts-negative and positive.

In the first place, the telescope was firmly placed upon a platform made by the heavy sleepers borrowed from the railway station, and surrounded by boards, as may be seen in the photograms; and Commander Ashe has been too long at sea to travel 1398 miles with a heavy telescope, and then not to be able to give it stability. There were four persons inside the building--Mr. Falconer, seated some distance from the telescope, observing the general appearance of the eclipse with the naked eye; Mr. Stanton upon a platform, ready to uncover and cover the object-glass with a light cloth; Mr. Douglas in the dark room, and myself at the telescope, which was firmly clamped in hour-angle, and declination. The people outside were at a distance upon an elevation, and were quite still. The telescope, if it moved, must have moved in hour-angle, or declination, or in both; if it moved in hour-angle, the endless screw must have tripped upon the driving-wheel, which it could not do without making a noise, which would have been heard by me. If it moved in declination, Mr. Stanton must have moved it in uncovering the object-glass; but in so doing, he must have given the telescope a pretty hard blow, of which he must have been aware. But neither Mr. Stanton nor myself are aware of any disturbance of the telescope. There was no wind, which would only have caused a vibration, and given a blurred image. In examining Nos. I. and II. photograms, the limb of the moon may be clearly traced, and there is not a shadow of suspicion of any relative motion in the telescope. Here we have proof that the driving clock was performing its duty well for the first half of totality; and no one will have the hardihood to say that it altered its rate in the next minute and a-half. In looking at No. IV. photogram, we see that a point of light is double. Now, we will suppose this duplication was caused by the telescope receiving a smart blow; then, by drawing a line through the two positions of the same object, we get the direction of the motion. Now, look to the right and we see a protuberance with a triplicate form. Here, then, the telescope must have received two blows; and by drawing a line along the top of the three figures, we get the direction of the motion, or disturbance; and on looking at the different directions of the two motions, we see that the telescope moved two ways at once, and also, that one part of the plate was disturbed once, whilst another part of the same plate was disturbed twice--which is absurd; and lastly, Mr. Vail who had not seen the photograms when he wrote his report, gives a description of certain lines and cracks that are to be seen in the negatives when they are examined by a lens. How is it possible to get over this? Here, an American gentleman sees with a telescope exactly what is photographed. But this is negative testimony; I will now prove, conclusively, giving geometrical evidence, that Mr. De la Rue has made an egregious misstatement. The reader will have it in his power to corroborate this testimony. Place a piece of paper behind the photograms III. and IV. (taken in the principal focus), and with a needle make holes in four or five different places, taking care not to mark the bottom of a protuberance, which is a notch, but where you can see distinctly the limb of the moon; then remove the paper and find the centre of three holes, and draw a circle through them; and if it passes over the other holes, you have positive proof that the centre did not move during the exposure. Now, look at the lithograph, and you will see a circle drawn through five marks made upon the limb of the moon of No. III., and through four marks made upon the limb of the moon of No. IV.--_Q. E. D._

[Photograph: IV.]

Having proved that the very remarkable photograms taken at Jefferson are correct representations of the phenomena seen at that place, I will proceed to describe the details of the four negatives that are to be seen when examined with a lens.

The moment the sun disappeared, out flashed the corona, which resembled an aurora, and no doubt belongs to the sun, and not to the moon. No. I. shews the continuous mass of red matter with the flame-like appearance of the so-called "Ear of corn;" a little to the left are seen two detached red lumps, like glowing coals; and underneath is seen the slightest trace of a prominence that is to play a conspicuous part in the eclipse. No. II., the limb of the moon, is seen completely round, and a little more is seen of the prominence underneath. Now, it is time to remark that the flame-like mass in No. I., and the detached prominences in Nos. I. and II., appear to cut in upon the limb of the moon. Dr. Curtis, after trying several experiments, is firmly convinced that this appearance is entirely due to a photographic effect, by excessive overexposure of the plates. I have to remark, that nothing was more conspicuous than the indentations of the glowing masses upon the limb of the moon. Remember that these protuberances were not dazzling lights, but could be contemplated with the greatest comfort; and the eye is so fastidious, that in running round the limb of the moon, it immediately detects the sudden break in the circumference. But I have a theory, and it is dangerous to trust the eye of a man with a theory, without good support. Directly after the eclipse, some of those outside joined us, and the conversation was upon the extraordinary shooting-out of the prominence, which they were all describing. In the midst of the conversation, a carpenter touched me on the arm, and said: "But what were the notches on the moon?" Now, this is conclusive evidence, and would be taken in any court of law. Remember, the word "notches," (the language of a carpenter) is his own, and no other word do I think so applicable. I answered that I did not know, and that nothing puzzled me more. On examining the negatives with a lens, I saw the limb of the moon distinctly through the prominence; and further, that the part on the moon was a similar and inverted figure to the upper part, and I was convinced that the "notch" was caused by reflection of the protuberance on the surface of the moon.

Let B F be the height of the protuberance, and L B the line of sight, tangent to the point B, and let the lines of sight, both direct and reflected, be considered parallel to each other; now, through the point D draw a tangent, and let the incident ray, F D, and the reflected ray, O D, make equal angles with it; then, the exterior angle, O D C, is equal to the angles D AC and A C D; take away the right angles, D and A, and we have the remaining angles, O D E and C, equal; and B A (the depth of the notch) is equal to the versine of the angle of reflection.

In measuring the enlarged photogram, B C was 1.87 inches, and B F, 0.07 inches; and as B C, the moon's semi-diameter on the 7th August, subtended an angle of 16'.29" = _a_. Let C F subtend an angle = _y_.

1.87 cot. _a_ ' " Then cotan. _y_ = ------------- = 17.54 = _y_. 1.94 16.29 = _a_. ' " Angle subtended by protuberance = 1.25.

As Mr. Douglas had no one to help him in the dark room, there was some delay in getting No. III. plate; but whilst I was waiting for it, out shot an enormous flame from the bright point before mentioned. It shot out in about three seconds, not unlike a jet of gas from a coal in the grate and when it reached its greatest height (about one-third higher than that seen in photogram), it was blown off to the left, just like a flame acted on by a "blow-pipe," and came to a point. The part blown off was a bright white flame. (See lithograph.) Now, as my veracity, after Mr. De la Rue's letter, is doubtful, and as this phenomenon was not seen any where else besides Jefferson, I must substantiate the fact, Mr. Falconer, in his report to me, gives a drawing which is very similar to fig. No. 2; he says: "It assumed the shape of a red-hot crooked bar of iron; this, resting on the dazzling silvery coronal light, gave a strange and wonderous addition to the glorious scene we now beheld." But it was seen by all, and can be attested to by hundreds.

When No. III. plate was ready, it had lost about one-third of its height, and its flame-like appearance.

When No. III, plate is examined with a lens, all the lines that are shewn in fig. 3 are seen; and here I must make an extract from the report of Mr. Vail, who was observing the eclipse with an excellent 42-inch telescope, by Dolland, and who made his report long before I had examined the negatives with a lens. In speaking of this protuberance, he says: "Its outlines were perfectly well defined, and were not curves, but rather irregularly broken straight lines, and throughout it seemed marked by similar lines. It reminded me of the appearance one sometimes sees on the face of a cliff, where the rock is broken by horizontal and vertical lines." Now, it is most evident that Mr. Vail saw with a telescope what I photographed; and further, it would be impossible to have these delicate lines in a photogram, if there was any relative motion. Without entering into any discussion about what the protuberances are, or are not, I will only say that when the flame burnt out, the residium was a cinder, and which is shewn in photogram No. III.; this quickly tumbled down into a great heap, as seen in No. IV.

But the fault of the Canadian party consists in not having photograms similar to those of the American astronomers, which all more or less agree with each other. This is extremely hard, and although I congratulate those gentlemen on their well earned reputation, still I trust that our photograms, instead of contradicting one another, will be found consistent.

I believe that Jefferson City was the most westerly place where photograms of the eclipse were taken, and directly totality finished with us, it commenced at Des Moines, so that the photograms taken there must be compared with ours.

There is a general belief that the protuberances do not change their form, at least but slowly, so it is of great consequence to substantiate my statement, which is, that whilst waiting for No. III. plate this protuberance shot out, and when No. III. photogram was taken it had lost its flamelike appearance, and about one-third its height. No IV. photogram shews the great prominence much reduced in height and increased in breadth, as if it had tumbled into a heap of burning matter. I cannot say whether all prominences are formed by the shooting-out of a flame, and then tumbling into a heap, but I do say that the great protuberance was formed in that manner. In looking at the Des Moines photogram, taken near the end of the eclipse, (I don't mean the engraving,) you see a great heap, not very unlike that seen in No. IV.; and Dr. Curtis remarks "that there is the same appearance of vast volumes of matter tossed up into an irregular heap by the ejecting force, and sinking back again. on all sides in long vertical rolls." This is a very good description of what actually took place. Unfortunately, the long exposure of sixty-six seconds gives a softened appearance, and what should have appeared as a heap of cinders, now looks like a fluid.

[Photographs: II, I, IV, III]

I now come to the most remarkable photogram that has ever been taken of an eclipse. No. IV. was taken as near the limb of the sun as it is possible to take one, for on shutting down the slide, out burst the sun. In this photogram you can see two luminous concentric bands running from A to E, separated by a dark space, or rather a dark band, which takes its origin on a part of the protuberance A. (See fig. 3.) These bands are crossed by numerous bright rays, all parallel to themselves and to the protuberances A and E. There are two bright beams, and both, together with the bright rays, are divided by this dark band. At E is seen the protuberance with a triplicate form, and appears to be three parallel planes of light; upon the upper one there appears a dark line, similar to those seen upon fig. 3. Now, on looking at the Des Moines photogram, you actually see the stumps of these three parallel planes; could anything be more satisfactory? I will leave it to others to discuss these various phenomena, which will throw much light on the physical constitution of the sun, but will recapitulate some of the facts deduced from our observations. The corona belongs to the sun, and not to the moon. Some of the protuberances are formed by the shooting of a flame, which burns out, leaving something that looks like a cinder, which crumbles into a heap, and then retains that form for some time; that there are luminous gases that surround the sun in concentric strata divided by a non-luminous layer; that the notches on the limb of the moon are the reflections of the upper part of the protuberances from the surface of the moon; that at a great distance from the sun there is a violent current of gas in an opposite direction to the motion of the sun upon its axis; that the light band surrounding the moon's limb in photograms of the partial eclipse, may be caused by the reflection from the second or under side of the plate.

In conclusion, I congratulate those gentlemen who so kindly assisted me on our complete success, especially my dear friend and old ship-mate, Professor Stephen Alexander, without whose assistance no Canadian party would have been formed; and also, Mr. Vail, of Philadelphia, who kindly joined our party, and whose annexed report gives such ample proof of the value of our negatives.

E. D. ASHE, Commander, Royal Navy, Director Observatory, Quebec.

June 22nd, 1870.

REPORT OF MR. VAIL.

"BOSTON, August 21, 1869.

"Commander ASHE, _Quebec Observatory_.

"DEAR SIR,--I owe you an apology for not writing earlier, and communicating my observations on the eclipse; but since I parted from you at Detroit, I have been so constantly on the move, as to seem to have no opportunity. I will now state briefly a few phenomena that I noticed at the time of the eclipse, most of which I think were communicated to you verbally before.

"After the clouds that partially obscured the sari on the morning of the 7th had passed away, I observed that though the atmosphere was hazy, and the sky by no means blue, there was an unusual stillness and freedom from agitation in the air, so that the outlines of the spots on the sun were clearly defined in the small Dolland telescope that I had under my charge, and this satisfactory condition of the air for telescopic observation continued until after the end of totality. The first contact was at 3h. 38m. 10s local time. It was probably about 3s. after this, before you were notified that the eclipse had begun, two or three seconds being lost in determining whether it was the limb of the moon, indenting the edge of the sun, or not. Your first photograph was therefore probably five or six seconds after the beginning. The passage of the edge of the moon over the larger spot on the sun, I noted as follows:--

H. M. S. Contact with the Penumbra................. 4 3 34 " " " Umbra.................... 4 3 56 Complete obscuration of Umbra............. 4 4 34

"The time both of the beginning and end of totality, for reasons verbally stated to you, I failed to note. Of the phenomena during totality, those which I most noted were, first, the disappearance of the last rays of the sun in an irregular broken line of light, succeeded at or near this point by a band or corona of a silvery white light almost as bright as the face of full moon. This though much wider at this point than elsewhere, was soon observed to extend in an entire ring around the dark body of the moon; from this luminous ring, rays of light seemed to shoot out at right angles on every side, diverging as it were from the centre of it. In some places they seemed to extend out nearly half the diameter of the moon from the bright ring; in others, not one fourth so far. But the most remarkable appearance of all, and that which attracted the attention of every one who witnessed the eclipse, whether seen with the naked eye or with the telescope, were the red protuberances that shot up immediately on the disappearance of the sun, from various places, on the edge of the moon; their position your photograph will fix better than I describe. The largest was on the lower edge of the moon, and was by my estimate, when highest, not less than two minutes in altitude from the edge of the moon, or about 55,000 miles. Its colour was a bright _pinkish red_, its outlines were well defined, and were not curves, but rather irregularly-broken straight lines, and throughout it seemed marked by similar lines. It reminded me of the appearance one sometimes sees on the face of a cliff where the rock is broken by horizontal and vertical lines. The same or nearly the same appearance would be presented if one were to view columnal basaltic rocks, from a point where the rocks in the rear would rise above those in front. I would therefore suggest whether these lines may not have a similar origin, and each be the outline of a vast column of luminous matter thrown up above the atmosphere of the sun. There was a constant fluctuation in the height of these coloured protuberances during the total eclipse; the large one was the only one that was seen throughout the whole time, and that remained visible for some time after the edge of the sun appeared.

The general phenomena, such as the darkness, the shining of the stars, &c, I had less opportunity of noticing than yourself and others, who were without a telescope, and will therefore say nothing about them. I have made no attempt to put my observations into any regular form, but have hastily written such as I thought might be of use to you, leaving it entirely to you to make any use of them.

"Very truly yours, "HUGH D. VAIL." _________

MR. FALCONER'S OBSERVATIONS.

"_To Captain_ ASHE, _R.N., &c., Observatory, Quebec:_

"Dear Sir,--As requested by you, I now give you the results of such observations as were made by me on the 7th of August last, during the progress of the eclipse.

The limbs of the moon could be clearly defined beyond the S. and S.E. limbs of the sun. Shortly before totality, there appeared on the sun's northern limb several watery-looking globules, which merged into each other as they passed from West to East, and then disappeared. At this instant, also, appeared distinct long, brilliant, yellow, rays of light, running East and West, and far away, and as straight as if ruled; others again ran North and South, and reminded me of the glory ancient painters depict around the heads of Saints. On the Southern limb appeared, just at totality, a large circular opening, or ring of bright silvery light, which assumed the shape of a red-hot crooked bar of iron. This, resting on the dazzling silvery coronal light, gave a strange and wondrous addition to the glorious scene we now beheld. Several constellations shone brightly fourth, and a star or two low down on the Western horizon. I must not omit the strange protuberances seen at this moment: on the Eastern side was one like a tongue bent upwards, with streaks of a reddish hue; the others the shape of knobs, dark and colorless, and rugged in outline.