Rough Ways Made Smooth: A series of familiar essays on scientific subjects — John Shaqi
Rough Ways Made Smooth: A series of familiar essays on scientific subjectsProctor, Richard A. (Richard Anthony)
Science
Rough Ways Made Smooth: A series of familiar essays on scientific subjects
Proctor, Richard A. (Richard Anthony)
Science
It would be idle, I think, to seek for farther evidence either in
favour of the theory we originally proposed to discuss, or against it:
for the evidence of the eclipse of 1867 disposes finally of the theory
in that form. I may note in passing that the eclipse of 1868 gave
evidence almost equally unfavourable to the theory, while the evidence
given by the eclipse of 1869 was neutral. It will be desirable,
however, to consider, before concluding our inquiry, the evidence
obtained in 1871 and last July, in order that we may see what, after
all, that evidence may be regarded as fairly proving with regard to
coronal variations.
First, however, as I have considered two eclipses which occurred when
the sun spots were decreasing in number--namely, those of 1842 and
1851, midway (roughly speaking) between the crest and hollow of the
sun-spot wave on its descending slope, it may be well to consider an
eclipse which was similarly situated with respect to the ascending
slope of a sun-spot wave. I take, then, the eclipse of 1858, as seen in
Brazil by Liais. The picture drawn by this observer is one of the most
remarkable views of the corona ever obtained. It is given at p. 339 of
my book on the Sun. Formerly it was the custom to deride this drawing,
but since the eclipse of 1871, when the corona was photographed, it
has been admitted that Liais's drawing may be accepted as thoroughly
trustworthy. It shows a wonderfully complex corona, like that of 1871,
extending some 700,000 miles from the sun, and corresponding in all
respects with such a corona as our theory (if established) would have
associated with the stage of maximum solar disturbance. As in this
respect the eclipse of 1858, when sun-spots were increasing, resembled
those of 1842 and 1851, when sun-spots were diminishing in number,
we find no trace of any law of association depending on the rate of
increase or diminution of solar disturbance.
If we limited our attention to the eclipses of 1871 and of July, 1878,
we should unquestionably be led to adopt the belief that the corona
during a year of many spots differs markedly from the corona when the
sun shows few spots, or none. So far as the aspect of the corona is
concerned, I take the description given by the same observer in both
cases, as the comparison is thus freed as far as possible from the
effect of personal differences.
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