THE REMARKABLE SUNSETS.

Ashburton Guardian, Volume V, Issue 1046, 10 January 1884, Page 4

THE REMARKABLE SUNSETS.

ofthe Royal' Society

of Victoria, Mr R. L. J. Ellery, the president^alluded to the late remarkable sunsets that have appeared in Victoria. He said :—“Some considerable interest

has been evinced in these phenomena,

and they seem tp . been almost world-wide.' He J * would not have thought it necessary to add anything to what he had already said on the subject I huti for baying received and read a good -ded of correspondence concerning it. He had received a letter from Mr J. Bosisto, M.L.A., now in .Calcutta, describing how the writer had observed large fields of pumice stone while voyaging to India in the Assam (s.), on the 24th ot October last, while in latitude 12.20 S,, longitude 40’ E. Owing to this he had been struck with the possible truthfulness of the theory that the /ed sunsets were due to volcanic dust, which, had been .flung from the irruption at The Straits 6f Sunda. Mr Bosisto stated that early oh the morning of the date named, the boat was completely surrounded by fine pieces of pumice and ashes. The sea was covered with jiumiCe-Tiust, and occasionally a floating stream ofehar was met with. By three o’clock the boat was clear of it, and they saw no more. Besides this Mr Ellery stated that he had received letters various theories sunsets. One or two '<a in wyj newspapers had said they were to havfcssuiew moon formed—that the . volcanic dust would assume a rotary .-;mj}|ipU,rand >acquhe an orbit of its * own" And again, a gentleman had written to him, saying that there was nothing to oppose the idea of a vapor moon being formed, and asking him to consider the theory. Another ge|i|||man suggested the. possibility of a great aeaVot water coming in« contact with the volcanic fire, and being decomposed into its elements, and again shot forth, causing the phenomena Or, perhaps, a vast quantity of hydrogefl had been released, or great bodies of superheated steam might have been driven into the atmosphere, and after--6s vapour. He did ttotu.ttacfcr much importance to these theories. The peculiar sunsets had been noticed ail over the southern hemisphere, and a very peculiar state of the atmosphere had existed in the northern, for they had news of a green . sun-being seen in India, frightening people out of Jheir lives. Mr Moncure Conway had informed him (Mr Ellery) that up coming across from America, while 'ih the vicinity of the tropics, people were very much astonished at seeing the sun, almost all day long, of a pala blue color; and, on another occasion, if appeared about eventide, quitegreen. Such appearances were aptfremarkable in high lattitudes. A green sun was a common thing, both in theoretic and antarctic regions. And there they would be fully accounted for by the vapoury condition of the atmos- ■ Some- had lately remarked that, on looking at the sun through the vapour issuing from an engine-funnel, the sun appeared green, « ,Mll«y) had not made this obsexvatiou. himsjelf., But there-is no doubf tne sub did take bn alb kinds of

curious colors in certain states of the atmosphere. He had frequently seen ii.assume colors at times of haze, and at-sueh" times' as mock" suns appear. It •’Sad-nera stated that MrLockyer considered the red sunsets due to volcanic

dusts. But he (Mr Ellery) thought tests satisfied that that theory would not explain them at all If the peculiar .sunsets were due to ;,thfen ; that dust had beentc>.- alley , the all 'That; could not be. 'JFpy,V .i£ t so, : ».they -would have been 'Causedsby-idast precipitated long ago. If the phenomena were due to evolved •hydrogen, he did not know what would savi'btebftle of it by this time. The ibbse sunsets were not very after all. -He had seen far more wonderful sunsets in other parts jrf.the worldjlwhere people took no notice ofrthenK- 1 In some parts of the Mediterranehh" for instance, far more fdflSunsets appeared. , He; had seen tliife,)h,ere J ' like a-sea'of : blood, lasting Jong .time, And people knew what grand sunsets occurred in the teopicsl 5 There was Nothing remarkable i|ihtteofee(9(!e& here'except that they had %#befefrieen Here before. One notable element- however,, was that there afterglow formsgifcesupsets teferted to, a yellowish ■aad > li»tinet-' purple tinge; which were not venr often,seen. All these appearahces due entirely to the prevalence of vapor in , the,, atmosphere. While the red visible, observations with the glass showed that the atmosphere was not quite clear of <&©ttdsP i;u ,yvo