Supposing the particles of the corona to be
below the critical size for the attraction of a mass like that of the
sun to control them, they would be driven off into the surrounding
space and appear around the sun like the clouds of dust around a mill.
We shall return to this subject in connection with the Zodiacal Light,
the Aurora, and Comets.
On the other hand, there are parts of the corona which suggest by
their forms the play of electric or magnetic forces. This is
beautifully shown in some of the photographs that have been made of
the corona during recent eclipses. Take, for instance, that of the
eclipse of 1900. The sheaves of light emanating from the poles look
precisely like the ``lines of force'' surrounding the poles of a
magnet. It will be noticed in this photograph that the corona appears
to consist of two portions: one comprising the polar rays just spoken
of, and the other consisting of the broader, longer, and less-defined
masses of light extending out from the equatorial and middle-latitude
zones. Yet even in this more diffuse part of the phenomenon one can
detect the presence of submerged curves bearing more or less
resemblance to those about the poles. Just what part electricity or
electro-magnetism plays in the mechanism of the solar radiation it is
impossible to say, but on the assumption that it is a very important
part is based the hypothesis that there exists a direct solar
influence not only upon the magnetism, but upon the weather of the
earth.
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