"This was the year of the great total solar eclipse visible in Spain. At my representation, the Admiralty placed at my command the large steamship 'Himalaya' to carry about 60 astronomers, British and Foreign. Some were landed at Santander: I with many at Bilbao. The Eclipse was fairly well observed: I personally did not do my part well. The most important were Mr De La Rue's photographic operations. At Greenwich I had arranged a very careful series of observations with the Great Equatoreal, which were fully carried out."
The eclipse expedition to Spain, shortly referred to above, was most interesting, not merely from the importance of the results obtained (and some of the parties were very fortunate in the weather) but from the character of the expedition. It was a wonderful combination of the astronomers of Europe, who were all received on board the 'Himalaya,' and were conveyed together to the coast of Spain. The polyglot of languages was most remarkable, but the utmost harmony and enthusiasm prevailed from first to last, and this had much to do with the general success of the expedition. Those who landed at Bilbao were received in the kindest and most hospitable manner by Mr C.B. Vignoles, the engineer-in-chief of the Bilbao and Tudela Railway, which was then under construction. This gentleman made arrangements for the conveyance of parties to points in the interior of the country which were judged suitable for the observation of the eclipse, and placed all the resources of his staff at the disposal of the expedition in the most liberal manner. The universal opinion was that very great difficulty would have been experienced without the active and generous assistance of Mr Vignoles. It is needless to say that the vote of thanks to Mr Vignoles, proposed by the Astronomer Royal during the return voyage, was passed by acclamation and with a very sincere feeling of gratitude: it was to the effect that 'without the great and liberal aid of Mr C.B. Vignoles, and the disinterested love of science evinced by him on this occasion, the success of the "Himalaya" eclipse expedition could not have been ensured.' There is a graphic and interesting account of the reception of the party at Bilbao given in the 'Life of C.B. Vignoles, F.R.S., Soldier and Civil Engineer,' by O.J. Vignoles, M.A.
Of private history: "On May 26th my venerable friend Arthur Biddell died. He had been in many respects more than a father to me: I cannot express how much I owed to him, especially in my youth.—From June 12th to 15th I visited the Whitby Lighthouses with my son Hubert.—From July 6th to 28th I was in Spain, on the 'Himalaya' expedition, to observe the total eclipse: I was accompanied by my wife, my eldest son, and my eldest daughter.—From Oct. 5th to 18th I went with my son Hubert to Aberdeen to see the Girdleness Lighthouse, making lateral trips to Cumberland in going and returning.—On Dec. 21st I went to Playford."
1861
"In the Report to the Visitors there is great complaint of want of room. 'With increase of computations, we want more room for computers; with our greatly increased business of Chronometers and Time-Distribution, we are in want of a nearly separate series of rooms for the Time-Department: we want rooms for book-stores; and we require rooms for the photographic operations and the computations of the Magnetic Department.'—The Report gives a curious history of Dr Bradley's Observations, which in 1776 had been transferred to the University of Oxford, and proceeds thus: 'More lately, I applied (in the first instance through Lord Wrottesley) to the Vice-Chancellor, Dr Jeune, in reference to the possibility of transferring these manuscripts to the Royal Observatory…. Finally, a decree for the transfer of the manuscript observations to the Royal Observatory, without any condition, was proposed to Convocation on May 2nd, and was passed unanimously. And on May 7th my Assistant, Mr Dunkin, was sent to Oxford to receive them. And thus, after a delay of very nearly a century, the great work of justice is at length completed, and the great gap in our manuscript observations is at length filled up.'—With reference to the Transit Circle, it had been remarked that the Collimators were slightly disturbed by the proximity of the gas-flames of their illuminators, and after various experiments as to the cause of it, the Report proceeds thus: 'To my great surprise, I found that the disturbance was entirely due to the radiation of the flame upon a very small corner (about 16 square inches) of the large and massive stone on which the collimator is planted. The tin plates were subsequently shaped in such a manner as to protect the stone as well as the metal; and the disturbance has entirely ceased.' —Regarding the large S.E. Equatoreal, the Report states that 'On the character of its object-glass I am now able to speak, first, from the examination of Mr Otto Struve, made in a favourable state of atmosphere; secondly, from the examinations of my Assistants (I have not myself obtained a sight of a test-object on a night of very good definition). It appears to be of the highest order. The small star of gamma Andromedae is so far separated as to shew a broad dark space between its components. Some blue colour is shewn about the bright planets.'—It is noted in the Report that 'The Equatoreal observations of the Solar Eclipse are completely reduced; and the results are valuable. It appears from them that the error in right ascension of Burckhardt's Lunar Tables at the time of the eclipse amounted to about 38"; while that of Hansen's (ultimately adopted by Mr Hind for the calculation of the eclipse) did not exceed 3".'—With regard to Chronometers it is stated that 'By use of the Chronometer Oven, to which I have formerly alluded, we have been able to give great attention to the compensation. I have reason to think that we are producing a most beneficial effect on the manufacture and adjustment of chronometers in general.'—With regard to the Cape of Good Hope Observatory and Survey, the Admiralty enquire of me when the Survey work will be completed, and I enquire of Maclear 'How is the printing of your Survey Work?' In 1862 I began to press it strongly, and in 1863 very strongly.—I introduced a method (constantly pursued since that time at the Royal Observatory) for computing interpolations without changes of sign.—I had correspondence with Herschel and Faraday, on the possible effect of the Sun's radiant heat on the sea, as explaining the curve of diurnal magnetic inequality. (That diurnal inequality was inferred from the magnetic reductions 1848-1857, which were terminated in 1860.)—Regarding the proposal of hourly time-signals on the Start Point, I consulted telegraph engineers upon the practical points, and on Dec. 21st I proposed a formal scheme, in complete detail. (The matter has been repeatedly brought before the Admiralty, but has been uniformly rejected.)—I was engaged on the question of the bad ocular vision of two or three persons.—The British Association Meeting was held at Manchester: I was President of Section A. I gave a Lecture on the Eclipse of 1860 to an enormous attendance in the Free Trade Hall." The following record of the Lecture is extracted from Dr E.J. Routh's Obituary Notice of Airy written for the Proceedings of the Royal Society. "At the meeting of the British Association at Manchester in 1861, Mr Airy delivered a Lecture on the Solar Eclipse of 1860 to an assembly of perhaps 3000 persons. The writer remembers the great Free Trade Hall crowded to excess with an immense audience whose attention and interest, notwithstanding a weak voice, he was able to retain to the very end of the lecture….The charm of Professor Airy's lectures lay in the clearness of his explanations. The subjects also of his lectures were generally those to which his attention had been turned by other causes, so that he had much that was new to tell. His manner was slightly hesitating, and he used frequent repetitions, which perhaps were necessary from the newness of the ideas. As the lecturer proceeded, his hearers forgot these imperfections and found their whole attention rivetted to the subject matter."
Of private history: "On Jan. 2nd there was a most remarkable crystallization of the ice on the flooded meadows at Playford: the frost was very severe.—From June 20th to Aug. 1st I was at the Grange near Keswick (where I hired a house) with my wife and most of my family.—From Nov. 5th to 14th I was on an expedition in the South of Scotland with my son Wilfrid: we walked with our knapsacks by the Roman Road across the Cheviots to Jedburgh.—On Dec. 21st I went to Playford."
1862
"The Report to the Board of Visitors states that 'A new range of wooden buildings (the Magnetic Offices) is in progress at the S.S.E. extremity of the Magnetic Ground. It will include seven rooms.'—Also 'I took this opportunity (the relaying of the water-main) of establishing two powerful fire-plugs (one in the Front Court, and one in the Magnetic Ground); a stock of fire-hose adapted to the "Brigade-Screw" having been previously secured in the Observatory.'—'Two wires, intended for the examination of spontaneous earth-currents, have been carried from the Magnetic Observatory to the Railway Station in the town of Greenwich. From this point one wire is to be led to a point in the neighbourhood of Croydon, the other to a point in the neighbourhood of Dartford. Each wire is to be connected at its two extremities with the Earth. The angle included between the general directions of these two lines is nearly a right angle.'—'The Kew unifilar magnetometer, adapted to the determination of the horizontal part of terrestrial magnetic force in absolute measure, was mounted in the summer of 1861; and till 1862 February, occasional observations (14 in all) were taken simultaneously with the old and with the new instrument. The comparison of results shewed a steady but very small difference, not greater probably than may correspond to the omission of the inverse seventh powers of distance in the theoretical investigation; proving that the old instrument had been quite efficient for its purpose.'—Great efforts had been made to deduce a law from the Diurnal Inequalities in Declination and Horizontal Force, as shewn by the Magnetic observations; but without success: the Report states that 'The results are most amazing, for the variation in magnitude as well as in law. What cosmical change can be indicated by them is entirely beyond my power of conjecture.'—'I have alluded, in the two last Reports, to the steps necessary, on the English side, for completing the great Arc of Parallel from Valencia to the Volga. The Russian portion of the work is far advanced, and will be finished (it is understood) in the coming summer. It appeared to me therefore that the repetition of the measure of astronomical longitude between Greenwich and Valencia could be no longer delayed. Two Assistants of the Royal Observatory (Mr Dunkin and Mr Criswick) will at once proceed to Valencia, for the determination of local time and the management of galvanic signals.'—'I now ask leave to press the subject of Hourly Time Signals at the Start Point on the attention of the Board, and to submit the advantage of their addressing the Board of Admiralty upon it. The great majority of outward-bound ships pass within sight of the Start, and, if an hourly signal were exhibited, would have the means of regulating their chronometers at a most critical part of their voyage. The plan of the entire system of operations is completely arranged. The estimated expense of outfit is £2017, and the estimated annual expense is £326; both liable to some uncertainty, but sufficiently exact to shew that the outlay is inconsiderable in comparison with the advantages which might be expected from it. I know no direction of the powers of the Observatory which would tend so energetically to carry out the great object of its establishment, viz. "the finding out the so much desired Longitude at Sea."'—The attention of the Visitors is strongly drawn to the pressure on the strength of the Observatory caused by the observation of the numerous small planets, and the paragraph concludes thus: 'I shall, however, again endeavour to effect a partition of this labour with some other Observatory.'—A small fire having occurred in the Magnetic Observatory, a new building of zinc, for the operation of naphthalizing the illuminating gas, is in preparation, external to the Observatory: and thus one of the possible sources of accidental fire will be removed.—Miss Sheepshanks added, through me, £2000 to her former gift: I transferred it, I believe, to the Master and Seniors of Trinity College."—In this year Airy contributed to the Royal Society two Papers, one "On the Magnetic properties of Hot-Rolled and Cold-Rolled Malleable Iron," the other "On the Strains in the Interior of Beams." He gave evidence before the Select Committee on Weights and Measures, and also before the Public Schools Commission.
In the latter part of 1862 a difference arose between Airy and Major-General Sabine, in consequence of remarks made by the latter at a meeting of the Committee of Recommendations of the British Association. These remarks were to the effect "That it is necessary to maintain the complete system of self-registration of magnetic phenomena at the Kew Observatory, because no sufficient system of magnetic record is maintained elsewhere in England"; implying pointedly that the system at the Royal Observatory of Greenwich was insufficient. This matter was taken up very warmly by Airy, and after a short and acrimonious correspondence with Sabine, he issued a private Address to the Visitors, enclosing copies of the correspondence with his remarks, and requesting the Board to take the matter of this attack into their careful consideration. This Address is dated November 1862, and it was followed by another dated January 1863, which contains a careful reply to the various points of General Sabine's attack, and concludes with a distinct statement that he (the Astronomer Royal) can no longer act in confidence with Sabine as a Member of the Board of Visitors.
Of private history: There were the usual short visits to Playford at the beginning and end of the year.—From June 28th to Aug. 5th he was in Scotland (chiefly in the Western Highlands) with his wife and his sons Hubert and Osmund. In the course of this journey he visited the Corryvreckan whirlpool near the island of Scarba, and the following paragraph relating to this expedition is extracted from his journal: "Landed in Black Mile Bay, island of Luing, at 10.30. Here by previous arrangement with Mr A. Brown, agent of the steam-boat company, a 4-oared boat was waiting to take us to Scarba and the Corryvreckan. We were pulled across to the island of Lunga, and rowed along its length, till we came to the first channel opening from the main sea, which the sailors called the Little Gulf. Here the sea was rushing inwards in a manner of which I had no conception. Streams were running with raving speed, sometimes in opposite directions side by side, with high broken-headed billows. Where the streams touched were sometimes great whirls (one not many yards from our boat) that looked as if they would suck anything down. Sometimes among all this were great smooth parts of the sea, still in a whirling trouble, which were surrounded by the mad currents. We seemed entirely powerless among all these."