On Wednesday, the 17th day of (April) last month, at about 5 o’clock in the afternoon, my attention was attracted towards the heavens by an exhibition of the rather unusual phenomena (unusual in this latitude) known as Parhelia.
The sky in the west at the time was somewhat cloudy, and the atmosphere hazy. I was unable to determine the exact position of the sun, but its altitude was approximately 22° above the horizon; the diameter of the circle or halo was about 24°. A horizontal line, drawn through the sun and projected sufficiently in a northerly and southerly direction to intersect the halo, displayed at each point of intersection, a parhelion or mock sun of very considerable brilliancy, and continued for upwards of half an hour.
A much more extensive display of these phenomena was witnessed by me in the month of April, 1858, while residing near Boston, Massachusetts.
The sun was not far from the zenith, surrounded by a single broad halo, which latter was in turn inclosed by an outer circle of many halos all intersecting with each other and with the central halo—each of the numerous points of intersection gemmed with a parhelion. So extensive was the display, owing to the number of halos and the attendant parhelia, that the whole heavens from the zenith to within apparently 30° of the horizon, seemed covered with brilliant circles or rings, and resplendent with numberless suns. The sky, at the time, was obscured by a haze of considerable density, and a chilling wind was blowing from the south.
Some remarks followed upon sun and moon halos, during which Dr. Gibbons combated the popular notion that halos about the moon were infallible signs of rain. His observations proved that, in some seasons, these signs invariably failed in California, and at the East; he thought no rule could be established on the subject.
Mr. Goodyear presented the following paper in behalf of Professor Silliman:
Notice of New Localities of Diamonds in California.
BY B. SILLIMAN.
Every well-authenticated instance of the existence of the diamond in the United States is of interest, since it serves to enlarge our knowledge of the geographical and geological distribution of this much esteemed gem.