feveral ftruggles; but N continued an hour after it at least. Though I did not fee the laft end of it, yet I was fure it was the only one that accompanied the true fun for a long time, having efcaped thofe clouds and vapours which extinguished the reft. However it vanifhed at laft, upon the fall of fome small showers. This phænomenon was obferved to laft 4 hours and a half at leaft; and fince it appeared in perfection when I first faw it, I am perfwaded its whole duration might be above five hours.

The parhelia 2, R were fituated in a vertical plane paffing through the eye at F and the fun at G, in which vertical the arches CRH, ORP either croffed or touched one another. These parhelia were fometimes brighter, fometimes fainter than the reft; but were not fo perfect in their shape and whitish colour. They varied their magnitudes and colours ac cording to the different temperature of the fun's light at G and the matter that received it at Qand R; and therefore their light and colours were almost always fluctuating and continued as it were in a perpetual conflict. I took particular notice that they appeared almost the first and the last of all the parhelia excepting that at N.

The altitude of 2 above the horizon, in the morning at the beginning of the observation, was 49° 40'; that of R was 76° 10'; that of the true fun was 28° 30'. Hence the height of above the fun was 21° 10'; and the height of R above the fun was 47° 40'. There was a north wind at the beginning of thefe obfervations, but by degrees it changed to the east and at last to the fouth; yet it brought no very great nor lasting rains. For near a fortnight after the fky looked always vapourish; and every day before dinner the fun endeavoured to create new funs, but in vain, either for want of matter or of a due difpofition. For in the vertical circle I faw plainly fome sketches of parhelia for a long time. I faw also very manifeft reciprocations of the lateral parhelia. The iris ORP feems to have been a portion of a fingle circle concentrick to the fun, but towards x and it did not quite touch the horizon AB; and the lengths of the arches Ox, P were variable. The arches Z2a, 62y, de, that immediately furrounded the fun, feemed to the eye to compofe a fingle circumference, but it was confufed, and had unequal breadths; nor did it conftantly continue like it felf, but was perpetually fluctuating. But in reality it confifted of the arches expreffed in the scheme, as I accurately. obferved for that very purpose. The horns HRC feemed to be a portion of a fmaller circle touching the greater ORP in a contrary pofition in a common knot at R. The arches Z2a, B2y cut each other in a knot at Qand. there they formed a parhelion. The parhelia N, Mfprung out from the common intersections M, N of the Iris de and of the whitish circle ONMP. The north part of the sky was clearer than the fouth, which being overcaft with flender vapours afforded more matter for this appearance.

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Fig. 499

Fig. 500.

Fig. 501.

II. HEVELIUS'S Obfervation of Parafelena, feen at Dantzick A. D. 1660. Mar. 30.

573. In the beginning at one a clock in the morning the moon A was furrounded by an entire whitish circle BCDE; in which there were two mock-moons at Band D, one at each fide of the moon, confifting of various colours and shooting out very long and whitish beams by fits. That on the left hand extended its tail towards the thigh of Serpentarius, the other on the right extended its tail towards Jupiter, as reprefented in the figure. Afterwards, at two a clock, a larger circle furrounded the leffer and reached down to the horizon. The tops of both thefe circles were touched by coloured arches like inverted rain-bows. The inferior arch at C was a portion of a larger circle, and the fuperior a portion of a leffer. This extraordinary fight lafted near three hours; the outward great circle vanished first of all, then the larger inverted arch at C, and prefently the leffer; and laft of all the inner circle BCDE difappeared. The diameter of this inner circle and alfo of the fuperior arch was 45 degrees; that of the exterior circle and inferior arch was 90 degrees.

III. HEVELIUS'S Obfervation of Parhelia A. D. 1660. Apr. 6.

574. At half an hour past 5 in the evening while the fun was defcending towards the horizon, he was crowned with arches of circles of various colours like the rain-bow. In the corona on oppofite fides of the fun there were two parhelia variously coloured, with pretty long and whitish tails pointing from the fun. Near the zenith, where the corona was a little faint and imperfect, there shone out another inverted arch, having a third parhelion in the middle of it, which appeared somewhat obfcure. This phænomenon lafted half an hour, till fun-fet, the fky being very clear. The inverted arch and the upper parhelion disappeared firft; and then the parhelion on the left hand; but the third parhelion set with the true fun. The diameter of the corona round about the fun was about 45 degrees as I gueffed by my eye.

IV. HEVELIUS'S Obfervation of Paraselenæ seen at Dantzick A. D. 1660. Decemb. 17.

575. On the first day after the full moon at 30 minutes paft 6 in the morning, the moon being 12 degrees high, I faw the moon in the west with 3 mock-moons about her, in this manner. The air being very clear at first I obferved the moon furrounded with a double corona, [near her body as the figure feems to reprefent,] tinged with very bright and beautiful colours. On each fide of the moon there was two arches of a large cir

cle

cle about 45 degrees in diameter, which were alfo coloured like the rainbow, and exended down to the horizon. In which were two mockmoons with very long white tails. That on the left hand was near Procyon with a short tail; the other on the right hand had a longer tail. In the upper part where these collateral arches concurred, there was another arch inverted and variously coloured, with a third mock-moon in the middle of it, and somewhat duller than the other two. Moreover what was very extraordinary, there paffed a large, white, rectangular cross through the difk of the moon; whofe lower part reached down to the horizon; but on each fide it did not quite touch the corona; as appears by the figure. It was fo very bright and strong that it shone diftinctly and clearly till fun-rise. But the mock-moons disappeared a little before.

V. An Obfervation taken from MATTHEW PARIS'S Hiftory.

576. A wonderful fight was feen in England A. D 1233. Apr. 8. in the Fig. 502. 17th year of the reign of HENRY III. and lafted from fun-rife till noon.

At the fame time on the 8th of April about one a clock, in the borders of Herefordshire and Worcestershire, befides the true fun there appeared in the sky four mock-funs of a red colour; alfo a certain large circle of the colour of crystal, about two foot broad, which encompaffed all England as it were. There went out femicircles from the fide of it, in whose interfections the four mock-funs were fituated; the true fun being in the east and the air very clear. And because this monftrous prodigy cannot be defcribed by words I have represented it by a scheme, that fhews immediately how the heavens were circled. The appearancewas painted in this manner by many people, for the wonderful novelty of it. VI. A true delineation of a parhelion feen at Leyden A. D. 1653. Jan. 14. between one and two a clock in the afternoon; and obferved in the Acadedemical Obfervatory by SAMUEL CHAR. KECHELIUS a Hollenstein. 577. BDC was a white circle almost 35 min. broad; the altitude of Fig. 503. its highest point D was 38° 23'. Its center was in the fun, whose height was 15° 48', that is at 36 minutes paft one; his Azimuth being 23° 40' 10wards the weft, and the angle made by his vertical circle and the ecliptick 60° 54'. The mock-funs B, C were oblong and unequal, at the distance of 22°35' on each fide of the fun, and had the fame altitudes as the fun. The western parhelion at C was the fainter of the two and changed from yellow to white and disappeared first; the eaftern one at B was brighter, with a lucid arch fhooting from the fun, and was coloured with purple, red and yellow; the fhape of its tail BF was conical, 27 degrees long, the parhelion being the bafe of the cone; the part BE, 13° 10' long, confifted of bright yellow and red light, the other part EFbeing whitish; which

vanished