Henry A. Smith

“ A single spot has measured from 40,000 to 50,000 miles in diameter, in which, as will be readily seen, we could put our earth for a standing point of observation, and note how the vast facular waves roll and leap about the edge of the spot, and also how the metallic rain is formed from the warmer portions of the sun. ”

“ Respecting the average life of a spot, we may say it is from two to three months. The spot, however, observed in 1840 and 1841 lasted eighteen months, the longest time on record. Again, some may last but a few hours, being suddenly formed and rapidly shattered in pieces. They appear generally in groups, though single spots are seen at times. When a large one is divided into parts, they seem to repel one another, and move away in various directions with great velocity; it is not uncommon that this separation is equal to one thousand miles in an hour. ”

“ But it is quite otherwise near a spot, for here these waves change with a rapidity which renders it exceedingly difficult to make a draft of them. Movements not less than one thousand miles in an hour are not uncommon. ”