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The Royal Society: Science in the Making

Paper, 'On the limit of solar and stellar light in the ultra-violet part of the spectrum' by William Huggins

Reference number: PP/14/12

Date: 1889

Description

Huggins writes: 'It has been long known that the solar spectrum stops abruptly, but not quite suddenly, at the ultra-violet end, and much sooner than the spectra of many terrestrial sources of light. The observations of Cornu, of Hartley, and, quite recently, of Liveing and Dewar, appear to show that the definite absorption to which the very rapid extinction of the solar spectrum is due, has its seat in the Earth’s atmosphere, and not in that of the Sun; and that, consequently, all ex-terrestrial light should be cut off at the same place in the spectrum.'

Annotations in pencil and ink.

Subject: Astronomy / Spectroscopy / Optics

Received 28 March 1889. Read 4 April 1889.

A version of this paper was published in volume 46 of the Proceedings of the Royal Society as 'On the limit of solar and stellar light in the ultra-violet part of the spectrum'.

Reference number
PP/14/12
Earliest possible date
1889
Physical description
Ink and graphite pencil on paper
Page extent
5 pages
Format
Manuscript

Creator name

William Huggins

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Citation

William Huggins, Paper, 'On the limit of solar and stellar light in the ultra-violet part of the spectrum' by William Huggins, 1889, PP/14/12, The Royal Society Archives, London, https://makingscience.royalsociety.org/items/pp_14_12/paper-on-the-limit-of-solar-and-stellar-light-in-the-ultra-violet-part-of-the-spectrum-by-william-huggins, accessed on 17 February 2025

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  • Proceedings Papers

    Dates: 1882 - 1894

    The archival collection known as 'Proceedings Papers' is comprised of manuscripts and occasional proofs of scientific papers sent to the Royal Society which were read before meetings of Fellows and printed in full in the Proceedings of the Royal Society.

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