One hundred years ago
The Standard publishes a letter from a correspondent at Colombo, stating that on September 5th, 'We witnessed a very extraordinary phenomenon on Sunday, about five p.m., when we were driving on the Galle Face promenade. Minnie looked up and said, "Look how bright the moon is!" It was the sun, at that time a pale, yellowy-white colour; a little later on, it changed into a deep pea- green colour, and then a spot could be distinctly seen on the face of the sun, with the naked eye, for about ten minutes, during the whole of which time we could look at the sun without its making the eyes blink or feel uncomfor- table. The spot was near the centre of the left outer circumference, was triangular in shape, and nearly the size of a florin.' The phenomenon of a green sun was witnessed also in Southern In- dia, and appears to have been due to the floating over the continent of a huge body of sulphuretted vapour thrown out from Krakatoa, in the eruption of August 27th. If that is correct, the vapour had travelled in the upper region of the air at the rate of 300 miles a day.
Spectator, 13 October 1883
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