Definitions
from The Century Dictionary.
- noun A hypothetical thin stratum of the solar atmosphere, containing in gaseous form the substances whose presence is shown by the dark lines of the solar spectrum, and supposed to be the seat of the absorption which produces the dark lines.
- noun The existence of any thin absorbing stratum of the solar atmosphere was vigorously denied by many authorities until, at the total eclipse of 1896, the photograph of Shackelton brought out the beautiful flash-spectrum, from the visual observation of which in 1870 its existence had been inferred. The photographs made at the eclipses of 1898, 1900, and 1901 all concur in confirmation. See
flash-spectrum .
Etymologies
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Examples
-
"reversing-layer," in the literal sense of the term.
A Popular History of Astronomy During the Nineteenth Century Fourth Edition 1874
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