ASTRONOMY. G3 



the close proximity of a bright moon, it was much brighter and larger 

 than Venus at her greatest brilliancy, and left a trail of bluish light 

 behind it visible for several seconds after the meteor itself had dis- 

 appeared. 



A series of letters written for the Fort Dodge Gazette may yet 

 be mentioned, through which the public has been kept informed on 

 all the principal astronomical events of the year. 



Gerinantowu, Pa. : Private Observatory of Henry Carvill Lewis, 



Esq. 



In answer to your letter of inquiry, I would state that my observa- 

 tions have been made from a detached building on high ground, so 

 arranged that the observer stands on a platform immediately below 

 an opening in a flat roof. This arrangement permits a table with 

 light, note-book, and maps to be placed on the platform to be used 

 by the observer when sitting, and enables him, by rising erect, to 

 have the upper part of his body above the roof and to conduct ob- 

 servations entirely screened from the light beneath. This has been 

 found the most convenient method, both as regards exposure and 

 arrangement of light, for eye observations. 



Observations have been confined to the zodiacal light, meteors, 

 and auroras. They were begun in 1874, and have been continued 

 with more or less regularity from that time. Special attention has 

 been Given to the zodiacal light. It has been found convenient for 

 description to divide the zodiacal light into three portions : 



1. The Zodiacal Cone the zodiacal light proper of most authors 

 varying in visibility with the obliquity of the ecliptic and the dura- 

 tion of twilight. No pulsations have been observed. Photometric 

 and spectroscopic observations have been made upon the zodiacal 

 cone, and drawings made of its position. 



2. The Zodiacal Band. This is a much fainter continuation of the 

 zodiacal cone, which extends all across the sky from horizon to 

 horizon as an arch of equal width and brightness throughout. It is 

 seen at all times of the year and at all times of the night. It lies 

 on or near the ecliptic, and does npt alter in any way, so far as ob- 

 served, throughout the year. It is about 12 in width. 



3. The Gegenschein. This is a circular or oval spot of light, slight- 

 ly brighter than the zodiacal band, lying in the zodiac, opposite, or 

 nearly opposite, the sun. It has a mean diameter of about 7, with 

 sometimes a small brighter nucleus. When oval, its major axis lies 

 along the ecliptic, and is often 15 in length. It continually shifts 

 its place among the stars so as to keep opposite the sun in R.A.,and 

 is best situated for observation towards midnight. 



A few desultory observations have been made on variable stars. 

 The paths of a large number of meteors have been mapped. De- 



