ASTRONOMY. !7 



hoped that the observations for longitudes of stations will 

 be reduced before the end of the fiscal year, and with the 

 present appropriation. 



The question of the best means for determining the solar 

 parallax will receive new light by the publication of the re- 

 sults of the heliometer measures of Juno by Lord Lindsay 

 and Mr. Gill at Mauritius in 1874. The preliminary results 

 obtained show a surprising accordance between the several 

 nights' work, and indicate a parallax not far from 8.82". 



Another method promising good results is the observation 

 of Mars and companion stars at the opposition of 1877 ; and 

 to facilitate the application of this method, Professor East- 

 man, of Washington, has prepared a carefully selected list 

 of stars for observation on the meridian with the planet dur- 

 ing the period from July 18 to October 12, with suggestions 

 as to the method of observation. 



At the private observatory of Lewis M. Rutherford, Esq., 

 New York, Mr. Chapman is making a series of photographs 

 of Mars and comparison stars, which are afterwards to be 

 measured. Two or more photographs are taken 3 h. east of 

 the meridian, and the same number 3 h. icest, so that from 

 such a series the diurnal parallax may be had. 



It is said in Nature, of January 18, that the measurements 

 of the French photographs of the transit of Venus is not 

 nrooressino' favorably, unforeseen difficulties having; arisen. 

 Only forty-seven out of one thousand have been measured. 



All the observations of the transit of Venus made by Rus- 

 sian expeditions will be collected and published in one vol- 

 ume, which is preparing at the Pulkova Observatory. 



PLANETS, ASTEROIDS, AND SATELLITES. 



Volumes X., XL, and XII. of the Annates of the Paris 

 Observatory have arrived in the United States. They are 

 mainly occupied with the development of Leverrier's theories 

 of the motion of Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune. Vol. 

 X. contains an important paper by Wolf and Andre on the 

 " black drop," with experiments. The Observatory has also 

 published a series of six ecliptic charts in continuation of 

 Chacornac's. 



Leverrier's researches on the planet Vulcan were concluded 

 early in 1877. After an examination of all probable hypoth- 



