312 ANNUAL OF SCIENTIFIC DISCOVERY. 



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greatly widened by increase of pressure or temperature." In 

 other words, as we understand him, Professor Young would im- 

 ply that the bright F line was really undistorted, though widened, 

 while distorted absorption lines belonging to some other element 

 produced the appearance of shattering. But apart from the diffi- 

 culty of assuming cyclonic motions in this other element, around 

 a relatively quiescent hydrogen-core, we know of no elements 

 having lines close by F strong enough to produce the observed 

 result. The apparent dissociation of the F and C lines is a phe- 

 nomenon of a very perplexing character. Science Review. 



NEW OBSERVATORY JN THE SOUTHERN HEMISPHERE. 



The following statement with regard to the Cordova Observa- 

 tory, to the foundation of which we have before referred, is ex- 

 tracted from the last number of Silliman's " American Journal of 

 Science and Arts : " 



" The Argentine Congress voted to establish a national observa- 

 tory at Cordova, at the instance of President Sarmiento, and through 

 the exertions of the present Minister of Public Instruction, Dr. 

 Avelleneda, who invited me to organize and take charge of it, 

 knowing my desire to extend the catalogue of the southern heav- 

 ens beyond the limit of 30, to which the zones of Argelander 

 extend. Bessel went through the region from 45 N. to 15 S., 

 with systematic zone observations at Kbnigsberg, which have since 

 been reduced and published in two catalogues by Weisse, of 

 Cracow. Argelander carried the same systematic scrutiny with the 

 Meridian Circle, from BessePs northern limit to the pole, and after- 

 wards from Bessel's southern limit to 30 S. 



" Since then Gilliss has observed a series of zones for 30 around 

 the south pole ; but the reduction of these, although very far ad- 

 vanced, was not completed at the time of his death, and the 

 manuscript is now stored somewhere in Washington. Let us hope 

 that it may at some time be recovered, the work completed, and 

 given to the world. My hope and aim is to begin a few degrees 

 north of Argelander's southern limit, say at 26 or 27, and to 

 carry southward a system of zone observations to some declina- 

 tion beyond Gilliss's northern limit, thus rendering comparisons 

 easy with both these other labors, and permitting the easy deter- 

 mination of the corrections needful for reducing positions of any 

 one of the three series to corresponding ones for the other. It is 

 of course impossible to arrange in advance the details of such an 

 undertaking, but my expectation is to go over the region in ques- 

 tion in zones 2 wide (except in the vicinity of the Milky Way, 

 where the width would be but one-half as great), up to a decli- 

 nation of about 55, after which the width would be gradually in- 

 creased as the declinations became greater. Within these zones 

 all stars seen as bright as the 9th magnitude would be observed, 

 so far as possible, moving the telescope in altitude when no bright 

 star is in the field until some one becomes visible, according to 

 the well-known method of zone-observations. For reducing the 



