ASTRONOMY AND METEOROLOGY. 315 



"run out" at a critical moment. The new movement is ex- 

 tremely smooth, gradual and convenient, being always ready, and 

 never " running out." 



Again, the screw controlling the horizontal wire of the microm- 

 eter'in the eye-piece, beside having the graduations for parts of a 

 turn clearly marked on the sides of its cylindrical head, in such a 

 wav that they can be easily read, has a similar graduated head 

 connected with it by gearing, which records the whole number of 

 turns in a like manner. 



The collimating lenses used with this instrument are of unusual 

 size, being in all respects similar to the objective, which is of 8- 

 inch aperture, and we should judge about 8 or 9 feet focal length. 



Other novelties have been introduced by Professor Winlock in 

 the reversing carriage, by which the time required for reversal is 

 reduced to a few minutes in place of several hours. This instru- 

 ment was made by Troughton & Sims. Jour. Franklin Institute. 



THE LIGHT OP WINNECKE's COMET. (COMET I. 1870.) 



MM. Wolf and Rayet in a note to the " Comptes Rendus" of 

 July 4, 1870, state that the spectrum of this comet is composed of 

 3 luminous bands upon a continuous ground. The extreme fee- 

 bleness of the light did not permit them to determine their abso- 

 lute position. Their aspect, however, appeared to be identical 

 with that of the spectra of comets already observed. This iden- 

 tity of the spectra of different comets and their difference from 

 the spectra of nebulae leads the authors to hope that means will 

 be found to determine the nature and origin of these singular 

 stars. 



They were struck with the feebleness of the spectrum compared 

 with that of a nebula of the same apparent brightness. That re- 

 flected light exists in a sensible degree is proved by the fact that 

 the light of this comet is partially polarized in. a plane passing 



o 



through the sun. 



A NEW ASTEROID. 



Dr. C. H. F. Peters, of Hamilton College, Clinton, N.Y., dis- 

 coved, Aug. 14, the lllth asteroid. The planet was of about 11 

 magnitude. Sept. 20, he discovered the 112th asteroid. The dis- 

 covery was made on Sept. 20, and on Sept. 21 ; the position of 

 the planet was established as follows: 15 and 28' R.A., and 10 

 13' north declination. The brightness is that of a fixed star of the 

 llth magnitude. It is named " Iphigenia." The planet discov- 

 ered the 14th of August has been named " Ate. 1 ' Editor. 



ASTRONOMICAL PRIZE. 



Professor J. Watson has been awarded by the Paris Academy 

 of Sciences, the astronomical prize, Lalande foundation, for the 

 discovery of 8 new asteroids in one year. The planet Lydia (No. 

 110), discovered by M. Borelly at the Marseilles Observatory, on 



