

ASTRONOMY AND METEOROLOGY. 



NEW PLANETS. 



Ten additional asteroidal planets have been discovered during the 

 past year, making the whole number now recognized seventy-two. 



The sixty-third asteroid was discovered February 10, 1861, by M. 

 de Gasparis, at Naples, and has received the name Ausonia. 



The sixty-fourth, discovered by M. Tempel, at Marseilles, March 

 2cl, has received the name Angelina. 



The sixty-fifth, discovered by M. Tempel, March 4th, has received 

 the name Maximiliana. 



The sixty-sixth, discovered April 9th, by Mr. H. P. Tuttle, of 

 Cambridge, has received the name Maia. 



The sixty-seventh, discovered April 1 7th, by Mr. N. E,. Pogson, at 

 Madras, India, has received the name Asia. 



The sixty-eighth, discovered April 29th, by M. Luther, at Bilk, 

 Germany, has received the name Leto. 



The sixty-ninth, discovered April 29th, by Dr. Schiaparelli, at 

 Milan, has received the name Hesperia. 



The seventieth, discovered May 5th, by M. Goldschmidt, at Paris, 

 has received the name Panopea. 



The seventy-first, discovered August 13th, by M. Luther, at Bilk, 

 has received the name Niobe. 



The discovery of the seventy-second asteroid is thus spoken of by 

 Mr. T. H. Safford, of the Cambridge (Mass.) Observatory : 



"I found, when revising some of my own observations, that Dr. 

 Peters and myself had been (at the last) observing different bodies, 

 under the impression that each of them was Maia. Calculation at 

 once showed that the Doctor had found a new one, not knowing it ; 

 and the elements which were derived from his observations showed 

 with much probability that this new asteroid was quite a remarkable 

 one, being in fact nearer the earth than any other yet known. This 

 conclusion may be modified when more details of the observations are 

 published. It seems that the original Maia must have become too 

 faint for the Hamilton College telescope (which is somewhat smaller 

 than the Cambridge), and that the stranger was picked up as being 

 near the same place. This is the fourth or fifth instance iri which 

 small planets have been discovered by accident, and the second in 

 which the discovery has been shown only by calculation. 



Peculiarities of the known Asteroids. The asteroid which is 

 nearest the sun is Flora (mean distance 2.20), with a period of 1193 



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