A. MATHEMATICS AND ASTRONOMY. 53 



Lassell, in the same number of the Monthly Notices^ disputed 

 the evidence adduced, and claimed that not only was he the 

 discoverer of the very faint bodies, but that he first saw 

 them. Both Professor Newcomb (op. cit., p. 43) and Pro- 

 fessor Holden doubted the reality of some observations of 

 Ariel made by Dr. Yogel at Bothkamp with a telescope of 

 12 inches aperture, and published in the "Bothkamp Ob- 

 servations," vol. i., on account of the extreme faintness of 

 these bodies even in the much larger telescope of the Naval 

 Observatory (26 inches). Dr. Vogel has published in the 

 Astro7iomische Nachrichten (bd. 87, col. 52) other observations 

 of objects near Uranus, made in 1871, some of which agree 

 well w^ith the ephemeris by Mr. Marth. From this he con- 

 cludes, with strong probability, that under some circum- 

 stances Ariel and Umbriel (the inner satellites) can be seen 

 with a telescope of no more than 12 inches aperture. Since 

 the publication of this paper Professor Holden has been able 

 to see the inner satellites with an aperture of 15 inches on 

 the Washington equatorial. 



FUNDAMENTAL STAES OBSERVED AT HAKVAED COLLEGE 



OBSEEVATOEY. 



To meet the demand for a greater number of polar and 

 clock stars. Professor Winlock, Director of the Harvard Col- 

 lege Observatory, began in 1872 a series of observations with 

 the new meridian circle upon a list of 373 polar and clock 

 stars (148 of less than 30 of N. P. D.). These observations 

 were made in 1872-3 by Mr. William A. Pogers, assistant, 

 and the right ascensions are published in Astronomische 

 JSfachrichten^ bd. 87, col, 67. The new Oxford Observatory 

 has also undertaken, under the direction of Professor Pritch- 

 ard, a Avork of this kind. 



SOLAE SPOTS. 



Gauthier states that as the results of three and a half years 

 of observations on the solar phenomena, by means of the 

 equatorial of the observatory at Geneva, kindly put at his 

 disposition by Professor Plantamour, he finds himself entirely 

 justified in coinciding perfectly with the theory of Zollner 

 as to solar spots being scoria) floating upon the liquid, and 

 possibly ev-en within the denser gaseous portion of the solar 



