xxx GENERAL SUMMARY OF SCIENTIFIC AND 



His atlas, therefore, although valuable as the best southern 

 atlas at present at hand, must expect to be superseded by 

 the "Uranometria Argentina," so soon as the latter shall be 

 published by Dr. Gould. This important work of Dr. Gould 

 is, we are assured, already in the hands of the engravers, and 

 may be expected within a reasonable time. 



Second, the continuation of the famous star charts known 

 as Chacornac's, a work which has recently been revived un- 

 der Le Verrier at the Paris Observatory. 



Third, the Imperial Academy of Sciences of St. Petersburg 

 has published, under the editorship of Schjellerup, a "Urano- 

 metria" composed in the middle of the tenth century by the 

 Persian astronomer, Al Sufi. This chart of the heavens seems 

 to be compiled from original observations ; and the changes 

 of color and brightness undergone by the stars since that 

 time, as shown by comparing Sufi's and Argelander's ura- 

 nometria?, are of special interest. 



A catalogue of absolute right ascensions of stars has been 

 compiled by Professor Gylden, of Stockholm, for use in the 

 reduction of his own observations at that place. The posi- 

 tions given by him, although entitled to great weight, yet 

 can scarcely be considered to supersede those published a 

 few years ago by Professor Newcomb. 



Villarceau announces a method of determining both the 

 aberration of lijyht and the motion of the solar svstem among 

 the stars, by means of observations in both hemispheres. It 

 is to be hoped that this plan will be put into execution. 



The Melbourne Observatory, under the direction of Mr. El- 

 lery, has published the first "Melbourne General Catalogue 

 of Stars," based upon observations made from 1863 to 1870. 

 This contains the places of 1227 stars, with all the auxiliary 

 constants necessary for their convenient use ; and the proper 

 motions of the stars have been determined with as much ac- 

 curacy as was practicable. A remarkable star, Epsilon Indi, 

 is found to have certainly the very large annual proper motion 

 of 4.6", and is an inviting subject for the determination of the 

 annual parallax. 



Mr. E.J. Stone has published the Cape Catalogue of 1159 

 stars observed between 1856 and 1861. 



The scintillation of the stars continues to be investigated 

 by Montigny, who has invented an ingenious apparatus 



