RECENT ADVANCES IN SCIENCE 375 



Acad. Set., Washington, 1919, 5, 3 8 3- In order to exhibit as 

 clearly as possible any relationship, points were plotted whose 

 co-ordinates were the values of the solar constant obtained on 

 any given day at the two stations. Obviously, if there was 

 no variation in the sun's radiations, the plotted points should 

 form a normal error distribution about the point whose ordinate 

 and abscissa were both equal to the solar constant. If, how- 

 ever, the solar constant is variable, the plotted points will be 

 stretched out along a line passing through this point and 

 making an angle of 45° with the two axes. This was found 

 to be actually the case : in fact, Abbot states that with but 

 very few exceptions all of the plotted points could be brought 

 on to this line with a change of less than 1 per cent. The 

 two stations being more than 5,000 miles apart and in different 

 hemispheres, this result seems difficult of explanation on any 

 other supposition than that there is a true short-period varia- 

 tion in the sun's radiation, and this result may be regarded 

 as being now definitely established. 



Abbot states that investigations by Clayton show that a 

 correlation exists between terrestrial temperatures and pres- 

 sures and these changes in the sun, and that daily solar radia- 

 tion reports are telegraphed from the station at Calama and 

 used in forecasting temperature in Argentina. The corres- 

 pondence is stated to have been very good so far. Whether 

 further investigations will confirm this statement remains to 

 be proved, but should this be the case, a great impetus will 

 be given to the study of the sun's variations, and the estab- 

 lishment of additional solar radiation stations will be necessary 

 in order to eliminate as completely as possible the effects of 

 local disturbing causes. 



The following is a selection from recent papers : 



KAYE, G. R., Ancient Hindu Spherical Astronomy, Journ. Asiatic Soc. Bengal, 



1919,15, 153. 

 REPSOLD, J. A., Zur Geschichte der Astronomische Messwerkzuge, IV. Ast. Nach., 



1919, 209, Nos. 5005-6. 

 Lous, K., A Certain Class of Periodic Orbits around the Two Finite Masses in 



the Restricted Problem of Three Bodies, ibid. 1919, 209, No. 5008. 

 Bell, L., The Physical Interpretation of Albedo. II. Saturn's Rings, Astroph. 



Journ. 19 1 9, 50, 1. 

 BrUNN, A. v., Zur Beriicksichtigung des Dampfdruckes bei der Berechnung der 



Refraction, Ast. Nach, 1919, 209, No. 5009. 

 COURVOISIER, L., Zenitdistanzbeobachtung der Polarissima am Vertikalkreise 



der Stern warte Berlin- Babelsberg, ibid. 1919, 208, No. 4991. 

 JONES, H. S., Results Obtained from Seven Years' Observations made with the 



Cookson Floating Zenith Telescope at the Royal Observatory, Greenwich, 



M.N., R.A.S., 1919, 79, 542. 

 CONRADY, A. E., Star-Discs, ibid. 1919, 79, 575. 

 Becker, L., On a New Artificial Horizon for Sextants, ibid. 1919, 79, 593. 



