THE SOUTHERN OBSERVATORY PROJECT. 



By Lewis Boss. 



The object of this appHcation is to petition for a favorable ex- 

 pression on the part of the Executive Committee in relation to the 

 general plan herein proposed, and especially in relation to the project 

 for observations in the southern 'hemisphere. This work I should 

 like to take up actively within two, or, at least, three years from the 

 present time. 



In my original application to the Trustees of the Carnegie Insti- 

 tution, January, 1902, I briefly outlined the course of the research 

 in behalf of which I petitioned for aid. This is to remind the com- 

 mittee of a special feature of the program then outlined. 



Briefly stated, the objective point of my general investigation is 

 to find out what the motions of the stars really are, and, as far as 

 possible, what they mean. Specific things to l)e investigated are : 



(i) The direction and velocity of the solar motion in space to 

 be determined with far more accuracy than they are known. 



(2) To investigate the subject of "star streams" — swarms of stars 

 moving in a common direction like meteors — ^a new subject to which 

 my attention has been specially attracted. 



(3) To determine with accuracy the relative distance of various 

 orders of stars — a thing which can certainly be done. 



(4) To determine the constant of precession more accurately 

 than it is now known : and generally to examine other questions that 

 may arise. 



First of all, the motions must be accurately known, as the basis 

 of the investigation ; and this is by far the most laborious part of 

 the work— almost the whole of it, in fact. Grants from the Car- 

 negie Institution enable me to carry on this work with vigor. We 

 are determining the motions from all available material, and before 

 the close of 1905 expect to have results for 5,000 of the more fre- 

 quently observed stars. My various letters of application and annual 

 reports outline the character of this work. 



The value of these results, and of the final discussion, will depend 



upon the systematic accuracy of these determinations of motion, and 



upon having a good determination of motion for each star. Both these 



requirements call for further special observations at the present time.^ 



'3 175 



