ASTRONOMY. 279 



zones (wliicli end at — 31o) to (and overlapping) Gilliss' zones, yet unre- 

 duced, which extend from the south pole to 25° S. P. D. and contain 

 some 27,000 stars. 



All the observations (1871-1881) are now reduced, and they make a 

 grand showing. 



Observations. 



For the catalogue 121,000 



Fundamental stars 14, 000 



In the zones 105, 000 



Total 240,000 



Abont half of these were made by Dr. Gould himself. The total num- 

 ber of individual stars is about 73,000 in the zones and 30,000 in the 

 catalogue. The individual observations of the same star made in dif- 

 ferent years agree well, the average discordance being below OMO in 

 E. A. and 2" in Declination. 



One great obstacle to the rapid publication of these volumes is the 

 printing, which has to be done in Buenos Ayres. A meteorological vol- 

 ume (Vol. II) has also just been issued. Dr. Gould may be congratu- 

 lated on the amount of work which he has accomplished in his ten years 

 of exile. His uranometry, his catalogue of fundamental stars, his largo 

 catalogue of 30-35,000 stars, and his zones make a showing of which 

 any observatory would be proud. 



The state of our knowledge of the southern sky, so long an unknown 

 region, is becoming satisfactory. The years 1870-1880 liave seen great 

 advances. At the Cape of Good Hope, the late Royal astronomer, Mr. 

 E. J. Stone, has printed three catalogues of first-rate importance. 



1st. The Cape catalogue of 2,892 stars (epoch 1840) from Maclear's 

 observations (1834-'40). 



2d. The Cape catalogue of 1,159 stars (epoch 18G0) from Maclear's 

 observations (1856-'01). 



3d. The Cape catalogue of 12,441 stars (epoch 1880) from observations 

 by Mr Stone (1870-'80). Nearly all of Lacaille's 9,766 stars have been 

 reobserved for tliis last catalogue. 



From Melbourne we have a fine catalogue (epoch 1870) of 1,227 stars, 

 from observations made by Mr. White (under the direction of Mr. El- 

 lery, Government astronomer) since the observatory was moved from 

 "Williamstown. 



Lament's catalogue of 5,563 stars (many in southern declination) was 

 l^ublished in 1874 and Yarnall's, Avhich c'ontains some 6,000 southern 

 stars, in 1878. The next ten years will see the comi^lete publication of 

 Schoenfeld's Durchmn,'jte7~ung from — 2° to — 23°; its extension from 

 —23° southwards by Prof. O. Stone, the publication of Gilliss' zones (from 

 0° to 25° S. P. D.) by Professor Harkness at Washington, and of Gould's 

 80,000 zone stars, and very possibly the publication in catalogue form 

 of the Washington zones (1846-'49), containing 38,000 observations. 



