ASTRONOMY. 181 



Palermo. — Observations of comets, planets, san spots, and meteors. 



raris. — Tiie approaching- completion of the observations for the La- 

 laude catalogue has moditied the plan of oj)erations carried on with the 

 meridian instruments for some years past. The large transit circle 

 has been used for observations of the sun, moon, minor planets, and 

 such stars of Lalande's list still reipiiriug re-observation; the Gambey 

 transit, for observations of the absolute right ascensions of fundamental 

 stars; the Gambey circle and the "cercle du jardin,'- for a re investiga- 

 tion of the latitude, and the latter also for fundamental declinations. 

 Comets, asteroids, nebulae, and occultations of stars by the moon have 

 been observed with the equatorials. The most important addition to 

 the instrumental equipment is the apparatus adapted to the equatorial 

 conde for determining the constants of refraction and aberration by 

 Loewy's method. Work in astronomical photography is continued by 

 the Henrys. A fine engraving of the Pleiades, compiled from three of 

 their photographs, accompanies Admiral Mouchez's report for 1887. 

 The time service, which of late has not been entirely satisfactory, is 

 undergoing renovation. 



Purify {Eeole miUtairc). — M. Bigourdan gives in the Bulletin Astro- 

 nomiqne (4 : 497 ; 5 : 30) an interesting historical account of the ob- 

 servatories of the ficole militaire, famous for the labors of Lalande and 

 d'Agelet. 



Pekin. — An interesting historical account of this observatory (estab- 

 lished in 1279) is given in abstrac^t, in Xature for Xovend>er 8, 1888, 



Phelps {New Yorlc). — The Red House Observatory was abandoned in 

 1888, Mr. Brooks having become director of the Smith Observatory at 

 Geneva. 



Poona. — An observatory has been established at the College of Science 

 with a l(»i inch silver-on-giass Xewtonian reflector by (4rubb, (5-inch re- 

 fractor by Cooke, with photographic, photometric, and spectroscopic 

 accessories. It is intended at present to restrict the work of the obser- 

 vatory to certain branches of spectroscopic research, with occasional 

 observations of comets, etc. The curator is Mr. K. 1). Nacgamvala. 



Potsdam. — Dr. Yogel has applied photography to the determination 

 of the motions of stars in the line of sight, and has obtained most satis- 

 factory results. He proposes to observe regularly all stars (about sixty) 

 that are as bright as 2.5 magnitude. The observations of solar phenom- 

 ena, sketches, and photometric observations of comets and planets have 

 been continued with little interruption. Progress is rei)orted upon the 

 "photometric Durchmusterung," which is to take in all stars in the 

 northern hemisphere down to the 7.5 magnitude. The instruments re- 

 quired to enable the observatory to take part in the photographic work 

 planned by the Paris congress have been ordei'cd, and numerous pre- 

 liminary experiments have been canied out for the permanent commit- 

 tee of that body. 



Prague. — Professor Safarik has continued his observations of variable 



