ASTRONOMY. 193 



his researches in spectrum analysis. The Damoiseau prize was not 

 awarded. 



The gold medal of the Koyal Astronomical Society was awarded on 

 February 10, 1888, to Dr. Auwers, for his re-reduction of Bradley's ob- 

 servations. The Draper medal of the National Academy of Sciences 

 was awarded in April to Professor Pickering, and the Lawrence Smith 

 medal, to Professor Newton for his original work on the subject of me- 

 teorites. 



Prizes amounting in value to about $1,000 were distributed at the 

 December, 1887, meeting of the French Astronomical Society for the 

 best schemes submitted for retbrmiug the calendar. The chief prize 

 was secured by M. Gaston Armelin, of Paris. 



Telegraphic transmisnion of astronomical data. — Early in ]888 a new 

 code book, "The Science Observer Code," for the convenient and accu- 

 rate transmission of astronomical data by telegraph, was published by 

 Messrs. Chandler and Eitchie as "Occasional Publicatious No. 1" of the 

 Boston Scientific Society. The new code book supersedes the dictionary 

 fornierly in use, and as the words are conveniently numbered it is used 

 with great facility. The number code of 200 quarto pages is followed by 

 a phrase code with numerous examples, covering 17 pages, and by tables 

 for reducing decimals of a day to hours, minutes, and seconds, and vice 

 versa. 



The number words have been selected from the dictionaries of sev- 

 eral languages, it being the intention that the literal arrangement of 

 any word should differ from that of every other by at least two letters; 

 all words of more than ten letters are excluded. The words are ar- 

 ranged in 400 sections, numbered from to 399, each section compris- 

 ing 100 words, numbered from to 99; any integral number up to 

 39,999 can therefore be represented by a single letter. The phrase 

 code is arranged for the transmission of information in regard to 

 comets, planets, variable stars, the state of the weather, and for ref- 

 erence, also, to stars in the Durchmusterung and GonhVs zone cata- 

 logue. Checks are ]»rovided for (H)rrotting errors which have been 

 introduced in the transmission. Alter the lapse of suftic.ent time for 

 all astronomers so desiring to provide themsiUves with a copy of the 

 code, it finally went into etfect on October 1, 1888. The observatory of 

 Harvard College is the central station for the distribution of astro- 

 nomical information in this country, and Dr. Krueger, at Kiel, serves in 

 a like cai)acity for Europe. 



A paper in No. 2791 of the Astronomis(;he Nachrichten, on the meteor- 

 ological coiulitions favorable for establishing a large telescope, should 

 command the attention of any one upon whom may rest the responsi- 

 bility of locating a new observatory. It is manifestly imi)ortant that a 

 careful examination of the meteorological conditions of any proposed 

 ^ite for a large telescope should be made, particularly with reference to 

 11. Mis. 142 13 



