148 ASTRONOMY FOR 18S1), 18!)0. 



l)ie(v, the conclusion re.icbed being that the heat which the earth re- 

 ceives from the moon is to that from the snn as 1 is to 184,r)00. From 

 observations (buinu the ecbpse of January 28, 1588, ]\Ir. Ilutchins infers 

 that all but a minute portion of the rays from tlie lunar soil and rock 

 are cut off by our atmosphere, as it seems impossible that a surface 

 like that of the moon, upon whicli the sun has been sliininjif for many 

 (lays, should suddenly cease to radiate when the sun's light is with- 

 drawn. 



Mars.— Durin gthe opposition of 1890 Mars again received special 

 attention from the Lick observers. Exi)eriments were tried with colored 

 glasses, with diminished apertures, etc., all with small success. Many 

 photographs were also secured, but none that were pronounced satis- 

 factory. The mystery of the "canals" is still further increased by the 

 fact that while Professor Holden and Mr. Keeler always saw the canals 

 as dark, broad, somewhat diffused bands, and Mr. Scliaeberle saw them 

 in the same way when the seeing was ba i, but under good condi- 

 tions described them as narrow lines a second of arc or so in width. 

 On April 12 Mr. Scliaeberle saw two of the canals doubled, thereby 

 verifying Professor S('hia[)arelli's observations. The jiositions of most 

 of the canals have also been verified by some of the Lick astronomers. 



Jupiter. — Mr. J. E. Keeler publishes in the monthly notices for No- 

 vember a drawing of Jupiter made with the Lick 3G-inch on the night of 

 August 28, 181K). The great red spot is described as being of about the 

 same dimensions as in 1889, with a dark shading at its following end, 

 but the middle whiter and the arrangement of belts somewhat d liferent. 

 "It would seem, on the whole, that the surface features of Jupiter in- 

 dicate less activity in the internal forces of the planet than was man- 

 ifest a year ago.'' 



Barnard and Burnham have reported a very curious doubling of the 

 first satellite as seen with the 12-inch equatorial of the Lick observ- 

 atory. Of this phenomenon there seems to be but two possible exphi na- 

 tions: either there is a white belt on the satellite parallel to the belts of 

 Jupiter or the satellite is actually double. 



M. Belopolsky has brought out from an examination of drawings of 

 Ju[>iter a i)eculiar variation in the time of rotation (first noted by Cas- 

 sini) with the latitude. A velocity of 9'' .51'" was found in the zone 0° 

 to5^ iu l)otli iMMuispheres, and a time of rotation of 9'' 55.5'" for the re- 

 mainder of the surface, both hemisi)lu'res, exce|)t between 5° and 1(P 

 of north and south latitude, where the two velocities appear to occur 

 with ecpial frecpieney. 



Saturn. — A jx'culiar white spot on the rings of Saturn attracted con- 

 siderable attention in the early part of 1889. This spot was first seen 

 by Dr. Terby, of Louvain, on INLirch 0, 1889, who reported it as adjacent 

 to the sliadow of the ball and similar to the white spots sometimes seen 

 upon .lupiter; on Maicli lli it was again seen with an 8 ineh Clark tel- 

 escope, l)ut on the ir)th, L'Oth, 22(1, and 2.')d, and on April 2, it was 



