430 SCIENTIFIC EECOKD FOR 1885. 



Lund (1884). — Dr. Dun^r continues his observations of the spectra 

 of stars, measures of double stars, and positions of the comets. The 

 longitude observations of Dr. Duner and Professor Thiele in 1879, lately 

 reduced, make the Lund Observatory 2™ 26«-38 i0«-04 east of the ob- 

 servatory of Copenhagen. 



McCormicJc Observatory. — TheLeander McCormick Observatory, of the 

 University of Virginia, was formally opened by public ceremony on the 

 13th of April, 1885. An address on "The instruments and work of As- 

 tronomy," was made by Professor Hall, of the United States Naval Ob- 

 servatory. 



The QG'^'^ (25-98 inches) equatorial of the observatory is chiefly em- 

 plo3^ed at present in observations of nebulae. During the progress of 

 this work something over two hundred new nebulae have thus far been de- 

 tected by Professor Stone and his assistant, Mr. Leavenworth. Draw- 

 ings of about the same number of nebulae (some old and some new) 

 have also been made. Professor Stone designs making a special study 

 of the nebula of Orion. 



McKim Ohservatory. — The McKim Observatory was opened in Sep- 

 tember, 1885, as a department of De Pauw University. It is located 

 in the suburbs of the university town, Greencastle, Ind., in west longi- 

 tude from Greenwich 86° 37^', north latitude 39° 37'. The building 

 and the full instrumental experiment which it is designed to have are 

 the gift of Mr. Eobert McKim, of Madison, Ind. This gentleman has 

 for a number of years had a 6-inch glass mounted near his residence, 

 so that the observatory he has just presented to De Pauw University 

 might almost be called the second McKim Observatory. 



The equatorial has a clear aperture of 9-53 inches ; the dome is of 

 iron, and is 17 feet in diameter. Both telescope and dome are by 

 "Warner and Swasey, of Cleveland. For clock errors an almucantar is 

 to be used. The building and instruments have cost $8,000, and about 

 $2,000 more will be expended. Dr. T. P. John is the director. 



Madras.— From the report for 1883 we learn that 2,453 observations 

 were made with the meridian circle during the year, making a total of 

 50,878 Only a few hundred more are required to finish the catalogue 

 of over 5,000 stars. The publications are badly behindhand. 



Melbourne. — Mr. Ellery's nineteenth annual report states thait the 

 new transit circle of 8 inches aperture was received in May, 1884, and 

 mounted early in July. It is proposed to send the two specula of the 

 great reflector, one after the other, to England to be repolished. A 

 number of stars selected by Auwers was observed with the old transit 

 circle to assist in the formation of a fundamental catalogue of southern 

 stars. 



Mexico Observatory.— Prof. H. S. Pritchett, director of the observa- 

 tory of the Washington University at Saint Louis, kindly communicates 

 the results of a longitude campaign between his observatory and the Ob- 



