PROGRESS OF ASTRONOMY FoR 18!>1 AND ISiVJ. 729 



(iKi;i:.\A\ icii: Clirislir. — Tlierciiiil:ir\\<»rk of t licohscrvjitoi yliasboeii 

 continued mucli the saiiic as in previous years, and in addition asti'O- 

 ])liotogra|)liic observations liave thrown to be a i)art oT tlie routine, 

 more es)>ecially the cataloiiue of _<iuide stars lor the ])liolo,iiraphi<- chart. 

 V '.) inch Orubb ])lioto;j;iapliic te]esco])c lias been presented to the 

 o])servat()ry by Sir Henry 'riioiu]»son and has been inounte(l on the 

 Lassell ('(juatorial as a photoheliograj))!. The erection of the new 

 3(l-foot dome, wliich is to co\er the L'8incli reiract«»r, was l)egun in 

 December, 1»S92. A discussion of (ireenwicli observations from 1851 

 to the ]n'esent time by Mr. Tluu;keray Ims furnished a very satis- 

 factory contirmatiou of Mr. Chandler's doubly periodic variation of the 

 latitude (in about 3G5 and 427 days, respectively). A successful lonj^i- 

 tude campaign has been carried on with Montreal, and tlie diiference of 

 louiiitude between Greenwich and Paris has been redetermined by 

 English and French ol)servcrs. Some additions to the e(|nipment have 

 been made and the details of a.n electric-light installation hav<' been 

 settled. 



IlAMiUTRG : Riimlrr. — ( )bservations of comets, asteroids, and compar- 

 i.son stars; chronometer work for the (Jerman navy ; meteorological ob- 

 servations, and time service. 



Harvard College : PiclrrDiy. — Vvith the meridian circle the obser- 

 vation of stars in the southern Durchmusterung zone (—9° oO' to — 14^ 

 10' ) has ad\anced toward completion. The 15 inch (Mpiatorial has 

 been emi>loyed on observations })artly ])hotometric and i)artly micro- 

 metric, wliile the ])rincipal work done with the west equatorial has 

 been the study by Argelander's method of the changes in the light of the 

 variable stars of long ])eriod. 



Photogra])hic observations, provided foi' by tlie Henry Draper me- 

 morial, have l)een carried on c(mtinuously, generally throughout every 

 clear night, and with tlie aid of three telescopes. 



An attemi)t to secure a suitable location for tlui JJoyden I'und observ- 

 ing station on Wilson's Peak, in southern Oaliforiua, proved unsuccess- 

 ful, but an e.\pe<lition sent (uit to l^eru, under the direction of Prof. 

 W. II, Pickering, lelt Cambridge in December, ISiM)^ and established 

 a station abont .'J miles northwest of ^^i'e(inii)a. where a L'5-inch 

 eipiatorial was mounted an<l observations were commenced. The 

 station is over S,()()() feet aboxc sea level, and has a nearly cloudless 

 sky during a large part (»f the year; t4ie thermometer rarely falls be- 

 low M)^ F., and rarely goes above 70°. The brilliancy of the stars is 

 most striking; stars of the 6.5 magnitude are i)icked out easily with 

 the naked eye, the eleven l^leiades can be counted, and tin' (legen- 

 schein can be readily seen any evening after o'chxtk. 



The Harvard Observatory time service, which liad been in operation 

 with but little interrui)tion sim-e 1850, was discontinued after .Mar<'h 

 .'il, 1802, ha\ ing become limincially unprotitable, by reast)n of the fact 

 that time signals from the Cnited States Naval Observatory were 



