GENERAL MOVEMENT OF THE STARS. 225 



2. The stars, to the number of 663, for which that mean is 15". 25. 



3. Those, to the number of 1,273, whose mean secular movement 

 is but 7". 79. 



He has left out of view in this inquiry, as well as in that which 

 relates to the angles of direction <p — ^', those stars whose proper 

 movement is less than 4" a century on account of the great uncer- 

 tainty which results therefrom respecting their direction. 



M. Msedler makes use of the formulas given by Argelander in his 

 memoir of the proper movement of our solar system, in applying 

 thereto the method of least squares and successive approximations. 

 He arrives finally at the following values for the right ascension A 

 and the north declination D of the point of the heavens towards which 

 the Sun was directing its course in 1800 : 



By the 1st class of stars A=262° 8'. 8; D=39° 25'. 2 



By the 2d-. do do A=261° 14'.4; D=37° 53\6 



By the 3d-. do do A=261° 32'.2; D=42° 21'. 9 



These results, it will be seen, differ but little from one another, or 

 from those previously obtained by other astronomers. 



As to the general movement of the stars, the author presents, in 

 the first place, new and detailed tables of the proper movements of 

 the groups Pleiades and Hyades, of which he employs only the 

 mean values in his ulterior calculations; not including, however, in 

 that relative to the Hyades the two stars Aldebaran and r of Taurus, 

 whose movements are not in correspondence with those of the other 

 stars of the group. 



He obtains thus, respectively, for .the secular movement proper 

 and the angle <p — $: 



Of Alcyone 4".70; + 2°.8 



Of the mean of 15 stars of the Pleiades 5". 82; -f- 8°. 7 



Of the mean of 27 stars of the Hyades 11". 26; -\ 60°. 65 



He afterwards subdivides the heavens, around Alcyone as pole, by 

 means of concentric circles, described at from 10 to 10 degrees, into 

 eighteen zones or regions, as far as the pole diametrically opposite. 

 In the following table we give, for the stars comprised in each of 

 these regions, the mean values of the observed secular movements 

 proper and of their direction, resulting from his calculations. The 

 number of stars of which he has made use, indicated in this table, 

 refers only to the proper movements, those numbers being smaller for 

 the angles <p — (/', in view of the limit of 4", alluded to above. 



15 



