416 Chronicles of Science. [July, 



3. ASTEONOMY. 



{Including the Proceedings of the Astronomical Soeietij.) 



After the failure of Brorsen's comet to make its appearance at tbe 

 appointed time, astronomers may think themselves fortunate in the 

 re-discovery of Winnecke's short-period comet at its present return to 

 periheKon. M. Winnecke himself re-discovered the comet at Karls- 

 ruhe. He describes it as large, but not bright. By the time these 

 lines appear it will have become concealed from view through its 

 proximity to the sun. We do not hear that any obser^'-ations of 

 importance have been made upon it, nor had Mr. Huggins, at the 

 time of the last meeting of the Eoyal Astronomical Society, been 

 able to apply spectroscopic analysis to this object, 



M. Faye having called in question Mr. Stone's title to the merit 

 of being the first to exhibit the cause of the errors which had 

 resulted from Encke's treatment of the transit observations in 1769, 

 Mr. Stone has put forward a masterly defence of his position. If 

 any doubts could have remained of the imperfectness of M. Pow- 

 alky's treatment of the subject — which M. Faye has undertaken to 

 defend — Mr. Stone's paper would have conclusively removed them. 

 He shows that M. Powalky has followed no settled rule in interpret- 

 ing observations, that he has rejected good observations without any 

 cause, and some observations for no other reason than their incom- 

 patibiUty with the general run of the discussion. Mr. Stone par- 

 ticularly cites the ten available observations of duration. All of 

 these are used by him, and perfectly represented in his result; 

 whereas M. Powalky has fully emj^loyed only four, to three of 

 which, taken in combination, he has given the weight of one only. 

 The whole paper is not only most interesting and valuable, but satis- 

 factory as fully establishing the claim of our distinguished fellow- 

 countryman to the honour of having reuioved what had long been 

 looked upon as a stain on " the most exact of the sciences." If 

 there is any objection to be made against Mr. Stone's defence of his 

 case, it is that here and there it seems to be in the slightest degree 

 too personal. In scientific discussions as in scientific observations, 

 *' personality " should be reduced to a minimum. It is, however, 

 not to be wondered at that Mr. Stone should object to remarks which 

 seemed calculated to diminish the value of his researches on the 

 transit-observations of 1769. 



For the next few months Satuni will be an interesting object of 

 observation. His rings are now nearly at their widest expansion, 

 and will doubtless be carefully examined by astronomers for any 

 signs of those ])roccsses of change which are suspected to be in 

 progress. Towards the end of the quarter Jupiter will also be well 



