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3. ASTRONOMY. 
(Including the Proceedings of the Royal Astronomical Society.) 
WE regret to have to record the death of three distinguished as- 
tronomers—Sir James South, Lord Wrottesley, and Lord Rosse. 
Sir James South was one of the founders of the Royal Astro- 
nomical Society, and for some time its President. We are indebted 
to him for a valuable catalogue of double stars, which he compiled 
in conjunction with Sir John Herschel. Of late, his great age and 
increasing infirmity have prevented him from taking any important 
part in furthering the progress of Astronomy ; but he has continued 
to take great interest in the science. 
Lord Wrottesley was also one of the founders of the Royal 
Astronomical Society. He received the Society's Gold Medal for 
his ‘ Catalogue of Stars.’ He was President of the Royal Society 
from 1854 to 1857. 
William Parsons, Earl of Rosse, was born in 1800. He took 
first-class mathematical honours at Oxford in 1822. In 1843 
he presided over the meeting of the British Association. From 
1849 to 1854 he was President of the Royal Society. He is 
chiefly celebrated for the ingenuity and mechanical ability displayed 
in the construction of the great Parsonstown reflecting telescope, 
In 1831, Lord Rosse had erected a telescope, one yard in diameter, 
and nine yards in focal length, smaller, but probably more efficient 
than Sir W. Herschel’s great reflector. Not only was the construc- 
tion of this instrument superintended by Lord Rosse, but he had 
worked upon the speculum with his own hands. Encouraged by 
the success of this instrument, he commenced the construction 
of a more gigantic telescope. The new instrument was fifty-two 
feet in focal length, and seven feet im diameter, with a six-feet 
speculum. It was first applied to the survey of the heavens in 
1845. We could not spare one-tenth part of the space which would 
be required even to summarize the work of the great reflector. It 
must therefore suffice for us to say, with the late Professor Nichol, 
that “it has converted what was twilight into daylight and has 
penetrated into regions of space formerly enveloped in utter dark- 
ness.” It has also brought within our ken a new and wider circle 
of twilight, and has enlarged correspondingly our estimate of the 
unknown—-of the boundary of darkness lymg beyond the penum- 
bral band that encloses our “ cirele of light.” 
We were not favoured, as had been hoped and expected, with a 
display of the November shooting-stars. We hear of countless 
meteors having been seen in Paris, but the account is not confirmed 
by trustworthy authorities. In England there was certainly no 
display, though several shooting-stars were seen. We do not hear 
VOL. V. F 
