Andrew Ainslie Common. 317 



He was much interested in eclipse work, and took a prominent 

 part in the organisation of the different Committees which ultimately 

 merged in the present Joint Permanent Eclipse Committee. He him- 

 self went on the expedition to Norway in 1896, arranging a very 

 complete plan of operations for the party he took with him, but clouds 

 prevented them obtaining any results. 



As an observer, he was quick to seize the suggestions of experience. 

 The discovery of a comet at the total solar eclipse of May 16, 1882, 

 suggested to him to search the neighbourhood of the sun for bright 

 comets, which he did for some time assiduously, and he was rewarded 

 on September 17 of the same year by the independent discovery of the 

 great comet of 1882 (see Observatory, vol. 5, p. 319, and Astr. Nachr., 

 vol. 103, p. 159). He was thus the first to see it in Europe, although 

 the comet had been previously noticed from the Southern Hemisphere. 



He took a prominent part in the Conferences which organized the 

 Astrographic Chart, and although he had himself shown how much 

 could be done with reflecting telescopes, he unhesitatingly and imparti- 

 ally advised the adoption of the refractor as the proper instrument 

 in this case, recognising the beauty of the results obtained by the 

 Brothers Henry. He knew not only the merits but the imperfections 

 of the reflector ; it had vagaries which not every man had the patience 

 to learn, and it could not be recommended for indiscriminate use. He 

 used to quote with approval the example of Lassell, who broke up his 

 big reflector rather than let it pass into unappreciative hands. But 

 given patience and skill on the part of the observer, such as Common 

 possessed, the reflector can out-distance its competitor, and Common's 

 name must be added to that illustrious list of English names Newton, 

 Herschel, Lassell, De la Eue associated with the demonstration of 

 this fact. Indirectly, too, he had some share in transplanting the 

 instrument across the Atlantic, where it promises to thrive even more 

 prosperously than in the old country. 



A few words may be added concerning the work on gun-sights for 

 the army and navy, which was occupying his attention in the last years 

 of his life. Although in some ways of a technical character, it required 

 scientific skill of a high order, and was of national importance. Some 

 of his devices were exhibited and admired at the Conversaziones of this 

 Society in 1903 (at the first of them he was himself present, but his 

 death had occurred before the second) ; but he felt that there was still 

 much to be done, and looked forward with confidence to doing it. As 

 regards its national importance the following words of Captain Percy 

 Scott, R.N., spoken at a dinner at the Savage Club on November 22, 1902, 

 may be put on record here. He said, "that the nation owed a deep debt of 

 gratitude to Dr. Common for the great improvements that he had made 

 in gun-sights. It mattered not how good the gun was, nor how good a 



