2 26 



NATURE 



[October 13, 192 1 



required by the " Kinemacolor " process, it does not 

 need to be passed through the exhibiting lantern at 

 double the usual speed, and it is claimed that the 

 difficulty of colour fringes in the case of quickly 

 moving objects is eliminated. 



An account of the Temple submarine stud driver 

 appears in Engineering for September 30. The func- 

 tion of this appliance is to fix studs into ships' plates 

 or other steelwork under water, so that patching 

 plates or attachments for lifting may be bolted on. 

 The studs used at a demonstration at Caxton Hall 

 were of tool steel, tempered to a dark blue colour. 

 One end of the stud is bluntly pointed and the 

 other end has a screw thread cut on it. The studs 

 are shot from the muzzle of a gun held in contact 

 with the plate, and pierce the plate so that about 

 an equal length of the stud is left projecting on both 

 sides. The operation of driving, the stud is instan- 

 taneous, and the noise is scarcely more than that of 



an airgun. The explosive charge may consist of any 

 ordinary propellent explosive, and in quantity is about 

 the same as in a standard 0-303 rifle cartridge. It is 

 stated that studs can be driven into solid steel by the 

 Temple gun, and that two | in. plates can be pinned 

 together by studs shot through them ; also a pin 

 of only i in. diameter can be driven through a 

 I5 in. plate. This appliance, which has been in- 

 vented by Mr. Robert Temple, is certainly a very 

 remarkable one. The process is in the hands of the 

 Temple Cox Research Company, Dacre House, Dean 

 Farrar Street, Westminster. 



Sir Thomas Heath considers that of all the mani- 

 festations of the Greek genius none is more impres- 

 sive, and even awe-inspiring, than that which is re- 

 vealed by the history of Greek mathematics. The 

 Oxford University Press is publishing immediately in 

 two volumes "A History of Greek Mathematics," by 

 Sir Thomas Heath. 



Our Astronomical Column. 



The Llnar Eclipse of Sunday, October 16.^ — This 

 eclipse, which will be nearly total, begins at gh. 14m. 

 (position angle 45°), reaches its greatest phase (0-938 

 of the diameter, the south limb being uneclipsed) at 

 loh. 54m., and ends at i2h. 34m. (position angle 

 283°). As there is not another large lunar eclipse 

 visible at a convenient altitude in the British Isles 

 until September, 1932, this occasion should be utilised. 

 The chief work during lunar eclipses is the observa- 

 tion of occultations, both phases being visible under 

 similar conditions. Such observations facilitate the 

 determination of the moon's diameter, and serve to 

 test the suggestion that the lunar atmosphere may 

 have more refractive power by day than by night. 

 Six stars in the Bonn Durchmusterung will be occulted 

 during eclipse. The details are given in the following 

 list (computed for Greenwich) : — 



B.D. number Mag. Disappearance Angle Reappearance Angle 

 o h. m. c h. m. 



7-218 



7-222 ■ 



9-2 10 3 24 10 59 292 



93 10 19 56 II 35 258 



7-224 90 1020 100 II 25 214 



7-225 9-5 1028 70 1 1 46 243 



7-228 9-3 10 57 90 12 10 225 



7-227 9-1 II 6 41 12 17 273 



The angles are measured from the north point 

 towards the east. 



The occultation of 263 B Piscium, mag. 6-4, may 

 also be mentioned, though it does not occur at the 

 eclipsed limb; the times and angles are 8h. 55m., 

 90°, and loh. 3m., 224°. 



It is also of interest to study the colour and amount 

 of illumination of the region in shadow ; probably the 

 variations from one eclipse to another arise from 

 differences in the transparency of the earth's atmo- 

 sphere. It would be well to examine some of the 

 regions, such as Aristillus, in which Prof. W. H. 

 Pickering has observed changes during the lunation, 

 as it is possible that their appearance might be affected 

 by the passage of the shadow. 



Morning Stars. — Before sunrise on clear mornings, 

 during the last half of October, there will be an un- 

 usual and striking display of four brilliant planets. 

 Venus, Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn will all be visible, 

 and will continue to be so during the remaining 

 months of the present year. 



NO. 271 1, VOL. 108] 



Their variations of position will induce a number 

 of interesting conjunctions and configurations, both 

 amongst themselves and with the waning crescent of 

 the moon as she passes them in her monthly round. 



On October 16 Venus will rise at 3.43 a.m.. Mars at 

 3.0 a.m., Jupiter at 4.41 a.m., and Saturn at 4.19 a.m. 

 On this date, an hour before sunrise, the four planets 

 named will form an almost perpendicular line over the 

 east bv south horizon. 



The following conjunctions will occur : — 



h. m. o / 



Oct. 22 7 55 a.m. Venus and Saturn Venus o 35 South 



,, 25 4 12 p.m. Venus and Jupiter Venus o 31 North 



,, 28 1 18 a.m. Mars and Moon Mars 338 ,, 



,, 28 3 24 p.m. Saturn and Moon Saturn 3 41 ,, 



,, 28 10 o p.m. Jupiter and Moon Jupiter 214 ,, 



,, 29 356 a.m. Venus and Moon Venus 225 ,, 



,, 30 II 58 p.m. Mercury and Moon Mercui7 2 36 South 



These occurrences will not be all visible, as they 

 take place at unsuitable times, but the objects men- 

 tioned may be observed in proximity on the mornings 

 before and after the events named. 



In November, during the last fortnight of the 

 month, the planet Mercury will also be favourably 

 visible and add another interesting object to the un- 

 usual assemblage of brilliant planets in the morning 

 sky. 



Large Fireball. — Mr. W. F. Denning writes :— 

 "On October 6, 9h. 25m. G.M.T., a fireball of un- 

 usual brilliancy was observed by Mr. J. P. M. Prentice 

 at Stowmarket. It was of a beautiful orange colour, 

 with a thick streak, and burst in the middle of its 

 flight, leaving a blue-green cloud of gaseous material 

 which was visible for eight seconds. The fireball was 

 also seen by the writer at Bristol, and he rated it 

 as much more brilliant than Venus, but it was un- 

 favourably seen right through a cloud, which it rather 

 brightly illuminated. The nucleus could be distinctly 

 traced as it pursued its path, and the position could 

 be accurately recorded from a few bright stars which 

 were not obscured at the moment. The radiant point 

 of the object was near ^-.'\urigae at 87°-f4o°, and 

 the height of the object from 86 to 48 miles from over 

 the mouth of the Thames to Littlehampton in 

 Sussex." 



