90 



NATURE 



\Nov. 24. 1887 



President of the Board of Trustees of the University, having 

 guaranteed the cost. A new Observatory has been established at 

 Smith College, Northampton, Mass. , and Miss Mary E. Byrd, 

 formerly assistant at Carleton College Observatory, has been 

 appointed Director. The equipment of the Observatory at 

 Carleton College, Northfield, Minn., is proceeding rapidly, the 

 new meridian-circle by Kepsold is already erected, and one of 

 the two large steel domes is in place. The telescope it is to 

 cover, an 8^-inch refractor by Alvan Clark, will, it is expected, 

 be ready for use within a few days. Mr. Grinnell, the founder 

 of Grinnell, Iowa, has furnished funds for the erection of an 

 Observatory to be attached to the Iowa College, and the build- 

 ing is being rapidly brought to completion. The new Observa- 

 tory is to have an 8-inch equatorial by the Clarks. Prof. Asaph 

 Hall is to act as the Consulting Director of the Washburn 

 Observatory, whilst Prof. George Comstock will have the more 

 immediate superintendence of the institution as Associate 

 Director. 



U Ophiuchi. — Mr. S. C. Chandler gives, in No. 162 of 

 Gould'' s Astronomical Journal, an investigation of the light-curve 

 of this well-known Algol-type variable, the result of which 

 seems to indicate a curious bat well-marked retardation in the 

 increase of brilliancy some half-hour or so after minimum is 

 passed. A similar irregularity has been noticed in the light- 

 curve of S Cancri, and occasionally in that of Algol. It is 

 clearly of great importance to ascertain whether this is merely 

 subjective, due to some habit of observation, or a real peculiarity 

 of the star itself. If the latter, it would throw considerable 

 doubt on the satellite theory, which at present seems on the 

 whole the most plausible explanation of variability of the Algol 

 type. I 



The New Algol Variables. — Mr. Chandler also gives an 

 ephemeris for the minima of the two new Algol-type variables, 

 viz. R Canis Majoris, R.A. yh. i4-3m., Decl. 16° ll' S., and 



Y Cygni, R.A. 2oh. 46'6m., Decl. 34° 10' N., as follows: — 



Y Cygni, Nov. 26, 22h. 42'5m. ; Nov. 29, 22h. 36'im. ; Dec. 2, 

 22h. 297m. R Canis Majoris, Nov. 29, i8h. 48*3m. ; Nov. 

 30, 22h. 4*2m. ; Dec. 2, ih. 20"im. Greenwich civil time, 

 reckoning from midnight to midnight. 



ASTRONOMICAL PHENOMENA FOR THE 

 WEEK 1887 NOVEMBER ^t— DECEMBER 3. 



/"pOR the reckoning of time the civil day, commencing at 

 ^ Greenwich mean midnight, counting the hours on to 24, 



is here employed.) 



At Greenwich on November 27 



Sun rises, 7h. 40m. ; souths, iih. 47m. 44 "Ss. ; sets, I5h. 56in. : 

 right asc. on meridian, i6h. i2"om. ; decl. 21° 8' S. 

 Sidereal Time at Sunset, 2oh. 21m. 



Moon (Full on November 30, I5h.) rises, I5h. 5m. ; souths, 

 2ih. 52m.; sets, 4h. 50m.*: right asc. on meridian, 



* Indicates that the rising is that of the preceding evening and the setting 

 that of the following morning. 



Occultations of Stars by the Moon (visible at Greenwich). 



Dec. 



I .. 



I ., 



Dec. 



Star. 



119 Tauri. 



120 Tauri. 



Mag. 



Disap. 



Reap. 



Corresponding 

 angles from ver- 

 tex to right for 

 inverted image. 



Venus at greatest elongation from the Sun, 

 47° west. 



GEOGRAPHICAL NOTES. 



At the International Exhibition to be held at Brussels next 

 year, a special Section will be devoted to topography, cosmo- 

 graphy, geography, and the related sciences. The following 

 are the classes of objects desired for contribution to the 

 Section :— (i) Maps and atlases, topographical, geographical, 

 geological, hydrographical, astronomical, &c. ; (2) physical 

 maps of all kinds, plans in relief, terrestrial and celestial globes 

 and spheres ; (3) statistical works and diagrams, tables and ephe- 

 merides for the use of astronomers and navigators ; (4) general, 

 historical, and classical works ; (5) instruments, aide-memoires, 

 and articles of equipment for ex])lorers. Among the "desider- 

 ata" are the following: — -(i) The be.-t map of the Congo, 

 showing the most recent discoveries ; (2) the best national map 

 of any country ; (3) utilization of the sheets of a topographical 

 map for the preparation of special maps on the same or a dif- 

 ferent scale ; (4) the execution of relief-maps ; (5) transference 

 of relief to a plane surface ; (6) construction of an appar- 

 atus suitable to demonstrate by experiments the various 

 geographical features which may be presented by a river, 

 such as torrents, lakes, cataracts, and rapids, erosions and 

 alluvial accumulations, subterranean streams, islands, and back- 

 waters, freezing and breaking up of ice, floods, deltas, bar.«, 

 &c. ; (7) construction of a tellurium ; (8) portable equipment 

 for an explorer ; (9) statistical atlases and globes. The Secretary 

 of the Section is Prof. Du Fief, 22 Rue des Palais, Brussels. 



In the Verhandlinigen of the Berlin Geographical Society, 

 No. 8, Dr. Mense describes in some detail a journey up the 

 Kwango, the great southern tributary of the Congo, which he 

 made last December in company witli the Rev. G. Grenfell. It 

 contains a good deal of local information. 



The November number of the Alpine Journal contains Mr. 

 D. Freshfield's diary during his recent visit to the Caucasus, 

 when he ascended some of the highest peaks, and visited some 

 of the principal glaciers. The diary itself and the many excel- 

 lent illustrations of the peaks and glaciers visited will be found 

 to afford useful geographical information. 



At the last meeting of the Paris Geographical Society, Dr. 

 Verneau described the results of his recent missions to the 

 Canary Islands. His special aim was to work out the ethnology of 

 the islands, and for that purpose he has collected many skulls and 

 bones from caves and graves, and made many observations on the 

 present inhabitants. The Guanches he professes to recognize as 

 the direct descendants of a people the type of which is exhibited 

 in the famous prehistoric Cro-^Iagnon skull — the troglodytes of 

 the Vezere. He maintains that about the end of the Quaternary 

 there must have been a great migration of what he calls the 

 " Cro-Magnon " race from the north to the south, and a section 

 of the migrants found their way to the Canaries. After a lapse 

 of time these were invaded by Numidians and Semites from the 

 north of Africa, people of a superior type and more advanced 

 culture to the Guanches, who were troglodytes. Dr. Verneau 

 has made many collections of anthropological interest from the 

 Canaries, and these are likely to be of much more service to 

 science than his theories. 



