56o 



NATURE 



[Oct. 9, 1879 



According to Prof. Newcomb's elements the values of the 

 argument u at Greenwich mean midnight are — 



Nov, 2 Deimos 33I'I 



12 „ 302-7 



22 „ 274-4 



and the diurnal motions of u are 285 



Phob3s 89-8 

 ., 217-7 

 ,. 345-7 

 -1645 and ii28°-794 



for Deimos and Phobos respectively, giving hourly motions 

 of ii°-882 and 47°-o33, whence u for the time of obser- 

 vation may be found. Or if the observer possesses 

 Newcomb's memoir on the satellites he may find it from 

 the table at p. 42. Then with u as the argument the 

 above table gives roughly the angle of position and 

 distance of the satellite, remarking that the former is to 

 be taken in column A or column B, according as the argu- 

 ment is found under a or B. Thus for midnight on 

 November 5 the value of 7i for Deimos is io6°'6, and for 

 Phobos 236°-3, whence the positions and distances are : 

 for Deimos 51° and 65", and for Phobos 247° and 20". 



The Saturnian Satellite, Mimas.— This faint 

 object was observed by Mr. A. Ainslie Common, of 

 Ealing, with his 3-feet reflector, on the night of Septem- 

 ber 21, when close up to its conjunction with the following 

 extremity of the ring, which was estimated to take place 

 about iih. 50m. G.M.T. With the elements which have 

 been previously used in this column the satellite would be 

 up to the ring at iih. 53m. Such observations as this 

 are of course much more valuable for the correction of 

 elements than estimations of the times of greatest elonga- 

 tions ; nevertheless as it is in or near the latter positions 

 that the satellite is most likely to be visible in telescopes 

 of inferior power, Ave subjoin the times of greatest elonga- 

 tions observable in this country up to the end of the 

 present month : — 



East. 



Nov. 2 



12 58 



The Minor Planels.— Two small planets assumed 

 to be new have been detected by Prof. Peters, of Clinton, 

 N.Y., apparently on September 22 and 26 respectively ; 

 the number being thus raised to 203. Prof. Watson, now 



in direction of the[«Washburn Observatory, Madison, 

 Wisconsin, has selected the following names for planets 

 discovered by him in 1877: for x'ji,, Phccdra; for 175, 

 Andromache ; and for 179, Clyiemtiestra. Fortuna will be 

 in opposition on October 23 close up to perihelion, so that 

 the possible brightness, S-jm., will be at its maximum. 



^ < 



GEOGRAPHICAL NOTES 

 Dr. Holub, the eminent African traveller, who is 

 now in England on his way to his native country 

 (Bohemia), intends, it is stated, shortly to undertake 

 another exploring expedition. His return to Europe 

 has for its main object the collection of the neces- 

 sary funds for the new undertaking. He has formed 

 plans for the formation of an international expedition, 

 which is to be placed under his direction and which is to 

 travel through Africa from Port Elizabeth towards Egypt. 

 The exploring party is to consist of twelve members 

 representing twelve different n.-itions, and the costs of the 

 expedition are to be defrayed by the different govern- 

 ments. The special purpose of the expedition is stated 

 to be the opening of Central Africa towards the south 

 and east and to facilitate the colonisation of the district 

 between the Vaal River and the Zambesi. A corre- 

 spondent in the Times gives the following interesting 

 summary of the remarkable work accomplished by Dr. 

 Holub : — " For seven years Dr. Holub has been exploring 

 the country north and south of the Zambesi, alternating his 

 exploring expeditions with months spent at the Diamond- 

 fields, practising as a medical man to raise the requisit; 

 funds for his next journey. In this time the doctor has 

 studied the habits of the Matabele, the Marutsi, Hotten- 

 tots, Bechuanas, and numerous other tribes, living among 

 them as their guest, and gaining their confidence by 

 curing their sick. In Dr. Holub's third and last journey 

 he has accurately surveyed the country from the Diamond 

 Fields to the Zambesi, and the Zambesi from its junction 

 with the Chobe to the Barotse countrj'. His map of the 

 Zambesi is on a large scale, and shows every island, 

 creek, and rapid. To show the difficulties of this 

 survey, it may be mentioned that, owing to the loss 

 of his Nautical Almanac, his sextant was useless, 

 and the bearings had to be taken by compass observa- 

 tions every 300 yards, while the distances, amounting 

 in the various surveys to over 2,000 miles, were deter- 

 mined by stepping. That is, the explorer counted every 

 step he took during a twenty-one months' walk. He 

 arrived at Muchela Amsinga tired and unwell, but still 

 full of pluck, and hoping to cross the continent and 

 emerge at Loanda. Then fever came on, and his best 

 canoe, containing all his gunpowder, and, worse than all, 

 his quinine, sank in a rapid. He still pushed on, but at 

 the Nambwe cataract he succumbed, and was carried 

 back insensible by his native servants to lie ill during a 

 period of sixteen months. Even during his illness, how- 

 ever, he was not idle, for being carried about in a litter 

 and directing his men what to pick up, he made magni- 

 ficent collections of plants and insects, with others of 

 birds, weapons, native drawings, &c. The collection of 

 beetles alone contains no less than 13,000 specimens. 

 Dr. Holub is publishing the account of his journeys in 

 Bohemian, English, German, and French, and is about 

 to read a paper before the Geographical Society of 

 Vienna. He will also read one before the Royal Geo- 

 graphical Society of London when he returns to England 

 at Christmas." 



Dr. Otto Finsch, of Bremen, who is on a tour to 

 Micronesia, by order of the Humboldt Institution of 

 Berlin, arrived at Honolulu on June 17, and first of all 

 proceeded to the island of Maui, where he spent some 

 time in making scientific collections and observations of 

 the Haleakala, the largest volcanic crater on the globe. 

 After his return from Maui he made .an excursion to the 

 Bay of Waimanolo in order to visit the ancient Hawaiian 



