June 3, 1922] 



NATURE 



725 



Treasurer : Mr. E. L. Somers Cocks ; Trustees : Lord 

 Curzon of Kedleston and Mr. H. Yates Thompson ; 

 Hon. Secretaries : Dr. A. P. Maudslay and Lieut.-Col. 

 E. M. Jack ; Foreign Secretary : Sir Maurice de 

 Bunsen ; Members of Council : Mr. Henry Balfour, 

 Prof. R. Beazley, Sir Sidney Burrard. Mr. Oliver 

 Bury, Lord Chelmsford. Prof. J. Norman Collie, Sir 

 W. Martin Conway, Sir C. L. Des Graz, Sir Henry 

 Galway, Sir Sidney Harmer, Dr. D. G. Hogarth, 

 Col. C. K. Howard Bury, Admiral Sir Edward Ingle- 

 tield, Mr. P. Lake, Sir Henry McMahon, Prof. J. L. 

 Myres, Capt. C. W. R. Royds, Major-Gen. Sir Frederick 

 Sykes, Brig.-Gen. Sir Percy Sykes, Dr. A. F. R. 

 Wollaston, and Mr.. J. M. Wordie. 



Messrs. Dulau and Co., Ltd., 34 Margaret Street, 

 W.I, have just issued a catalogue (No. 93) of second- 



hand books in zoology offered for sale by them. 

 Upwards of 3000 works are listed under the following 

 headings : entomology and Arachnida ; conchology 

 and Mollusca ; minor classes ; general zoology ; 

 Mammalia, fishes, reptiles, etc. ; ornithology and 

 oology. 



Messrs. Bernard Quaritch, Ltd. (11 Grafton 

 Street, W.i) have just issued a catalogue (No. 370) 

 of important and rare second-hand books on natural 

 history. Upwards of 2000 titles are listed under 

 " General Works " and eleven classified divisions. 

 Mr. F. Edwards (83 High Street, Marylebone, W.i) 

 has just circulated Catalogue No. 431, which is largely 

 devoted to publications of learned and scientific 

 societies, and to works on the topography of the 

 English counties. 



Our Astronomical Column. 



Large Fireball. — On May 21, at 12.32 G.M.T., a 

 large meteor was observed by the well-known variable 

 star observer, M. FelLx de Roy, at Antwerp, Belgium. 

 The object moved slowly among the stars of Leo, 

 and left a tail of sparks like a rocket. Its path was 

 from 169° +9° to 155° +18°. The same meteor was 

 observed by Mr. J. P. M. Prentice, at Stowmarket, 

 and he recorded the path from 203° + i^° to 179° + 151^°. 

 The duration was estimated at six seconds. Compar- 

 ing the two observations the radiant point is indicated 

 at 280° -33° in Sagittarius. The height of the object 

 was from about 60 to 57 miles and the velocity 15 

 miles per second. The meteor passed over the region 

 from the south-west of Surrey to south of Warwick. 



It is possible that the object radiated from Scorpio 

 at 250° -27°, and that its height was 60 to 42 miles, 

 but the observations are not quite conclusive, and 

 more data are required. 



Comets. — There is great difference of opinion 

 as to the magnitude of Skjellerup's comet ; Dr. 

 Steavenson makes it mag. 9 ; other observers, 

 mag. 12. The following approximate orbit has been 

 deduced from observations at Heidelberg, Yerkes 

 Obs., and Milan, on May 20, 21, 22. 



T 1922, May 19, 22 G.M.T. 

 w i°i5'55'' 

 S2 207 56 17 

 i 21 19 4 

 log q 9-94569 

 Ephemeris for Greenwich Mignight. 



h. '^n^s. N.DecI. log r. log A. 



June 2 9 38 28 36° 34' 9-9638 9-5856 



6 10 18 28 40 58 9-9747 9-5680 



10 II 4 53 44 39 9-9871 9-5592 



14 II 57 13 47 5 o-ooii 9-5600 



18 12 51 8 48 2 o-oi6i 9-5695 



The comet should be looked for as soon as the 



-ky is dark ; its path lies through Lynx (near Alpha 



-II May 30), Leo Minor, and Ursa Major (near Mu 



on June 6, near Psi on June 10). Mr. G. Merton 



points out that the orbit closely resembles that of 



comet 1830 I ; identity does not seem to be possible, 



but the two comets are probably portions of a 



l)rimitive single comet. 



The Annals of Tokyo Observatory, Tom. v., fasc. 

 5, contains an investigation of the perturbations of 

 Wolf's periodic comet from 1884 to 191 8, by M. 

 Kamensky, Director of Vladivostock Naval Obs., 

 who has revised the work of M. Thraen, finding 

 several small corrections, which produce a marked ' 



NO. 2744, VOL. 109] 



improvement in the comparison with observation. 

 Definitive elements are given for each return, the 

 perturbations by all planets except Mercury, Uranus, 

 and Neptune having been computed. M. Kamensky 

 notes that there will be a close approach of the comet 

 to Jupiter at the end of 1922 ; "it will experience 

 such large perturbations that it is doubtful whether 

 its seventh return to the sun — provided that it 

 takes place — will be capable of being connected 

 with the six preceding ones by a common system 

 of elements." It is interesting to note that Brooks's 

 periodic comet (1889 V) also makes a close approach 

 to Jupiter this 3'ear, about the middle of June. 



Lick Observatory Bull. No. 334 contains an 

 investigation by H. M. Jeffers of the orbits of the 

 two components of Taylor's comet, 1916 I, which 

 was discovered at Capetown on November 24, 1915, 

 as a small nebulosity 20" in diameter, with an 

 eccentric nucleus. On February 9, Barnard found 

 the comet to be double, the two components being 

 10" apart ; the northern component was at first 

 fainter, but afterwards became the brighter, and 

 remained visible for two months after the southern 

 one had disappeared ; the following are the definitive 

 elements found for the two components ; perturba- 

 tions by Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn have 

 been applied. They are for the equinox of 1916-0. 



Epoch and Osc. 

 M 



Northern Component. Southern Component. 



1916, Jan. 21, o G.M.T. 1916, Jan. 21, o G.M.T. 



-1° 32' 6''-4 -1° 32' 4'-9 



w 354 47 57-7 354 47 2i-8 



ft 113 54 10-2 113 54 25-1 



i 15 31 40-6 15- 31 27-8 



</) 33 7 29-6 33 6 36-6 



M 557'-274 557''-695 



log a 0-535959 0-535740 



The linear distance between the components was 

 least at perihelion, when it was 0-000047 astr. unit. 

 Four months later it was o-oooi68. It is noted 

 that in the case of Biela's comet the distance was 

 a maximum at perihelion. The elements show some 

 resemblance to those of Daniel's comet of 1909, but 

 identity is not possible. Taylor's comet is due at 

 perihelion about June 13, 1922, but the conditions are 

 unfavourable for observation ; it may, however, be 

 detected in the autumn. 



The splitting of Taylor's comet does not appear 

 to have been caused by Jupiter ; the nearest 

 approach in the revolution preceding 1916 was i-i 

 unit, which is scarcely close enough to explain 

 disruption. 



