190 HISTOKY OF ASTRONOMY. 



proper motions of such stars as were then best ascertain- 

 ed, arrived at the conclusion that the sun had a relative 

 motion among the fixed stars, in the direction of a point 

 in the constellation Hercules, whose right ascension is 

 260 34', and declination 26 17' north. 



More recently, M. Argelander, by comparing the proper 

 motions of 390 stars, has located this point in right as- 

 cension 257 35', and declination 36 3' north. M. Luhn- 

 dahl, by a comparison of the proper motions of 147 

 stars, has obtained for this point, right ascension, 252 

 53', declination 14 26' north ; and M. Struve, by com- 

 paring the proper motions of 392 stars, has located this 

 point in right ascension 261 22', declination 27 36' 

 north. The most probable mean of the results of these 

 three astronomers is right ascension 259 9', declination 

 34 37' north, which it will be seen does not differ greatly 

 from the point originally assigned by Sir ~W. Herschel. 



Quite recently Mr. Galloway has made a similar com- 

 parison of stars visible in the southern hemisphere ; and 

 from the proper motion of 81 southern stars not em- 

 ployed in the preceding investigations, he has located 

 the point toward which the sun is moving, in right as- 

 cension 260 1', declination 34 23' north, a result almost 

 identical with that obtained in the northern hemisphere. 



It seems then nearly certain that the apparent motion 

 of these stars is due, at least in part, to a relative motion 

 of our sun, and the same observations afford us the means 

 of estimating its velocity. According to Struve's calcu- 

 lations, this velocity is such as would carry it annually 



