;5o 



NATURE 



[August 12, 1897 



of papers appertded to the report are:— "The Centres of 

 Action of the Atmosphere," by Prof. H. H. Hildebrandsson ; 

 *^ Simultaneous Magnetic Observations," by Dr. Eschenhagen ; 

 "The Registration of Atmospheric Electricity," by M. A. 

 Chauveau ; " The Reduction of Anemometrical Data," by Dr. 

 Sprung; " The Employment of the Hypsometer to determine 

 the Pressure of the Air and the Gravity Correction for Mercurial 

 Barometers," by Prof. Mohn ; " International Cooperation in 

 prosecuting work and publishing results in Ocean Meteor- 

 ology," by Dr. Neumayer. 

 The additions to the Zoological Society's Gardens during the 



past week include a Genet (Genetta ) from South-east 



Brazil, presented by Mr. J. E. Matcham ; a Guinea Baboon 

 (Cynocephaltis sphinx, i ), two White-collared Mangabeys 

 {Cercocebus collaris, j 9 ), a Moustache Monkey {Cercopithecus 

 cephus, <J ), from West Africa, presented by Dr. H. O. Forbes ; 

 two Tawny Owls [Syrniiim aliico), European, presented by Mr. 

 T. Guittonnean ; a Natal Python {Python natalensis) from 

 Natal ; a Green-necked Touracou (Gallirex chlorochlamys) from 

 East Africa, presented by Mr. W. Champion ; a Horned Lizard 

 {Phrynosonia corntituvi) from Texas, presented by Mr. G. J. W. 

 Vickers ; two Common Chameleons ( Chatii<e/eon vulgaris) from. 

 North Africa, presented by Major Spilsbury ; four Black- eared 

 Marmosets {Hapale penicillata) from South-east Brazil, a 

 Green-cheeked Amazon [Chrysotis viridigena) from Columbia, 



two Terrapins (Cleminys — — ), deposited ; three Bennett's 



Wallabies (Macropus bennetti, (J cJ 9 ), born in the Gardens. 



OUR ASTRONOMICAL COLUMN. 



SUNSPOTS AND THE MEAN YEARLY TEMPERATURE AT 



Turin. — In a small memoir entitled "Sulla relazione fra le 

 Macchie Solari e la Temperatura dell' aria a Torino," Dr. G. 

 B. Rizzo shows in a striking way the effect of the relative 

 frequency of solar spotted area on the Turin temperature. For 

 this investigation he has been able to employ a continuous series 

 of observations, commencing from the year 1752 to the present 

 tirne, made by Prof. Ignazio Somis, the R. Accademia delle 

 Scienze, and the Astronomical Observatory of Palazzo Madama. 

 The resulting numbers show that not only is the eleven-yearly 

 period plainly marked, but that a well observed "lag" of the 

 temperature is displayed by the observations 



Forming the two equations, the first giving the relative 

 frequency of solar spots, namely, 



r = 46-31 -f 2070 sin (184° 24' -f s), 

 and the second the relative change of temperature, namely, 



t — 1\ -85 -}- 0-22 sin (94° 53' -f- 5), 

 where z represents the distance in arc from the beginning of an 

 eleven-year period, and forming the differences from the mean 

 value of the whole period, the following table shows the variation 

 recorded. 



Year of Deviations from the mean 



period. 



1 



2 



3 



Temperature 

 + O 21 

 + 0-I3 

 -f O'OI 



Spots. 

 r 7-34 



- 1654 



- 20-65 



- iS-i I ... ... - on 



- 9 S2 - 019 



4-1-59 - 0-22 



-f 12-50 - 017 



-*- 19-42 - 0-07 



-f 2020 + o 05 



-t- 14-56 ... ... -+- O 10 



... + 4-29 -i- 022 



The author's summary of the investigation leads him to the 

 following conclusion : — 



The eleven yearly variations of the sunspots and the mean 

 temperature at the earth's surface are due to some periodic 

 cause, which acting at the sun increases the spots, and on our 

 planet increases the temperature, with a retardation in time of a 

 quarter of this period ; on the other hand, a similar cause acts on 

 the earth diminishing the temperature, and on the sun 

 increasing the spots with a like retardation. 



II 



NO. 1450, VOL. 56] 



Recent •GoNTRiliiJTiONS to Astronomy. — Among some 

 ,of the astronomical pamphlets we have received recently, may 

 be mentioned the following :— " Connaissance des Temps " for 

 the year 1899. Among the additions to this volume one may 

 refer to the epochs for the elongations of the fifth satellite of 

 Jupiter; a series of elements from which can be calculated the 

 exact positions of the satellites of Mars, Saturn, Uranus and 

 Neptune, in which the unpublished results of the researches of 

 M. H. Struve are employed. There is also a table giving the 

 ecliptic elements of the major planets, their .satellites, and of 

 Saturn's ring. Of the eclipses mentioned two partial ones occur, 

 the first on January 1 1 and the second on June 9 ; the latter is- 

 of interest, as it will be visible from Paris. — A pamphlet entitled 

 " Enquetes et Documents relatifs a I'en.seignement superieur " 

 (vol. Ixii.) contains the reports of the different directors on the- 

 provincial French observatories for the year 1898. Among 

 those to which reference is made are : Algiers by M. Ch. Trepied, 

 Besan9on by M. L. J. Gruey, Bordeaux by M. G. Rayet, 

 Lyons by M. Ch. .A.ndre, Marseilles by M. Stephan, Toulouse 

 i by M. B. Baillaud, and the observatory of Pic du Midi de 

 ' Bigorre by M. Marchand.^ — Another publication of interest and 

 i utility is that due to the late Dr. E. J. Stone, consisting of tables 

 j for facilitating the computation of star-constants. These have 

 i been modified and revised by Prof. H. H. Turner, the Savilian> 

 Professor of Astronomy at Oxford. Prof. Turner, with the aid 

 of a grant from Miss Bruce, to whom astronomy is very much 

 indebted, has certainly simplified the use of the tables, and 

 they have no-.v been printed in three-figure form which, after 

 considerable ilse at Greenwich, give .satisfactory results " both 

 as regards saving of time and retention of all needful accuracy."' 

 We may mention that Prof Turner has done away with the use 

 of the constants w, n and tan », so that the tables will by this 

 alteration be suitable for any epoch. 



The August Meteors. — As we go to press the swift 

 moving August meteors will be speeding through our atmosphere, 

 rendering themselves luminous to us according as they pass, 

 within or without this envelope. As they originate from a point 

 situated near tj Persei, lying in the north-eastern part of the 

 heavens, and rather low down in the sky in the earlier part of 

 the evening, the longest trails should be looked for down in the 

 south-western quadrant of the heavens. A long watch on 

 Monday evening from 9 p.m. to 2 a.m. resulted in the observa- 

 tion of only a few real Perseids, though there were several of those 

 which ordinarily would be termed " sporadic," but which, 

 according to that energetic observer Mr. W. F. Denning, 

 would be attributed to' fixed radiant points of minor im- 

 portance. Two cameras pointed to the Cassiopeise and 

 Perseus regions of the heavens, and exposed for considerable 

 lengths of time, were not fortunate enough to catch any of the 

 trails. Perhaps other observers elsewhere have been more 

 fortunate. The night, however, was at times very fine, especially 

 after midnight. The moon, being low down in the southward, 

 did not interfere to any extent with the photographic effects. 

 Clouds prevented work at several stations on Tuesday night. 



The Algol Variable Z Herculis.— Dr. Ernst Hartwig, 

 writing to the Astrono7nischen Nachrichleti (No. 3437) about the 

 Algol Variable Z Herculis, draws attention to the fact that thi.s- 

 interesting variable is now conveniently situated for good 

 comparisons. From observations of the diminution of the light 

 alone in the first half of the month of June, using the 1894 light 

 curve, it was found that the times for the principal minima 

 differed only a few minutes from the ephemeris given in the 

 Viertel Jahrschrift, while the times of the occurrence of the 

 secondary minima, in which the star is only a third of a magnitude 

 below its general brightness, occurred twenty minutes later than 

 the computed times. The length of period, which was published 

 in a previous number of the Astronomischen Nachrichten (No. 

 3260), and the ephemeris based on this, is thus found to be 

 correct to a few seconds. 



Reproduction of Cometary Phenomena.— The follow- 

 ing brief notice appeared in the Tivies of August 5 : — " A Renter 

 telegram from Berlin of yesit rday's date says : ' According to 

 a communication made by the Royal Observatory, Prof Gold- 

 stein, of this city, has succeeded in experimentally reproducing 

 by means of kathode rays certain very distinct and characteristic 

 cometic phenomena, such as the radiation of light from the head 

 of a comet and the resultant development of a tail. He has also 

 been able by these means to account for certain peculiarities of this 

 class of phenomena which have been observed in recent years.' " 



