256 



NA TURE 



[January 16, 1896 



slit being exposed to the spark. This comparison of terrestrial 

 spectra enables the errors due to temperature and flexure to be 

 determined, and the difference of velocity of the two stars is 

 given by the displacement of the two stellar spectra minus that 

 of the two terrestrial. Evidently the accuracy will depend very 

 largely upon the precision in setting the two stars in the visual 

 telescope ; to secure this it is proposed to attach a small photo- 

 graphic telescope to the guiding telescope, and to photograph the 

 two stars, together with a reticule, which will enable the devia- 

 tion, if any, to be measured and allowed for. To get the 

 absolute velocity of a star, it must be compared with a star of 

 known velocity, or Orbinsky's method (Nature, vol. lii. p. 155) 

 of measuring the contraction or dilatation of the whole spectrum 

 may be applied. In the latter case, the absolute velocity could 

 be determined directly, since effects of temperature, &c., would 

 be eliminated. 



A NEW STAR IN CENTAURUS} 



A NEW star in the constellation Centaurus was found by Mrs. 

 -^*- Fleming on December 12, 1895, from an examination of the 

 Draper Memorial photographs. Its approximate position for 



1900 is in R.A. I3h. 34'3m., Dec. -31° 8'. Attention was 

 called to it from the peculiarity of the spectrum on a plate 

 taken at Arequipa on July 18, 1895, with the Bache Tele- 

 scope, exposure 52 mins. The spectrum resembles that of the 

 nebula surrounding 30 Doradus, and also that of the star A.G.C. 

 20937, and is unlike that of an ordinary nebula or of the new 

 stars in Auriga, Norma, and Carina. This object is very near 

 the nebula N.G.C. 5253, which follows i •28s., and is north 23". 

 No trace of it can be found on 55 plates taken from May 21, 

 1889, to June 14, 1895, inclusive. On July 8, 1895, it appeared 

 on a chart plate, and its magnitude was 7*2. On a plate 

 taken July 10, 1895, its magnitude was also 7 '2. On Decem- 

 ber 16, 1895, 3. faint photographic image of it, magnitude 

 iO"9, was obtained with the ii-inch Draper Telescope, although 

 it was very low, faint, and near the sun. On this date, and on 

 December 19, it was also seen by Mr. O. C. Wendell with the 

 15-inch Equatorial as a star of about the eleventh magnitude. 

 An examination with a prism showed that the spectrum was 

 monochromatic, and closely resembled that of the adjacent 

 nebula. Although the spectrum is unlike those of the new stars 

 in Auriga, Norma, and Carina, yet this object is like them in 

 other respects. All were very faint or invisible for several years 

 preceding their first known appearance. They suddenly- 

 attained their full brightness and soon began to fade. Like the 

 new stars in Cygnus, Auriga, and Norma, this star appears to 

 have changed into a gaseous nebula. 



The star which was photographed in 1887 in the constellation 

 Perseus apparently belongs to the same class. Its approximate 

 position for 1900 was in R.A. ih. 55-im. , Dec. + 56° 15'. 

 Eight images of it were obtained on the Draper Memorial 

 photographs in 1887, all in exactly the same place. Its photo- 

 graphic spectrum showed the hydrogen lines H;3, H7, Tie, and 

 a line near 4060, bright, and from this property it was dis- 

 covered by Mrs. Fleming and assumed to be an ordinary variable 

 star of long period. The spectrum is so faint that it is impossible 

 to decide from it whether it should Ije regarded as a new star of 

 the class of Nova Aurigie, or as a variable star of long period 

 like o Ceti, as the hydrogen lines are bright in both these classes 

 of objects. This star soon faded away and does not appear on 

 81 photographs taken during the last eight years. It has also 

 been repeatedly looked for in the sky without success. No trace 

 of this star appears on two photographs taken November 3, 

 1885, and December 21, 1886. 



A list of the new stars hitherto discovered is given in the 

 annexed table. Some changes would occur in it, if changes 

 were made in the definition assumed for this class of objects. 

 Early observations of several objects frequently called new stars, 

 but \yhich may have been comets, and whose positions are un- 

 certain, have not been included. The stars T Bootis and 

 U Scorpii have not been included, although they also may be new 

 stars, as only one appearance of each has been noted. The 

 name of the constellation is followed by the right ascension and 

 declination for 1900, and the greatest brightness. The year 

 of appearance is followed by the name of the discoverer ; or, in 

 the case of the earlier stars, of the principal observer. 



1 Ha7vard College Obse>vatory Circular, No. 4. 



NO. 1368, VOL. 53] 



New Stars. 



THE ETHNOLOGY OF THE BRITISH UPPER 

 CLASSES. 



TN " L' Anthropologic," tome v. (1894) Dr. Beddoe has pub- 

 -*- lished the results of his work on the cephalic index of the 

 inhabitants of Great Britain and Ireland. Part of his work 

 deals with the cephalic indices of the Cambridge under- 

 graduates, which were placed at his disposal by J. Venn, 

 F.R.S. He has also inquired into their height and weight, 

 classing them in accordance with their place of origin ; but he 

 has taken no account of the colour of the eyes of these under- 

 graduates, and so I thought it would be as well to continue his 

 researches, now that there is more material to hand, paying 

 especial regard to the colour of the eyes. It will be seen by a 

 glance at the table appended that it is in a mere fraction of the 

 total number that the eyes are described as "light." This is 

 due to the standard of comparison afforded by the Anthropo- 

 metrical Committee of the Cambridge Philosophical Society, and 

 is a disadvantage which does not apply to the dark eyes, and it 

 is therefore by confining our attention to the percentages of 

 the dark eyes in the various groups that we get our best results. 



I have examined, through the kindness of Dr. Venn, some 

 1400 more instances since Dr. Beddoe published his results in 

 " L'Anthropologie." In the three special cases of cephalic 

 index, height and weight, where my results are only a continua- 

 tion of Dr. Beddoe's, I have, in the following table, incorporated 

 his results in mine, so as to gain the advantage of having a larger 

 number of instances to deal with. On glancing at the figures 

 below, one is at first inclined to think that the upper classes of 

 the various races, which have given rise to the present population 

 of Great Britain and Ireland, have entirely fused with one 

 another, as the differences between their respective indices are 

 but small ; but the following two points indicate, I think, that 

 the fusion is still incomplete : — 



(i) Stahire. — The Welsh are about '8 inch shorter than the 

 English, and as much as i "5 inches shorter than the Scotch. 

 They are also a slighter race, they weigh less, are less strong 

 muscularly, and have a smaller breathing capacity. 



The English, again, are about 7 inch, shorter than the Scotch, 

 weigh about 4 lb. less, and are less strong. 



(2) Colour of Eyes. — The greatest percentage of dark eyes is 

 to be found in those undergraduates who-.e origin is in the west 

 and south-west (3476 per cent. ). The smallest among those who 

 come from the east and south-east (i875and I5'38 respectivfely). 



The cephalic indices of the various groups do not show much 

 difference. The chief point of interest is the fact that the dark- 

 eyed English have broader and loftier heads than is the case 

 elsewhere in England. This is just the reverse of what Dr. 

 Beddoe found: " L'association," he says (p. 662), "de la 

 couleur brune ou foncee des cheveux avec la dolichocephalic 

 parait etre apeu pres generale." 



I may perhaps incidentally touch on a curious point, which is 

 possibly due to nothing more than the instrument used, and that 

 is, that one can, on the average, see further with the right eye 

 than with the left. The average difference is fairly constant, 

 and amounts to about two centimetres. Whether it is due to 

 anything beyond external causes, I hardly like to say. 



