DISCOVERY 



245 



tion. First of all is the nature of the corona. Alone 

 of all the solar appendages, the corona has defied the 

 advance of spectroscopy and can only be observed on 

 the rare occasion of a total eclipse. As Mr. Fath, 

 of Goodsell Observatory, Minnesota, remarks ; " We 

 know that a portion of its light is polarised, that its 

 spectrum consists in part of reflected photospheric 

 light and in part of bright lines, that it rotates in the 

 same direction as the Sun, and that its general outline 

 changes with the sun-spot curve. We know practically 

 nothing of the forces which determine the direction of 

 its streamers ; nothing of the real nature of the sub- 

 stances composing it, their source, or their motion 

 in the streamers ; nothing about its rotation except 

 direction." Another problem is that of the existence 

 of intra- Mercurial bodies. While it is certain that 

 there are no objects of planetary dimensions beween 

 Mercury and the Sun, it is not improbable that a number 

 of asteroidal bodies may exist. Accordingly, it will 

 be desirable to explore the solar vicinity with powerful 

 instrumental aid. An interesting feature of the coming 

 eclipse will be the presence of Venus in the near vicinit\' 

 of the sun. Indeed, it will be possible to photograph 

 the planet on the eclipse plates. Mr. J. H. Worthington 

 remarks, in Monthly Notices, vol. Ixxxiii, p. 424, that 

 " it seems that Venus shining through the outer corona 

 and an immense section of the zodiacal light on this 

 occasion should offer an opportunity to study the 

 absorption spectra of these solar appendages." 



Another New Star 



Mr. Lampland, of the Lowell Observatory, Flagstaff. 

 Arizona, discovered a new star on May 5 last. The 

 nova is situated in the spiral nebula Messier 83 (N.G.C. 

 5236) and is of the fourteenth magnitude. The nebula 

 is described by Dr. Curtis, of the Lick Observatory, as 

 a large and beautiful spiral with a very bright nucleus. 

 This nova is evidently another of these remarkable 

 outbursts in spiral nebulae, of which many have been 

 catalogued in recent years. 



Dr. Anderson's " Nova Cygni " 



Dr. T. D. Anderson informs me that he feels " pretty 

 certain " that the nova whose discovery he announced 

 three months ago is to be identified with the star B.D. 

 35° 4505, a star of the ninth magnitude, which is an 

 easy object in a 2 J or 3 in. refractor. Dr. Anderson has 

 been informed by Professor Shapley that this star is 

 of spectral class Ao — " that is to say, it comes spectro- 

 scopically under the same category as Sirius and Vega." 

 Professor Shapley " is engaged along with his staff 

 in examining the photographs on which B.D. 35° 4505 

 appears in order to ascertain if there was anv earlier 



outburst. I rather think the result of the search is 

 proving to be negative." Dr. Anderson remarks that 

 since its outburst, the nova has remained in a state of 

 quiescence, and he maintains that the outburst has 

 been a comparatively slight one. Can we, with the 

 facts before us, he asks, " make bold to conclude that 

 if novffi brighten up to the extent of only a few magni- 

 tudes, their subsidence will take only a short time and 

 that that time will be very short indeed if the star's 

 increase in brightness has been very small ? " Dr. 

 Anderson is so skilled an observer that his suggestion 

 is worthy of serious consideration. Professor Turner 

 probably voices the opinion of the astronomical world 

 when he says that we may accept Dr. Anderson's 

 statement as to his disco verv " without hesitation," 



TOTAL ECUP.SE OK 1914, SHOWING CORON.\. 



Reproduced, by permission, from the ■' Monthly Notices " of the Royal Astrommica 



Society . 



and that " we can scarcely doubt that he has indicated 

 the right sort of expLination." 



The Densest Known Star 



The American astronomer, Mr. F. C. Jordan, an- 

 nounces the discovery of a remarkable eclipsing variable 

 star. The period of variation from maximum to 

 maximum or minimum to minimum is a little less 

 than six hours. Like other eclipsing variables, the 

 star is a binary or double ; and a study of the light 

 curve indicates that the components of this binary 

 are dwarf stars of high density and elliptical in 

 shape. The two stars being approximately equal 

 in size, it is possible to compute the upper and 

 lower limit values for the mean density, which Mr. 

 Jordan finds to lie between 3-4 and 2-2 times the density 

 of the sun. This star is, therefore, the densest star 



