242 



KNOWLEDGE & SCIENTIFIC NEWS. 



[Oct., 1904. 



method aa u.-ud by Schuiparelli, rather than the direct method 

 used by Struve, of the calculation from the nodal or absidal 

 precession of its satellites' planes. Incidentally Mr. Lowell 

 points out that there is a strong discordance between the 

 results of Schiaparelli and Struve. Mr. Lowell's own results 

 are as follows : — 



Position upon the Earth's 



Equator 315" 32'. R.A., 54' 51' Dec. 



Intersection of Martian 

 Equator and Martian 



EcHptic 85' 56'. 24'' 32'. 



Inclination of Martian 



Equator to Ecliptic . . 22 55'. 



In No. II Mr. V. M. Slipher gives a list of five stars which 

 he suspects to be spectroscopic binaries. These are .Alpha 

 Androniedie, .Alpha Librs, Sigma Scorpii, X Sagittarii, and 

 Epsilon Capricorni. 



In No. 12. on " The Cartouches of the Canals of Mars," Mr. 

 Lowell restates his conclusions : (i) The canals develop down 

 the latitudes after the melting of the polar cap, the develop- 

 ment proceeding across the equator into the planet's other 

 hemisphere ; and they do this alternately from either pole. 



(2) The canals are from their behaviour inferably vegetal. 



(3) They are of artificial construction. 



In No. 13 Mr. Slipher gives plates and details of the spectra 

 of Neptune and Uranus. He notes that he finds indications 

 that free hydrogen is very plentiful in the atmosphere of 

 Neptune, and is abundant on Uranus, but not so much so as 

 on Neptune. He also considers that some unknown light 

 gases related to hydrogen and helium might also be present and 

 account for certain unknown bands. Helium he could not 

 observe with certainty owing to the insensitiveness of his 

 isochromatic plates in the D region of the spectrum. 



In one matter astronomers certainly owe a debt to Mr. 

 Lowell — namely, for his introduction of new words — words 

 that are at least new to the very limited astronomical vocabu- 

 lary. The expression " cartouches " is a case in point ; and 

 another is oft'ered by bulletin No. 9, where he says that "for 

 direct handling of the subject the planet's polar caps offer the 

 most trustworthy ' helves.'" We scarcely think the use of the 

 terms "expurgated" and "unexpurgated" in the same bulletin 

 so happy. They suggest Mr. Bowdler, and that Mr. Lowell's 

 bulletins are unsuitable reading for the young person. 



* * * 



The Royal Astronomical Society of 

 Canada. 



The Astronomical and I'liysical Society of Toronto has 

 been accorded the above new title, and has just issued its 

 selected papers and proceedings for 1902 and 1903, which 

 prove very interesting reading. The President's address for 

 1903 reviewed the recent researches in cosmical physics. Mr. 

 \V. H. S. Monck gives a valuable catalogue of aerolites, and 

 Mr. .Arthur Harvey follow's it by a paper on " Shooting Stars 

 and UranoUths,"with special reference to the Mazapil (Mexico) 

 meteorite. He supplements Mr. Monck's catalogue, and con- 

 cludes that "aerolites are evenly distributed throughout space 

 and move at various angles with the plane of the ecliptic," so 

 that there is no evidence to show that there are drifting clouds 

 of matter in space which might be the exciting cause of solar 

 and our own magnetic disturbances. A second paper by Mr. 

 Harvey is practically a continuation of the same subjects, and 

 is called the " Vagaries of the Mariner's Compass." In this is 

 passed in review the researches which have been variously 

 carried on both in terrestrial magnetism, on auroral displays, 

 and on the solar work at the Greenwich and Yerkes observa- 

 tories. The final paper is on " Women's Work in Astronomy," 

 by Miss ICIsie Dent. This is a most disappointing one ; it is 

 undiscriminating and full of errors. What is most striking is 

 the number of omissions of the names of American women 

 astronomers. The writer places both Mademoiselle Klumpke 

 and Madame Flammarion at the Paris Observatory, and she 

 places Lady Huggins in the same rank as the last named, both 

 as deriving their astronomical rank solely from their husbands' 

 position — a gross injustice to Lady Huggins. Miss Dent is 

 unaware that Miss Klumpke left the Paris Observatory some 

 three years ago to marry Dr. Isaac Roberts. She describes 

 Miss Elizabeth Brown as having been sent to Russia in 18S7 

 to observe the Total Solar ICclipse of that year by the British 

 Astronomical Association, which was not in existence until 

 three years later. 



Meteoric Observation. 



Mr. W. F. Denning writes from Bristol : — 



" Perhaps more mistakes have been made in this department 

 than in any other field of astronomy. Certainly some of the 

 observations have been very wild, and more obviously calcu- 

 lated to excite ridicule than to win confidence. In this, as in 

 other branches of observation, it would have been better had 

 certain observers never essayed to do anything, since their 

 results are affected by personal equation or individual idiosyn- 

 crasies of such marked character that their work rather 

 damages than benefits the cause. There is no doubt that the 

 majority of the radiants hitherto determined are useless, being 

 either pseudo positions or so inaccurate that their elimination 

 is desiralile. Their retention and combination with correct 

 radiants have the effect of detracting from the value of the latter. 



" To attempt to detail the errors made in this branch would 

 serve no useful purpose, and it would occupy a large amount 

 of space. One observer, a few years ago, watched the Per- 

 seids, and saw the meteors shooting not from the radiant, but 

 towards it. Numbers of meteors were recorded in Camelo- 

 pardus and surrounding constellations, but all of them were 

 dashing towards the radiant ! 



" Another observer noted that many Perseids, after traver- 

 sing their paths, made return journeys along the same paths. 

 He also saw many large cloud-like meteors, and the sky 

 produced flashings, coruscations, &C., which he attributed to 

 meteoric action. 



" Other observers frequently record meteors whose paths 

 are suddenly bent or crooked. Others, again, frequently note 

 curved paths, and some observers see meteors which sud- 

 denly stop and shoot back nearly in an opposite direction. 



■• Practice, experience, and care will not always form a good 

 observer. The most essential quality is self-aptitude or natural 

 capacity which varies greatly in different individuals. Meteoric 

 observers, like poets, are born, not made. Education can never 

 ensure very high proficiency unless the learner possesses 

 inherent qualities which materially help him to acquire it. 



" .As far as m\" experience goes, there have been observers 

 whose radiants cannot be relied on to within lO' ; there have 

 been others whose positions can be depended upon to within 

 2° or 3°. Unfortunately it is often impossible to certainly 

 single out the good from the indifferent positions, and so our 

 accumulated results form a curious medley of precise and 

 pseudo results. Though this is undoubtedly the case, however, 

 we know the correct radiants of a considerable number of 

 showers. 



" F"ortunately we have many reliable observers working 

 to-day at this department, and I need only mention the names 

 of Astbury, Backhouse, Besley, Bridger, Brook, Alex. Herschel, 

 and King. 



" Other good men, such as Blakeley, Booth, Clark, Corder, 

 R. P. Greg, Wood, and a few more, have relinquished labours 

 in this field. 



" Prof. Alexander S. Herschel has accomplished a vast 

 amount of valuable meteoric work during the last 45 years, 

 and this department of astronomy will ever stand indebted to 

 him as one of its most able and tireless pioneers." 



A NeNv Chart of Mars. 



Herr Leo Brenner has recently issued a new chart of .Mars 

 from observations made in Lussinpiccolo from 1894-1903. 

 The chief feature of the chart is the indication of the minor 

 markings, "canals" and "lakes," in different colours accord- 

 ing as they have been discovered by Schiaparelli, Lowell, or 

 by Brenner himself. The result is a network of lines so close 

 and intricate as to prove to demonstration that it cannot 

 possibly represent any real and permanent features of the 

 surface of the planet. The majority of these markings, 

 exceeding three hundred in number, if actually observed must 

 belong to one of two classes ; they must either be pure illu- 

 sions on the part of the observer or must be perfectly 

 ephemeral markings on the planet, possibly of the nature of 

 meteorological change. The leading markings, the great 

 "lands" and "seas," are shown under forms so stift' and 

 rectangular, and with so little of detail, as to indicate that 

 Herr Brenner enjoyed very few advantages as to atmosphere 

 or telescopic definition, or else that he was singularly unfor- 

 tunate in profiting by them. 



