NOTES. 



ASTRONOMY. 



By F. A. Bellamy. M.A.. F.K.A.S. 



THE ASTRONOMICAL SOCIETY OF BAKCl^LONA. 

 — The first annual meeting of this Society was held on the 

 8th December last, when, in accordance with the rules, the 

 new president and executive council were elected. Interesting 

 addresses were delivered by the retiring President on the 

 progress of astronomical science during the year 1910, and by 

 the Secretary on the development of the Society since its 

 foundation. The inaugural meeting of the Society was held 

 on the 30th January, 1910, at the University of Barcelona, as 

 a result of the laboin's of Don Salvador Kaurich, who had been 

 carrying out valuable educational work in the city by means of 

 popular articles on astronomical and allied subjects, contributed 

 to the columns of Las Noticias. a well-Unown Barcelona 

 journal. There were present at the inaugural meeting ninety 

 persons from all branches of Society, including several 

 professors of science from neighbouring colleges. Dr. Esteban 

 Terradas, Professor of Science in the University of Barcelona, 

 was elected first President, and a strong executive council was 

 formed. In April, King Alphonso became a life member, and 

 was elected Honorary President. In July, the first number of 

 the monthly Bulletin was published, and this is nowe.xchanged 

 with all the leading societies and observatories. In the 

 following month a prize medal was coined from the designs of 

 Don Dionysius Kenart. At the present time the membership 

 numbers two hnndred-and-thirty, and as a result of the first 

 year's work the Society finds itself with a bank balance of ;^80, 

 after paying all expenses. In the future it is intended to 

 devote the accumulated funds of the Society to the erection 

 and ecjuipment of an observatory, where members may meet 

 regularly, in a social way. for practical observation and the 

 informal discussion of questions of astronomical interest. In 

 the meantime, arrangements have been made with those 

 members possessing private observatories to allow other 

 members access thereto on specified occasions. 



During the year eight lectures on astronomical subjects 

 have been delivered in the Grand Saloon of the University of 

 Barcelona, and numerous addresses on a smaller scale were 

 given on practical spectroscopy and general astronomy in the 

 private observatories of certain members. 



The following is a list of the officers of the Society for the 

 year 1911 : — 



President: Professor Eduardo Fontsere, D.Sc, Chief of 



the Time Service of Barcelona. 

 Vice-Presidents: Professor Luis Canalda :ind Don 



Ferdinand Tallada. 

 Secretary : Don Salvador Kaurich. 

 Vice-Secretary : Don A. Pulve. 

 Treasurer: Professor M. Font y Torne, M.D. 

 Other Members of the Council : Professor Ignacio 

 Tarazona, Professor of Astronomy in the Univer- 

 sity of Valencia; Dr. Enrique Calvet ; Don Jose 

 Subiranas, and Don Juan Mercadal. 



The address of the Secretary is Diagonal, 462, Barcelona, 

 where all communications should be addressed. The Society 

 is entering upon its second year of acti\ity with bright 

 prospects, and is very successfully cultivating a taste for 

 astronomical study among all classes in Spain. 



WlLLL\M PORTHOUSE. 



PRELIMINARY GENERAL CATALOGUE ()F 61,SS 

 STARS. — The publication of this catalogue is the most 

 important piece of computational work of its kind since the 

 British Association Catalogue of 8377 Stars was compiled and 

 published under the direction of F. Baily, about sixty years 

 ago. Both these works differ from most other star catalogues in 

 that they are not composed of observations made with one 

 instrument or at one observatory, but the observations are 



collected from the best star-catalogues and records mostl\- 

 already published at various institutions. 



The main principle pervading this work of Professor Boss 

 is to determine accurate positions for a definite epoch, 1900'0, 

 — we heartily welcome the adoption in meridian catalogues of 

 such very convenient epochs as 1900, 1925, 1950, and so on, 

 rather than the usual plan of taking the mean epoch of the 

 observations, so any odd year may result, — of all stars observed 

 that indicate a proper motion of 10" a century, together 

 with a number of other stars of less motion included for 

 various reasons: the computation of the motions of all these 

 stars became the primary aim. Compiling these results in 

 catalogue form was considered the best way of exhibiting 

 them. 



The stars included in these 6188 are chiefly stars visible 

 without a telescope, therefore of the sixth magnitude and 

 brighter; there are 4030 of these, 1919 north stars, and 2111 

 south stars; of the 2158 remaining, all fainter than the sixth 

 magnitude, most of them are stars observed by James Bradley 

 about one hundred and fifty years ago. 



A preliminary' piece of work of fundament^d importance 

 was the preparation and publication of a Catalogue of 627 

 Principal Standard Stars. In that were described the methods 

 employed, and upon those star places the present catalogue of 

 61SS stars was based. During the progress of the work it 

 became manifest that a great extension of the scope of the 

 work upon a '"general catalogue" was desirable. Certain 

 materials for a catalogue of 25000 stars, to about the seventh 

 magnitude, were available ; but to include all these additional 

 stars would require re-observation of a great number ; besides, 

 the increased time and expense required would be very great. 

 The Carnegie Institution of Washington having agreed to 

 provide the money for this greater proposal. Professor Boss 

 decided to complete and publish the smaller work to the sixth 

 magnitude, much on the lines as planned, depending upon 

 other observatories' work, and to treat the greater catalogue 

 as an independent piece of research work, which it certainly 

 will be, as all the 25000 stars will be specially re-observed 

 at two places in order to produce more homogeneous results. 



A list of catalogues from 1755-1900, which have been used 

 in the compilation, is given in the Introduction. It should be 

 noticed that, differing from the usual practice, the correction 

 for eliminating the effects of the magnitude-equation has been 

 included in the right ascensions at the rate of '"OOS per 

 magnitude (on Pogson's scale of log. ratio, '4). 



The magnitudes have been taken from Chandler's Normal 

 Uranometry (in MS. only), wherein the light ratio '36 is used 

 instead of Pogson's '4, hitherto almost universally used by 

 astronomers ; it is to be presumed that there is sufficient 

 reason in that unpublished work for this change, otherwise the 

 change is to be regretted. The result is that a magnitude- 

 equation determined in conformity with the Pogson scale 

 (log. '4) should be multiplied by 0'9 in order to reduce it to 

 the scale of this catalogue, or I'icc versa. 



A large amount of valuable information is given concisely 

 in the Introduction, and there are three appendices. Appendix I 

 contains ephemerides of Polar stars between 1900 and 1925. 

 Appendix II contains important notes upon certain special 

 stars, mostly binaries. Appendix III, pages 279-345, has 

 involved almost as much work as the actual catalogue, and is 

 of little less importance. It gives concisely the systematic 

 corrections to each catalogue used, the corrections used for 

 magnitude-equation, and the value or weights given to each 

 catalogue. Altogether, it is a most valuable contribution to 

 accurate astronomy, as distinct from the speculative side ; it 

 is beautifully printed, and forms Publication No. 115 of the 

 Carnegie Institution of Washington. Professor Boss acknow- 

 ledges his indebtedness to that Institution, to Dr. S. C. 

 Chandler, to Mr. .A. J. Roy, Mr. W. B. \'arnum. Miss B. 

 Benway, and Mr. B. Boss, for their zeal and help in the work. 



F. A. B. 



67 



