276 



KNOWLEDGE. 



[Decembeb, 1901. 



November and eaa-ly in December ; whilst Epsilou Taui'i 

 is not far from the radiant point of the other great 

 Taui-id stream, active from October 20 to the end of 

 November. 



Lambda Tauri is a vai'iable stai* of the same class as 

 Algol, Beta, Persei ; that is to say, its variation is due 

 to the ti^ansit across it of a dark companion. Its period 

 is Ih. 12m. short, of four days; its maximum, or rather 

 ordinary light, ranks it of magnitude 3.4, at minimum 

 it sinks down to 4.2. 



"Next the broad back and siuewy limbs apj)e;ir 

 Of famed Auriga, dauntless charioteer, 

 Far in the north his giant fonn begins 

 Keaching athwart the sky tlie distant Twin;*, 

 The sacred goat upon his shoulder rests, 

 To infant Jove she gave a mother's breasts. 

 Kind foster nurse! Grateful he placed her here, 

 And bade her kids their mother's honour share. 

 ******* 



Auriga and the Bull together meet. 

 Touches his star-tipped horn the hero's feet. 

 The Bull before him to the west descends 

 Together with him from the east ascends." 



Beta Taiu-i, the northern horn, belongs also 

 traditionally to the constellation of Auriga; now known 

 as " the chai-ioteer," although no chariot is visible, and 

 in Ptolemy's star list as well as in our modem repre- 

 sentations he is described as in the attitude of a 

 shepherd, carrying a goat on his shoulder and a pair of 

 little kids in "his hand. The Greek name for the con- 

 stellation is Heniochus, " the holder of the reins " ; a 

 name preserved for us in the Arabic name for Beta 

 Aurigae, " Menkalinaji," " the shoulder of the rein- 

 holder." 



The chief stars of the constellation are easily picked 

 out. Capella, a bright star of a yellowish creamy light, 

 nearly balances the steel-blue gem Vega on the opposite 

 side of the pole star. Close to Capella, three small stars 

 in a long right-angled triangle, form an unmistakable 

 mark of identification to it. Glancing back to Sinus, 

 Procyon, Castor and Pollux, we find that they form a 

 magnificent curve, which, carried onwards, passes 

 through Beta Aurigae, and ends in Capella. Taking 

 BeU as the head star of a cross, Capella marks the 

 western extremity of the crossbeam, Theta the eastern, 

 and Iota the foot. A straight line from Theta. upwards 

 through Bete leads to Delta, a stai- which marks the 

 head of the figure. Of the three stars marking the little 

 triangle by Capella, Epsilon is the nearest to Capella, 

 and Eta and Thet-a, known as the Haedi, " the kids," 

 mark the short side of the triangle. 



In recent years the constellation has been most dis- 

 tinguished by the appearance of the new star discovered 

 on rebruai7 1, 1892, by Dr. T. D. Andei-son, using only 

 a small pocket telescope. The position of the Nova is 

 in the extreme south of the constellation, about 3° to 

 the north of Beta Taui-i. At the time of discovery it 

 vras about the 5 th magnitude, and slightly brighter than 

 Chi Aungac, which is just 2° to the north of it. 



[The Editors do not hold themselves responsible for the opinions 

 or statemen ts of corr espondents] 



BRILLIANT METEOE IN CALIFOENIA 



TO THE EDITORS OF KNOWLEDGE. 



Sirs,— On August 17th, at 7.55, a veiy brilliant 

 meteor passed over this disti-ict and was observed by a 

 great many people. It was seen all along the Pacific 

 coast from San Diego to Los Angeles, and from places 

 thirty or forty miles east of the coast. Unfortunately 



I only saw the flash, through the open doorway, every 

 tree and the houses, etc., were most brilliantly lighted 

 up, as if a most powerful seaixhlight had been swung 

 across them. I have received a great many descriptions 

 of the met«or from eye witnesses, some of them very 

 conflicting, as neai'ly everyone saw it burst in a different 

 place ; some heard the report of the explosion and fivlt 

 the eai'th tremble, while others heard no noise, but all 

 agreed in describing it as very large and leaving a 

 brilliant train. From all the evidence I think the follow- 

 ing is the best and most accurate: — The direction was 

 from the zenith to a point a little east of Polaris, the 

 head was veiy large, perhaps half the diameter of the 

 moon, and pear shaped ; there were numerous explosions 

 along its path, leaving many brilliant fragments, and 

 a final explosion when it disappeared, which was dis- 

 tinctly heai'd by several people on the mountains, who 

 said the eai-th trembled as it would with a slight earth- 

 quake. 



I obsei-ved nineteen of the Perseid meteors on 

 August 11th between 8 and 10, high fog prevented 

 observation on the other evenings. S. D. Proctor. 



Encinitas, California., U.S.A. 

 Sept. 3rd, 1901. 



DOES THE MOON AFFECT RAINFALL I 



TO THE EDITORS OF KNOWLEDGE. 



Sirs, — Recent Greenwich records apparently point to 

 a maximum of wetness about the time of new moon, 

 and a minimum shortly l>efore last quarter. To 

 appreciate the natiu'e of this contrast, let us take the 

 last twelve years (1889-1900), and confining our attention 

 to the three days about new moon, on the one hand, 

 and three days before last quarter on the other, ask 

 how often, in these three-day groups, there occurred a 

 rainfall of '4 in. or more in one day, and how these cases 

 were distributed. The answer is supplied by the rough 

 diagram herewith, in which each dot represents a wet 

 day of the magnitude indicated. There are 29 cases in 

 the three days about new moon, and only 6 in the 

 three days before last quarter (about one-fifth of the 



OFMAMJ.JASOND 



1-2 

 I ■\ 



1-0 

 •9 

 •fl 

 • 7 

 •6 



Three days about Xew 5Ioou. Three days before Last Quarter. 



other). While these wet days have occurred in evei-y 

 month but January in the one case, they are confined in 

 the other to the three months — July, August, and 

 October. It may be interesting to observe whether such 

 a conti'ast is maintained in futiu-e. At present I have 

 not the opportunity of extending the above inquiry 

 beyond the la.»t twelve years, but perhaps some of yoiu- 

 readers may be inclined to do so. 



Alex. B. M.vcDowall. 



