November 23, 1893] 



NA TURE 



proving that the matter was in rapid movement. The mecha- 

 nical theory of comets supposes coronal streams to issue from 

 the sun at all angles. These streams will penetrate far into 

 space (some crossing one another). The atmosphere of a comet 

 on striking these streams will in projection be in the form of 

 luminous, nearly concentric, arcs, the greatest brilliancy being 

 near the most advanced part of each stratum. More than one 

 coronal stream will produce in the comet multiple tails, the 

 angles between the tails being a function of the velocities of 

 motion, and the inclinations of the streams. An examination 

 of the cases where a tail is turned towards the sun is explained 

 by a coronal stream, having a less velocity than that of the 

 receding coinet, thus producing such a phenomenon the moment 

 the stream is entered. Prof. Schaeberle, at the conclusion of 

 the papers, refers to a satisfactory explanation of the " Gegen- 

 schein," and also to a plausible explanation of the Aurora, both 

 based on the coronal streams. 



The New Star in Norma.. — When the announcement of 

 the discovery of this star by Mrs. Fleming reached Prof. F. C. 

 Kapteyn, a search was made by him through his manuscript of 

 his phoographic Durchmusternng for this region, with the result 

 Astronomiiche Nachrichten, No. 3196) that he found the fol- 

 lowing star, which is " wohl fast ohne Zweilel" identical with 

 Mrs. Fleming's. Its position is 



Phot. Mag. R.A. 1875-0 Decln. 18730. 



9"2 ish. 2im. 0.5s. -5o°9'7 



The plates which he had that contained this part of the 

 heavens were taken in 1S87, on June 25, July 25, and August 2; 

 and in 1S90, on April 29 and May 2. An examination of 

 these showed that on the first three dates the star was not 

 visible, but the last two distinctly indicate it as a star a whole 

 magnitude brighter than the faintest star on the plate. A com- 

 pirison of its brightness with the following three stars in its 

 neighbourhood was made. 



Mas. in 

 Phot. Dian 



Decln. i373'o. 



15 20 510 



26 590 

 21 350 



-50 21-4 

 215 



9 "4 



R.A. 1S730. 

 h. 111. 5 

 {") 9-2 

 {l>) 9-1 

 (<■) 9-1 



The results show that Mrs. Fleminsi's star is brighter than 

 ((?), scarcely dimmer than {b), and a little dimmer than {c). Its 

 magnitude then in July and August, 1887, could not have 

 been more than 92. 



The Natal Observatory. — Mr. Nevill, the Government 

 Astronomer for Natal, has to work under great difficulties. 

 The grant of ^800 per annum, made by the Natal Government 

 to the Observatory, is certainly not enough to keep the estab- 

 lishment efficient. When the Observatory was first erected it 

 was a substantially built, rectangular red brick edifice, carrying 

 a light wooden upper structure, which formed equatorial and 

 transit rooms, but there was only one room below, and this had 

 to serve the double purpose of a computing room by day and 

 sleeping room by night. Mr. Nevill has a^ked the Government 

 to give him more accommodation, but his application has not been 

 granted, the plea being shortness of funds ; so he has had extra 

 rooms built entirely at his own expense, and even now the four 

 assistants of the Observatory woik in a room which is nothing 

 more than an enclosed verandah. The principal points under in- 

 vestigation at the Observatory are : the parallactic inequality in 

 the motion of the moon, the lunar diameter, the effects of irra- 

 diation and its variations upon the moon's apparent semi- 

 diameter, and lunar libration. 



Magnitude and Position ok T Aurig.-e. — The current 

 Couples Rendiis (November 13) contains a number of observa- 

 tions of Nova Aurigre, made by M. Bigourdan, at the Paris 

 Observatory. The star's magnitude was compared with that of 

 neighbouring stars on October 10 and 12, and on November 8, 

 II, and 12. The observations show that from the middle of 

 October to the Sth inst. the light diminished very definitely, and 

 afterwards increased, but on the date of the last observation it 

 liad not attained the magnitude observed on October 10. In 

 1892 M. Bigourdan micrometrically measured the position of 

 the Nova with respect to a neighbouring star, and a repetition of 

 his measurements, after an interval of eighteen months, shows 

 that no change of position has taken place. 



Period of Jupiter's Fifth Satellite. — Prof. E. E. Bar- 

 nard's new measures {Astronomy and Astro- Physics for Novem- 



NO. 1256, VOL. 49] 



ber) for the times of elongation of the fifth satellite give a 

 period 



P = iih. 57m. 22-56s. 

 The value obtained fiom his last year's value was 



P = iih. 57m. 23 061. 

 While Mr. A. Marth, from the same observations, derived a 

 period of 



P = iih. 57m. 21-883. 

 The new determination falls, as will be noticed, nearly mid- 

 way between the two values quoted, and covers a period of 743 

 revolutions of the satellite. 



GEOGRAPHICAL NOTES. 



The fate of the Bjorling exploring expedition, concerning the 

 safety of which much anxiety has been lelt in Sweden, has now 

 been ascertained. Messrs. Bjorling and Kalstennius, two young 

 Swedish naturalists, hired a small schooner, the Ripple, at St. 

 John's, in June, 1892, and set cut for a collecting trip along the 

 west Greenland coast, accompanied by a crew of three men. 

 After leaving the Danish settlements on the west coast last 

 summer, no further news was received from the expedition, and 

 the captains of the whaling vessels at work in Davis Strait this 

 summer were specially requested to look for \.xz.ct%oi \.\i& Ripple 

 and her party. Captain AIcKay, of the Dundee whaler Aurora, 

 who returned last week, reports that he visited the Carey Islands 

 at the entrance to Smith's Sound on June 17 this jear, and 

 found there the wreck of the Ripp.e, a number of documents, 

 and the body of one of the ill/ated crew. One of the papers 

 written by Bjorling on August 17, 1892, on which day he had 

 visited the Carey Islands to get provisions from the cache left by 

 Sir George Nares, st ated that on leaving the schooner ran aground , 

 and the party had to land. A later note, dated October 12, 

 shows that they attempted to reach Foulke's fjord to winter there, 

 but alter reaching Northumberland Island circumstances com- 

 pelled their return. At the date of writing Bjorling intended 

 to start immediately to endeavour to reach the Eskimo settle- 

 ments at Cape Faraday or Clarence Head in Ellesmere Land, 

 with the hope of returning to Carey Islands by July i, 1893, to 

 meet any whsler. In case of not finding a vessel he intended 

 to push on to the Danish settlement. On receiving this news 

 Captain McKay at once headed for Ellesmere Land, but the ice 

 closed in, and he had to turn back. As the provisions would 

 only last until January i, it is to be feared that the whole party 

 has perished, unless they were successful in reaching the Eskimo. 

 If they did so, and were subsequently able to make their way 

 to the Dani>h settlements, there may still be hope, but no news 

 can be received until next summer. 



The Times announces that the Peruvian Government has 

 awarded a gold medal to Mr. Clements R. Markham, F.R.S., 

 President of the Royal Geographical Society, for the great 

 services he has rendered to Peru in elucidating its geography, 

 and in giving expression "with upright impartiality" to the 

 facts of its history. 



Mr. W. H. Cozens-Hardy, who has just returned from a 

 summer spent in exploration on the borders of Montenegro 

 and Albania, has succeeded in making a number of observations 

 of high geographical value. He has been able to lay down on 

 a map for the first time the present frontiers of the principality, 

 and from his knowledge of Slavonic languages and the free 

 access accorded to him to the Montenegrin archives, he can also 

 give a most interesting account of the past changes in the 

 boundaries, frirnishing, in fact, a chapter in the historical 

 geography of the Balkan peninsula. 



The Arctic skipper Hans Johannensen, of Hammerfest, 

 Norway, has heard from old Yakutsks that fion the highest 

 points of the northern shores of the New Si lerian Islands a 

 lofty land has been discerned to the north- west, at a distance of 

 about fifteen nautical miles. He thinks, therefore, that should 

 Nansen not steer too close to the coast, this new land might 

 be seen from the masthead. And should the state of the ice be 

 at all favourable, Nansen will, in all probability, attempt to 

 take up his winter quarters there instead of the New Siberian 

 Islands. 



From a recent number of the R'olnische Zeititiig we learn the 

 somewhat lemarkable .<^act that Cologne is the largest city in 

 Germany, taking account of the area it covers, Berlin coming 

 only fourth in order. In Cologne, however, only eight per cent. 



