208 



NA rURE 



[December 28. 1899 



January 13. 

 15- 

 16. 

 16. 



20 



26. 



26. 



loh. im. Minimum of Algol (/3 Persei). 

 Venus. Illuminated portion of disc = o'873. 

 6h. 50m. Minimum of Algol (3 Persei). 

 lyh. 17m. to i7h. 50m. Occultation of o Cancri 



(mag. 4'3) by the moon. 

 I2h. 46m. to 1311. 46m. Occultation of B.A.C. 



4006 (mag. 57) by the moon, 

 iih. 22m. to I2h. 26m. Occultation of (/ 



Virginis (mag. 57) by the moon. 

 I5h 35m. to i6h. 45m. Occultation of B.A.C. 



4722 (mag. 5-5). 

 ih. Conjunciion of Jupiter and the moon 



(Jupiter 2° 3' N.). 

 I5h. 40m. Tiansit of Jupiter's Sat. III. 



(Egre.ss). 



ASTRONO.MU'AI. AND AsTROl'HYSICAL SOCIETY OF AMERICA. 



—Prof. E. B. Frost, of the Yerkes Observatory, contributes to 

 Science a full account of the proceedings at the first meeting of 

 this new society, which is the permanent outcome of the two 

 congresses cf astronomers and astrophysicists held in the past 

 two years. The following notes are from the report : — 



Prof. S. J. Brown discussed his measures of the changes in the 

 orbit of the satellite of Neptune, in order to determine the 

 position of the polar axis and flattening of the planet. This 



flattening is found to be « = , an amount corresponding 



, : T- , . I02-2 



to only o".'03 between the polar and equatorial diameters. 



The period of the revolution of the pole of the satellite's orbit 

 is 53175 years. 



Prof. A. S. Flint described the new Repsold transit micro- 

 meter of the Washburn Observatory. 



Mr. Kurt Laves read a paper on the "Determination of the 

 constant of nutation from heliometer measures of Eros." The 

 opposition of. this- planet at the end of 1900 will offer special 

 facilities for this purpose. 



An account was giyen of a proposed new "Harvard Photo- 

 metry.'" In the original work all stars were included of sixth or 

 brighter magnitude, as obtained from the principal catalogues 

 then extant : .but it has been found in the course of the work 

 that in this way many have been included which are fainter than 

 mag/6'2. The stars of the Photometry were again observed 

 in 1892-94, and, including special series of measures, there are 

 now. prepared seven photometric catalogues, giving measures 

 by different observers with different instalments, but all made 

 on the same. plan. , It is therefore proposed to issue a catalogue 

 of all the stars from the north to the south pole, showing the 

 brightness given- by the meridian photometer in all seven cata- 

 logues, and to call the work the " Revised Ilarvard Photo- 

 metry." , As much reference information to other catalogues 

 will' be given as is possible, and it is thought a quantitative 

 measure of M he colour wiir be furnished by giving the type of 

 spectrum and photographic magnitude. 



Prof. G. C. Comstock described his experiments of placing a 

 very coarse grating before the object glass of a telescope, and 

 measuring the distance between the mean centres of the pairs of 

 star spectra formed on each side of the central image. He finds 

 incidentally that the mean refrangibility of the light of Mars is 

 marked by less than that of any red stars yet examined. He 

 has also examined the satellites of Jupiter in this way, and 

 finds different values from those adopted by Michelson and 

 Hamy. 



Mr. F. L. Chase has taken heliometer observations of red 

 stars, &c., in order to determine the possibility of there being a 

 slight difference of refraction between these and white stars, thus 

 introducing a disturbing element into measures of parallax. In 

 all his experience, however, he was unable to detect any differ- 

 ence whatever. 



Prof. S. I. Bailey said that out of the 900 stars counted in the 

 cluster M. 5., eighty- five were variable. Detailed examination 

 of the light curves and periods of many of them showed a re- 

 markable similarity both in the magnitude and range of varia- 

 tion. The periods vary from loh. 48m. to I4h. 59m. The 

 uniformity of period, magnitude, and light curve among so many 

 variables, points to a common origin and cause of variability. 



Day Numbers OF, "Nautical Almanac." — We have re- 

 ceived a pamphlet giving the separate day numbers for use with 

 the tables for finding star constants for the years 1900, 1901, 

 1902. From the past three years' experience. Prof. Turner 

 says that his restriction of the tables to three figures has been 



NO. 1574, VOL. 61] 



followed by no loss of accuracy, and therefore their publication 

 is continued. In accordance with the decisions of the Con- 

 ference of Superintendents of Ephemerides held at Paris in 

 1896, the constants of aberration, precession, and nutation have 

 been altered from the commencement of 1901 ; but, for the con- 

 venience of observers still desiring to use the Struve- Peter's 

 constants, both have been included in the present table.s. 



"Popular Astronomy" for December. — The issue of 

 Popular Astronomy for this month contains, among much 

 generally interesting matter, two useful articles by Profs. H. C. 

 Wilson and W. H. Pickering. The former describes a photo- 

 graph of the nebula of Andromeda obtained by him at Goodsell 

 Observatory, using the 8-inch Clarke refractor, with an exposure 

 of twelve hours given on three nights. Reproductions of the 

 picture accompany the paper, and the minute structure of the 

 many spirals first photographed by Roberts are magnificently 

 shown. 



Prof. Pickering writes to keep up hopes of the meteor shower 

 still being observable. He has examined the times of appear- 

 ance of the maximum from 902 more minutely, and finds they 

 occurred at regular 100 years' intervals until 1698, when there 

 was a perturbation of four years. Since then thirty-four years 

 would appear to more closely satisfy the period, so that 1901-2 

 may still be the maximum year. 



THE SO UTH- WES TERN POL YTECHNIC. 

 /^NE of the best equipped and most intelligently governed 

 ^^ of the London polytechnics is that built at a cost of 

 55,000/., and located at Manresa Road, Chelsea. Situated as 

 it is in the midst of a densely-populated district, its work, 

 which a large staff of lecturers and demonstrators, under the 

 able guidance of Prof. H. Tomlinson, F.R.S., the Principal, 

 are year by year steadily accomplishing, cannot be overestimated. 

 The work of the polytechnic is carried on in a fine suite of build- 

 ings placed within a stone's throw of the Chelsea Town Hall, and 

 the institution is provided with laboratories and lecture-rooms 

 for each of the many departments of science and technology 

 which its work comprises. It is designed more especially to 

 meet the educational needs of the inhabitants of Chelsea, Fulham, 

 Kensington, St. George's (Hanover Square), and Westminster, 

 though students from other parishes are admitted if accommo- 

 dation is available and other circumstances permit. 



Financial Position. — The financial outlook of the South- 

 western Polytechnic may certainly be regarded as hopeful. 

 Both the fees received from the students and members and 

 the grants earned last session- from the Science and Art 

 Department showed a very large increase. The total annual 

 income received from the Technical Education Board of 

 the London County Council amounts to over 4000/. , and the 

 annual subsidy from the Charity Commissioners is 1500/. The 

 inadequate accommodation which the already extensive build- 

 ings offer the increasing number of students to be provided for, 

 has necessitated a further extension, and the governing body 

 are now spending some 7000/. on new buildings. 



Departments. — The operations of the. institution are divided 

 into two distinct portions — day classes and evening classes. In 

 the day classes are included (i) a Day College for men ; (2) a 

 Day College for women ; (3) a School of Art ; (4) a School of 

 Science for boys and girls ; and (5) a School of Domestic 

 Economy for girls. The evening classes embrace the following 

 sections : (i) Mathematics ; (2) Physics and Electrical Engineer- 

 ing ; (3) Mechanical Engineering and Building Trades ; (4) 

 Chemistry; (5) Natural Sciences; (6) Languages; (7) Com- 

 merce; (8) Domestic Economy; (9) Art; (10) Music; (11) 

 Miscellaneous ; (12) Recreation. 



Numbers of Students. — The most notable fact, and one of the 

 most encouraging features of the work of the South-Western 

 Polytechnic, is the regular and substantial increase from year to 

 year in the numbers of students attending the different depart- 

 ments. The number of students in the day classes during the 

 session 1897-8 was nearly half as many again as that during 

 1896-7. "Taking all the day classes for both sexes together, the 

 number of individuals attending during the present session is 

 about 30 per cent, greater than for the last school year, the 

 number undergoing instruction at the present time being about 

 900. 



The number of individual students in all evening classes 

 together is about 2000 for the current session, during 1897-8 it 



