January i, 1903] 



NA TURE 



2 1 1 



The " Knowledge Diary and Scientific Handbook for 1903," 

 issued from Knowledge office, is a compendium of scientific 

 dates, facts and data which will be found useful to students in 

 many departments of scientific work. In addition to a general 

 astronomical ephemeris and a calendar of events of scientific 

 interest for each month, the book contains six charts showing 

 the movements of twelve of the principal planets during 1903, 

 and twelve small charts which show the appearance of the 

 heavens during each month. There are also many useful tables 

 and several short articles, on practical work with the spectroscope, 

 the observation of variable stars, systematic botany and other 

 subjects. 



OUR ASTRONOMICAL COLUMN. 

 Astronomical Occurrences in January: — 

 Jan. 2. 4h. 37m. Transit (egress) of Jupiter's Satellite IV, 

 (Callisto). 

 2-3. Epoch of Quadrantid meteoric shower (radiant 



230 + 52°). 

 6. 4h. 33m. Transit (ingress! of Jupiter's Satellite III. 



(Ganymede). 

 10. 8h. 41m. Minimum of Algol (B Persei). 



12. 19I1. 20m. to I9h. 37m. Moon occults A Geminorum 



(mag. 3-6). 



13. 5h. 30m. Minimum of Algol (B Persei). 



14. 8h. 14m. to 9h. Sm. Moon occults a Cancri 



(mag. 4-3). 



15. Illuminated portion of the disc of Venus =0^982, 



of Mars =0'9lo. 

 17. I2h. Mercury at greatest elongation, 18° 45' East. 

 20. 2ih. Saturn in conjunction with the sun. 

 30. ioh. Venus in conjunction with Jupiter. Venus, 



o° 44' South. 

 30. ioh. 22m. Minimum of Algol (.8 Persei). 



Magnetic Storms and Sun Spots.— In an article com- 

 municated to No. 4, vol. xvi. of the Astrophysical Journal, 

 Father Cortie, S. J., discusses the probable connection between 

 terrestrial magnetic disturbances and solar activity. 



Instead of dealing with mean values over an extensive period, 

 he has compared the times of occurrence of specific isolated 

 phenomena which have occurred during the three years 1S99- 

 1901, inclusive, and from this comparison has arrived at the con- 

 clusion that the relation is certainly not simply one of cause and 

 effect, but rather the relation of two effects springing from a 

 common cause. 



For example, in support of this conclusion, the writer analyses 

 the occurrences of the first six months of the past year as 

 follows. The only spot of any size to cross the sun's disc 

 during this period was the one observed between March 5 and 

 13, yet this was unaccompanied by any striking magnetic disturb- 

 ance. From March 13 to May 19, the visible disc was com- 

 pletely free from spots, and the faculse observed were faint and 

 unimportant, yet a comparatively vigorous magnetic disturbance 

 took place on April 10. 



Father Cortie concludes from his detailed analysis of the last 

 sun-spot minimum that " It may be possible that sun spots are 

 one of the instrumental causes of magnetic storms, though not 

 the only one, but it is more likely that the two phenomena are 

 correlated as two connected, though" sometimes independent, 

 effects of a common cause." 



Observations of the Perseids, August 10 and ii, 

 1902. — In No. 100 of Popular Astronomy, Mr. Charles P. 

 Olivier gives the results of the observations of this shower 

 which were made at the Leander McCormick Observatory of 

 the University of Virginia. 



On August 10, during a watch which lasted from gh. 26m. to 

 i6h. 8m., 44 Perseids and 28 other meteors were seen, whilst 

 on August 11 (13)1. 38m. to i6h. 8m.) 76 Perseids and 26 other 

 meteors were recorded. The maximum display occurred during 

 the period 13I1. 59m. to I4h. 59m. on August II, 30 Perseids 

 and 1 1 other meteors being recorded during that hour. 



The colour of the brighter Perseids was generally orange, 

 and the radiant points for the two dates were a = 39" 5, 

 5 = + 56°7, and a = 46°-$, 8=4- 56^7 respectively. The 

 latter radiant was very accurately determined from an ap- 



NO. 173 I, VOL. 67] 



parently stationary meteor which appeared directly over the sixth- 

 magnitude star D.M. + 56°79S The paths ol about one-half of 

 the meteors observed were plotted on two charts, reproductions 

 of which accompany Mr. Olivier's article. 



The Moscow Observatory.— Vol. iv. of the second 

 series of the " Annales de l'Observatoire Astronomique de 

 Moscou," published under the editorship of Prof. W. Ceraski, 

 gives all the details and results of the observations made at that 

 observatory since the last similar publication was issued. 



During this interval, important work has been done in re- 

 furnishing the observatory and providing it with new instru- 

 ments, in order that it may pursue its researches on modern 

 lines. A new Henry-Repsold refractor, having two fifteen-inch 

 objectives, has been added to the equipment of the observatory, 

 and one of smaller dimensions is now in course of construction. 

 The meridian circle, which has been in use since 1855, is at 

 present being reconstructed to suit modern requirements. 



The results published include the following : — Meridian circle 

 observations, by M. B Modestow ; calculations of occultations 

 by the moon, observations of the Leonid showers of 1S97-8-9, 

 and observations of Mars (illustrated by drawings) during 1S96 

 and 1897, by M. S. Blakjo ; observations of occultations, by 

 MM. Sternberg, Modestow and Blakjo; and a photometric 

 study (illustrated by two charts) of Coma Berenices, together 

 with a description of the useful work performed with a binocular 

 of 15 mm. aperture, by M. Ceraski. 



ELECTROCHEMICAL NOTES. 



T 



HE literature of electrochemistry and electrometallurgy is 

 rapidly increasing in volume and importance, and busy 

 people find an increasing difficulty in keeping themselves well 

 informed as regards the more recent developments in these new 

 branches of science and industry. The value of periodic subject- 

 indexes of current literature on this subject is therefore very 

 great, and all interested in these new sciences will hail with 

 pleasure the appearance of a monthly sheet entitled Elektro- 

 ihemische Technik, which contains an alphabetical subject-index 

 of all recent articles dealing with applied electrochemistry, 

 electrometallurgy and electrotyping. 



This sheet is edited and published by Dr. F. Peters, of Berlin, 

 and the first issue is dated October, 1902. It contains references 

 to 107 recent articles on the subjects covered by the index, and 

 French, German, English and American papers and journals 

 have been searched in compiling this index. In some cases, 

 short abstracts have been given of the articles indexed. 



Our issue of May 22 contained a note upon the electric 

 resistance furnaces patented and manufactured by Heraeus, 

 of Hanau, Germany, and the use of such furnaces for melting- 

 point determinaiions. These furnaces have latterly been re- 

 duced in cost and improved in efficiency by the substitution of 

 platinum foil only 0*007 mm. in thickness for the wire originally 

 used, and a recent issue of the Zeits. f. Elektrm hemic contains 

 some notes by Dr. Hiagn — the chemist to the Hanau firm, 

 upon the use of the tube form of the improved furnace for 

 laboratory determinations. 



The most important of these for the chemist is the application 

 of the Heraeus furnace to organic elementary analysis, and, 

 according to Dr. Haagn, this application has been attended with 

 success. We suppose that, when used for this purpose, the 

 platinum spiral encircling the glass combustion tube is cut up 

 into several sections, each with its own current connections, so 

 that successive portions of the tube can be heated as desired. 

 The great advantage of such a furnace, from the chemist's point 

 of view, will be the reduction of the heat losses by radiation 

 and by the escaping gases, since these in the usual form of 

 gas-combustion furnace are very great, and in summer time 

 render organic analysis a most trying and tedious operation. 

 Other proposed applications of the Heraeus tube furnaces are 

 for the direct estimation of carbon in steels, and for the deter- 

 mination of ash in coal and coke. The maximum temperature 

 attainable with these furnaces is 1700 C, and this limit is due 

 to the inability to produce tubes, which will retain their form at 

 this or higher temperatures. 



The use of the electric current for heating glass furnaces does 

 not seem a very promising application of electric power to those 

 acquainted with the high degree of efficiency obtained in the 

 modern regenerative gas furnace now generally employed in the 

 glass-making industry. According to a recent issue of the Zeit- 



