March 12, 1903] 



NA TURE 



447 



An exceptionally fine series of plates, reproduced from 

 photographs, accompanies Dr. Tempest Anderson's paper 

 on the recent volcanic eruptions in the West Indies, con- 

 tained in the March issue of the Geographical Journal. 

 The plates, together with Dr. Anderson's descriptions, 

 constitute a concise and graphic story of the characteristics 

 of the eruptions of Mont Petee and the Soufriere of St. 

 Vincent. 



Several of the monthly magazines for March contain 

 articles upon scientific subjects. Under the title " What 

 shall we be?" Mr. Gustave Michaud discusses in the 

 Century the question as to what will be the distinguishing 

 characteristics of the coming race in America, and Prof. 

 F. H. Giddings comments on the conclusions arrived at. 

 Major-General Sir C. W. Wilson, K.C.B., contributes to 

 the Monthly Review an account of the excavation of a 

 Levitical city — Gezer. Dr. A. R. Wallace, F.R.S., in the 

 Fortnightly Review, considers man's place in the universe 

 as indicated by astronomy ; and the general nature of his 

 article may be gathered from a sentence near the end : — ■ 

 " The three startling facts — that we are in the centre of a 

 cluster of suns, and that that cluster is situated not only 

 precisely in the plane of the Galaxy, but also centrally in 

 that plane — can hardly now be looked upon as chance co- 

 incidences without any significance in relation to the culmin- 

 ating fact that the planet so situated has developed 

 humanity." Mr. W. A. Shenstone, F.R.S., writes in the 

 Cornhill on the new chemistry, and Mr. Charles Richard- 

 son attempts in the Westminster Review to answer the 

 question: Is natural science self-contradictory? 



The additions to the Zoological Society's Gardens during 

 the past week include a Moustache Monkey (Cercopithecus 

 cephus) from West Africa, a Crested Porcupine (Hystrix 

 cristaia) from South Africa, two Mexican Eared Owls (Asio 

 mexicanus) from Mexico, two Westermann's Cassowaries 

 (Casuarius westermanni) from New Guinea, two King Crabs 

 (Limulus polyphemus) from North America, deposited. 



OUR ASTRONOMICAL COLUMN. 



Elements and Search-Ephemeris for Comet 1896 V 

 (Giacobini). — In No. 3848 of the Astronomische Nachrichten 

 Herr M. Ebell gives the following set of elements and 

 ephemeris for this comet : — 



Epoch 1896 October 5-5, M.T. Berlin. 



M = 3S6 39 7'4 



o>=i40 31 5i-n 

 P. = 193 29 4 -1 



i= 11 21 477J 



900 o. 



^ = 533'8o5 

 log 2 = 0548416 



T=i896 October 28-079 

 P = 6-647 years. 



Taking the period of 6647 years as correct, the next 

 perihelion passage should take place on June 22 or 23, and 

 for this time the ephemeris which accompanies the elements 

 is calculated. 



Ephemeris 12/1. M. T. Berlin. 



1903. a. S. log r. !o£. a Brightness. 

 h. m. s. a , 



March 18 20 10 50 - 10 32-9 0-2492 03313 0-63 



,, 26 20 32 46 - 8 590 0-2381 o 311S 072 



April 27 22 3 40 - 1 70 01975 °'2363 123 



May 29 23 38 44 +7 53-7 0-1697 0-1733 >"88 



The ephemeris is extended to November 29, and it indi- 

 cates that the maximum brightness (2-7) will occur on 

 August 25. 



Transparency of Comet 1902 h. — In order to test the 

 accuracy of the assertion that comets are perfectly trans- 

 parent, Prof. O. O Wendell, of Harvard College Observ- 

 atory, made a series of observations, with the polarising 

 photometer attached to the 15-inch equatorial, of the magni- 

 tudes of two faint stars when the comet 1902 b was passing 

 before one of them on October 14. 



On tabulating the results of the measurements, it was 

 found that the mean difference of the magnitude interval 

 of the two stars under normal conditions, and when the 

 comet was passing before one of them, was only + om."02, 

 thereby indicating that the absorption of light by the comet, 

 if any, was insensible, and probably did not exceed one 

 or two hundredths of a magnitude {Astronomische Nach- 

 richten, No. 3848). 



February Meteors. — In No. 329 of the Observatory Mr. y 

 Denning describes a bright meteor which he observed at 

 9h. 46m. on February 18, the apparent path being from 



3 5°+44° to i 9 °+42°- , u u . 



Mr. Denning further remarks that this meteor appeared 

 to come from a position near to the radiant point of a 

 shower, the Aurigids, of which he has observed seven 

 members, and of which the mean radiant point is about 

 75°+4i°, and he suggests that this particular stream is 

 worthy of further consideration by meteor observers in order 

 to determine more accurately its radiant point and the 

 time of its maximum. 



The duration of the shower is at present doubtful, but it 

 certainly extends over the period February 7-23, and there 

 is reason to believe that it is sustained during March and 

 April. 



Proper Motions of Stars. — Vol. xvii. No. 1 (January) 

 of the Astrophysical Journal contains a discussion, by Mr. 

 Gavin J. Burns, of the proper motions of the 2641 stars 

 given in Bossert's catalogue, which was published in the 

 Annales de VObservatoire de Paris in 1896. 



After analysing the data Mr. Burns comes to the follow- 

 ing conclusions : — (1) The stars increase in number as they 

 decrease in size ; (2) the stars thin out as their distances 

 from the solar system increase ; and, lastly, it appears that 

 double stars generally have large proper motions, as is 

 shown by the following comparison : — The average proper 

 motion of 778 stars (from the first to the fifth magnitudes) 

 as given in Dunkin's list is o"'i5, whilst the average proper 

 motion of 54 double stars (from first to seventh magnitudes) 

 as obtained from Struve's catalogue is o"'37. 



Observations of Jupiter's Markings. — In the February 

 Bulletin de la Society Astronomique de France, Senor Jose 1 

 Comas Sola publishes the observations of Jupiter's mark- 

 ings which he has made since a previous publication of 

 results in the September Bulletin. 



These later observations fully confirm Senor Sola's 

 previous statement that the trails of dark spots are at a 

 level below that of the Great Red Spot, and that they form 

 a current which flows beneath, and independent of, that 

 spot. 



This is plainly shown in the drawings which accompany 

 the communication, for whereas in the drawing made on 

 September 15 the trail of dark spots is seen adjacent to, 

 and apparently emerging from behind, the Oreat Red Spot, 

 on the later drawings it is seen that the distance between 

 the two sets of phenomena is gradually increasing. The 

 observations also indicate that the grey markings, which 

 have been observed in the zone between the two dark bands 

 in the southern temperate region, are in reality trails of 

 dark material joining together the black spots which appear 

 on the separate bands. 



Solar Phenomena and Meteorology. — M. 1'AbW Loisier, 

 of Thoisy-Ia-Berchere (Gold Coast), has just completed a 

 daily record of the solar and meteorological phenomena for 

 the past eleven years. The record contains daily drawings 

 of the spots and faculas on the sun's disc, and the ordinary 

 daily meteorological data. Recognising the intimate re- 

 lations which have been shown to exist between these two 

 sets of phenomena, M. Loisier now proposes to investigate 

 carefully this accumulation of material with a view of 

 obtaining evidence for, or against, the suggested inter- 

 relations (Bulletin de la Sociiti Astronomique de France, 

 February). 



NO. 1741, VOL. 67] 



