56o 



NA TURE 



[April 13, 1905 



The Lynd Meteors. 



Though in the present year the light of the full moon 

 will impede observations of these meteors, yet it is not 

 improbable that the shower will be sufficiently strong to 

 manifest its presence, provided that the atmospheric con- 

 ditions prove favourable for the occasion. In 1905 the 

 calculated maximum will fall on the night of April 19, as 

 was the case last year, when Lyrids were found to be 

 somewhat more numerous at Utrecht on the night of 

 April 19 than on the succeeding night, both nights having 

 been clear; observations at Dublin, made, however, under 

 less favourable conditions, tended also to confirm this 

 result. 



On the present occasion the shower will extend through- 

 out the night of April 19, and of its three constituent 

 maxima two at least will be visible to Cisatlantic observers. 

 The calculated time of the first of these maxima is April 19, 

 iih. 15m. G.M.T., while the second occurs at i5h. ; the 

 third may occur shortly after I4h., but owing to an un- 

 certainty respecting some of the data requisite for its 

 calculation, it is liable to arrive two or three hours later, 



Dr. Xordcnskjold bailed from Bueiiub Aires 

 Christmas Eve, 1901, with the Swedish expedition. 

 The object of the expedition was not to make a dash 

 for the Pole, but, in conjunction with the English, 

 Scottish, and German expeditions, to pursue certain 

 scientific studies in the unknown Antarctic, the special 

 sphere of operations being that section known as the 

 Weddell Quadrant. Dr. Nordenskjold appears to 

 have succeeded in carrying out much of his pro- 

 gramme, although he was unable to push far south, 

 indeed, not so far as the Antarctic Circle, and notwith- 

 standing disasters and hardships without a parallel in 

 the history of Antarctic exploration. 



The narrative is divided into two parts. The first, 

 by Dr. Nordenskjold himself, deals with the cruise of 

 the Anlarctxc in the summer of 1901-1902, and with 

 the two consecutive winters spent on shore near Sev- 

 mour Island. The second part is by Dr. Andcrsson 

 and Capt. Larsen, and describes the attempt of the 

 XntarcWc to reach Xordenskjold's winter quarters in 



I 



-The loss of the Antarctic. From Nordenskjold ar.d Andersson's " Antarctica." The original ill 



slightly larger than the abo 



and consequently elude the vigilance of observers of the 

 first two maxima. 



The conditions under which the anticipated display will 

 take place indicate that it will be much above the average 

 in brightness, and probably, notwithstanding the presence 

 of the full moon, several brilliant meteors will be observed 

 on April 19, owing to the meteoric concentration that 

 characterises this night. John R. Henry. 



ANTARCTICA.'' 

 'VA/' E have entered upon a new era of South Polar 

 ** literature, since each of the recent expeditions 

 bears the promise and the potency of several books. 

 Of these the recent publication of Dr. Otto Norden- 

 skjold's " Antarctica " is an addition to our know- 

 ledge of southern regions. 



1 "Antarctica, or Two Years amongst the Ice e,f the .South Pole." By Dr. 

 N. Otto G. Nordenskjold and Dr. Joh. Gunnar Andersson. Pp xviii+608. 

 (London : Hurst and Klacketl, Ltd., 1905.) Price iSi. net 



NO. 1850, VOL. 71] 



the summer of 1902-1905, and the loss of the ship in 

 the ice-pack off Louis Philipp Land near the entrance 

 of Erebus and Terror Gulf. 



Geographically, the summer of 1901-1902 was 

 perhaps the most prolific in discoveries. Louis 

 Philipp Land was found to be continuous with Danco 

 Land, and Gerlache Channel nothing but a continu- 

 ation of D'L'rville's Orleans Channel. Indeed, D'Ur- 

 ville is the real discoverer of the whole island. It 

 appears that the Belgica maps of this locality present 

 many difficulties and differences. The illustrations 

 of this land from about lat. 63° S. to 65° S. bear a 

 strong resemblance to Victoria Land, and seem as 

 desolate and as heavily glaciated as land in lat. 75° S. 

 in the Ross Quadrant. 



Continuing southwards down the east coast of 

 King Oscar II. Land, the .l)i(arf(ir was at last 

 stopped by a perpendicular wall of ice about 130ft. 

 high. This was in about the 66th degree of latitude 

 south, and it grew clear to Dr. Nordenskjold " that 



