Sept. i 3> 1883] 



NA TURE 



471 



M. L'Hoste, a French aeronaut, crossed the Channel in a 

 balloon on Sunday ; he left the French coast at 5 p.m. on Sun- 

 day, and landed at Smeeth, near Ashford, at II. 



The additions to the Zoological Society's Gardens during the 

 past week include a White-fronted Capuchin (Cebus albifrons) 

 from South America, presented by Miss A. Tanner ; two 

 Common Marmosets (Hapalc jacchits) from Brazil, presented by 

 Mr. H. H. Forbes Eden; three Mexican Deer (Cervus mtxi- 

 canus <5?9) from the Island of Santa Cruz, presented by Capt. 

 Edwin Cole ; a Getulian Ground Squirrel (Xerus gelulus) from 

 Morocco, presented by Mr. Geo. D. Cowan ; a Grey Ichneumon 

 (Herpestes grisais) from India, presented by Capt. W. F. Small ; 

 a Common Squirrel (Sciurui vulgaris), British, presented by 

 Master C. B. Webster ; two Stink-pot Terrapins (Aromochelys 

 odorala), a Pennsylvanian Mud Teirapin [Cinaslernan pcnnsyl- 

 vanicum), a Mississip, i Alligator [Alligator mississippiensis), a 

 Sharp-nosed Crocodile (Crocodilus aculus) from Florida, pre- 

 sented by Capt. E. Cole; a Common Chameleon (Chamaleon 

 vulgaris) from North Africa, presented by Mr. F. L. B. Payne ; 

 a White-fronted Capuchin (Ccbns albifrons), a Black-faced Spider 

 Monkey [Ateles ater), a Pileated Jay [Cyanocorax pilcalus), a 

 Spotted Tinamou (iVot/tura maculosa) from South America, two 

 Ruddy Finches [Carfiadacus erythrinus) from Siberia, a Jackdaw 

 (Cervus motudula), British, four Eyed lizards (Lacerta ocellala), 

 South European, purchased. 



OUR ASTRONOMICAL COLUMN 



The Total Solar EcLirsE of May 6. — The Complcs 

 Rendus of the sitting of the Paris Academy of Sciences on the 

 3rd inst. contain the re| oits from the observers sent by the 

 French Government to Caroline Island in the Pacific for ihe 

 observation of the recent total eclipse of-the sun. The pnty 

 was composed of M. Janssen, M. Trouvelot of the Observatory 

 of Meudon, M. Tasteur, photographer, and an assistant, who 

 were accompanied by Prof. Tacchini, director of the Observa- 

 tory of the Collegio Romano, and Herr Palisa of the Obs rva- 

 tory of Vienna, the discoverer of a large number of minor 

 planets. One of the main objects of the expedition was a search 

 for so-called intra-Mercurial planets, and it is to the observa- 

 tions made in this direction that we shall refer here. Herr 

 Palisa and M. Trouvelot were especially occupied with this 

 work. The former had a telescope of 6 inches aperture, with 

 short focus and large held, equatorially mounted. M. Trouvelot 

 had two telescopes, one of 3 inches aperture, with large field, 

 reticule, and interior circle of position, and one of 6 inches 

 aperture giving a high magnifying power. The 3-inch tele- 

 scope formed a sweeping instrument with a field of about 4J 

 degrees riiimeter, for the exploration of the circumsolar region. 

 Both telescopes were on a parallactic mounting, and in order to 

 secure rapid record of positions and dispense with the readings, 

 which cau e the loss of valutble time, M. Janssen had caused 

 what he terms " tracelets de microscope " to be applied to the 

 circles of right ascension and declination. Each of these, 

 placed in the hands of an assistant, allowed of there being 

 made, on the direction of the observer, a fine stroke across the 

 divided circle and its vernier, so that subsequently, with the aid 

 of this very preci-e indication, the instrument could be re- 

 placed in the position of the observation and the necessary 

 readings made at leisure. It was arranged that MM. 

 Palisa and Trouvelot should divide the work, each attend- 

 ing specially to one side of the sun. The Vienna astrono- 

 mer's instrument, properly, as it seems, a comet-seeker, by 

 Merz, had a magnifying power of 13, giving a field of 3 . With 

 this, on totality taking place, he commenced his search, starting 

 from the sun towards Saturn, at first on the south, and when he 

 did not thus find stars ha returned to the sun, and swept more to 

 the north. In this way he recognised nine stars, all which are 

 identified in the Bonn Durchmusterung, We give the list of 

 stars, correcting two misprints in the Camples Rendus (I4°,355 

 should be l6°,355, and for 20°,542 we should read 20°,543), and 

 appending the positions of the stars for the Bonn epoch 

 li>55"o : thus, with the sun's place reduced to the same epoch, 



the relative positions of the stars with respect to his centre will 

 be readily seen : — 



Bonn Zone and .. -. . Right ts ,■ 



number of star. Magnitude. Asc 4 ion . Declination. 



» h. m, s. * 



"6,355 ■■• 57 ••• 2 41 131 ••• +16 51-5 

 16,484 ... 60 ... 2 31 15-2 ... 16 4 - l 



'9.477 ■ ■• 4"2 ■•■ 3 3 2°S ... 19 i°7 



19.578 ... 5'5 - 3 33 57-8 ... 19 I3-9 



19,582 ... 60 .. 3 35 24-5 ... 19 12-5 



20,527 ... 4.5 ... 3 6 34-5 ... 20 30-5 



20 .543 ■•• S"° ■•• 3 12 5"° ■•■ 20 37-3 



20,551 ... 5-0 ... 3 14 24S ... 20 134 



20,556 ... 58 ... 3 16 4-2 ... +20 17-4 



The result of his search Herr Palisa states to be that, between 

 the limits (iS55'o) 2h. 52m. from +14° to +19 , to 3I1. 40m. 

 from + 16° to + 22°, there was no star of the fifth magnitude un- 

 marked in his chart, this, it should be mentioned, being a 

 lithographic chart supplied to him by Prof. Holden, one of the 

 American observing party. 



M. Trouvel >t \s attention was first directed to the study and 

 figure of the corona, but, after the totality had lasted two minutes, 

 he applied himself to explore the region west of the sun. He 

 moved his telescope 10° in declination to the north of the sun's 

 centre, and swept slowly from that point from east to west, to 

 a distance of 15° in right ascension. The first sweep brought 

 out a small whitish star; two other sweeps were made without 

 any result ; but in ihe fourth he saw a bright star of a decided 

 red c lour, which he estimated at 4 or 4J magnitude. Its 

 approximate position was a little to the north, and a little to the 

 « est of the sun, but the cause of a more exact determination of 

 position not being made will be best given in M. Trouvelot's 

 own words : — " En voulant amener cet astre dans le champ tres 

 restreint de l'oculaire du 6 ) ouces (0'l6m.), afin de checher a 

 constater s'il montrait traces soit d'tin disque, soit d'une phase, 

 il se produisit une certaine onfusion paruii les deux aides que 

 j'avais places aux cercles hor.iire et de declinaisou pour guider la 

 course des balayages, et bien que l'e'toile traversat le champ 

 visuel, il me fut impossible de retenir en place li lunette, et des 

 lors de reconnattre son caractere et sa position." In the abstract 

 of results of observations appended to the reports of the ob- 

 servers, after reference to Herr Palisa's experiences, we read 

 in the Camples Rendus: " M. Trouvelot arrive a un resultat 

 m >ins net pour le cote ouest, mais nous savons que cet observa- 

 teur distingue desire revoir la region oil se trouvait le soleil au 

 moment de l'e'clipse avant de ce prononcer." It is stated that 

 the photographs, though not yet examined in a cojaplete 

 manner, appear to support the negative result obtained by Herr 

 Palisa as to the existence of an intra-Mercurial planet. 



A New Comet. — A Dun Echt circular (No. 78) notifies the 

 discovery of a comet by Mr. Brooks on September 2, which was 

 thus observed by Mr. Wendell at the Harvard College Observa- 

 tory on the follow ng night : — 



Greenw.ch M.T. R.A. Decl. 



h. m. s. h. m s. a , „' 



September 3 at 16 9 24^5 ... 16 35 156 ... + 64 49 33 



Daily motions in R.A. - 363., in declination -12'. It is 

 described as circular ; less than 1' diameter; tenth magnitude ; 

 well defined nucleus, and no tail. 



THE GERMAN SURVEY OF THE NORTHERA 

 HE A VENS ' 



"THE illustrious Argelander was accustomed to say in the 

 quaint form of speech which he often employed, "The 

 attainable is often not attained if the range of inquiry is extended 

 t >o far." in no undertaking is there greater need of a judicious 

 application of this sound maxim than in the systematic determi- 

 nation of the exact positions of all the stars in the visible heaveus 

 which fall within the reach of telescopes of moderate power. 



The first subject which engaged the attention of the Astrono- 

 mische Gesellschaft, at its formation in 1865, was the proposition 

 to determine accurately the coirdinates of all the stars in the 

 northern heavens down to the ninth magnitude. To this associa- 

 tion of astronomers (at first national, but since become largely 

 international, in its character and organisation) belongs the credit 



1 An address delivered by Prof. William A. Rogers before the American 

 Association for the Advancement of Science at Minneapolis on August 15, 



