428 



NA TURE 



\_Sept. 13. 1877 



Mr. Erck observed the outer satellite on the following 

 night, when the position at the time named would be 65°, 

 distance from centre of planet seventy-nine seconds, and 

 two hours later the angle would have diminished to 53°, 

 and the distance to sixty-one seconds, or roughly two 

 diameters from the planet's limb as observed. On Sep- 

 tember 8 the angle was 71", distance eighty-five seconds, 

 so that the satellite may have been seen again this evening. 

 So far as we know these are the first observations of a 

 satellite of Mars in these islands, and it is^ singular that 

 they have been made with an instrument constructed by 

 the same optician as the great Washington telescope with 

 which the satellites were discovered. 



In the elements of the satellites transferred to this 

 column last week from the Washington Circular, for 

 major and minor axes of the apparent orbit it is necessary 

 to read semi-axes. 



Variable Stars. — • The following are geocentric 

 minima of Algol and S Cancri, which will be observable 

 in this country during the last quarter of the present year. 

 The epochs are in Greenwich time, and depend upon 

 Prof. Schonfeld's elements. 



Algol. 



h. m. h. m. h. m. 



Oct. 2 ... 15 19 Nov. II ... 18 42 Dec. 4 ... 17 14 



„ 5 ... 12 S ,, 14 ... IS 31 ,, 7 ... 14 3 



,, 8 ... 8 57 ,, 17 ... 12 20 ,, 10 ... 10 52 



„ II ... 5 45 ,, 20 ... 99 ,,13 ... 7 41 



„ 22 ... 17 o „ 23 ... 5 5S „ 24 ... 18 57 



„ 25 ... 13 49 ,, 27 ... 15 46 



,, 28 ... 10 38 ,, 30 ... 12 36 

 ., 31 •• 7 27 



S Cancri. 



h. 



Dec. 12 



II 6 



10 20 



Minor Planets.— On August 11 M. Borrelly detected 

 a new planet, which, it may be presumed, is identical with 

 one seen by Prof. Watson on the 8th, though not identified 

 as a planet until the i6th ; this will be No. 174. The 

 latter astronomer has since announced the discovery of 

 No. 175 on September 3, in R.A., 23h. lom., N.P.D. 

 89° 15', eleventh magnitude. 



Of the small planets which come into opposition during 

 the last quarter of 1877, Iris attains the greatest degree of 

 brightness, her magnitude in the middle of November 

 being a little higher than the seventh. This planet, from 

 proximity to the earth, will afibrd a favourable oppor- 

 tunity of applying Prof. Galle's method of determining the 

 solar parallax, and with the view of facilitating observa- 

 tions, an ephemeris from Prof. Briinnow's tables will be 

 given in this column before the end of the present month. 

 The rough ephemeris of the Berliner Jahrbueh is not 

 sufficient for practical purposes. 



NOTES 



The health of M. Leverrier is so far restored that he is daily 

 expected at the Paris Observatory to resume his official duties. 

 The glass of the large refractor has been put in ^ position, after 

 having undergone repairs, and will be tested again before being 

 Slivered. Bischofsheim's transit instrument is in use, and works 

 admirably. The magnetic instruments are also in operation in 

 the new grounds given by the municip-ality. Magnetical obser- 

 vations are also taken at Montsouris Observatory with similar 

 instruments, and at a distance of two kilometres. Both estab- 

 lishments are satisfied with eye observations. 



On August 14 Denmark celebrated the centenary of one of her 

 most eminent sons— Hans Christian Oersted, bom August 14, 

 1777. known all over the world as the discoverer of the laws of 

 electro-magnetism. It was in 1813 that Oersted fij-st published 

 his investigations, 



At the recent biennial meeting of the German Astronomical 

 .Society, which was held at .Stockholm, the members received 

 the news of the discovery of the two satellites of Mars with 

 manifestations of grave doubts. The president at their request 

 telegraphed to the Berlin Observatory, and in reply received a 

 copy of the original telegram as it was sent from America. The 

 next meeting of the Society is fixed to take place at Berlin in 

 1S79. 



We have received the " Programme et Rcglemeat" of the 

 International Congress of the Medical Sciences, which com- 

 menced its fifth session at Genoa on Sunday and will conclude 

 on Saturday. This programme contains a feature which we 

 have not noticed before in connection with any similar congress. 

 All the usual information as to meetings of various kinds, sec- 

 tional proceedings, excursions, c&c, is given in a well-arranged 

 form. In addition to this, under each section is given along with 

 the titles of the papers to be read, a summary of the conclusions 

 come to by the author on each question treated. These summaries 

 are sometimes of considerable length, and we cannot but think 

 that it is an advantage both to speaker and to hearers that the 

 latter are thus instructed and interested beforehand, and so able 

 to follow intelligently a speaker's line of thought. Although 

 the association is to meet during a whole week, there are only 

 twenty-four papers in all to be read, thus allowing ample time 

 for discussion. 



The inaugural address of the meeting of German naturalists at 

 Munich on the 1 7st inst. will be delivered by Dr. von Pettenkofer. 

 The following is the latest list of the general lectures announced : 

 — Prof. Dr. Waldeyer (Strassburg), on C. E. von Baer and his 

 influence upon the history of evolution ; Prof. Dr. Ernst Haeckel 

 (Jena), on the evolution theory of the present day in its relation 

 to science in general ; Prof Dr. G. Tschermak (Vienna), on the 

 early history of the terrestrial globe ; Prof Dr. Klebs (Prague), on 

 the revolution in medicinal views during the last decades ; Dr. G. 

 Neumayer (Hamburg), on meteorology in daily life ; Dr. R. Ave 

 Lallemant (Ltlbeck), on animal life in the Amazon River ; Prof. 

 Dr. S. Gunther (Ansbach), on the latest researches made on the 

 mathematico-historical domain ; Prof von Virchow has not yet 

 fixed his subject, 



The third annual conference of the Cryptogamic Society of 

 Scotland will be held at Dunkeld during October 10, 11, and 12. 

 The president is Cob H. M. Drumaiond Hay, C.M.Z.S., and the 

 secretary Dr. F. Buchanan White, F. L.S., Perth. The business 

 of the conference will consist mainly in excursions, conversazioni, 

 and an exhibition of specimens. The Society is now prepared 

 to issue a First Century of " Fungi Scotici Exsiccati," which 

 will contain many of the new species and rarities recently 

 discovered. The subscription price is i/. is. 



The Munich Society of Antiquaries has resolved to hold 

 yearly exhibitions after the manner of those of our South Ken- 

 sington Museum. Each exhibition will be devoted to a different 

 branch of industry. A commencement will be made with glass 

 articles. 



Although the late M. Thiers was not himself a man of science 

 he was anxious to possess some knowledge of the several sciences 

 in order to the writing of a work on philosophy on which he 

 was engaged during a number of years. Hi's teachers were 

 chosen from amongst his brother academicians ; M. Leverrier 

 being his instructor in astronomy and M. Charles Saint Claire- 

 Deville in chemistry. He began to write his work under 

 Napoleon's rule, desisted when he resumed his political career, 

 and worked it up again when he resigned his presidentship. It 

 is not yet known whether it will be published in its present 

 imperfect form. At the time of his death he was revising what 

 had been written in order to bring it up to the level of new 

 scientific discoveries. Although Thiers was more than eighty 



