l62 



Errors of the middle observation : — 

 5 \ = - 8" ,3 = 



NA TURE 



[Dec. 17, 1885 



Ephcmeris for Berlin Midnight 



App. R.A. App. Decl. Log. i Brightne 



Dec. 20 



-20 43-1 ... 0-0837 ... 1-4 

 44 '3 



46'2 ... 0'o844 ... 15 

 490 

 52'6 ... o'o849 ... I '6 



The brightness on December I is taken as unity. The above 

 elements differ considerably from those published by Dr. S. 

 Oppenheim in the Vienna Circular, No. Ivi., but appear to 

 represent the obsei-vations better. 



23 59 57 

 22 ... 56 49 

 24 ■■• 53 52 

 26 ... SI 5 

 28 ... 48 29 



ASTRONOMICAL PHENOMENA FOR THE 



WEEK, 1 885, DECEMBER 20-26 

 (For the reckoning of time the civil day, commencing at 

 Greenwich mean midnight, counting the hours on to 24, is here 

 employed. ) 



At Greenwich on December 20 

 Sun rises, 8h. Sm. ; souths, ilh. 57m. 59"2s. ; sets, ish. 50m. ; 

 decl. on meridian, 23° 27' S. : Sidereal Time at Sunset, 

 2ih. 4Sm. 

 Moon (Full on Dec. 21) rises, iSh. 17m. ; souths, 23h. 5m. ; sets, 

 6h. 58m,* ; decl. on meridian, 17° 48' N. 



Planet 



Mercury 

 Venus 

 Mars 

 Jupiter 

 Saturn 

 « Indicates 



h. m. 



.. 7 36 

 .. 10 47 

 .. 22 46* 



Souths 

 h. m. 



II 45 



15 17 



5 25 



6 23 

 o 28 



Sets 

 h. m. 

 15 54 

 19 47 

 12 4 

 12 24 



8 37 



5 that of the preceding and the settii 



... 16 19* 



that the ris 

 IS day. 



Occiiltations of Stars by the Moon 



20 58 S. 

 17 41 S. 



7 2N. 



o 38 S. 

 22 29 N, 



that 



20 ... 7 Tauri 



20 ... B.A.C. 1526 



21 ... Ill Tauri... 

 21 ... 117 Tauri... 

 21 ... B.A.C. 1930 

 25 ... I Leonis ... 



48 Leonis ... 



26 



Mag. 



4 



6 



54 



6 



6i 

 , 6 

 . 6 



Disap. 





Corresponding 

 angles from ver- 

 tex to right for 

 inverted ima,ge 



4 1 1 near approach 44 

 17 6 near approach 151 — 



5 6 



6 35 

 17 46 



3 55 

 6 50 



5 56 

 7 6 

 iS 37 

 5 5 

 7 48 



"3 325 

 77 353 

 38253 

 So 276 



123 25S 



Phenomena of Jupiter's Satellites 

 h. m. Dec. h. m. 



I 35 II. occ. reap. ■ 22 



5 17 I. eel. disap. I 22 



I 34 III. eel. reap. 23 



3 35 III. occ. disap. 24 



3 38 I. tr. ing. I 26 



The Occultations of Stars and Phenomena of Jupiter's Satellil 



5 54 I- tr- egr. 



6 30 III. occ. reap. 

 3 14 I. occ. reap. 

 o 22 I. tr. egr. 

 711 II. tr. ing. 



isible at Greenwich. 



uch: 



Sun at greatest declination south ; shortest 



day in northern latitude. 

 Saturn in conjunction with and 3° 58' north 



of the Moon. 

 Saturn in opposition to the Sun. 

 Variable Stars 



$ Lyra; .. 

 R Lyras .. 

 X Cygni .. 

 1) Aquilje 

 S Cephei 



R Andromed.'e. 

 Algol 



f Geminorum.. . 

 5 Librae 



18 45 50 , 



18 51 50. 



19 46 9 

 19 46 37 

 22 24 54 . 



o 17 58 

 3 o 41 



6 57 17 

 14 54 50 



Decl. 



. 33 i3'-8 N. 

 ■ 43 477 N. 



• 32 37 '4 N. 

 . o 427 N. 

 , 57 49-6 N. 



• 37 56-4 N". 

 . 40 307 N. 



. 20 44-3 N. 

 8 37 S. 



. Dec. 25, o 



• ,, 26, 

 ■ „ 26, 



• „ 21, 17 



• ,, 23, 4 

 ., 26, 23 



. „ 23, 



A/ 

 o M 

 o M 



M 

 3 51 "' 

 o 40 m 

 19 o A/ 

 19 5 m 

 2 56 m 



Objects with Remarkable 'Spectra 

 Mr. O. T. Sherman, of Yale College Observatory, has recently 

 called fresh attention to the spectra of 7 Cassiopeia and /3 Lyras, 

 as he finds no fewer than .seventeen bright lines in each. Both 

 stars should therefore be examined as frequently and carefully as 

 possible. /3 Lyras is at minimum about midnight on Dec. 25. 



There is an uncertainty about the ephemeris of R Andromedas 

 which renders observations of its brightness a matter of import- 

 ance ; its spectrum, whilst resembling in several particulars that 

 of tlie third type, possessing so many special characteristics, that 

 it deserves the most careful attention directly the star has 

 attained a sufficient magnitude. 



THE RETURN OF THE LEONIDS IN 1885 

 "DETWEEN November 5 and 13 inclusive we had densely 

 ^ overcast skies, so that no _observations could be obtained 

 here. 



On November 14 weather improved, but it was not until the 

 morning of the 15th that the clouds completely dispersed and 

 enabled that uninterrupted view of the firmament which is so 

 necessary to the successful recording of meteors. The three 

 following nights were also brilliantly clear, though the severe 

 frosts which occurred rendered open-air watching somewhat 

 trying. I have summarised my results for the four mornings as 

 follows : — 



Actual 

 Date, Time dura- Meteors , -j Radiant 



1885 ofobs. tionof seen ^™i>as ;„( 



Nov. 15 ... l\ to 6 



16 ... 0}to3 



17 ... oj to 4f 



18 ... 2|to5i 



4 ... 149 -f2I 

 o ... — 



6 ... 150 -)-22 



Nov. 15-1S... o\ to 6 



114 



1494 -H 21 J 



Making certain allowances for the intervals occupied in regis- 

 tering the paths, &c., meteors fell at the rate of about 14 per 

 hour for one observer. Of the total number seen 1 1 only be- 

 longed to the special shower of Leonids. The proportion of the 

 latter to the meteors visible from all other streams was there- 

 fore as I to io'4. Six of the Leonids appeared in iLeo with 

 much foreshortened tracks close to their radiant point, which 

 admitted of very accurate determination. As usual, they left 

 lines of phosphorescence which in several instances brightened 

 most perceptibly about one or two seconds after the extinction 

 of the nucleus. I have frequently noticed this after-glowing of 

 the strealcs which are so commonly generated by the swift 

 meteors discharged from the radiants near the apex of the earth's 

 way. 



On the morning of the 15th the Leonid's furnished about two 

 meteors per hour for one observer. On the i6th there was an 

 apparent lull in the display, not one being observed. On the 

 17th there was a very distinct reappearance of the shower with 

 the same relative intensity as on the 15th. On the l8th the 

 shower had nearly become exhausted, for of 25 shooting-stars 

 only one certainly could be assigned to the radiant in Leo. 



It is extremely probable that the maximum took place, as it 

 usually does, on the morning of the I4tli, when unfortunately 

 the sky was involved in clouds. But the observations now 

 reported for the later nights of the display sufficiently prove there 

 to have been a definite, though feeble, revival of the shower 

 this year, and there can be no question that the Leonid meteor- 

 orbit is continuous so far as our accumulating observations 

 enable us to judge. Evei7 November, as the earth crosses the 

 node, meteors having the same radiant in the sickle of Leo are 

 to be seen, and they exhibit all the characteristics typical of the 

 Leonids during one of the major displays. There are doubtless 

 some condensations in the orbit, giving rise to brighter showers 

 in some years than in others, but a large number of further 

 observations are required to determine the precise nature of 

 these. There can be no doubt that there are certain occasions 

 when fairly bright returns of these meteors pass wholly unob- 

 served. Moonlight, cloudy weather, or the occurrence of a 

 maximum in the daytime, may so much obliterate it as to induce 

 entirely wrong impressions as to its comparative strength in suc- 

 cessive years. We essentially require observers in widely dif- 

 ferent longitudes, and the continuity of annual records should 

 be preserved as far as possible. 



