May 20, 1886] 
OUR ASTRONOMICAL COLUMN 
THE Binary STAR a CENTAURI.—Mr. E, B. Powell, to 
whose observations and calculations we are largely indebted for 
-our present knowledge of the orbit of this celebrated binary, has 
recently published new elements giving the period as 87°438 
years, the time of periastron passage at 1875°447, and eccen- 
tricity = 0°544. These elements appear to satisfy fairly the 
recorded equatorial measures made from 1834 to 1885 (as well 
as most of the ancient observations), with which Mr. Powell has 
compared them; but all the available observations have not 
been used—for instance, the Sydney measures subsequent to 
1877 have been omitted, as some influence appears to have 
operated to throw out these measures from accord with those 
taken at other observatories. Mr. Powell considers that the 
evidence is tolerably strong against the period of a Centauri 
being only some seventy-six years (as given by the Downing- 
Elkin orbit), but thinks that in six or eight years, if careful 
measures be taken, the point will be settled as to whether the 
period is about seventy-six years or exceeds eighty-six years. 
A NEw BELGIAN OBSERVATORY.—The Cointe Observatory, 
attached to the University of Liége, has been founded at the 
instigation of M. Folie for the purpose of affording instruction 
to the students in astronomy and geodesy, as well as of furnish- 
ing original observations. M. Folie is Director of this Observa- 
tory, as well as of the Royal Observatory at Brussels. The 
Cointe Observatory is furnished with a meridian circle by Cooke, 
the object-glass of the telescope of which is of 6 inches aperture, 
and the circle 0°8 metre in diameter. The Observatory also 
possesses a 10-inch refractor by Cooke, of the optical qualities 
of which M. Folie speaks in the highest terms. The astro- 
nomers attached to this institution are MM. L. de Ball and P. 
Ubaghs, the former of whom observes with the 10-inch equa- 
torial, and the latter with the meridian circle. The Observatory 
is destined, we hope, to do good work in both these departments 
of astronomy. 
ASTRONOMICAL PHENOMENA FOR THE 
WEEK 1886 MAY 23-2 
io the reckoning of time the civil day, commencing at 
Greenwich mean midnight, counting the hours on to 24, 
is here employed. ) 
At Greenwich on May 23 
Sun rises, 3h. 59m. ; souths, 11h. 56m. 296s. ; sets, 19h. 54m. ; 
decl. on meridian, 20° 37’ N.: Sidereal Time at Sunset, 
Ith. 59m. 
Moon (at Last Quarter on May 25) rises, 23h. 33m.*; souths, 
4h. 8m.; sets, 8h. 48m, ; decl. on meridian, 16° 38’ S. 
Planet Rises Souths Sets Decl. on meridian 
h. m. h. m, h. m. , 
Mercury ... 3 25 10 37 17 49 13 12N 
Venus ... 2 35 9 4 15 33 5 4N 
Mars 5 WA Te) 18 54 I 38* 7 54N. 
plter... 2... 13) 24 19 42 205 253N 
Saturn... 6 13 14 25 22 37 22 48 N 
* Indicates that the rising is that of the preceding evening and the setting 
that of the following morning. 
May h. 
Paws. 20) Jupiter stationary. 
2) oo 16} Venus at greatest distance from the Sun. 
Variable Stars 
Star R.A Decl. 
h m. ey, h. m. 
U Cephei © 52:2... 81 16N. ... May 25, 3 18 m 
U Monocerotis 7 25°4 @ B28 coo ao Beh M 
U Ophiuchi... 17 10°8 DezOUNeeey 4a +205 -2)1Ons2 
ay Ash A BH 7c 
X Sagittarii... W7NAO-Olnst2 Ay Seies tse) 2012.25.72 
aa 29 On On 
U Sagittarii... LOU2 Se LOL 2iOs ten 55) 20s) 2a25. Aer 
3) 29, 2K 40 m 
B Lyre... LOeA GEOR SO LAg Neem yen 205020 3ON772 
R Lyre LOUS ICON ASTAG! Nememiys) 25 m 
M signifies maximum ; #7 minimum. 
Meteor Showers 
The Draconids, radiant R.A. 280°, Decl. 54° N., and the 
Cygnids, R.A. 301°, Decl. 37° N., are due this week. Meteors 
from radiants near a Urse Majoris, R.A. 175°, Decl. 64° N. ; 
in Lyra, R.A. 273°, Decl. 34° N.; and in Lacerta, R.A. 329°, 
Decl. 48° N., have also been observed at this season. 
NATURE 
61 
GEOGRAPHICAL NOTES 
Tue Kermadec Islands, which have during the past week 
been occupied by the orders of the Home Government by 
Admiral Tryon, Commander-in-Chief on the Australian station, 
are a group of rocky islets about 600 miles to the north-north- 
east from the North Island of New Zealand, and lying on the 
steamer route from Christchurch or Wellington to Fiji, They 
are due east of Norfolk Island. The principal islands of the 
group are Raoul or Sunday Island, the position of which is put 
at 29° 12’ S. and 178° 15’ W. It is described as about 12 miles 
in circumference, rugged and very steep, without an anchorage. 
It is said to be covered with wood, and to be uninhabited except 
for a few white men, waifs and strays from the ocean, ship- 
wrecked sailors, deserters, &c. The other islands of the group 
are Macauley, the Curtis Islands, Havre, and Esperance. 
AT the last meeting of the Geographical Society of Paris a 
letter was read from M. Borelli, who is at present travelling in 
that part of Eastern Africa whereiM. Barral has been murdered. 
M. Brettes, referring to his explorations of the Grand Chaco 
between the Argentine Republic, Bolivia, Brazil, and Paraguay, 
said he had discovered a great salt lake which he proposed to 
call Lake Crevaux, and three rivers, hitherto unknown, the 
most important of which would be called Rio Lesseps. M. de 
la Grye stated the propositions adopted by the committee 
appointed to study the reforms necessary for the adoption of a 
common international orthography for maps. These were—(1) 
any change for European countries is recognised as impossible ; 
(2) in Asia, Africa, and America it is proposed that the French 
u should be replaced by the diphthong ow, the value of the 
French vowels a, 2, 7, 0 remaining unaltered ; (3) in the geo- 
graphy of the Far East the sound of the w with a dizresis is 
represented by oe, g¢ and / are always hard, c/ is reproduced by sh, 
amongst the gutturals the soft ones are represented by 2%, the 
hard by 4%; (4) as far as possible, by the aid of this common 
alphabet, the most generally used pronunciation of places, 
towns, rivers, mountains, &c., shall be reproduced. *Brof. 
Ersler of Copenhagen described the results of his investigagons 
into the cartography of Denmark from the time of Ptolemy. 
THE French staff officers are busy with the continuation of the 
Paris meridian to Laghouat, about 4° south of Algiers. When 
this work is finished this line will be measured with precision 
from the Orkneys to this locality. The length determined will 
not be far from 30°, or about three times its original extension, 
which was 10°, from Dunkirk to Formentera. 
Two Finnish savants, Drs. Hammarstrom and Ehnberg, have 
just returned to Helsingfors from a scientific journey in Eastern 
Siberia and China, whence they bring valuable scientific 
collections. 
News received from Baron Schwerin, the Swedish scientific 
explorer on the Congo, informs us that he landed from the 
Liverpool steamer in December last at the mouth of the River 
Chiloango, whence he proceeded on foot through the districts of 
Cacongo and Cabinda to Banana. During the journey along 
the coast the Baron succeeded in making many valuable observa- 
tions of the shore-lines or terraces on the gradually-rising coast, 
and of the effects of the tide on the plastic formation of the 
sandy fore-shore. He also paid special attention to the study of 
the great influence which ocean currents exercise on the direc- 
tion of the flow of rivers in their lowest course. 
CounT SAMUEL TELEKY is organising, at Pesth, an Expedi- 
tion for the exploration of Central Africa ; the fitting out will 
be completed by the end of May, and 100 well-armed men will 
reach Zanzibar in the course of June. Capt. Hahnel, of the 
Austrian Navy, will take part in the Expedition, and two boats 
will be taken out in pieces. It is believed here that the Expe- 
dition will not confine itself to scientific explorations only. 
Tue three numbers of the Yournal of the Geographical 
Society of Tokio for last year which have been recently pub- 
lished do not contain much of special interest to English 
students of geography, although the papers could hardly fail to 
instruct a Japanese audience, which can hardly be expected to 
be as familiar with the colony of Victoria, or with the progress 
of Russia to the southward, as Western readers. The report of 
the Japanese delegate to the Prime Meridian Conference at 
Washington is also printed. Of special papers there are two: 
one on the Bonin Islands, called Ogasawarajima by the 
Japanese ; another on the area within which Mount Fuji is 
} visible. 
