Fedruary 13, 1908] 



NA TURE 



supplemented, was published early in 1906. This is the 

 edition of which a translation has now appeared in 

 Teubner's collection of text-books of mathematical science. 



The fifth volume of the second series of the Proceedings 

 of the London Mathematical Society has now been pub- 

 'ished by Mr. Francis Hodgson. The volume includes an 

 account of the meetings held during the session November, 

 i<)o6, to June, 1907, and many of the papers read before 

 the society during the session. Obituary notices are in- 

 cluded of the late Colonel Mannheim and Dr. E. J. Routh. 

 As the meetings of the society are recorded from lime to 

 time among our reports of societies and academics, it i: 

 unnecessary to do more now than mention the publication 

 of the volume containing records of papers presented. 



OVR ASTRONOMICAL COLUMN. 

 OccuLTATioNS OF Ur.\nus IN 190S. — From Or. Downing 

 we have received, as an excerpt from Xo. 2, vol. Ixviii., 

 of the Monthly Notices, a table showing the times and 

 angles of immersion and emersion for the occultations of 

 Uranus by the moon observable at British observatories 

 during the present year. The places specifically named are 

 .•\delaide, Melbourne, Sydney, Wellington, Natal, Perth 

 (\\'..-\.), and the Cape, and the dates of the occultations 

 .•ire .\pril 22, May 19, July ij, -August q, and October 3. 

 Dr. Downing hopes that the publication of these data will 

 enable astronomers favourably situated to observe some 

 peculiarities in the appearance of the planet at the tiu'.e 

 of occultation. 



Observations of Comets 1907^ and 1907^. — The results 

 of the observations of comets i907d and 19071', made at 

 the Vienna Observatory with the 6-inch refractor, are re- 

 corded by Dr. J. Holetschek in No. 4231 (p. 99, 

 February 3) of the Astronoinische Nachrichlen. Some of 

 them for 1907^ are particularly interesting, as, in addition 

 to the brightness of the nucleus and of the comet as a 

 whole, the observer gives the length of tail and the times 

 before sunrise up to which the comet was observable. 

 Thus on July 18, when the brightness of the whole comet 

 was of the fourth magnitude, the brightness of the nucleus 

 being 7-5 mag., the object was followed until ijh. 33m. 

 (\'ienna M.T.), that is, until 46m. before sunrise. On 

 -August 26, mag. 20, it was seen until 20m. before sun- 

 rise. The greatest length of tail measured was about 8°, 

 on August 18. 



Signor Abetti also records, in the same journal, a 

 number of observations, made at the Arcelri Observatorv, 

 of these two objects during November and December, 

 1907. 



Planets now \'isiBLE. — With Mercury at its greatest 

 eastern elongation on February 13, it may be possible, 

 during the next night or two, to observe, with the naked 

 eye, five of the major planets at the same time. On 

 February 13 Mercury will set about li hours after the 

 sun, i.e. at about h.30 p.m., some 10° south of west. 

 Venus is still quite a bright object in the western sky, 

 whilst Saturn sets, nearly due west, some three hours 

 after sunset. Mars does not set until about 10.30 p.m., 

 and is to be found in the constellation Pisces to the south- 

 cast of the Great Square of Pegasus. 



At 6 p.m. Jupiter is now a striking object in the eastern 

 sky, having risen some three hours earlier. 



Mercury will, of course, be the most diflficult object to 

 locate, but, following the directions given in these columns 

 on December 5, 11107 (p. 115, vol. Ixxvii.), Mr. W. E. 

 Rolston found the planet at 6.35 a.m. on December 6, and 

 was able to follow it easily until 7.10 .a.m. The observa- 

 tion was made at Wimbledon Park, the sky being clear 

 and the sun rising at 7.51 a.m. 



At present Uranus is in conjunction, and therefore in- 

 visible, but Neptune may be found, with a telescope, situ- 

 ated between the stars € and f and near to tj Geminorum. 



Encke's Comet, 1908a. — The following is a further 

 extract from the ephemeris for Encke's comet given in 



NO. 1998, VOL. 7/1 



No. 4222 (p. 363, December iS, 1907) of the Astrononii.'iclic 

 Nachrichtcii by M. Kamensky and Mdlle. Korolikov : — 



Ephcmcrls oh. (il/.T. Berlin). 



1903 a(app.) 6(.-ipp.) 190S «(app.) S(.ipp.) . 



h. m. h. m. . 



Feb. 12 ... 23 503 ... +6 21 o Mar. 3 ... o 270 ... +"10 4'5 



„ 20... o 3'9 +7 43 7 ., 7 ■■■ o 35'6 ... +10 56'' 



,, 28 ... o 18 9 ... +9 153 ,, II ... o 447 ... -MI 49 '6 



From this we sec that the comet is apparently travelling 

 in a north-easterly direction . through the constellation 

 Pisces, and should be sought, in the earlier part of the 

 evening, some few degrees to the south of the Great 

 Square of Pegasus. Its photographic magnitude on 

 January iq was 12.5, and its distance from both the sun 

 and the e.arlh is decreasing rapidly. According to Prof. 

 Wolf's observations, the above ephemeris required corni- 

 tions of +2401. and —24' on December 25. 



Some interesting notes on the successive riapp.?aranc(s 

 of Encke's comet appear in No. 2 (February i, p. 13) of 

 the Gazette astronotniqiie. 



A C.\talogue of Zodiacal Stars. — .\ catalogue of 

 zodiacal stars, principally prepared for use in occultations 

 of stars by the moon, appears as part iii., vol. viii., of 

 the .Astronomical Papers prepared for the use of the 

 -American Ephemeris and Nautical Almanac. This cata- 

 logue was prepared by Mr. H. B. Hedrick, and all the 

 catalogues employed in the investigation were reduced to 

 the same absolute system as Prof. Newcomb's Catalogue 

 of Fundamental Stars, which appeared as part ii. of the 

 same volume. The c;atalogue includes 1607 stars, .ind 

 gives the definitive positions for the epochs 1900-0 and 

 1920-0. Centennial and secular variations and proper 

 motions are also given. 



Metf.ous observed on Janlarv 2. — Observing .at 

 Hjorring, North Jutland, Herren P. Muusmann and H. 

 Wanning saw a number of meteors in the region between 

 Cygnus and Pegasus on January 2. The observations were 

 made between 8.10 and 8.20 p.m., and during the last 

 live minutes more than thirty meteors were counted. '1 he 

 position of the radiant is given as 300° 4- 6i° {Astroiio- 

 mischc S'achnclitcii, No. 4230, p. 95, February 1). 



THE WISDS OF NORTHERN INDLl.'^ 



THE phenomena of atmospheric motion may be con- 

 sidered and discussed from three main points of 

 view. They may be (i) regarded in their relation to the 

 general system of winds prevailing over a rotating earth 

 unequally heated, and having an annual period of 

 temperature variation ; (2) considered in their dynamic 

 relation to the synchronous distribution of the various 

 other meteorological elements, more particularly the 

 pressure and temperature, in their vicinity ; (3) arranged 

 in order to facilitate comparison with one another at 

 different times and seasons, and to exhibit the connection 

 between wind and climatic conditions in such a way as to 

 enable account to be taken of this connection in a general 

 survey of meteorological conditions and in relation to 

 forecasts. In the memoir before us, the main feature is 

 the development and discussion, from the third stand- 

 point, of the results of anemographic records at .Allahabad 

 and Lucknow during the years 1890-1904 and 1878-1892 

 respectively. Sir John Eliot prefixes the discussion by a 

 short account of the svnchronous distribution of pressure 

 and temperature at Lahore and Allahabad, which is very 

 suggestive of the method to be adopted and the results to 

 be used in a discussion from the second standpoint. The 

 modifying influences of the orographic distribution are too 

 considerable to admit of close connection between the 

 results recorded and the general atmospheric circulation, 

 and no attempt has been made to develop such connection. 

 1 " Memoirs of the Indian Meleo.oloeical Department, being Occa.sior.-ij 

 Discussions and CompiUlions of Meteorological Data relating to India and 

 the Neighbouring Countries." Published under the direction of Dr. O. i . 

 Walker F.R.S Vol. xviii., part iii. V. A Discussion cf the Anem. - 

 "raphic Observations recorded at Allahabad from September, 1890, to 

 August, IQ04. VI. A Di-cussion of the Anemographic Observations 

 recorded at Lucknow from June, 1878, to October, 1892. By Mr John 

 Eliot, K.C.I.E., F.R.S. (London: Harrison and Sons, 1907.) rnce 

 2 rupees. 



