NA TURE 



[November 12, 1908 



OUR ASTRONOMICAL COLUMN. 



Comet Morehouse, 1908c. — Numerous results of observa- 

 tions, appearing in several journals, indicate that in comet 

 1908c we have one of the most interesting cometary visitors 

 that has been discovered of late years. 



In the Comptes rendus for October 26 (p. 730, No. 17) 

 M. Borrelly describes the observations made at the 

 Marseilles Observatory between September 12 and 

 October 3, and states that his photographs bear evidence 

 of striking changes in the form and extent of the tail 

 system. On September 20 two branches of the tail were 

 shown, one rectilinear, the other curved, and the general 

 appearance resembled that of Donati's 1858 comet ; on 

 September 28 the double tail was 5° in length, but on 

 October 2, although triple, it was much shorter. Five 

 tails were shown on the plate of October 3, and the trail 

 of an occulted star indicates a slight absorption effect. 



According to M. L. Rabourdin, observing at Meudon, 

 great changes tooli place from one day to the ne.\t, and 

 obvious changes were observed even during the course of 

 an hour ; on several plates the tail has an undulating 

 appearance. 



Changes, similar to those recorded above, are described 

 by M. Gautier in No. 427S of the Astronomische Nach- 

 richlen (p. 97, October 29). The observations were made 

 at the Geneva Observatory during the period October 

 14-18. 



-According to a letter to Mr. H. C. Plummer, which 

 appears in the Observatory CNo. 402, p. 423, November), 

 P_rof. Barnard followed the comet closely from September 2 

 to October 13, and got one or more photographs on each 

 of thirty nights during that period. He states that the 

 photographs of September 30 are unique, whilst the trans- 

 formation, which took place between the taking of them 

 and the taking of his next one on October i, was very 

 wonderful. Fortunately there is a Greenwich photograph 

 taken during the interval. 



VVe give below a further extract from Prof. Kobold's 

 ephemeris : — 



Ephcmcris 12/1. M.T. Berlin. 



L (true) 



6 (irac) 



1J08 



. (true) 



6 (true) 



Donati's Comet .and the Comet of 69 b.c. — Following 

 up the suggestion that Donati's comet (1858 VI.), of which 

 the period is probably something like 2000 years, was 

 identical with the great comet recorded in the Chinese 

 annals as having appeared in 69 B.C., Herr Kritzinger has 

 compared the available data, and finds that the elements 

 difter so much, especially in the inclination of the orbit 

 plane, that the identity cannot be maintained. In fact, 

 the Chinese comet cannot be identified with any later bright 

 comet. Of all the earlier comets, it appears that the otie 

 recorded in China in 146 n.c. Is the most likely to corre- 

 spond with Donati's. but the identity is, at the best, very 

 uncertain (Astronomische Nachrichtcii, No. 4277. p. 65. 

 October 20). 



Terrestrial Electricity and Solar .Activity. — In No. 

 Is, of the Comptes rendus Dr. \. Nodon reports that on 

 October 2 his instruments at the Bordeaux Observatory 

 indicated a violent change in the terrestrial electrical 

 charge, and stales that this change coincided with the 

 passage of an area of solar activity. He further directs 

 attention to the fact that the changes preceded a violent 

 cyclone, which devastated Guadeloupe, and a magnetic 

 storm, which was registered strongly at the Pare Saint- 

 Maur Observatory. 



The " .AsTRONOMiscHEN Gesellschaft " at Vienna. — 

 The twenty-second general meeting of the " Astrono- 

 mischen Gesellschaft " was held at Vienna on September 

 i>-i8. and a report of the proceedings, contributed by Prof. 

 Kobold. appears in No. 4277 of the Astronomische Nach- 

 richten (p. 71). .\ proposal to hold the 1910 meeting either 

 in America or at Breslau was discussed, the assembly 

 deciding in favour of the latter. 



New Catalogues of Proper Motions. — In No. 4276 of 

 the Astronomische Naclirichten (p. 49, October 9) Dr. 

 Ristenpart publishes a second list giving the proper 

 motions, in R.A. and dec, of some 150 stars. The usual 

 designation, the position for igoo, the magnitude, and tlie 

 precession correction for each object are also given. 



The first fascicule of vol. iv. of the " .Annales de 

 rObservatoire astronomique de Tokyo " is also devoted to 

 a catalogue of proper motions. In it Mr. K. Hirayama 

 gives the declinations and proper motions of 246 stars 

 employed in the Tokyo latitude observations, and discusses 

 at length the processes by which they have been deter- 

 mined ; the present discussion only includes stars not given 

 in the Jalirbuclt. In the first table the designation and 

 the particulars of each star as they appear in the various 

 catalogues employed are given, whilst the second table 

 includes the resulting declinations and proper motions. 



I 



rZ/E INTERNATIONAL CONGRESS ON 

 TUBERCULOSIS AT WASHINGTON. 



pVEN in these days of crowded congresses the Inter- 

 national Congress on Tuberculosis, held in the last 

 week ot September and the first week of October in 

 Washington, must stand out as a most remarkable meet- 

 ing, especially in point of numbers, and were it not that 

 the work there attempted was largely " educational " in 

 character, ajid that the arguments and appeals for better 

 methods of combatuig tuberculosis were directed to a much 

 wider circle than that gathered in Washington, the 

 promoters might well feel that they had undertaken a 

 task for which the return could not be commensurate with 

 the energy they h.ad to expend. There can be no doubt 

 that the congress was far too large to allow of careful 

 and dispassionate discussion of many of the points that 

 were raised in the different sections, but equally there can 

 be no doubt that the moral and educational effect of such 

 a meeting as that held at Washington must be enormous, 

 not only in the United .States and Canada, but in every 

 part of the civilised world. 



The keynote of the whole meeting was enthusiasm and 

 earnestness combined with thoroughness. Following the 

 lead offered by the British Association in the meetings in 

 South Africa, the congress was divided into a series of 

 peripatetic bands, which, as they made their way to 

 Philadelphia, Washington, and New York, gave addresses 

 and demonstrations on the special topics on which they 

 were authorities. When the congress was over there were 

 innumerable demands (most of which could not be met 

 owing to the fact that the meetings were held so late, 

 and that most of the delegates hastened home to their 

 respective work as quickly as possible) for lecturers to 

 tarry and give addresses in the various eastern towns of 

 the States and Canada. As soon as a number of the 

 French and English delegates arrived in Quebec, Montreal, 

 and Toronto, they were first feasted, and then asked to 

 address municipal bodies, chambers of commerce, boards 

 of trade, and the like, and Dr. R. W. Philip caught the 

 public ear at once by his terse and lucid statement of the 

 Calmette-Phllip dispensary system, which has been attended 

 with such marked success in reducing the death-rate from 

 tuberculosis in Edinburgh. At Montreal the way was thus 

 prepared for a great autumn anti-tuberculosis campaign 

 and exhibition, organised by Prof. Adami and his 

 colleagues. Invitations were received from Chicago, 

 Detroit and elsewhere, but the time before the congress 

 was so limited that many of these had to be refused. 

 Exceedingly convenient was the arrangement to hold a 

 meeting of the International .Association for the Prevention 

 of Tuberculosis at Philadelphia a week before the actual 

 discussions were to come on in Washington, and great 

 credit must be given to the president. Dr. Lawrence Flick, 

 to Prof. Pannwitz, the secretary, and to the organising 

 committee in Berlin for the excellent programme there 

 presented to the members. 



Of course, much time and energy were devoted to the 

 presentation and discussion of reports on sanatoria, on 

 Isolation, disinfection, immunisation against, and treat- 

 ment of, tuberculosis, and it was interesting to note what 



NO. 2037, VOL. 79] 



