154 



NATURE 



[August 3, igi 1 



■. ,1 . .1 1.1 Ami -.. ind i '"-. Ltd., an 

 publi-li 1 work on " Bushman Folk Lor.-," by \V. 1. 

 : and !.. C. Lloyd. The volume will be full} illus- 



trated with numerous specimens of Bushman drawings, and 

 n ill contai prefaa bj I »r. ( ■ . Mi Call Theal. 



OUR ASTRONOMICAL COLUMN. 



Comet 1911b (Kiess), The numerous observations "I 

 Ki — ;'s comet which appear in Nos. 4513-5 of the Astro- 

 nomische Nachrichtei describing ii .1- .1 nebulous 



mass some 25' to 5' in diameter, with a condensation 

 some 40" to 50" across, but no definite nucleus. The 

 estimates of thi magnitude, as one would expect of such 

 an object, var} considerably, but about July io the m 

 l;nl. B .: p] telj S-o. 



A forty-two minutes' exposure, made in a slil 1 

 graph a he reflector ol the KSnigstuhl Observa 



tory, on Jul} 11, showed 390 tip. to be the brightest band 

 The radiation 388 mm was fainter, and its companion oi 

 shorter wave-length fainter still. While the 390 nn line 



extended to a distance "I 1; fr the condensed centre, 



the much faintei tim 467-476 fi/j., with a maximum at 

 472 MM. extended only to about j'. The bands 398-410 n^ 

 and 425 nix were extremel} faint, and no continuous spec- 

 trum was shown on the plate. 



Dr. Wolf adds that, as — n in the 12-inch refractor on 



roughly corresponding to the mean horizon for London; 

 aftei \>u< -i 17 the distano from thi earth I" gins to 

 increase, and the cornel also becomes invisible in 

 latitudes, its declination on August 18 being 35° S. 



Brooks's I omet, .- Numerous observations re- 

 corded in No. 4515 of the [stronomische Vachrichten show 



that the magnitudi ol cornel [911c, di ■ |ul} :o 23, was 



aboul i" 01 11 Di Hartwig reports it. on July 21, as an 

 irregular mass 2-5' in diameter, with a faint 0-5' condensa- 

 tion hi the eleventh magnitude. 



In the supplemenl Di Ebell gives provisional eli 

 and a dail} ephemeris extending to August 24. II 

 elements give the time oi perihelion as November 1 1, 1911, 



so thai h" some weeks we may expecl il 1 to 



brighten up, iccou 1 both its decreasing distance and 



its increasing activity. 



Ephemeris (12/1. M.T. Berlin). 





, (tru. 1 



l", 1 



leg A 



mag 



. +20 42 'O 

 J2 21-2 



+ 35 67 



!7 56 " 

 . 4-40 48 2 



• H 4? }7'* 



lecoming brighter, it- position 

 these latitudes is improving. Its 

 apparent path is from Pegasus towards a Cygni, and the 



Apparent Path of Comet 1911/'. Augu 



July S. thi head showed a distinct dark span- behind its 

 centre, ami a cone of matter was seen to be streaming out 



from the front of the coma. A briel observation by'H 



Helffrich and Massinger showed a curved tail at least i 

 ml verj faint. 

 Elements computed b} M — rs. Einarsson and Meyer 

 agree well with the corrected elements published b\ Dr. 

 Kobold, and. with an ephemeris, appear in No. 4515. The 



The positions in regard to thi tirro d 



approximately on the npai ying chart, the bottom line 



NO. 2179, VOL. 8/] 



last position given here is very near £ Cygni; thus for 

 some time it will transit, with a small zenith distance, not 

 far from midnight. 



lliii.\i;\ Number 01 Meteors Visible. — Mr. Denning's 

 publication, in No. 4515 ol the [stronomische V achrichten, 



nl lb' hi. 1. hi numl 1 meteors vistbli for ever} night 



in the yeai comi - al ... opportune moment, for the out- 

 standing featun ol his comprehensive table is the heavy 



I', 'i let anci ol meteors per hour in late fuh and early 



August. The numbers an ded 1 from the Bristol 



observations mad. during 1866-1911, and give the h 

 number for ""> observet watching a clear, moonless sk} 



. ruptedl} . From a gli at thi tabli the average 



nninli. 1 pet ii. .in I... the first six months of the year would 

 11. 1 exceed six; but earl} in July an increase sets in, which 

 culminates in sixty-nine per hour on August 10, and 

 averages nearly twenty-four per hour for the whole month. 



Charts for rut s "i n-iern Heavens.- Dr. Ristenpart 

 announces in No. 4514 ..I the Astronomische Nachrichten 

 the pub harts ol the southern heavens b_\ the 

 Sant iago I >bsi 1 1 ttoi t f it - serii 5, im luding fiftj ■ h 

 « ill cover th iuth '.nation 



19° S., and ■ ■ io° to 6; h) are now 



