De 



i886j 



NA TV RE 



ilepiessions, coming up from the Adriatic, as those of late 

 summer seem to be on the south or south-east border of Atlantic 

 depressions. 



Bethnal Green Free Library has been doing a large 

 amount of good work in the thickly-populated district in which 

 it is situated, not only by giving facilities for reading books, but 

 by science lectures and science "talks." It is much in want of 

 funds for the extension of operations, and we commend it to the 

 consideration of our readers. The librarian is G. F. Hilcken. 



The additions to the Zoological Society's Gardens during the 

 past week include a Bonnet Monkey {Macacus siiiicus) from 



India, presented by Miss G. M. Fisher ; a • Hedgehog 



[Eriimcens ) from Madras, presented by Mr. H. R. P. 



Carter; two Mute 'svi-xas, {Cygnus olo>), European, a Common 

 Peafowl {Piivo cristalus) from India, presented by Lady Siemens ; 

 a Red and Yellow Macaw {Ara cidoroplcra) from South America, 

 presented by Mr. Arthur Daunt ; a Grey Parrot {PsUtaciis eri- 

 thacns) from West Africa, presented by Mrs. Greenwood ; five 

 Great Eagle Owls (Bubo maximiis), European, presented by 

 Mr. Philip Crowley, F. Z. S. ; a Common Guillemot Lonivia 

 lioile), British Islands, presented by Mr. J. H. Gurney, F.Z.S. ; 

 two Gambel's Partridges {Callipcpla gamhelli) from California, 

 presented by Mr. W. A Conklin, C.M.Z.S. ; a MalabarGreen 

 Bulbul (Phyllorms aurifrom) from India, received in exchange ; 

 five Great Titmice (Paiiu tiiajjr), four Blue Titmice {Panis 

 cirruUus), two Bullfinches {Pyrrhula europcea), European, pur- 

 chased. 



OUR ASTRONOMICAL COLUMN 

 The Argentine General Catalogue of Stars. — This 

 Catalogue, containing the mean positions of 32,448 southern 

 stars determined at the National Observatory of Cordoba, has 

 recently been published by Dr. Gould. The observations from 

 which the Catalogue positions are deduced were made with the 

 meridian-circle of the Cordoba Observatory during the years 

 1872-80. During these years the zone-observations were the 

 chief object of attention, and the present Catalogue contains the 

 places of those stars whose positions were more elaborately 

 determined during the progress of that great work, and consti- 

 tute an addition to our knowledge of southern stellar positions 

 of perhaps not less importance than the Cordoba Zone-Cata- 

 logue. The General Catalogue gives the positions, for the epoch 

 1875 'o, of most of the southern stars brighter than magnitude 

 84, the deficiencies in this respect being chiefly found north of 

 the parallel of 23°, at which the zones begin. These omissions 

 will be of comparatively small importance, inasmuch as the 

 new Ditrchmtistt'ruiig of Prof. .Schonfeld comprises all the 

 southern stars within this region, while accurate determinations 

 of the brighter ones will have been made in the re-observa- 

 tion of Lalande's stars now nearly completed at the Paris 

 Observatory. 



ASTRONOMICAL PHENOMENA FOR THE 

 WEEK 1 886 DECEMBER 5-1 1 



/tJ'OR 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 5 

 Sun rises, 7h. 51m. ; souths, Ilh. 50m. 51 '4s. ; sets, I5h. 50m. ; 



decl. on meridian, 22° 25' S. : Sidereal Time at Sunset, 



2oh. 47m. 

 Moon (two days after First Quarter) rises, I3h. 30m. ; souths, 



igh. 3Sm. ; sets, ih. 51m.* ; decl. on meridian, 0° 19' N. 

 Planet Rises Souths Sets Decl. on meridian 



Mercury ... 7 16 



Venus 7 54 



Mars 10 19 



Jupiter 3 34 



Saturn 18 35* 



• Indicates that the risin_ 

 that of the following morning. 



II 32 ... 15 48 ... 19 Si s. 



II 53 ■•• 15 52 ... 22 27 S. 



14 10 ... 18 I ... 23 45 S. 



8 49 ... 14 4 ••■ 9 41 S- 



2 38 ... 10 41 ... 21 29 N. 



i that of the preceding evening and the setting 



Occupations of Stars by the Moon (visible at Greenwich) 



Corresponding 

 r» o. i\* T^■ D angles from ver- 



D.C. Star Mag. D.sap. Reap. (ex ,0 right for 



h. m. h. m. „ 0° 



5 ... 14 Ceti 64 ... 16 52 near approach 358 — 



10 ... 48 Tauri 6 ... 5 52 ... 6 38 ... 105 339 



10 ... B.A.C. 1526 ... 6 ... 22 29 ... 23 44 ... 78 292 



Saturn, December 5. — Outer major axis of outer ring = 45 "'4 > 

 outer minor axis of outer ring = I7"'7 ; southern surface visible- 

 Variable Stars 

 Star R.A. Decl. 



h. m. „ , h. m. 



U Cephei o 52-2 ... 81 16 N. ... Dec. 8, 146111 



Algol 3 0-8 ... 40 31 N. ... ,, 6, 23 15 m 



„ 9, 20 5 m 



f Geminorum ... 6 57'4 ... 20 44 N. ... ,, 9, 5 o '" 



V Geminorum ... 7 168 ... 13 19 N. ... ,, 7, Jl/ 



U Coronre 15 I3'6 ... 32 4 N. ... ,, 7, o 32 m 



^ Lyne iS 459 ... 33 14 N. ... ,, 11,19 o /]/ 



S Vulpeculee ... 19 437 ... 27 o N. ... ,, 6, ;« 



T Aquarii 20 439 ... 5 34 S. ... ,, 5, M 



S Cephei 22 24^9 ... 57 50 N. ... ,, 7, o o M 



,, 10, 19 o m 



Meteor-Showers 

 The principal shower of the week is that of the Gcminids ; 

 R.A. 105°, Decl. 32° N., but moonlight will interfere with its 

 observation at the time of its maximum, December lo-ii. 

 Stars with Remarkable Spectra 

 Star R.A. 18860 Decl. i3S6o Type of 



h. m. s. / spectrum 



20 Leporis 5^3 ■■• 'i 59'4 S. ... III. 



119 Tauri 5 25 32 ... 18 30-5 N. ... III. 



64a .Schjellerup ... 5 38 52 ... 20 388 N. ... IV. 



a Orionis 5 48 59 ... 7 23-1 N. ... III. 



TAurigix; 5 51 27 ... 45 55'5N. ... HI. 



THE ROYAL SOCIETY^ 



"POR many years it has been my duty as senior secretary to 

 -*■ read at each anniversary the de.Tth-roll of the ye.ir. The 

 names this year are perhaps slightly fewer than usual, but many 

 recall to us faces once familiar that we shall never see here again. 

 Earliest among them comes Sir Frederick Evans, whose death 

 took place only very shortly after our last anniversary. In the 

 course of the preceding suinmer he crossed the Atlantic to take 

 part in that International Conference which assembled at Wash- 

 ington, to deliberate among other things on the choice of a 

 common prime meridian for all civilised nations. On his return 

 he was looking ill, and the illness increased until it carried him 

 away. Yet even through his illness he kept on working at 

 science, at a task he had undertaken, and which was almost 

 completed when he died. To this I shall have occasion to refer 

 again. In Mr. Busk we have lost one who has lung been among 

 us, and who took an active part in the scientific business of the 

 Society. He repeatedly served on our Council, and both then 

 and subsequently gave us the benefit of his exien ive knowledge 

 and sound judgment in the important but laborious t.ask of 

 advising the Committee of Papers as to the proper mode of 

 dealing with papers which they referred to him. In Lord Card- 

 well we have lost a statesman whose political duties did not 

 prevent him from coming among us and serving on our Council. 

 The public services and singular honesty and straightforwardness 

 of Mr. Forster are appreciated by the national large. Quite 

 recently, at no advanced age, we have lost Prof Guthrie, the 

 occupant of a chair which a great many years ago I held for a 

 time ; a man whose genial character drew around him a close 

 circle of friends. Still more recently we have lost the Earl of 

 Enniskillen, whose fine pala:ontolugical collections are well 

 known to geologists. Only the other day one passed away whom 

 we seldom missed at our anniversary meeting, ;iiid who was 

 frequently with us on other occasions : I allude to General 

 Boileau, whose philanthropic labours will not soon be forgotten, 

 and may, I trust, lie recognised in a much needed form. 



The Fellows will have noticed with satisfaction a very con- 



' Ann'.versary Address by Prof. G. G. Stokes, President, 

 November 30, 1886. 



:sd.-,y, 



