258 



NA TURE 



{Jan. 13, I ! 



as follows: — Bessel 3501-6, Leverrier 3529-6, Meyer 3487-45, 

 and Prof. Hall, from the motion of lapetiis, 3481-3 ± 0-54. 



Prof. Hall carefvilly searched for additional satellites moving 

 in the remarkable gaps between Rhea and Titan, and Hyperion 

 and lapetus, but witliout result. 



Stellar Parallax. — The second Appendix to the Wash' 

 ington Observations for 1883, contains a second memoir by Prof- 

 Asaph Plall, not less interesting and valuable than the above- 

 It will be remembered that Prof. Hall published a volume in 

 1882, containing determinations of the parallaxes of Vega and 

 6i Cygni from observations made by him elf with the great 

 26-inch refractor at the Washington Observatory. Prof Peters, of 

 Clinton, U.S.A., h.as since pointed out to Prof. Hall that the 

 temperature correction to his observations had been applied with 

 the wrong sign. Prof. Hall has therefore now reduced his observa- 

 tions afresh, and given a new solution of the equations of condition. 

 For 61 Cygni, Prof. Hall now finds a parallax of o"'270 ± o'oioi 

 from loi observations extending from October 24, 1880, to 

 January 26, 1886. This value is notably smaller than he ob- 

 tained before, viz. o"-4783, or than most other investigators have 

 deduced. Thus Sir R. S. Ball had found o''-4756, Auwers 

 o"-564, and Struve, Woldstedt, and others values closely 

 according. Prof. Hall appears, however, satisfied with his 

 results, and it should be remembered that Dr. C. A. F. Peters 

 obtained o"-349 for his absolute value of the parallax, the others 

 being only relative parallaxes. Prof. Hall's value for Vega is also 

 rather small, viz. + o"-i34 ± 0-0055 fro™ 128 observations, but 

 agrees very much better with other modern determinations ; 

 Briinnowin 1869 from the same comparison-star, but by measures 

 of distance and position, and not of differences of declination 

 only, having obtained ir = o"-2i2 ± o"-oo98. Prof. Hall also 

 attacked the par.illax of two other stars, 6 (Bode) Cygni, the 

 parallax of which has recently been determined at Dunsink, 

 being one, and the curious star 40 (0'-) Eridani the other. For 

 the former he finds a negative value, whereas Sir R. S. Ball 

 gave ir = -f o"-422 ± o"-o54, but only as a "merely provi- 

 sional " value. The parallax obtained for 40 Eridani, ir — 

 ■f o"-223 ± o''-0202 is in fairly close agreement with Dr. Gill's, 

 viz. It = o"-i66. In the early part of this important paper Prof 

 Hall gives a full discussion, in his usual thorough and painstaking 

 manner, of the value of a revolution of the micrometer-screw 

 employed in the observations. 



Astronomical Prizes of the Academy of Sciences. 

 The Paris Academie des Sciences have decreed the Lalande 

 Prize to M. O. Backlund for his labonrs on the motion of 

 Encke's comet ; the Valz Prize to M. Bigourdan for his re- 

 searches on personality in the observation of double stars ; and 

 the Damoiseau Prize, for the revision of the theory of the 

 satellites of Jupiter, to M. .Souillart, with an e7icouragcnient to 

 M. Obrecht of a thousand francs from the Damoiseau fund. 



ASTRONOMICAL PHENOMENA FOR THE 



WEEK 1887 JANUARY 16-22 



/'pOR the reckoning of time the civil day, commencing at 



^ Greenwich mean midnight, counting the hours on to 24, 



is here employed. ) 



At Greenwich on January 16 

 Sun rises, 8h. im. ; souths, I2h. 9m. 58 -Ss. ; sets, i6h. 19m. ; 

 decl. on meridian, 20° 56' S. : Sidereal Time at Sunset, 

 oh. 2m. 

 Moon (at Last Quarter) rises, 23h. 47m.*; souths, 5h. 41m.; 

 sets, lih. 24m. ; decl. on meridian, 4° 14' S. 

 Planet Rises Souths Sets Decl. on meridian 



Mercury ... 7 23 



Venus 8 39 



Mars 9 4 



Jupiter I 23 



Saturn 15 29 



11 13 



12 55 



13 42 

 6 27 



23 35 



15 3 ■•■ 23 55 S. 

 17 II ... 19 54 S. 

 iS 20 ... 16 24 S. 

 II 31 ... II 42 S. 

 7 41* ... 22 I N. 



ng and the setting 



• Indicates that the rising is that of the preceding < 

 that of the following morning. 



Occultations of Stars hy the Moon (visible at Greenwich) 



Corresponding 

 T-.. C-. »# T\- o _ angles from ver- 



Jan. Star Mag. Disap. Reap. tex to right for 



inverted image 

 h. m. h. m. „ „ 



16 ... 65 Virginis 

 16 ... 66 Virginis 

 l6 ... /- Virginis 



h. 



Sta 



Mars at least distance from the Sun. 



3 ... Jupiter in conjunction with and 3" 40' south 



of the Moon. 



4 ... Mercury at greatest distance from the Sun. 



Variable Stars 

 R A. Decl. 



U Cephei o 523 ... 81 16 N. ... Jan. 16, 23 2 m 



,, 21 22 40 m 



Algol 3 0-8 ... 40 31 N. ... ,, 16, 2 41 »» 



and at intervals of 2 20 48 



\ Tauri 3 54-4 ... 12 10 N. ... Jan. 16, 22 48 m 



,, 20, 21 41 m 



5 Libras 14 54-9 ... 8 4 S. ... ,, 20, 2 42 w 



U Corona; 15 13-6 ... 32 4 N. ... ,, 20, 21 39 m 



W Herculis 16 31-2 ... 37 34 N. ... ,, 18, in 



U Ophiuchi 17 10-8 ... i 20 N 20, 2 44 m 



and at intervals of 20 8 



S LyriB 18 45-9 ... 33 14 N. ... Jan. 22, 21 o ;«,, 



5 Cephei 22 25-0 ... 57 50 N , iS, 23 oM 



yi/ signifies maximum ; in minimum ; w^ secondary minimum. 

 Meteor-Showers 

 Near 7 Orionis, R. A. 72°, Decl. 4° N. From Coma Berenices, 

 R. A. i8l°, Decl. 35° N. ; swift streak-bearing meteors. Near 

 X Cygni, R.A. 295°, Decl. 53° N. ; somewhat slow meteors. 



GEOGRAPHICAL NOTES 

 The opinions of Dr. Junker, who is now in Cairo, as to the 

 best route by which to reach Emin Pa.sha do not help us much. 

 Indeed, Dr. Junker does not commit himself further than to 

 suggest that by the shortest route, through Masai Land, there 

 would be difficulties as to food. Not more, we are inclined to 

 think, than by any other route. Mr. Thomson passed through 

 the country at an exceptionally bad time, when the cattle of the 

 Masai were dying by hundreds from disease. The country is 

 one of the richest game regions in .Africa, and by any route an 

 expedition must, as far as possible, be independent of local 

 supplies. For an expedition of hundreds of men to attempt to 

 cross the Victoria Nyanza in boats would be extremely hazardous. 

 Meantime it is evident both from what Dr. Junker says and from 

 the letter of Mr. Ashe, who has just returned from Uganda, that 

 Emin Pasha is in an exceedingly perilous condition, and that 

 every week's delay risks his life and the lives of those who are 

 with him, for he has no ammunition. We hear, on good autho- 

 rity, that Mr. Stanley has decided to go by the Masai Land 

 route ; if so, it seems a pity that the only white man who has 

 explored this route will not be in the expedition. 



It is said that great administrative changes are about to be 

 made in Russian Central .-Vsia. According to the St. Petersburg 

 Correspondent of the Times, the whole system of arbitrary 

 military mixed with native government, formerly considered 

 necessary for high political purposes of further conquest, is to be 

 gradually modified and almost abolished by the introduction of 

 Russian civil administration and justice, and the subordination of 

 the various departments to the Ministers in St. Petersburg. 

 There is a proposal that Turkestan and the new Transcaspian 

 province should be am.ilgamated, the reason alleged being that 

 they will be closely connected by the Transcaspian railway, 

 which, after passing through Bokhara, will terminate at Tash- 

 kend. The Transcaspian province will therefore, it is con- 

 sidered, be nearer to Turke; tan than to the Caucasus. The 

 scheme is said to have been suggested by General Rosenbach, 

 the Governor-General at Tashkend. It is opposed by General 

 .Shepeleff, Director of the Chancery of the Governor-General of 

 the Caucasus, who is of opinion that it would be highly incon- 

 venient to remove the Transcaspian further from the control of 

 the central Government, and that, if alterations are considered 

 necessary, it would be better to make the newly-acquired 

 territory an independent province. 



According to the Akn'oe Vremya, the trading caravan lately 

 despatched by the Central Asian Commercial Company Kou- 

 drine has passed through Kashgar and entered Tibet. This 

 company is likely to play an important part in Central Asia. It 

 has established permanent agencies at Merv and Askabad and in 

 the Persian cities of Kutchan and Meshed, and now it proposes 

 to do the like in Tibet. It has received from the Ameer of 



