400 



NATURE 



[August 27, 1896 



Very many inquiries were made at the various 

 stopping-places in the north of Norway concerning the 

 chances of tine weather in the neighbourhood of \'adso. 

 The EngHsh Consul at Hammcrfest, where H.M. Volae,c 

 picked up Mr. Fowler and Dr. \V. Lockyer, informed them 

 that the question of clear or foggy weather depended 

 almost entirely on the direction of the wind. An east 

 wind at Vadso meant foggy weather, a west wind fine ; 

 the reverse was the case at Hammerfest. It was also 

 mentioned that the south side of the Varanger Fjord 

 seemed to be more free from fogs than the northern 

 shore. The news seemed very encouraging, since it was 

 proposed from the beginning to settle on the southern 

 side. It was also made manifest that it would be unwise 

 to select an elevated spot, since clouds and mists often 

 were seen hanging about at loo feet and over, while the 

 lower le\els rema ned clear. The experience, gathered 

 from the first few days spent on the southern shore, did 

 not, however, bear out very exactly the Hammerfest 

 information. The 24th and 25th were both miserably wet 

 days, and yet the wind was blowing hard the whole time 

 from the north-west. The following two days were very 

 fine and hot, the wind coming from the eastward. But 

 the view as to the necessity of a low elevation has been 

 quite justified by what has taken place here. 



When mists were prevalent, Kiohas always been better 

 off than the surrounding country. The hills to the south- 

 east and south-west have often been wrapped in mists, 

 while the eastern horizon at the camp has been as clear 

 as a bell. So far we have only experienced one fog. 



The weather so far has seemed to have a two-day period, 

 two fine days following wet days. The 29th and 30th were 

 wet and windy days, while the two following ones were 

 moderately fine. On the s.s. Garonne I had an oppor- 

 tunity of consulting two pilots well acquainted with the 

 Veranger fjord, and both informed me that the charac- 

 teristic feature of the weather was that the mornings 

 were fine and the sky was overcast later. This has so 

 far in the main proved accurate. The eastward horizon 

 (we ha\e a sea horizon) has been nearly always clear 

 in the earlier part of the morning, i.e. about six a.m., 

 while towards si.x p.m. it was invariably cloudy. This 

 gives us good encouragement, and make our chances of 

 fine weather at the time of the eclipse very hopeful. 

 And it may be stated, further, that the chances are that 

 even if the eclipse morning proves misty, our place of 

 observation will be the best available, and only clouds 

 will pre\ent a successful issue. 



J. NoRM.\N Lockyer. 

 {To be eonlinued.) 



NOTES. 

 Sir George B.^den-Powei.l did science a very important 

 service when he conveyed a small party of observers to Novaya 

 Zenilya to record the characteristics of the eclipse of August 9. 

 Mr. Norman Lcickyer points out in the Times that, thanks to 

 this timely aid, the failures in Norway and Japan are much less 

 disastrous than they otherwise would have been. He has 

 received a code telegram from Mr. Shackleton, one of his 

 assistants who accompanied .Sir G. Baden-Powell, stating that 

 results just short uf the best possible have been obtained. The 

 programme of work arranged for Novaya Zemlya included a 

 series of twenty-two photographs with the prismatic camera 

 (that is, a long photographic camera with two large prisms of 

 60° in front of the lens). The exposures were to begin thirty 

 seconds before totality, and were to end shortly after it. They 

 varied from snap-shots to forty seconds. The times of exposures 

 were arranged to secure specially the spectrum of the corona. 

 Besides this work, to which the highest value is attached, three 

 photographs of the corona were to be obtained with a long focus 

 telescope of 4-inch aperture. It is a matter of congratulation 

 NO. 1400, VOL. 54] 



that these instruments have been utilised, and as Dr. Stone, wh' 

 also accompanied the party, was probably equally successful in 

 making observations, we may say that the eclipse has been saved 

 from entire failure, so far as British astronomers are concerned, 

 by Sir G. Baden-Powell's assistance. As to Russian observers, 

 a Reuter telegram from St. Petersburg, Augu.st 20, says : — 

 " The Russian astronomical expedition, which was sent to the 

 north of Finland to observe the solar eclipse, telegraphs 

 from Tornea that, owing to the magnificent weather which 

 prevailed at the time, ten good photographs of the corona were 

 obtained by means of three different apparatus. The Hydro- 

 graphical Department has received a telegram from General 

 Baron Maidelichefi", of the Saghalien astronomical expedition. 

 The message, which was despatched from Cape Notoro, the south- 

 western extremity of Saghalien, states that the observation of 

 the eclipse was fairly successful, and that, although the sky was 

 cloudy, two photographs of the corona were obtained. Some 

 magnetic variations were noticed during the eclipse." 



A 1 the moment of going to press, the following details have 

 been received from Mr. Shackleton, with reference to his obser- 

 vations at Novaya Zemlya : — "I obtained about eight photos 

 during totality. The most successful are those at the beginning 

 of the eclipse, also at the end and the long exposure near mid- 

 totality. The two photos near the beginning of totality are very 

 interesting : the one nearest the time of the beginning of totality 

 show.s, I think without doulit, as many bright lines as there are 

 in the Fraunhofer spectrum with the same instrument, so in all 

 probability we have succeeded in photographing the ' reversing 

 layer.' The plate at the end of totality also shows a great 

 many lines, but not as many as at the beginning ; probably 

 they are the same as those photographed by Mr. Fowler in the 

 metallic prominences of 1S93 — certainly most of them are. The 

 long exposure near mid-totality gives a good ring at 1474 F, 

 and also one near K (3969 A), and several other fainter one;. 

 The spectra are not so extensive in ultra-violet lines as those 

 of 1893, probably because of the cloudy state of the sky. The 

 corona-photos have also come out very well."' We propose to 

 refer more fully to the Novaya Zemlya observations in an article 

 in our next issue. 



The Royal Society was represented at the funeral of Sir John 

 Millais, on Thursday last, by Dr. Michael Foster and Sir 

 Joseph Fayrer. Among other scientific bodies, which honoured 

 art in the person of the late President, were the Society of 

 Antiquaries, the Roj'al Astronomical Society, the Linnean, 

 Chemical, and Geological Societies, the British Museum, the 

 Koyal Geographical Society, the Institution of Civil Engineers, 

 the Colleges of Phy.sicians and Surgeons, and the Royal Institu- 

 tion of British Architects. 



The success of Sir Martin Conway's expedition to Spitz- 

 bergen was noted in our issue of August 6. A Renter's telegram 

 from Tromso, dated August 21, stales that the whole party had 

 arrived there on their way home. Mr. Garwood and Mr. 

 Trevor-Battye had left the main party in Spitzbergen in order to 

 explore Horn Sund, and they succeeded in reaching and ascend- 

 ing flornsund Tind, a "marble mountain" in the middle of 

 Southern Spitzbergen, which has hitherto only been seen from 

 the sea. They studied the geology and glacier systems of the 

 surrounding country, and encountered serious difficulties on 

 account of the boisterous weather. By no means the least 

 daring part of their journey was the return from Spitzbergen to 

 Norway in a small steam launch of less than twelve tons, neces- 

 sarily a much less seaworthy craft than a sailing boat of the 

 same size. 



A Reuter telegram states that the Danish cruiser Ingolf 

 returned to Copenhagen on Tl.ur.'day last h. ni a long voyage. 



