August 24, 1S83. 



SCIENCE. 



221 



LETTERS TO THE EDITOR. 

 Errata in catalogues of stars. 



The Waslihuni ol)seivati)ry possesses a nearly 

 complete cullectiun of micIi slar-catalo;jiics as have 

 been piiiiled since the year 1800. A list of ihem is 

 given below. It will he iioliced that this list does 

 not ineliule the very expensive Uiiti^h association 

 catalogue. Oeltzeu's Arm'laiuler's .Noilhern zones is 

 also missing from the list, as I have hem unable to 

 buy it in Kmope iluiing the past two years. An- 

 other very scarce catalogue (VVeisse's Ije.ssel's Zones 

 from + 1.')° to — 15°) I have just obtained after two 

 years" delay. 



In each one of these calalo;;ues. I have had every 

 erratum known to me inserled in its proper place, so 

 that the set of catalogues really represents what is 

 known, freed from an enormous mass of misprints 

 and real errors. 



I am not able to say how many material errors have 

 been corrected, but certainly not less than twelve 

 thousand. I think those who use star-catalogues 

 most will be most snrpriseil at the amazing number 

 of material errors which still remain in the catalogues 

 which they employ daily. 



I have called attention to these errors in order 

 to say that I will engage to have any of the cata- 

 logues of the following list corrected completely, in 

 all respects like my own, for any observatory, or for 

 any astronomer who may desire it. 



The catalogue should he sent by American ex- 

 press, prepaid, adilressed to nie, and accompanied 

 by a note asking that the work be iloue. The book, 

 wheu corrected, will be returned by express at the 

 owner's expense. 



The corrections will be made by one of my a.ssist- 

 ants, under my direction, and an account kept of the 

 number of hours spent on the work. The work 

 will be charged for at the rate of lifty cents per 

 hour. I may say that the sum so received will be 

 paid to the copyist. 



It has appeared to me, that, after the large amount 

 of labor which has been expended on my own cata- 

 logues, I was under obligaiions to give ti.e benefit of 

 sueh work to others, and this I willingly do. 



The first list following gives the names of the 

 catalogues owned by the Washburn observatory; the 

 second gives the sources from which the errata liave 

 been derived. 1 shall be much indebted for references 

 to errata not there mentioned. 



Edward S. Holden. 



Washburn Observatorv, Madison, Wis., 

 Aug. 1, 1883. 



/. List of star-calalof/ves. 

 Airy: Catalogue of 1,4:!9 stars. 1S40.0. 



" " l,.57ii " 18.50.0 (6-year). 



« .. 2,022 " 18(i0.0 (7 " ). 



" " 2,700 " 1804.0 (7 " ). 



" " 2,2U:{ " J872.0 (9 " J. 



Argelander: Bonn observations, vols. 1-7. [Vols. 1 



and 2 not corrected.) 



Uranometria nova. (The maps not cor- 

 rected.] 



Baily's Lalande. 



Uehrmann: Uranometry. | The maps not corrected.] 



Brisbane: Paraiuatia catalogue. 



Carrinston : 3,7:{.") circumpolar stars. 



Gould: Uranonu'tri.i argenlina. 



U'Agelet's Catalogue. 



Heis: Atlas coeleslis. [The maps not corrected.) 

 Johnson: First Kadcliffe catalogue. 

 Lamout: Catalogues, vols. 



Main: Second Radcliffe catalogue. 

 Kobinson: Armagh catalogue. 

 Kiimker: 12,(KK) stars. 

 Schjellerup: li'.tXM) stars. 

 Stone: Cape catalogue. 187:?. 



'• •' 1S78. 



" " 1880. 



Weisse's Besscl's Zones I. and II. 



Willie: Melbourne general catalogue. 1870. 



//. Lhl of sources xichere errata are found. 



%*The name of the author of the catalogue comes 

 first, then a brief reference to the particular cata- 

 logue, and, last, a reterence to the place where the 

 errata are given. No reference is nnule here to cor- 

 rections which are usually bound in the same covers 

 with the original catalogue, or which are given in 

 subsequent volumes of the same work. I have also 

 included here a few reviews which contain no errata, 

 properly speaking. 



Airy: New 7-year catalogue. — v. .;. .s. 1S7I, 100. 



Argelander: Bonn obs., vi. — v. .i. s. 18117,272. 



Durchmusterung. | A single correction to U. M.] 



— Astr. nachr., Ixxi. col. 240. 



(Places of two stars not in D. M.) — Astr. 



nachr., Ixxii. col. 5.5. 



Astr. nachr., no. 1765. 



Astr. nachr., no. 2396, col. .305: no. 2429, 



col. 69. 



[Uebereinen in der D. M. fehlenden stem.) 



— Astr. nachr., no. 2459. 



Astr. nachr., no. 247S. Same, no. 2.527. 



Uranometria nova. — Astr. nachr., xxvi. col. 



.318. 



Ann.als Harv. coll. obs., ix. 



Northern zones. — Bonn obs., v. 



[Kortsetzung von band v.] — Bonn oi)s., vi. 



[Theoretical; with a few corrections to the 



zones.) — V. .i. s. vol. 8, 221. 



Southern zones. — Bonn obs., vi. ; Cooper's 



Ecliptic stars, iv. 



Baily's Lacaille: Catalogue. — Bonn obs., vii. 245; 

 Cape catalogue, 1880. 



Baily's Lalande: Catalogue. — Bonn obs., vii. 2l:> 

 seq. ; Schjellerup, 10,000 siars. p. 225. 



Behrmann: Atlas des siidlicheu gestirnten Hini- 

 mels. — V. .1. s. 1875,89. 



Bessel: Zones. — Bonn obs., iv. p. i. ; v. p. x.xxii. 



British association catalogue. — Cape catalogue, 

 1840; same, 1880. 



Brisbane: 7,:!85 stars. — Cape catalogue, 1810; same, 

 1880. 



Cape catalogue: 1840. —Stone, Cai)e catalogue, 

 1880, .5.59. [A single correction.) 



Catalogues: Errata in standard catalogues of stars. 



— Monthly not. K. A. S., viii. Itil. [This volume I 

 have not access to at present.) 



Copeland & Borgen: Mitilere oerter steriie zwi- 

 schen 0°nnd —1°. — v. .i. s. 1870, 197. 



D' Arrest: Siderum neb. obs. hav. — v. j. s. 1808 

 94. 



Dreyer: Supplement to Ilerschel's General cata- 

 logue. — V. .T. .s. 1878, 274. 



Ellery: First Melbourne catalogue. — v. j. s. 1870, 

 178; Monthly not. K. A. S., xlii. 308. • 



Feilorenko: Catalogue. — Bonn obs., vi. 



Gilliss : Catalogue U. S. naval astron. expedition. 



V. .1. s. 1872, 46. 



Uould: Iteduetion of D'Agelet. — v. j. .<!. 1867, 2. 



Standard places of fund, stars. — v. j s 



1867, 22. 



Uranometria argentina. — Cordoba observa- 

 tions, ii. 295. 



