December 1, 1911] 



SCIENCE 



753 



TEE SOUTH KENSINGTON SOLAS PHYSICS 

 OBSEBVATOBY 



The report of the Departmental Committee 

 on the Solar Physics Observatory, now at 

 South Kensington, has been issued as a Par- 

 liamentary paper and an abstract is given in 

 the London Times. The committee was com- 

 posed of Sir T. L. Heath, assistant secretary 

 of the treasury (chairman) ; Mr. F. W. Dyson, 

 r.E.S., astronomer-royal; Dr. E. T. Glaze- 

 brook, F.E.S., director of the National Phys- 

 ical Laboratory, and Professor Arthur 

 Schuster, F.E.S., chairman of the executive 

 committee of the International Union for 

 Solar Eesearch, with Mr. F. G. Ogilvie, C.B., 

 as secretary. 



The terms of reference were: 



To consider the alternative schemes for locating 

 the Solar Physics Observatory at Fosterdown and 

 at Cambridge, respectively, and to report which 

 of the two schemes is likely to secure the best 

 results for an annual expenditure of approximately 

 the same amoimt as is now incurred for the work 

 done under the direction of the Solar Physics 

 Committee. 



The committee discuss the question in 

 considerable detail, and three of them — Sir T. 

 L. Heath, Mr. Dyson and Professor Schuster 

 — agree on the following " conclusion and 

 recommendations " : 



We are of opinion that, on a balance of consid- 

 erations, and especially having regard to the ad- 

 vantage to the progress of solar physics which may 

 be expected to accrue from the establishment and 

 support by the university of a real school com- 

 bining the studies of solar physics and astro- 

 physics, the Cambridge scheme is calculated to give 

 the better results for an expenditure of approxi- 

 mately the amount now available for the Solar 

 Physics Observatory. 



We recommend, therefore, that the solar physics 

 work be transferred to Cambridge, with an initial 

 grant for buildings and a fixed annual inclusive 

 grant-in-aid to the university, provided that the 

 university will agree to the following conditions: 



1. That the professor of astrophysics be the di- 

 rector of the Solar Observatory. 



2. That there be a committee or syndicate nomi- 

 nated by the university with functions similar to 

 those of the board of visitors of the Eoyal Ob- 

 servatory at Greenwich. 



3. That the astronomer-royal and the director of 

 the Meteorological Office be ex officio members of 

 the committee or syndicate. 



4. That the university undertake to carry out at 

 the new observatory the necessary amount of 

 routine work on the general lines indicated in 

 paragraph 14 (6) and (c). 



5. That an annual report, to include a statement 

 of the work done, and an abstract of the accounts 

 of the Solar Observatory showing the application 

 of the grant-in-aid, be presented by the director to 

 the committee or syndicate, to be by them trans- 

 mitted to the Treasury. 



With a view to securing the permanence of any 

 arrangement that may now be made, the committee 

 desire to point out the importance of attaching the 

 directorship of the Solar Observatory, if estab- 

 lished at Cambridge, to a professorship which is 

 not merely of a temporary character. The univer- 

 sity may not be in a position at present to give 

 any definite assurance that the professorship will 

 be renewed at the expiration of the present tenure ; 

 but we consider it highly desirable that the gov- 

 ernment should ascertain, before coming to a final 

 decision, whether the university is willing at an 

 early opportunity to consider favorably the estab- 

 lishment of a professorship of astrophysics on a 

 permanent foundation. 



Dr. Glazebrook, however, dissents with great 

 regret from his colleagues' conclusion and 

 recommendations. He says : 



I believe that the evidence placed before the 

 committee and the facts detailed in the report lead 

 to the conclusion that, on a balance of all the con- 

 siderations, a scheme for locating the observatory 

 at Fosterdown . . . could be arranged at an annual 

 cost of £3,000, with a capital outlay of £5,000, and 

 would secure the best results. 



It appears from an appendix that Sir Nor- 

 man Lockyer, F.E.S., director of the Solar 

 Physics Observatory, is not in favor of the 

 transference to Cambridge, and recommends 

 the Fosterdown site. 



SCIENTIFIC NOTES AND NEWS 

 The Jean Eeynaud prize of ten thousand 

 francs, awarded by the Paris Academy of Sci- 

 ences every five years, has been bestowed this 

 year on Professor Emile Picard, for his con- 

 tributions to mathematics. 



