SCIENCE-GOSSIP 



*°5 



ASTRONOMY, 



Sun 



Moon 



1895. 

 June 1 



Mercury. 

 Venus . 

 Mars 



Jupiter 



Saturn 

 Uranus 



Neptune 



Rises, 

 h.m. 



A.M. 



• • 351 • 

 ■ • 345 • 

 ■• 344 ■ 

 Souths. 



P.M. 



.. 7-i8 . 

 Rises. 



.. 10.7 . 



.. 12.19 • 



A.M. 

 .. 2 29 . 



Souths. 



P.M. 

 .. I.38 . 



.. 1.8 . 

 .. 0.9 . 



.. 3-6 . 



.. 3.10 . 



.. 3-12 . 



•■ 2.55 . 



.. 2.41 . 



.. 2.27 . 



.. 1.3+ . 

 .. 0.35 . 



P M. 

 .. 8.43 • 



.. 7-23 . 



.. 8.20 . 



Rises. 



A.M. 



.. 2.23 . 



Sets. 



h.m. 



p.M 



. 84 



. 8.14 



. 8.18 



Sets. 



A.M. 

 . 1. 14 



Souths. 

 1 22 



• 6.34 



A.M. 

 . It.36 



Sets. 



P.M. 



■ 9-55 • 

 . 9.6 , 



• 7-54 

 . n. 11 

 . 10.55 



■ 10.35 

 . 10.58 



. 10.34 < 

 . 10.9 



. 048 

 . 8.46 , 



A.M. 

 . I.59 . 

 . 039 , 



• O.58 



Souths. 



A.M. 



, 10.25 . 



Position at Noon. 



R.A. 



h.m. 

 4-36 ■ 

 5-i8 ■ 

 5.59 • 



Dec. 



22° 4' N. 



23° 6' 

 23 27' 



6.53 



7.2 



6.43 



8.20 



94 



945 



8.10 



8-35 

 9.0 



6.49 

 7.8 



2}° 26' N. 

 20° 42' 



i8 c 44' 

 21 51' N. 

 1 8° 4/ 

 15° 4' 

 2i° 2q' N 



20° 2' 

 l8 J 21" 



23 6' N 



22° 41' 



13.59 ■•• 9° 22' S. 

 14. 1 ... 9 18' 

 14.55 ••■ '6° 2i' S. 



5-1 



Moon's Phases. 



Full ... June 6 ... 11.0 a.m. 

 New ... ,, 22 ... 9.51 p.m. 



1st Qr. . 

 LastQr.. 



June 14 

 ,. 29 



28 a.m. 

 1 p.m. 



Mercury is an evening star in this month, and is 

 at its greatest elongation on the 5th. 



Venus is still well situated for observation after 

 sunset. 



Saturn may be observed early in the evening, 

 especially at the beginning of the month. 



Spectroscopic Astronomy. — Dr. Huggins, 

 F.R.S., delivered, at the Royal Institution on May 

 23rd, the first of three lectures on the instruments 

 and methods of spectroscopic astronomy. He 

 explained how it was that for upwards of half a 

 century astronomers came very near to the dis- 

 covery of the importance of the dark lines in the 

 solar spectrum, but just missed it ; and that all the 

 original discovery by means of the spectroscope, 

 which has so vastly enlarged our knowledge of the 

 heavens, is compressed within the period of the 

 last thirty years. Bunsen, one of the founders of 

 spectroscopic analysis, still survives. The lecturer 

 demonstrated how the latest triumph of the spec- 

 troscope was obtained by Professor Keeler — the 

 confirmation of the atomic theory of Saturn's rings. 



The April Meteor shower was not favourably 

 seen in Britain, on account of the prevalence of 

 clouds in many places where observations were 

 made Still, several of about the first magnitude 

 were seen. 



Saturn's Ring.— There have latterly appeared, 

 especially in the newspapers, some announcements 

 that the actual constitution of the ring of Saturn 

 had been discovered. This was attributed to 

 Professor Keeler of the Alleghany Observatory. 

 That gentleman writes to " Science" of May 10th, 

 to correct some of these statements and to autho- 

 ratively say what he has done in investigating 

 Saturn's ring. His observations, says he, " furnish 

 direct proof of the accepted hypothesis that the 

 ring of Saturn consists of a multitude of small 

 bodies revolving around Saturn in circular 

 orbits." This theory is an old one and has 

 been universally accepted since 1859, when 

 Maxwell's prize essay appeared. Professor 

 Keeler says that he has done no more than confirm 

 "the hypothesis by the widely different method 

 of direct observation with the spectroscope." 

 He continues: "The proof depends upon an 

 application of the well-known principle of Doppler, 

 by which the motion of a heavenly body in the 

 line of sight can be determined by measuring the 

 displacement of a line in its spectrum. Under 

 the two different hyphotheses, that the ring is a 

 rigid body, and that it is a swarm of satellites, the 

 relative motion of its parts would be essentially 

 different ; hence, to distinguish between these two 

 hypotheses, it is only necessary to find a method of 

 sufficient delicacy in order to bring the question 

 within the province of the spectroscope." He 

 then describes his system of observation, which 

 has already been fully explained in the May 

 number of the " Astrophysical Journal." Professor 

 Keeler finds the actual aspect of the lines on his 

 photographs of the spectra of the ball and of the 

 ring are exactly as theory had indicated before 

 practice had confirmed the hypothesis. 



The Eclipse Committee of the British Astrono- 

 mical Association has had under discussion the 

 subject of organising an Expedition to observe the 

 total solar eclipse of August 8th, 1896. The Com- 

 mittee considers the best method of procedure 

 would be to engage a special steamer for the service 

 of the observers, so as to form a home and base of 

 operations. The party would thus be independent 

 of local accommodation, which is evidently far 

 from satisfactory. To enable the Committee to 

 carry out the proposal, an invitation is issued to 

 those who would like to accompany the expedition 

 to Norway, which would extend from July 21st to 

 August 22nd, at an estimated cost of from ^17 to 

 ^36 per head, according to the route finally decided 

 upon. If facilities could at the same time be 

 afforded to naturalists for dredging or other means 

 of studying the flora and fauna of the North Cape, 

 no doubt it would be found easier to make up one 

 or more parties with separate routes and more or 

 less expense. Information may be obtained from 

 Mr. T. E. Maunder, 26, Martin's Lane, London, E.C. 



Mr. Walter F. Gale records in " The Journal of 

 the British Astronomical Association " the rare ob- 

 servation of an occultation of a star by the Moon, 

 taken in the daytime in sunshine. It took place on 

 November 24th, the star being Spica and the instru- 

 ment used was an eight-and-a-half-inch equatorial 

 reflector of six-feet focus, with power of seventy dia- 

 meters. The disappearance occurred at 17b 24m. 

 15-453. local sideral time, the position, longitude, 

 ioh. 4m. 5479s. E., latitude, 33°53' 123" S. 



On May 9th, the Duke of Devonshire unveiled 

 in Westminster Abbey a memorial tablet to the 

 late Professor Adams, of Cambridge. On the medal- 

 lion is carved a portrait of the late astronomer. 



