SCIENCE- GOSSIP. 



347 



•eclipse. Totality ends at 7.35-4 p.m., the last 

 contact with the shadow occurs at 8.45'4 p.m., and 

 with the penumbra at 9.55-3 p.m. The last contact 

 with the shadow is at a point 60° from the north 

 point towards the west. Dr. C Hillebrand calls 

 attention to the fact that, owing to the effect 

 of refraction, it may be possible, in suitable 

 localities, to see the setting sun close to the western 

 horizon and the eclipsed moon close to the eastern 

 horizon at the eclipse of April 22nd ; and on 

 October 17th, the conditions will be reversed the 

 sun in the east and the eclipsed moon in the 

 west. 



The Sun, after a long state of inactivity, became 

 very disturbed in the early days of March. In the 

 north-eastern quadrant there was, upon the 6th, 

 a group of large spots covering an oval area having 

 apparently a mean diameter of not less than 

 43,000 miles. A more elongated group of small 

 spots was visible in the north-western quadrant 

 and a small group of faculae just within the south- 

 eastern limb. On March 9th the area covered by 

 the large group was found to be 86,600 miles by 

 43,000 miles in extent. A watch should be kept 

 for further outbreaks. 



Mercury is a morning star all the month until 

 April 29th, when it is in superior conjunction with 

 the sun at 1 a.m. At midnight on the 23rd Mars 

 and Mercury are in conjunction, the latter being 

 only 40' to the south. It is not in favourable 

 position for observation. 



Venus is a morning star all the month, reaching 

 her greatest elongation west, 46° 12', at midnight 

 ■on April 25th, on which date it rises at 3.26 a.m., 

 ■only an hour and 21 minutes before the sun. Its 

 path is wholly through the constellation Aquarius. 



Mars is too near the Sun for observation. 



Jupiter and Saturn are morning stars all the 

 month. Saturn rises at 3.9 a.m. on 1st and at 

 1.19 on 30th, Jupiter rising 40 and 50 minutes later 

 respectively. 



Uranus retrogrades along a short path a little 

 north of 44 Ophiuchi, situated a little N.E. of the 

 star fl in that constellation. 



Neptune may still be observed in the evenings 

 on the borders of Taurus and Gemini. 



New Minor Planets. — The discovery by Dr. 

 •Camera of five of these tiny bodies, one on February 

 l2th, three on March 3rd, and one on March 4th, 

 is announced from Professor Max Wolf's Astro- 

 physical Obsei'vatory, Konigstuhl, Heidelberg. 



" On the Phenomena called Signals on 

 Mars " was the title of a paper read by Mr. 

 Percival, Lowell at a meeting of the Astronomical 

 and Astrophysical Society of America in December 

 last. It referred to the bright projections seen 

 upon Mai-s by Mr. A. E. Douglass on December 7th 

 and 8th, 1900. They are shown by subsequent 

 calculation to have belonged to different parts of 

 the planet. Appai'ently both were in motion, 

 nearly due west, during the time of observation, 

 and were probably due to clouds. 



Brilliant Sun Pillar. — The evening of 

 March 6th was beautified by one of these remark- 

 able phenomena. It seems to have been first 

 noticed by Mr. McHenry Corder, of Bridgewater, the 

 well-known meteor observer, as early as five o'clock. 

 At this time it was white, and there were slight 

 traces of a halo around the sun. Colonel E. E. 



Markwick at Devonpbrt observed it at 5.50 about 

 20 m. before sunset. When first seen, nearly all 

 observers agree that it appeared white, deepening 

 in tint to golden, and finally crimson. After sun- 

 set it appeared to rise from a low cloud bank, and , 

 to have had an altitude of some 20°, gradually 

 shortening. It seems to have disappeared about 

 6.40 p.m. To Mr. W. A. Knight at Bruton, Somer- : 

 set, a few light clouds, visible at the same time, 

 appeared to pass behind the pillar. Messrs. Corder 

 and Markwick both note the similarity of its ap- 

 pearance to a comet. It was seen from London 

 and Salisbury on the east, and at Penzance on the 

 west. Its origin was terrestrial, the sun's rays 

 being refracted by ice crystals in the upper regions 

 of the atmosphere. The phenomenon is quite 

 different from the zodiacal light, with which some 

 seem to have confused it. 



The Great Comet op .1901. — At the meeting 

 of the British Astronomical Association on Febru- 

 ary 26th Mr. E. Walter Maunder called attention 

 to the memoir by Professor Bredikhine, Director of 

 tne Pulkowa Observatory, on the shape of this 

 comet's tail. This worker many years since made 

 an especial study of cometary tails, with the result 

 that he divided tails into three groups. First type, 

 long and straight, like the tail of great comet of 

 1861. Second type, the long curved plume, like 

 that of Donati's comet of 1858. The third type, by 

 no means frequently found, where the tails are 

 short and violently curved. These different types 

 are supposed to be caused b}^ the varying molecular 

 weights of the gas or vapour composing them, and 

 therefore of its susceptibility to the unknown 

 repulsive force which forms them. The first comet 

 of the present century, previously to its perihelion 

 passage, showed but a single tail, and that of the 

 first type. After perihelion it exhibited two tails, 

 one of the second and one of the third type. A 

 study of the last-mentioned seems to indicate that 

 it was originated by a great explosion which must 

 have taken place on April 22nd. The second-type 

 tail was somewhat different from those usually ob- 

 served, in that the central rift was not of the usual 

 conoidal form, but instead conical, having the 

 nucleus at its apex. This is well shown on iDhoto- 

 graphs dated May 5th and May 20th, on which, as 

 also on that of April 24th, the nucleus appeared to 

 have no envelopes on the side towards the Sun. 

 The third-type tail also differed from those usually 

 seen in that form. Instead of being short, it had a 

 length of from 30° to 40° longer than the principal 

 tail. The drawings and photographs from which 

 the Professor drew his conclusions were principally 

 those made at the Royal Observatory, Cape of Good 

 Hope. 



Great Meteor. — On the evening of January 7th, 

 at 8.35 Sydney mean time, a very brilliant meteor 

 was observed in New South Wales, at places so 

 far as 370 miles ajDart. It appears to have radiated 

 from a point in the constellation Octans about 

 R.A. 16 h. Dec. S. 83°, and during visibility fell 

 from a height of 71 miles to that of 28 miles. Its 

 path must have had a length of about 100 miles, 

 which was traversed in about three seconds. A 

 few minutes after its disappearance a terrific ex- 

 plosion was heard, which in some places was so 

 violent as to shake windows and even cause build- 

 ings to vibrate. These particulars are gleaned 

 from a paper read by Mr. W. E. Besley before the 

 British Astronomical Association. 



