171 



periodic comets have no general tendency, the effect of translation 

 of our system through space on their apparent motion would be 

 seen in the elements indicated, provided the number considered 

 was sufficiently large. Hence evidence of this character is valuable 

 qualitatively. Quantitatively it is of course of inferior precision. 



(62) Hurst, 1869. — Some correspondence on the motion of the 

 universe appearing in a London daily, it was republished in the 

 Astronomical Register as being of sufficient interest. One letter 

 by Hurst, in reply to an article in Fraser's Magazine, points out 

 that the motion is more than "guessed at." Hurst seemed to 

 think that Alcyone had been shewn to occupy the centre of gravity 

 of the sidereal system to which the sun belongs, that the direction 

 of motion was toward tt Herculis, and its quantity in one year 

 33,350,000 miles. 1 This would be for 1869— 



R.A. = 257-°6, D.= +37-°2, V. = 1-06 miles per second. 



(63) Proctor, 1869. — The second letter, by Proctor, severely 

 criticises Hurst, and merely offers a somewhat fuller, but still 

 very incomplete statement of the state of knowledge on the 

 question at the time of writing. 2 



(64) Proctor, 1869.— In the Monthly Notices of the Royal 

 Astronomical Society, November 1869, 3 Proctor discussed the 

 theory of a combination of the solar motion together with the stars 

 own motion. From a somewhat full examination of Main's list of 

 1,167 stars, he points out that the evidence is apparently strongly 

 antagonistic to the accepted view that stars of small magnitude 

 are at greater distances, as the following table shews : — 



Division according 

 to magnitude. 



f 1 



Appt. P.M. 



6-867 



Eesultant 



Distance. 



1 



Struve's 

 Distance. 



1-0 



No. of 



Stars. 



9 



I. 2 



0-182 



4-7 



1-71 



55 



1 3 



0-268 



3-2 



2-57 



146 



' 4 



0-208 



4-1 



3-76 



238 



II.- 



5 



0-433 



2-0 



5-44 



330 



6 



0-191 



4-5 



7-86 



368 





7 



0-173 



5-0 



11-34 



21 



1 The Motion of the Universe.— Astr. Keg., Vol. vi., p. 236. 



2 Astr. Keg., Vol. vi., pp. 237-238. 



3 Monthly Not. K. A. Soc, Vol. xxx., pp. 8-18, 1869. 



