THE SUN'S MOTION IN SPACE. 195 



was contributed by Bompas in January 1896. 1 The results of 

 Herschel, Argelander, Airy, Dunkin, L. Struve, Boss and 0. 

 Stumpe are given. Bompas thought it possible that there was 

 a systematic drift of the Milky Way. Later, viz., in February, 

 having noticed Homann's determination from motion in the line 

 of sight, 3 he thought this some confirmation of the view previously 

 expressed. 



(107) Anding, 1896 (Jan.) — Anding, 4 stating that experience 

 has shewn that the Besselian method of determining the direction 

 of the sun's motion gives a result, different from that of other 

 methods, in which the same data are employed, submitted the 

 question to an analysis, by which he endeavoured to shew that 

 the reason of the disagreement was to be sought in the distribution 

 of the proper motions. 5 



(107a) Kobold, 1896 (March J — Kobold replied to Anding's 

 argument three months later, pointing out that although the dis- 

 tribution of proper motions does affect the result, that fact does 

 not explain the systematic difference referred to. 



(108) Stumpe, 1896 (April) — Pointing out that Airy's method 

 of determining the solar-motion in space is founded on the assump- 

 tion that the true proper motions of the stars vanish in the 

 mean, and that recent investigations have cast doubt upon that 

 hypothesis, Stumpe returned again to the question of so deducing 

 our path in space that the possibility of stellar proper motions 

 being subject to some general trend — as for example in the plane 

 of the Milky Way — shall be considered. 6 Stumpe consequently, 

 having regard to Schonfeld's assumption that the stars in general 



1 The Observatory, Vol. xix., pp. 45 - 49, 1896. 2 Ibid., p. March 1896. 



3 Cited in Miss Clerke's " System of the Stars," p. 328. 



4 TJeber den Einfluss der Sternvertheilung auf die Bastimmung des 

 Sonnenapex nach der BesseFschen Methode. — Astr. Nach. Bd. cxl., pp. 

 1 - 18, 1896. 



5 Erwiderung auf Herrn Anding's Aufsatz. — Astr. Nach. Bd. cxl., pp. 

 141 - 144. 



6 Beitrage zur Bestimmung des Sonnen-Apex. — Astr. Nach., Bd. cxl., 

 pp. 177 - 192, 1896. A very imperfect account may also be found in The 

 Observatory, Vol. xix., p. 411, November 1896. 



