500 



Anniversary Meeting. 



[Nov. 30, 



Herschel's Catalogue of Nebulcs, wMch forms Part I. of tlie Transac- 

 tions for 1864 ; and Mr. Huggins's application of the spectroscope to 

 study those mysterious forms, and to examiue the chemical constitution 

 of stars and planets. The nebulae are so widely different from the 

 other heavenly bodies, that ever siuce their first discovery they have 

 been objects of wonder and speculation. Eor a long time only three or 

 four of them were known, till about a century ago Messier added about 

 100 more. His labours, however, were completely eclipsed by the elder 

 Herschel, who gave unprecedented power to the telescope, and used it 

 with skill and sagacity which have never been surpassed. He was 

 rewarded by discovering 2500 of these objects, and finding in them 

 varieties of figure of the most unexpected character. 



After such a harvest it might have been thought that little was left 

 to be gleaned iu this field ; but his accomplished son was not less suc- 

 cessful in the northern hemisphere ; and when his zeal and energy led 

 him to the Cape of Grood Hope, he found in that almost unexplored 

 sky the opportunity of even surpassing his father, and connecting more 

 than 1000 other nebulae with his own name. Siuce then the great 

 Achromatics of Poulkova and Harvard, and the gigantic reflectors of 

 Bosse and Lassell have revealed many strange arrangements in them, 

 some of which are scarcely reconcHeable with ordiuary dynamics ; and 

 it is evident that the study of their nature is likely to occupy much of 

 the attention of astronomers for years to come. 



At such a crisis no more acceptable gift could be made to Nebular 

 Astronomy than a work which should embody in a practical manual the 

 sum of our actual knowledge of this department, and do for it what the 

 Catalogue of the British Association and others are performing for the 

 stellar branch. And none was so fit for this task as Sir John Herschel 

 himself. Besides his own unequalled familiarity with the subject, and 

 thorough cognizance of the labours of others, he had an advantage in his 

 acquaintance with his father's manuscripts and the labours of his aunt, a 

 person not less an honour to her name, such as none other could possess. 

 And yet more, he had an iuterest in this pursuit such as can be ex- 

 pected in very few, but without which the labour that must have been 

 expended on this catalogue would have been insupportable. It contains, 

 arranged in Eight Ascension, the places of 5079 nebulae for 1860 with 

 the precessions so chosen that they will be available for at least sixty 

 years to come. Each nebula has its discoverer iudicated, the number 

 of observations, and a description of its form and character, composed 

 of a very few letters, but to any one who will learn their symbolic mean- 

 ing, of marvellous fullness and precision. Copious notes and references, 

 and an introduction which gives full historical information, complete all 

 that can be required by observers. 



And that observers will be numerous as soon as Mr. Huggins's re- 

 searches become generally known, must be anticipated. At our last 



