58 



Lieut. J. HerschePs Second List of Nebula and [Recess, 



COMMUNICATIONS RECEIVED SINCE THE END OE THE SESSION. 



I. " Second List of Nebulae and Clusters observed at Bangalore 

 with the Royal Society's Spectroscope preceded by a Letter to 

 Professor G. G. Stokes. By Lieut. John Herschel, R.E. 

 Communicated by Prof. Stokes. Received July 20, 1868. 



Bangalore, June 17, 1868. 



My dear Sir, — As it is now three weeks since I have been able to 

 make any use of the Royal Society's telescope &c, owing to the setting in 

 of the rainy season, and as circumstances oblige me shortly to move my 

 quarters and start the instruments for the eclipse, it seems better to send all 

 the observations I succeeded in getting since I last wrote up to the time of 

 the change of weather. 



I am sorry this second list is not a fuller one. But the fact is, that now 

 that the planetary nebulae list is exhausted, and the more conspicuous 

 nebulas, I find no small difficulty in seeing anything. It is true that the 

 globular clusters alone form a long list for examination, a considerable 

 number of which may be visible with the spectroscope ; but as they seem 

 to show continuous spectra without exception, the interest attaching 

 to this class is considerably diminished. 



I have still a long list of nebulae proper to examine ; but the proportion 

 of these which exhibit monochromatic spectra seems very small — so small, 

 indeed, that I cannot report a single new instance in this class. There are 

 some conspicuous ones which will present themselves later in the year, 

 among which one or two may possibly be recognizable as gaseous ; but the 

 majority, I may say the large majority, seem otherwise, and therefore diffi- 

 cult of positive identification. 



It will be necessary to despatch the instruments along with my camp 

 equipage &c. in a fortnight or three weeks, as the spot selected for a sta- 

 tion of observation is upwards of 300 miles distant from Bangalore. I 

 cannot expect that the return journey will have been effected before the 

 middle or end of September. For the next three months, therefore, the 

 nebulae must be allowed to pass unchallenged. "Whether I shall have the 

 opportunity of continuing my search then, or not, must depend on circum- 

 stances which I cannot now foresee. Should the Society see fit to allow 

 the instrument to remain in my hands for a few months longer, I will at 

 least undertake to prosecute the search during such intervals of leisure as 

 my other duties may leave at my disposal. But at present, perhaps, the 

 question of the disposal of the instrument after the eclipse is not an urgent 

 one. 



The station selected for the eclipse observations is Jamkandi (vulg. Jum- 

 khundee), about midway between Belgaum and Sholapore. The selection 

 has been determined chiefly by the small rainfall of that district, and by 



