4 6 



SCIENCE. 



MICROSCOPY. 



The annual reception of the New York Microscopical 

 Society will be held on Monday evening-, February 14th, 

 1881, at the rooms of the New York Academy of 

 Sciences, No. 12 West 31st street. 



Microscopical preparations of great interest will be ex- 

 hibited, and the Board of Managers extend a cordial in- 

 vitation to all possessing microscopes to attend the meet- 

 ing. We trust that those microscopists residing in the 

 city, who are not members, will avail themselves of this 

 oppoitunity to observe the many facilties this society 

 offei s fcr extending a knowledge of this branch of science. 

 Microscopical Societies do not profess to teach, but 

 students will find ample opportunities of having the best 

 methods of preparation practically explained to them, 

 and by associating with the members at the ordinaiy 

 meetings, information on any point relating to microscopy 

 can be readily ob ained. The annual dues of this socieiy 

 amount to $5 a year. Cards of admission to the soiree 

 can be obtained of Professor Hitchcock, 53 Maiden Lane, 

 New York City. 



ASTRONOMY. 



Dr. B. A. Gould, Director of the Ccrdoba Observatory, 

 Argentine Republic, has been unanimously elected a 

 corresponding member of the Paris Academy of Sciences 

 in. the section of Astronomy, to fill the place of the late 

 Dr. Peteis. 



The Observatory of Dunecht, near Aberdeen, Scot- 

 land, has undertaken the important matter of informi n g 

 the astronomical observers in the United Kingdom, by 

 means of circulars through the mails, of such facts as 

 must be immediately made known to be of use. It has 

 already issued thirteen circulars, and promises to be of 

 the greatest advantage to British Astronomers. 



W. C. W. 



REMARKABLE METEOR. 



"Whilst returning home on the evening of December 

 29, 1880, 1 observed a very brilliant and somewhat re- 

 markable meteor. Having seen no observation of this 

 meteor published, and as it may be of interest, I will give 

 a description. 



The night was just beginning to be dark enough for 

 the principal stars to shine brightly, the sky being in- 

 tensely clear, with a cold, cutting wind from the west, 

 the thermometer being below zero. My attention was 

 suddenly attracted by a brilliant light ; looking hastily up, 

 I observed the meteor. It was very white and brilliant, 

 with a short train ; there was no sensible disk. It started 

 from near <5 Aquarii and moved at a moderate speed, 

 passing some four or five degrees south of Venus, and 

 appearing fully twice as large as that planet. After passing 

 Venus a short distance, it suddenly flared up as it an ex- 

 plosion had occurred. It immediately slackened its speed, 

 and assuming the brilliancy of a dullish first magnitude 

 star, it floated slowly down in a slanting direction toward 

 the southwest horizon. I watched closely, expecting to 

 see it sink behind the horizon. It sunk slower and 

 slower until, at an elevation of not more than 2°, it dis- 

 appeared suddenly. 



From the moment of explosion unt 1 its disappearance 

 it was the size of a dull yellowish first to second magni- 

 tude star. No explosion was heard. It was first seen 

 at about R.A. 22h. 54m. south declination, about 15°, dis- 

 appearing at about R.A. ioli. 44m. and 19 or 20 south 

 declination. Its visible path was about 42 . 



It remained visible for fully half a minute, the greater 

 portion of the lime being after the explosion. Time, 6 

 hours Nashville m. t. Did any other observer note this 

 object ? E. E. Barnard. 



Nashville, Tenn., Januaty 19, 1881. 



JUPITER. 



THE RAPIDLY MOVING WHrTE SPOT. 



The white spot, described by me in" Science "(No. 24), 

 having continued permanent up to the last observation of 

 Jupiter, led me to investigate its history. Tracing back- 

 ward through my note-book, I find observations at inter- 

 vals of the same spot, the first observation being on 

 June 26, 1880. 



On account of its rapid motion and frequent variation 

 of form I had at each observation failed to recognize the 

 identity of the objects seen. 



The spot has invariably borne the same relative posi- 

 tion to a long sinuous rift in the northern part of the 

 e quatorial band. In 1879 a similar spot was observed, 

 bearing then the same relative position to a similar rift. 

 It is probable that the object seen in 1879 is identical 

 with the present white spot. 



My observations this year show a decided variation in 

 the rotation period of this object. Its varying velocity 

 is doubtless due to changes in its form. My sketches 

 show it to be at times scarcely noticeable as a pale, tol- 

 erably well defined spot. At other times it is shown as 

 a long curved brilliant spot with its head " tucked " un- 

 der towards the south, apparently plowing the dusky 

 material cf the equatorial belt before it, and a well-de- 

 fined luminous train following in its wake. A sufficient 

 number of obseivations have not yet been obtained to 

 decide under what form it attains its greatest velocity. 

 It is likely some sort of violent action takes place in the 

 spot, under the influence of which it becomes very white, 

 increases its motion throwing off a luminous train and 

 cleaving the matter composing the great equatorial 

 "river " like a vessel scudding before the gale. The ac- 

 tion in the spot then gradually becomes quiescent, its mo- 

 tion slackens and it drifts along shorn of its train and 

 scarcely recognizable ; remaining thus until the forces in 

 it are again at work, when it will once more pursue its 

 rapid course in all the glory of a streaming train. But a 

 lack of observations leaves its times of greatest motion 

 in doubt, and it may be that the motion is greater when 

 its appearance is less conspicuous. 



On December 31 this object was seen as a pale, well- 

 defined spot without any train. It was slightly following 

 — by about two or three minutes— the meridian of the 

 following end of the great red spot, having, since the 

 middle of November, maole a complete circuit of the 

 planet, and was once more passing the red spot. 



At the next observation, January 7, it had left the red 

 spot a considerable distance behind, coming to the mid- 

 dle of the disk one hour before the red spot was central, 

 having passed that object at about the time predicted 

 in " Science " (No. 24.) 



From the observations of June 26, 1880, and January 

 7, 1 88 1 , I get a rotation period of 9h. 50m. 47s. ; in this 

 case the transit on June 26 was estimated from a sketch 

 The observations of Nov. 22 and December 2 give a 

 period of 9h. 50m. 19s. Transits of November 22 and 

 December 29, give a period of 911. 50m. 14s. Tiansits of 

 November 22 and January 7 give 9(1. 50m. 5s. An esti- 

 mated transit on August 17 and observed transit of Jan- 

 uary 7 give for its rotation 9h. 50111. 9s. It makes a 

 complete circuit of Jupiter, compared with the red spot, 

 once in 45.08 days. If at any time it is seen passing the 

 red spot it will in forty-five clays go completely around 

 the planet and back to the red object again, which would 

 indicate a daily velocity of 6170 miles, or 257 miles an 

 hour. E. E. Barnard. 



Nashville, 'enn.,y««. 18. 



Detection of Alcohol in Ethereal Oils. — A. Drech- 

 sler employs, as reagent, a solution of 1 part potassium 

 bichromate in 10 parts nitiic acid of sp. gr. 1.30. Alcohol, 

 if present, is at once betrayed by the pungent odor of ethyl 

 nitrite. 



