164 



HARD WICKE'S SCIENCE- G OS SIP. 



specially established for nautical purposes. The 

 Americans are spending large sums of money in 

 making the United States Observatory a showhouse 

 for the world ; but, as the originator of Royal 

 Observatories, and in former days possessing the only 

 institution of its class, there is surely no reason why 

 Great Britain should fall away into the second rank. 

 The immediate chief impediment is the want of 

 ground space. The report presented to the Board 

 shows in a technical way the progress of the 

 past year, and indicates the advances going on. 

 In the fundamental equipment, the Greenwich 

 Observatory is not behindhand, and the new 28-inch 

 refractor, the mounting of which is all but completed, 

 is slightly in advance of the American equipment 

 with a telescope of 26 inches. The site for the 

 erection of the proposed universal transit-circle is 

 being pegged out in a way that illustrates forcibly 

 the cramped nature of the remaining available ground. 

 Of the full results of the Greenwich Observatory all 

 may well be proud. Some are unique, as, for 

 instance, the continuous records from 1857 to the 

 present day of a single instrument — the Transit 

 Circle. No other country has such a perfect series, 

 and in the investigations on the variations of latitude 

 undertaken at the Observatory at Boston, Massachu- 

 setts, the English record has been employed. 



Of the work done at the Observatory in the past 

 year, we may note that with the astrographic 

 equitorial 722 photographic plates, with a total of 

 1812 exposures, were taken on 161 nights, of which 

 only 116 have been rejected for various defects, 

 leaving a large number of perfect records in con- 

 tribution towards the universal star-map in progress 

 amongst the nations. 



The photographing of the sun during the past year 

 has presented unusual features on account of the 

 maximum activity of the solar outbursts, which still 

 continues. Within the past month a group of 

 seven or eight large spots appeared, and is still visible, 

 with other groups in different places on the sun's disc. 

 By the Dallmeyer photo-heliograph, photographs have 

 been taken on 180 days, and 410 views have been 

 selected for preservation, besides 22 photographs with 

 double images for determining zero positions. The 

 photographic telescope presented by Sir Henry 

 Thompson has also been in use since the beginning 

 of this year, and of the plates obtained on 89 days, 

 158 have been selected. Thus, between the two 

 instruments, a record of the state of the solar surface on 

 220 days has been secured. For 1892 the Greenwich 

 photographs selected were for 197 days ; and if those 

 are added from India and the Mauritius on 165 days, 

 a total of 362 out of 366 has been reached, giving all 

 but daily information of the sun's superficial condition. 

 The diagrams which have been prepared of the 

 coincidences of the daily magnetic variations with the 

 daily intensities of the solar eruptions forcibly suggest, 

 if they do not indeed indicate, the distinct connection 



between the two phenomena, the more prominent 

 maxima of the curves being singularly demonstrative. 



The Meteorological Department has a full record, as 

 usual. The hours of bright sunshine in 1892 were 

 1277, or seven hours below the average ; the rainfall 

 was 22 "3 inches, being 2-2 below the average of 50 

 years. With regard to the recent drought, the sun- 

 shine registered in March and April is phenomenal, 

 being respectively 155 hours and 231 hours; the 

 greatest previous records for these months in sixteen 

 years from 1877 being 141 hours in March, 1880, and 

 196 in April, 1892. The greatest values for any 

 month in the period referred to are 277 hours in July, 

 1887; 267 in June, 1877; and 237-8 in May, 1882; 

 and, considering the ratios of sunshine to the total 

 time of the sun above the horizon, the April of the 

 present year may be looked upon as the sunniest month 

 on record. For the 72 days from March 5 to May 15, 

 the total rainfall was only 0*246 inch ; the average 

 for the corresponding period being about 4 inches. 

 There is no similar dry period since 1841. It is 

 remarkable that previous to the drought there was 

 a longer rainfall than usual. Between the 1st of 

 February and the 4th of March, heavy rain fell on 

 twenty-five days, to the total of 3 '03 inches, the 

 average rainfall for the corresponding period being 

 about 1 '67 inch. For the annual trial of chronometers 

 forty-eight were sent in, and of these twenty-five have 

 been purchased for the Navy. 



For the rest of the visitation the interest centres in 

 the advancing of physical researches in connection 

 with the daily fundamental work of the Observatory. 

 The new Physical Observatory is growing piecemeal. 

 The central octagon is a fact ; but of the four rays 

 which will convert it into a cruciform structure, the 

 south wing had its building operations begun in 

 November, but these were arrested in March by the 

 want of terra-cotta. The Admiralty have now 

 authorised the outlay for the north wing, and the 

 completion of the central octagon by the erection 

 over it of the Lassell's dome. The new museum has 

 at length been fitted with the necessary glass cases, 

 and is nearly ready for the reception of the portable 

 instruments and apparatus. In the new Library four 

 cases of bookshelves have been added, and two large 

 cases for the 10-inch solar photographs and the 16-inch 

 stellar photographs for the Astrographic Chart, which 

 are rapidly accumulating. 



In preparation for the erection of the new 35ft. 

 dome on the south-east tower, the old cylindrical 

 dome was dismounted last winter, and the mounting 

 of the new dome, commenced in December, was 

 completed at the end of April. Preparations for an 

 installation of electric lighting have been made, and 

 the plant has been supplied. It is proposed to set up 

 the gas engine, the dynamo, and accumulators in the 

 new south wing of the Physical Laboratory. On the 

 possible disturbances of the magnet instruments, some 

 interesting experiments have been made, ending in the 



