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POPULAR SCIENCE REVIEW. 
in May, both of a dull white ; on August 1, greenish white and 
yellowish ; whilst on August 12 they were apple-green and cherry-red. 
The first star showed signs of deepening colour, and the latter changing 
from yellow to red more rapidly. 
Distance of Sun from the Earth. — Professor Hansen has given a more 
accurate statement of his calculation of the sun’s parallax from the lunar 
theory. M. Hansen was the first who (in 1854) showed the necessity of 
increasing the solar parallax as deduced by this means, and from his new * 
calculations finds the value of 8" , 9159, which agrees closely with the late 
determinations of Le Yerrier, Stone, &c. 
Lunar Nomenclature. — Mr. Birt continues to meet with several craters 
in the moon, which have been passed over or unnamed by Beer and 
Maedler. He follows the principle of those astronomers in naming them 
after distinguished savans , mostly those of the present day. 
Observations of Sun at Rising. — Sir Andrew Lang gives some measure- 
ments taken at St. Croix, West Indies, to determine the refraction. From 
the mean of eighteen observations he determines the refraction and parallax 
at the horizon as 82' 14". In I860 he determined the number of spots as 
274 ; in 1861, as 226 ; and in 1862, as 148. From September 12 to 22 of 
the present year there was not a spot on the disc. The same happened 
from August 24 to September 9, which he states is an extraordinary 
occurrence. 
Meteors. — During the past quarter many magnificent meteors have been 
observed ; one, in particular, was seen over a vast extent of country, and 
the observations may be numerous and accurate enough to determine its 
height and course. 
Variable Star. — A variable star, whose position is 20 h 5 m of R.A. and 
15° 13' of north declination, was discovered in the autumn at Mr. Worth- 
ington’s observatory. It appears to change rapidly in brightness, having 
a period of about four months, according to Mr. Baxendell. He states 
that it was at its minimum on August 24, 1863, when it was of the 11*3 
magnitude ; and at its maximum on October 25, 1863, when it had in- 
creased to the 8*9 magnitude. 
Brightness of the Sun. — Making use of a method somewhat similar to 
that of Huyghens for determining the brightness of Sirius, but with more 
delicate apparatus, Mr. Alvan Clark has compared the light of the sun 
and Alpha Lyrae. He concludes, that if the sun were removed to 103224, 
its actual distance, it would still be as bright as the star in question. 
Nebulae. — Mr. Lassell continues his researches on the forms of nebulae 
with his splendid reflector at Malta. His latest discovery in this respect 
is on a planetary nebula situated at R.A, 20 h 56 ra , and 11° 56' of south 
declination. In the interior there is a brilliant elliptic ring, extremely 
well defined, which does not appear to have any connection with the sur- 
rounding gaseous or gauze-like envelope. As this object is favourably 
visible in those latitudes, it will doubtless be looked at. 
Catalogue of Stars , &c. — A continuation of Weisse’s valuable work — the 
reduction of Bessel’s “Zone Observations” — has appeared. The present 
publication contains the stars included between 15 and 45 degrees of north 
latitude. A new edition of Sir J. Herschel’s “ Outlines of Astronomy” is 
