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was not observed by Piazzi, and cannot now be found : probably a variable 
of long- or irregular period. — The period of Algol , which had been diminishing 
since 1782, at first slowly, and then more rapidly, after remaining stationary 
for a time, seems to be slowly decreasing again. There is a suspicion of 
variation in its comes, first discovered by Schroter, Oct. 12, 1787, who found 
it sometimes quite invisible in the finest weather. — A ruby star, Schjellerup 
238, near 4 Capricorni, considered by. Sir J. Herschel perhaps the finest of 
that class, has been noticed by Gore in the Punjaub to be variable by at 
least two magnitudes. — Schmidt finds the period of Hind’s red star It Leporis 
438 d. 230 increase, 208 decreasing : he supposes the colour to be diminish- 
ing in intensity (?). This star, the most beautiful of its kind visible in 
England, escaped the notice of Sir J. Herschel. — The Astronomer Royal 
has announced that a new star-catalogue is in preparation, from the Green- 
wich observations of eight years. Stellar spectroscopy has been vigorously 
prosecuted there, especially with respect to the approach or recession of 
stars, as alleged by Huggins. The Greenwich observations were at first 
discordant, but had grown more consistent and confirmatory of Huggins’s 
results ; the obstacles, however, were extremely great, especially from the 
difficulty of obtaining true plane surfaces — The lamented D’Arrest pub- 
lished in the u Astronomische Nachrichten,” a little before his death, a con- 
tinuation of his most interesting spectroscopic examination of about 11,000 
stars. He verifies Secchi's fourfold classification, and his last series consists 
chiefly of the third type, which he finds on the whole strikingly accordant 
in character. The want of agreement in many cases between ocular and 
spectroscopic estimates of colour deserves attention. — The Pleiades. Wolf, 
at Paris, has measured 53 stars in this group, and detects 499 within 
135' x 90' around rj Tauri. Merope and Atlas, with some of the smaller stars, 
he considers decidedly variable, and probably Mata . — The singular nebula near 
Merope has been watched by Wolf and Stephan, who consider its variability 
confirmed, as it was seen by the former in March 1874, but missed by both 
from Nov. 1874 to the end of Feb. 1875. — Tempel gives its dimensions 
35' x 20'. (It has been feebly visible during the recent winter.) — The Ring 
Nebula in Lyra has been carefully examined and measured by Holden wdtli 
a power of 400 on the 26-inch object-glass of the Washington observatory, 
and a drawing sent to the Royal Astronomical Society. Nothing new 
seems to have been discovered. Some brighter patches were seen on the 
annulus, but similar ones had been discovered and found variable by 
Schroter and Harding in 1797 and 1798. A minute star was also seen by 
Holden, near the centre, which had been noticed by Secchi and Schultz 
and at one time by Von Hahn, with a 20-foot reflector, in the beginning of 
this century, but was missed by D’Arrest. Sir W. Herschel (and Cha- 
cornac) supposed the annulus resolvable. Lord Rosse’s nebulous wisps, 
extending outwards in all directions, were not seen at Washington, and the 
ends of the minor axis w r ere reversed in sharpness at the two observatories. 
— 30 Doradus. Burton, at Rodriguez, with 12-in. silvered mirror, found 
some but not very essential variation from Herschel’s drawing. Its spec- 
trum was strong and continuous, crossed by a bright line. The nebula 
round rj Argus he thinks not much changed. Ellery, at Melbourne, with a 
telescope much more differing from that of Herschel, finds decided and pro- 
