reference to the outburst witnessed by Professor Young: by Mr. Proctor.

Such outbursts as that described by Professor Young have also been seen by Secchi, and the accounts show that such statements may be relied on. Professor Young saw a prominence throw out wisps of hydrogen, rising from 100,000 miles to 200,000 miles in ten minutes. The author had calculated the velocity of the gas, which he found would be 212 miles per second if projected into a vacuum, in which it would take 25m. 56s. to travel the distance, but as it rose in ten minutes, the velocity must have been much greater, notwithstanding the retardation of the surrounding gases or vapours. He had used a graphical mode of construction, which showed how a body fell towards the sun in successive periods, and the ascent was the reverse of this. He thought the truth was that the gas ascended more than 200,000 miles, probably as much as 350,000, with a velocity of 255 miles a second. To cause hydrogen to be flung through an atmosphere, it would require a much greater velocity than that last mentioned, probably as much as 1,000 miles per second. A velocity of 379 miles a second would carry the hydrogen clear away from the sun, but we know that it is not so thrown off. May not the hydrogen carry up with it denser particles, and is it not likely or certain that these vapours, having greater density, and therefore greater velocity, would pass clear away from the sun, and might become part of the corona? The paper also referred to the probability of connection between the outbursts and any magnetic disturbances. Nothing occurred at the time at Greenwich, but at Kew five hours after there was a disturbance, although this might not have been caused by the outburst. The prominence was seen not on the photosphere, but at the edge of the sun, so that as Sir J. Herschel had remarked, in a letter written last March, it was no wonder the indications of the magnets did not occur at the same time but afterwards.

Mr. Ranyard said Professor Stokes had suggested that the polarization of the corona might be due to the precipitation of very small particles thrown up from the sun. He thought magnesium dust might be such a body, and would thus account for the radial polarization of the corona.

Mr. Glaisher said that never since the outburst seen by Mr. Carrington and Mr. Hodgson, when the magnets were affected simultaneously, had he been able to trace any connection between the magnetic disturbances and solar phenomena, although it had been diligently watched for. On the occasion of Professor Young's observation, he had supplied copies of the Greenwich magnetic curves, but nothing could be detected bearing on the supposed connection.

Capt. Noble compared the velocity of 212 miles a second with that of a cannon ball, viz., 1,300 feet in the same time, and said it was impossible to realize such a rate of motion.

Note on an especial point in the determination of the elements of the Moon's Orbit, from Meridional Observations of the Moon: by the Astronomer Royal.

Mr. Dunkin explained that this paper referred to the extreme difficulty in determining the semi-diameter of the moon. At one time of the year the observer has to take the N. limb of the moon, and during the other half-year the S. limb. The author thinks that in his former paper on the corrections of the moon's orbit, there is a small term which requires alteration, in consequence of an erroneous value having been used for the moon's semi-diameter.

Capt. Noble: It is a question of irradiation. No one ever saw the real edge of the moon's disc.

On Encke's Comet: by Mr. Hollis.

This paper was accompanied by a drawing made with an 8 inch achromatic, and power of 120, on November 12. From the sharpness of the two edges, and their brightness as compared with the interior, the author thought the comet was a hollow cone. He had tried to measure the angle included, and found it about 86°.

Dr. Huggins: The sides of the comet in this drawing are straight, but in Mr. Carpenter's and mine they are decidedly curved. I estimated the angle at something under 90°, and so far I agree with Mr. Hollis, but the two sides of the fan are not straight. On December 5, I caught glimpses of an indication of a tail. A very faint ray was projected from the apex, which is turned away from the sun.

Capt. Noble saw this on the same evening with his 44-inch object glass.

Mr. Dunkin: Then this prolongation is a true tail ?

:

Capt. Noble I also saw on Sunday night the gaseous spectrum of the comet with one of Browning's beautiful star spectroscopes. Lunar Occultations and Eclipses of Jupiter's Satellites: by Mr. Tebbutt.

Reply to Notes and Queries, made by the Astronomer Royal, on the Observations of n Argus: by Mr. Abbott.

Note on the Universal Equatorial: by Mr. Browning.

Elements of Minor Planet (116): by Dr. Luther.

Formules pour le calcul des orbites des etoiles doubles: by M de Gasparis.

The meeting then adjourned.

ENCKE'S COMET.

Encke's comet has been well observed during the past month. By the kindness of the council of the Royal Astronomical Society, we are enabled to give our subscribers a beautiful picture of it as seen at the Royal Observatory at Greenwich.

Since the communication of the Astronomer Royal to the Society, of which we gave an account in last month's report, several persons have noticed that the comet was throwing out a tail from the side opposite to the fan. We refer our readers to an interesting letter from Mr. Knobel upon the subject, with a woodcut illustration, in our correspondence.

The following telegrams have been received :

"From N. R. Pogson, Esq., at Avenashy, to the Astronomer Royal, Royal Observatory, Greenwich.

"Weather fine. Telescopic and camera photographs successful. Ditto polarisation. Good sketches. Many bright lines in spectrum.

Dec. 12th."

The following is a copy of a telegram received by Mr. William Huggins from Colonel Tennant, F.R.S., who is in charge of the Indian Eclipse expedition :

Dodabetta, Ootacamund, Dec. 12th, 9.15 a.m. Thin mist. Spectroscope satisfactory. Reversion of lines entirely confirmed. Six good photographs."

The sentence,“Reversion of lines entirely confirmed," refers to an important observation of Professor Young in Spain, last December, who saw at the moment of total observation all the dark Fraunhofer lines reversed-that is bright on a dark ground.

Upon which Dr. Huggins in the Times remarks :—

"Your readers will remember that you inserted a few months since an account of the preparations which were being made by this expedition. "The sentence, Reversion of lines entirely confirmed,' refers to a very important observation made in Spain last December by Professor Young. This observation was described at the time by Professor Langley, one of the American party, in the following words :—

"With the slit of his spectroscope placed longitudinally at the moment of obscuration, and for one or two seconds later, the field of the instrument was filled with bright lines. As far as could be judged during this brief interval, every non-atmospheric line of the solar spectrum showed bright, an interesting observation confirmed by Mr. Pye, a young gentleman whose voluntary aid proved of much service. From the concurrence of these independent observations, we seem to be justified in assuming the probable existence of an envelope surrounding the photosphere, and beneath the chromosphere, usually so called, whose thickness must be limited to two or three seconds of arc, and which gives a discontinuous spectrum consisting of all, or nearly all, the Fraunhofer lines showing them, that is, bright on a dark ground.'

"Professor Young adds :

"Secchi's continuous spectrum at the sun's limb is probably the same thing modified by atmospheric glare; anywhere but in the clear sky of Italy so much modified, indeed, as to be wholly masked.'"

Lord Lindsay, in the Daily News:

"I have received the following telegram from Mr. Davis, photographer, who accompanied Mr. Lockyer's party to Ceylon:

"Five totality negatives, Extensive corona, Persistent rifts, Slight external changes.-Mangalore Bekul.' I am, sir, your obedient servant, Dun Echt, Aberdeen, Dec. 12. LINDSAY."

REVIEWS.

Observations on Comets from B.C. 611 to A.D. 1640. Extracted from the Chinese Annals by John Williams, F.S.A., Assistant Secretary of the Royal Astronomical Society. London: Printed for the Author, 1871.

This is an extraordinary book, and well worth careful reading and consideration. A discrepancy in M. E. Biot's description of the comet of October 25, 1366, caused Mr. Williams carefully to examine Biot's catalogue, which led him to conclude, that though accurate in its details, it was not sufficiently complete, and determined him to bring out a complete list of all the observations of comets recorded in the Encyclopædia of Ma Twan Lin, and in the great astronomical work called the She Ke. This was his main purpose, but as he went on, many interesting subjects occurred relating to Chinese astronomy, which have been incorporated into his introductory remarks.

Appended are some very valuable tables by which the Chinese time can be reduced to one reckoning, consisting of a complete set of chronological tables, giving the succession of dynasties and Emperors from the earliest period to the present time, and other tables for finding the months or moons and days.

These Tables cannot fail to be of great value to other persons as well as astronomers. At the end of the work is a Chinese celestial atlas, in which the names and positions of the asterisms and stars can readily be found.

If we may trust the antiquity of the books from which the information is gained, and Mr. Williams sees no reason to consider them less reliable than the early histories of any countries; the Chinese possessed considerable astronomical knowledge in very ancient times. "It must, however, be borne in mind that the correctness of the account given entirely depends upon the degree of credence to be placed in the Shoo King," (one of their five classical works, which is considered by the Chinese as their most ancient book, and which we know, as revised by Confucius about the sixth century B.C. Its antiquity is not only believed in by the Chinese themselves, but by some of the best European sinologists, and is borne out by its archaic style and construction).

Mr. Williams mentions several tests by which the accuracy of these accounts may be verified. One of the most interesting is the following: -"In the Chinese annals it is recorded, that in the reign of Chuen Kuh, the grandson of Hwang Te, in the spring of the year, on the first day of the first moon, a conjunction of the five planets occurred in the heavens in Ying Shih. Ying Shih, or as it is more usually denominated Shih, is one of the 28 stellar divisions determined by a, ß, and other stars in Pegasus, extending north and south from Cygnus to Piscis Australis, and east and west 17 degrees, and comprising parts of our signs Capricornus

and Aquarius. The Emperor Chuen Kuh is said to have reigned 78 years, from B.C. 2513-2436, and to have died in his 95th year, and from modern computations (I believe by M. Bailly, the French astronomer,) it has been ascertained that a conjunction of the five planets actually did take place about the time and within the limits indicated, i. e. on the 29th of Sep. 2449 B.C., being the 65th year of Chuen Kuh. Should this on further investigation prove correct, it will afford a strong presumption of the authenticity of the early Chinese annals, as there is no appearance of their astronomers having been at any time able to compute the places of the planets so far back, and the account is found in works published long before any intercourse with Europeans had taken place.

"

Assuming the authenticity of the Shoo King, of which Mr. Williams thinks there can be little doubt, the Chinese had made great progress in astronomy between two and three thousand years before the Christian era. They were acquainted with the true length of the year, they observed the equinoxes and solstices, they had discovered the necessity of frequent intercalations of moons or months, to keep their seasons in their true places, and were able to perform the computations necessary for the purpose, together with many other facts, proving the high degree of knowledge of astronomy to which they had attained.

The observations of comets extend from B.C. 611 to A D. 1621. The book is one of great interest, and we may add that great credit is due to Messrs. Strangeways and Walden for the excellence of the printing.

ASTRONOMICAL PHENOMENA in 1872: by W. F. Denning. This pamphlet consists of certain tables taken from the Nautical Almanack, with a few introductory remarks upon the subject of astronomical observations in general. We think the compiler was illadvised to fix the price at two shillings, as there are many popular almanacks, containing much more information, to be had for a shilling or less, and even the Nautical Almanack itself costs but half-a-crown, and we cannot conceive any one purchasing the work under notice with that fact in view. We may add that we consider that those who use latin words should make themselves sure of their accuracy. We should have taken specula for an error of the printer, had it not occurred twice on the same page.

TUTTLE'S COMET.-This object was obseved by M. Borelly, at Marseilles, on October 12. The comet had the appearance of a diffuse nebulosity, badly defined; it appeared elongated in the direction N.W. by S.E.; it was feeble, but of moderate extent, about 2' 20, m.m. Loevy and Tisserand observed it at Paris, October 14; it resembled a diffuse, irregular, whitish nebulosity, diameter about 3'; with a light about equal a star of the 31th magnitude