tances of the satellites from the minor axis of the ring, v. the tables p. 278. Approximate Greenwich mean time of some of the conjunctions of the satellites with the ends of the ring, v. p. 279. 75 Tethys. spl. 28 29 30 54 Dione. nf. 9'9 Encel. e. 104 Tethys. sf. 6.3 Dione. sf. 7.3 Encel. np. 8.6 Dione. spl. 90 Tethys. np. III Tethys. npl. 6.3 Encel. sp. 77 Tethys. sf. 9'7 Rhea. sf. 9.8 Tethys. sfl. 64 Tethys. np. 8.6 Encel. sf. 50 Tethys. sf. 71 Tethys. sfl. 7.6 Encel. nf. 79 Dione. sp. On Nov. 7 and 23 the shadow of Titan will pass across the disc of Saturn. By watching on these evenings observers may secure most valuable results, by fixing the precise time when the shadow crosses the central meridian, and the point where it crosses. On Nov. 6 Iapetus will be near its greatest eastern elongation, and on Nov. 25 near its inferior A. M. conjunction, north. NEW COMETS. A new comet was discovered at Florence at the Observatory of Arcetri, by Prof. Tempel, on the 2nd October, at 8 o'clock, near the star Iota of Cetus. It had a nucleus like a star of the 11th magnitude, and a tail fan-shaped 5 minutes of arc in length. It is moving rapidly towards the south, and will consequently be only a short time visible in Europe. Its position on October 2nd, at 9h. 25m. (M. T. Arcetri) was R. A. 357° 45', Decl. -10° 19'. This is the fifth comet of the present year.-La Nazione, October 4th. Elements of Comets, 1877, Sept. 14, 18, Oct. 6, with Ephemeris by T. 1877, September 10 7566. Berlin M.T. From Astronomische Nachrichten, No. 2160. (Telegram from the Imperial Academy of Sciences at Vienna.) Comet Tempel, 2 October 9h. 24m., Florence; a = 357° 45', P = 100° 19' ; -70', +63'; small, bright, tail. 1877, October 3. The Astronomical Register is intended to appear at the commencement of each month; the Subscription (including Postage to all parts of Great Britain and Ireland) is fixed at Three Shillings per Quarter, payable in advance, by postage stamps or otherwise. The pages of the Astronomical Register are open to all suitable communications. Letters, Articles for insertion, &c., must be sent to the Rev. J. C. JACKSON, Clarence Road, Clapton, E., not later than the 15th of the Month. The Astronomical Register. No. 180. DECEMBER. 1877. ROYAL ASTRONOMICAL SOCIETY. Session 1877-78. The First Meeting after the long vacation, Friday, November the 9th, 1877. William Huggins, Esq., D.C.L., LL.D., &c., President, in the Chair. Secretaries-Mr. Glaisher and Mr. Ranyard The minutes of the preceding meeting were read and confirmed. The following gentlemen were elected Fellows of the Society: Robert C. Carrington, Esq., Indian Marine Survey, Cal cutta. Alexander Davidson, Esq., Addison Lodge, Ridgway, Thomas Gregory, Esq., Merchant's College, Blackpool. A. K. Rollit, Esq., LL.B., B.A., Sheriff of Hull, President of the Royal Institution, Hull, 18, Trinity House Lane, Hull. Mr. Glaisher announced that 131 presents had been received by the Society since the last meeting, amongst which were some drawings of Mars, which had been made by Mr. Green during the past summer in the Island of Madeira. He also wished to notice the new supplementary catalogue of scientific papers which had been published by the Royal Society. The volume upon the table contained the names in the first part of the alphabet, from A to H, and the period included was from 1864 to 1873. The President said: The Society will rejoice to hear that there lie upon the table duplicate copies of the very successful observations of Mars, which Mr. Gill has succeeded in making at the Island of Ascension. I think the Society will be the more gratified when they remember the very great difficulties which Mr. Gill has had to encounter. I think I may venture to say that VOL. XV. these successful observations would not have been obtained had it not been for his remarkable decision of character. When he found that the site that had been selected for his observatory, and where the instruments had been fitted up, was unsuitable, and that the sky would probably be cloudy, he at once resolved to cross over to an uninhabited part of the island, and there in the face of very grave and almost insurmountable difficulty, he proceeded to mount his instruments. This decision of his has been, I believe, the means of our obtaining successful observations. I will now call on the Foreign Secretary to read some portion of Mr. Gill's report. Lord Lindsay said: I do not think it will be necessary to take up the time of the meeting in reading the report in full, and I will endeavour to give a précis of it. Mr. Gill gives his reasons for dismounting the observatory at the garrison and removing it to its present site. These reasons are that the Green Mountain at Ascension brings down low clouds of moisture upon the town, and he felt convinced that the chances of making observations would be lost. He therefore crossed to another part of the island, and landed at a place hitherto unknown, but now called Mars Bay, and here he proceeded to set up his observatory. A considerable number of measurements have been secured here, which no doubt could not have been obtained in the garrison. The labour of watching had been excessive. Mars had been observed since the 10th of August, whenever visible, except on three occasions, when the definition was unsatisfactory. These occasions were in the evening. His report goes on to give a description of the site he had chosen, and includes some photographs of the observatory as now set up. On 32 evenings and 25 mornings he had obtained measures of the distance of the limb of the planet, from 22 different stars of comparison. The rain prevented observations between Sept. 11th and 15th, but between Sept. 4th and 11th the weather was exceptionally fine. To the latter-named period Mr. Gill attached extreme importance, because Sept. 5th was the day of opposition, when the planet would pass within two minutes of arc of an important comparison star. Mr. Gill says he would have willingly undertaken the expedition merely for some of the results obtained, and he records his thanks to the Society for their liberality in aiding the expedition. A description of the observations and tables sent then follows in the report, as well as an enumeration of the observatories that have promised assistance in determining the place of the comparison stars. After spending a week up the mountains, Mr. Gill says he intends to devote some time to the observations of Melpomene. Lord Lindsay concluded by saying that private letters from Mr. Gill informed him that the change of air up the Green Mountain had quite restored his health. The Astronomer-Royal: I have been in correspondence with Mr. Gill on this subject, and possibly I have received some information which does not appear so entirely in this official report, which has been read by Lord Lindsay. I think that when the history of this expedition comes to be written, it will be considered as one of the most important and most remarkable that has ever been undertaken. There was one point naturally not touched upon in the official communication made by Lord Lindsay; it is the assistance which Mr. Gill has received from another person. We are not ashamed, in speaking of the efforts which Sir William Herschel made in his important stellar observations, to speak of the assistance which he received from his sister, Miss Caroline Herschel, and I hope we shall not be ashamed in this case to speak of the assistance which Mr. Gill has received from his wife. (Hear, hear.) From all that I have gathered from his communications, I believe that the expedition, under all its difficulties, could not have been carried out without the assistance of that lady, and I should be sorry that on this occasion such a notice should be omitted. The President: I can quite corroborate the statement of the Astronomer-Royal from letters I have received, and also the statement of Lord Lindsay that Mr. Gill has found his health completely restored by his visit to the mountain regions. Looking back at the period of work, Mr. Gill says that the whole may be summed up in three words, "watching, anxiety, and some good results." He is now working at Melpomene. While observing Mars he could not spare time to observe the smaller planets, but now he is devoting his time to it. The thanks of the meeting were voted to Mr. Gill for his report. The Astronomer-Royal was then called upon. He said, it is sufficiently well known to the Society that I have been looked upon by the Government as their representative in late expeditions for the observations of the transit of Venus. The paper I propose now to read in great measure has reference to those observations. It is entitled On the inferences for the value of the mean solar parallax and other elements, deducible from the telescopic observations of the transit of Venus, 1874, Dec. 8; made in the British Expedition. The Society are aware that a report to the House of Commons on the observations has recently been printed, and is now on sale. Although all the important points are fully treated in the report, several minor matters have been necessarily deferred, some of which did not present themselves for consideration, |