GENERAL NOTES. Solar Parallax from the Photographic Right Ascensions of Eros, at the Opposition of 1900.-After a discussion of all the photographs of Eros taken in the memorable co-operative solar parallax campaign of 1900-01, Mr. ARTHUR R. HINKS, to whom the supervision of the monumental task of reduction was entrusted, has just published his adopted value of the solar parallax, derived from the measured right ascensions. His result is 8".807+0".0027. Regarding the photographic declinations and the micrometric observations, Mr. HINKS says: "In the Lick and Cambridge series the (photographic) declinations were not measured. At Greenwich they were discussed, and gave the same value of the parallax as the right ascensions, but with very little weight. I do not think it worth while to discuss the remaining observations of declination. The discussion of the micrometric observations is practically complete, and will be presented without delay.”—Monthly Notices R. A. S., May, 1909. We are pleased to learn from Science that Professor GALLE has just celebrated his ninety-seventh birthday. It is interesting to note that it was he who suggested and directed the first co-operative observation of an asteroid for solar parallax. In 1873, Flora, the nearest known asteroid of the time, was observed co-operatively by twelve observatories. Notes from "Science."-Mr. H. F. NEWALL has been elected to the recently founded professorship of astrophysics at the University of Cambridge. Astronomy shares with physics the loss of a valuable friend in the death of Professor ALBERT BROWN PORTER of "The Scientific Shop" of Chicago. SIMON NEWCOMв died at his home in Washington July 11th at the age of 74 years. Mr. F. H. SEARES, formerly instructor of astronomy in the University of California, has resigned the position of professor of astronomy and director of the Laws Observatory of the University of Missouri to become superintendent of the computing division of the Mount Wilson Solar Observatory of the Carnegie Institution. Professor NEW COMB's library is offered for sale. He was especially anxious that the library should not be divided, but should belong to some institution in which astronomical and kindred branches of research are carried on. It is thought to be the most complete library of its kind in America except, perhaps, that at Harvard. A temporary meteorological and astronomical observation station at an altitude of about 14,000 feet is to be erected immediately on Mount Whitney, California, by the Smithsonian Institution. Dr. FRITZ COHN, astronomer in the Observatory at Königsberg, has been called to a chair of astronomy at Berlin. NEW PUBLICATIONS. Annales de l'Observatoire de Nice. Tome XI. Détermination de la vitesse de la lumière. 106 pp. 166 pp. Observations équatoriales et méridiennes concernant la planète Eros. 131 pp. Catalogue de nébuleuses découvertes avec le grand equatorial de l'observatoire de Nice. 35 pp. Paris. 1908. Folio. Paper. Annales de l'Observatoire Royal de Belgique. Tome XIfascicule II. La distribution des étoiles par rapport à la voie lactée d'après la carte photographique du cièl. Observations solaires effectuées à Uccle en 1907. Observations faites au cercle méridien de Repsold en 1907. Passage de Mercure sur le disque solaire, le 13-14 novembre 1907. Observations faites à Uccle. Astronomischer Jahresbericht. X Band. Die Literatur des Jahres 1908. Berlin. 1909. 8°. 708 pp. Paper. Berliner Astronomisches Jahrbuch für 1911 mit Angaben für die Oppositionen der Planeten (1)-(365) für 1909. Berlin. 1909. 8°. 521 pp. Paper. LEWIS, GILBERT N., and TOLMAN, RICHARD C. The principle of relativity, and non-Newtonian mechanics. From Proceedings of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, Vol. XLIV, No. 25. 13 pp. 8°. Paper. Memoria que dirije al Congresso Nacional de los Estados Unidos de Venezuela el Ministro de Guerra y Marina en 1909. Tomo II. Bolivar. 1909. Folio. 684 pp. Boards. Memorie della Società Degli Spettroscopisti Italiani. RICCO, A. Dimensioni e distribuzione delle protuberanze solari osservati in Catania nel 1° semestre dell' anno 1908. BELLIA, C. Sopra il calcolo della constante solare. Publikationen der Sternwarte des Eidg. Polytechnikums zu Zürich. Beobachtungen über die heliographische Verteilung der Flecken, Fackeln, und Protuberanzen auf der Oberfläche der Sonne in den Jahren 1896-98, von A. WOLFER. Zürich. 1909. Folio. 80 pp. mit 14 Tafeln. Paper. Smithsonian Miscellaneous Collections. Quarterly issue. Vol. 5, Part 3. HALE, GEORGE E. Some recent contributions to our knowledge of the sun. Pp. 331-358, with 13 plates. Washington. 1909. 8°. Paper. SCHIAPARELLI, G. Di alcune macchie osservate in Mercurio. Torino. 1909. 8°. 15 pp. Paper. Veröffentlichungen des Königlichen Astronomischen RechenGenäherte Oppositions Instituts zu Berlin. No. 37. Ephemeriden von 30 kleinen Planeten für 1909 Juli bis 1910 Januar. Berlin. 1909. 8°. 12 pp. Paper. MINUTES OF THE MEETING OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS HELD IN THE STUDENTS' OBSERVATORY, BERKELEY, CAL IFORNIA, JUNE 25, 1909, AT 7:30 P. M. A quorum was present. In the absence of President W. W. CAMPBELL, Professor R. G. AITKEN was called to the chair. Dr. T. J. J. SEE, of the Naval Observatory, Mare Island, presented to the Board a brief synopsis of the following papers:— "The cause of the outstanding secular acceleration in the mean motion of the Moon and of the recently discovered indication of a secular acceleration in the mean motion of the Sun." "The capture theory of satellites, with application to the planets of the Solar System, including the case of our own Moon." The following were elected to membership: CHARLES C. CONROY. A. H. MARKWART. The minutes of the last meeting were approved. MINUTES OF THE MEETING OF THE ASTRONOMICAL SOCIETY OF THE PACIFIC HELD IN HEARST HALL, BERKELEY, CALIFORNIA, JUNE 25, 1909, AT 8:00 P. M. By courtesy of the President of the University of California, this meeting was held in conjunction with the Summer Session of the University. In the absence of President W. W. CAMPBELL, the meeting was called to order by Professor R. T. CRAWFORD, who introduced Professor R. G. AITKEN, of Lick Observatory, as the speaker of the evening. Professor AITKEN delivered a most interesting and instructive popular lecture upon the subject "The evolution of modern astronomy," illustrated with lantern slides. There were present about three hundred people. |