There was no difference of any importance in the aspect of the Zodiacal light during the days preceding or following the day of the eclipse, but, "on the 22d, at 5h 8m 19 A. M., common time at Progreso (the latitude of which is 21° 17′ 14′′.3 N., and its longitude, from the Astronomical Observatory at Tacubaya, 38° 08′ E., or 5h 58m 385.2 W. of Greenwich), at the moment we were watching with great attention the Zodiacal light, we saw something like a veil or shadow spread itself over it, and diminish its intensity about one-half. The phenomenon was noticed by the two observers independently, and the impressions that the phenomena made on both, were identical. It was due, without doubt, to the cone of shadow of the Moon projected on the matter that reflects the solar light directly, after it is reflected by our own planet. Accordingly, the phenomena took place several minutes before the totality of the eclipse began, as it should do, the matter that reflects the light, and produces the phenomenon being at a distance of many thousands of kilometers from the center of the Earth; the shadow, though lasting only a few moments, was gradual, and moved from the zenith to the horizon, or from west to east, in the exact direction that the march of the intersection of the cone of shadow of the Moon with the Earth followed. The notes of ob servation were: December 22d, 1889, 3h 55m A. M.-The Zodiacal light is distinctly visible between a and B Libre and 8 and μ Leonis, and possibly as far as Leonis. 4 49.-It is seen more brilliantly in some places in the region that it occupies, for instance, near Libræ, and it is considerable more brilliant than at the horizon. 5h 08m 19.-The shadow of the Moon is projected over the Zodiacal light, reducing the intensity of its brilliancy one-half. 5h 15-The most brilliant part of the Zodiacal light is at the extreme occidental side of Scorpio. NOTE ON DARK TRANSITS OF JUPITER'S BY JOHN TEBBUTT, F. R. A. S. I have read with much interest the notices which have appeared in Nos. 10 and 11 of the Publications A. S. P. with reference to black transits of Jupiter's satellites. I have myself on various occasions observed dark transits both of the third and of the fourth satellite. (See R. A. S. Monthly Notices, vols. xxxiv and xxxviii, page 73, and Ast. Nachrichten, Band xlv, page 121). The first of these communications called forth interesting papers from Professor ALEXANDER and Doctor KLEIN. My own experience may be summed up as follows:The satellite for some minutes after internal contact at ingress is seen as a bright spot. Its brightness gradually diminishes until the satellite becomes quite undistinguishable from the disc of the primary. The satellite remains invisible for some time, but long before its nearest approach to the center of the disc it becomes distinguishable as a faint dark spot. The dark phase gradually increases in intensity till the time of nearest approach and the phenomena for the rest of the transit occur in an order the inverse of that already described. Further, a dark phase does not take place when the satellite crosses the polar regions of the planet. After a consideration of the different explanations offered to account for these phenomena, I am myself inclined to accept that of Doctor KLEIN, which appeared in No. 2014 of the Astronomische Nachrichten and which has been revived by Professor HOLDEN in No. 11 of the Publications of the Astronomical Society of the Pacific. I propose to pay particular attention to the transits of the satellites during the current year. THE OBSERVATORY, WINDSOR, N. S. WALES, SUBSCRIPTIONS TO THE MEMORIAL TO THE LATE FATHER PERRY. The following subscriptions have been made to the PERRY Memorial Fund (see Publ. A. S. P., vol. ii, p. 262), and duly forwarded to the Hon. Secretary, ARTHUR CHILTON THOMAS, Esq.: Hon. William Alvord, San Francisco, Charles Burckhalter, Chabot Observatory, Hon. Alexander Montgomery, San Francisco, Hon. W. M. Pierson, San Francisco, Professor F. Soulé, Students' Observatory, Berkeley, $15.00 5.00 15 00 5 00 IO 00 10 00 5.00 OBSERVATIONS OF THE TRANSIT OF MERCURY, May 9, 1891, BY PROFESSOR F. SOULÉ, AT BERKELEY. STUDENT'S OBSERVATORY, LONG. WEST GREENWICH, 8h 9m 25.36, PROF. E. S. HOLDEN, Director Lick Observatory : DEAR SIR.-Yesterday afternoon I observed the first internal contact of Mercury with the sun's disc. Mr. A. B. PIERGE, class of '90, assisted me with the FAUTH chronograph, the HOWARD mean time clock, the NEGUS sidereal chronometer and the battery and local circuits. Mr. E. P. HILBORN, '91, acted as Secretary. Mr. JOSEPH LE CONTE, JR., observed the transit through the three-inch alt-azimuth by FAUTH & Co. Mr. ANSON S. BLAKE, '91, observed with the two-inch finder of the equatorial removed to a stand in the open air. Messrs. Ross MORGAN, '91, and L. W. LLOYD, '92, also assisted in the Observatory. I observed the transit with the 64-inch. FAUTH equatorial, objective by the late J. BYRNE, of New York. The full aperture was used and a Herschelian prism deflected about 12% of the rays to a Huyghenian eye-piece of power 125 furnished with a colored glass sun-shade. The telescope was driven by clock-work and protected by an improvised umbrella The weather and seeing were good and the sun's limb screen. * Director of the Washburn Observatory, Madison, Wisconsin. steady and sharply defined in the field, with the exception of an occasional slight shimmer. The planet came upon the sun at the expected place, but I was not sure, and gave no signal on the chronograph until Mercury, by estimation, was 4 or 3 upon the disc at 3" 54" 5.46 plus clock correction (+125.83)=3" 54" 185.29. P. S. T. Gave first signal for internal contact, which I afterward found too early, at 3h 56m 185.13 corrected time. Signalled again for internal contact at 3" 56m 44.69 (corrected). This was at the stage of transit when the following limb of Mercury seemed just internally tangent to the sun's circumference, but there was a little shimmering at this moment. After this the planet remained connected with the limb by a broad dark band which gradually narrowed as the motion proceeded inward, until at 3h 57 42.21, it broke, and a narrow bright rim of light intervened, leaving the planet completely surrounded by the bright disc of the sun. I regard this last as the most positive and absolute of all the observations. The time-records were made by a break-circuit key in my hand in the equatorial room recording upon the chronograph sheet in the transit room. The mean time HOWARD clock had been carefully rated and was checked the nights preceding and following the transit. The longitude is from telegraphic correspondence with the Lick Observatory, as well as from the U. S. C. and G. Survey records. The latitude is from the latter and from zenith telescope observations. I watched carefully for any evidence of twilight illumination around the planet's disc, and for any other atmospheric indications, but saw none. The face of the planet was at all times entirely black, and was invisible up to the moment of projection upon the sun's face. Occasionally terrestrial atmospheric disturbance would throw a flickering grayish cloud across the whole planet, but this was only for a moment. A very large fine sunspot, attended by four small ones, was a conspicuous object near the sun's center. A smaller one in the lower left hand of the field was also casually noticed, but seemed to have no penumbra. It was nearly round, although somewhat elongated in the direction of the sun's equator. OBSERVATIONS OF THE TRANSIT OF MERCURY, MAY 9, 1891, BY PROFESSOR C. W. FRIEND, AT CARSON, NEVADA. From the Nevada Tribune, May 11, 1891, the following paragraph is taken: "The first and second contacts of the transit of Mercury were successfully observed at the Carson Observatory by C. W. FRIEND, Director of the State Weather Service, assisted by D. C. GRUNOW, of the U. S. Signal Service, on May 9th, with the 5-inch equatorial and chronograph. Time of first contact, Pacific Standard Time (obtained from star transits on May 8th and 9th), 3h 53 39.43; second contact, 3" 57" 29.83." SKETCH OF THE TRANSIT OF MERCURY, MAY 9, 1891, BY A. HUNNIUS, LEAVENWORTH, KANSAS. A sketch of the transit, as viewed by projection, was received from Mr. HUNNIUS, who was assisted by Professor W. A. EVANS. The sky was cloudy and the contacts were not seen. OBSERVATIONS OF THE TRANSIT OF MERCURY, MAY 9, 1891, BY PROFESSOR KEEP, AT MILLS COLLEGE, CALIFORNIA. The transit of Mercury, May 9, 1891, was observed at the Mills College Observatory, with the five-inch refracting telescope. The air was very clear and the phenomenon was distinctly seen by a number of observers. The planet stood out as a small black sphere, clear and sharp, while nearer the center of the sun's disc was a well defined spot, with nucleus and penumbra. The spot appeared larger than Mercury, but the distinction between the black disc of the planet and the hazy and irregular outline of the sun-spot was very marked. JOSIAH KEEP. OBSERVATIONS OF THE TRANSIT OF MERCURY, MAY 9, 1891, AT MOUNT HAMILTON, BY EDWARD S. HOLDEN AND JAMES E. KEELER. Instruments. The 36-inch equatorial was used with its full aperture, and a polarizing eye-piece by FAUTH & Co. The eye-piece used for the contacts magnified about 350 diameters. The field of view was quite small. The first contact was observed by Professor |