Authority.

Greenwich Ten-Year Catalogue, 1880, and Paris Catalogue.

Paris Catalogue.

Greenwich Ten-Year Catalogue, 1880.

The following observations of Swift's Comet were made on the meridian with the Transit Circle:

The corrections applied for parallax were o"06, 0"17 respectively.

In computing these log ▲ was taken as o'2819 on September 17, 0'2907 on September 24, these values being interpolated from Archenhold's Ephemeris (Astr. Nach., 3110).

On September 24 the comet was very faint, and was observed over one wire only in R.A.

Hudson, and Mr. Davidson respectively. The initials L., H., A. C., B., T. H., C. D., are those of Mr. Lewis, Mr. Hollis, Mr. Crommelin, Mr. Bryant, Mr.

Observations of Holmes' Comet (f 1892) made at the Royal Observatory, Greenwich.
(Communicated by the Astronomer Royal.)

The observations were made with the East, or Sheepshanks Equatoreal, aperture 6.7 inches, by taking transits
power, 55.
over two cross wires at right angles to each other, and each inclined 45° to the parallel of declination. Magnifying

Greenwich Mean
Solar Time.

9 11 22 53

- I

Corr. for
Refraction.

Observer.

4-*
R.A.

Log factor of

*N.P.D.

Parallax,

Log factor
of
Parallax.

Corr. for No. of
Refraction. Comps.

Apparent
R.A.

1892.

d

h

m

S

m

S

Nov. 9

9 36 26

A. C.

-I 1298

8.2200

Ο ΟΟ

+

8

49'7

0.2983

Ο Ο

3

Comparison Stars.

The comet was very bright, about 5' in diameter, with a stellar nucleus.

The initials L. and A. C. are those of Mr. Lewis and Mr. Crommelin respectively.

Royal Observatory, Greenwich: 1892 November 11.

John A. Brashear, Allegheny, Pennsylvania, U.S.A.;
Walter William Bryant, Seymour Cottage, Conduit Vale,
Blackheath, S.E.;

Captain James Fisher, Kentmere, Birdhurst Rise, South

Croydon ;

Thomas Charlton Hudson, 3 Montpelier Row, Blackheath, S.E.:

Francis R. Wardle, 43 Moorgate Street, E.C.,

were balloted for and duly elected Fellows of the Society.

The following candidates were proposed for election as Fellows of the Society, the names of the proposers from personal knowledge being appended :-

Harold John Adams, M.A., Civil Servant, St. John's, Cedar
Road, Beckenham (proposed by John M. Stone);
Samuel Barker, Barrister-at-law, 9 Hanover Terrace, Regent's
Park, N.W. (proposed by Arthur Kennedy);

P. Doyle, F.R.S.E., M.R.I.A., Editor of Indian Engineering, 19 Lall Bazar, Calcutta (proposed by Asutosh Mukhopadhyay);

The Rev. Edwin G. Gange, Baptist Minister, Osborne House, Cotham Park, Bristol (proposed by W. F. Denning); John Spencer, F.G.S., Rock House, Crawshaw Booth, near Manchester (proposed by William Garnett);

Anthony Stanbridge Thomson, Lieut. R N.R., F.R.G.S., F.R.MS, A.I.E.E., Telegraph Works, Silvertown, Essex (proposed by Charles Bright).

Seventy-one presents were announced as having been received since the last meeting, including, amongst others, Zeichnungen und Studien des Mondes, von Dr. L. Weinek, presented by the Prague Observatory; Second Glasgow Catalogue of 2,156 stars for the epoch 1890... by Professor Robert Grant, presented by the Glasgow Observatory; The Visible Universe, by J. E. Gore, presented by the publishers; J. Mabillon, Iter Germanicum, Hamburgi 1717, presented by the President.

Note on Nova Auriga. By W. H. M. Christie,
Astronomer Royal.

The Nova appears to have again brightened recently after having become invisible during October in the 10-inch guiding telescope of the Astrophotographic Equatorial, and several photographs have been taken of it lately, comparisons with the companion star about 2' n.f. having been also made by eye with the 10-inch refractor. In this telescope it was noted as invisible about October 7 by Mr. Turner (who saw the companion star distinctly), on October 22 by Mr. Davidson, and on October 25 by Miss Everett. Mr. Davidson again looked for it on November 29, and was surprised to find it decidedly brighter visually than the companion star, and on November 30 Mr. Turner and Mr. Davidson both estimated it as about one magnitude brighter than the companion. As this star was estimated by Professor Krueger, in his Revisionzone, 1858 March 23, to be of 95 mag., the visual magnitude of the Nova as estimated by Mr. Turner and Mr. Davidson on November 30 would be about 8.5 mag.

From photographs taken by Mr. Davidson on November 29 and 30, and by Miss Russell on December 5, with exposures ranging from 16m to 158, the Nova appears to be photographically about o'9 mag. fainter than the companion star, the photographic magnitude of the Nova referred to the four companion stars (8.2 to 87 mag.) being 116, while that of the companion is 10'7 mag.

Thus while the Nova is now visually about 1 mag. brighter than the companion star, it is photographically nearly 1 mag. fainter; and it is to be noted that the companion star is photographically about 1 mag. fainter than Professor Krueger's visual estimate, so that it would seem that the Nova is now about three magnitudes fainter photographically than visually.

Royal Observatory, Greenwich:

1892 December 8.