Memoirs of the Royal Astronomical Society Volume 28 (Paperback)

This historic book may have numerous typos and missing text. Purchasers can download a free scanned copy of the original book (without typos) from the publisher. Not indexed. Not illustrated. 1860 Excerpt: ... Edinburgh Observatory taking a distinguished position amongst rival European institutions will inevitably pass away." The Madras Observatory has been enriched during the past year by the addition of a new meridional circle resembling those at Greenwich and the Cape, but of a smaller size; being more nearly a copy of that erected by Mr. Carrington at Redhill, with a few slight improvements, the principal of which is a larger object-glass. This instrument reached India in Marcli last, and is now in operation; and will probably be employed chiefly in observations of the planetoids (for which it is well adapted by its powers and construction as well as by geographical position), and in cataloguing small stars near the equator. The Director, Captain Jacob, was again compelled by illhealth to leave his post in April last, and will most probably not return to it; his locum-tenens being Major Worster of the Madras Artillery. Captain Jacob brought home with him a selection of the most important of his observations during the last two years, the results of which are now in the course of publication in the Society's Memoirs. In his annual report to the Mersey Docks and Harbour Board, Mr. Hartnup states that no material alteration has been made during the past year in the general routine duties of the Liverpool Observatory. The Greenwich Mean Time has been regularly communicated to the port by the dropping of the time-ball, and by the regulation of the electric clocks. The astronomical observations have been published as heretofore in the Astronomische Nachrichten, and in the proceedings of the Royal Astronomical Society. The observations taken with the self-registering anemometer and rain-guage have been tabulated for each hour of the day throughout the year. Di...