STUDY OF ASTRONOMY.

Taranaki Daily News, 21 December 1922, Page 7

STUDY OF ASTRONOMY.

NEW PLYMOUTH SOCIETY. The executive council of the society met at the residence of the president (Dr. G. Home) on Tuesday evening. Rev. O. Blundell, director of the observatory, presided. The treasurer (Mr. T. M. Avery) was unavoidably absent, but communicated the fact that there was a credit balance of £9 3s 4d in the society’s funds. The chairman reported on the work dene at the observatory during the last quarter. Interesting observations of the planet Venus, made in daylight, had revealed the presence of certain surface features upon the planet. >Some lecordfi were made of the declining brilliance of the wonderful variable star Mira; on November 24 it had sunk to the 9th magnitude, which is very nearly its minimum brightness. The sun has shown few spots during the period, but immense regions of, incandescent calcium vapour, known as faculae, have been observed. On November 24 Mr. F. J. Morshead observed the famous crimson star in the constellation Lepus. On December 17 a fine example of parhelion, or solar halo, was o-'beerved, estimated at 35 degrees in diameter. The cause of this and similar phenomena was discussed by members, it being tshown that the presence of ice particles, situated in the earth’s atmosphere at a great altitude, will account for the facts- observed. It was reported that Mrs. Messenger, a member of the society, has imported a comet eye-piece for the 6-inch telescope ana presented it to the society. The thanks of the council to Mrs. Messenger for her gift, were placed on record. An excellent photograph of the late S. Percy Smith, Esq. (first president of the society), received from his daughter, has been suitably framed and placed in the observatory. A very interesting discussion upon meteors, earthquakes and tidal waves arose, in the course of which a number of records made by various members present were reported. Five new members of the society were proposed and accepted. Mr. B. M. Wilson, a member of the society, was present and was associated with the council. Mr. Wilson is taking an active interest in the work at the observatory and during the evening he showed a number of excellent pictorial representations of certain double and multiple stars observed with the 6-inch refractor. The council has authorised the purchase of a selection of optical slides, made by means of the 100-inch telescope at Mt. Wilson observatory, California, also of a Barlow lens, a device for increasing the magnifying power of the various eye-pieces of the telescope It was decided to set apart Wednesday and Saturday evenings for the observation of variable stars and on these nights the observatory will not be available for the public generally.