Societies and Academies | Nature

ABSTRACT LONDON. ROYAL ASTRONOMICAL SOCIETY, December 11.—Prof. H. H. Turner, F.R.S., president, in the chair.—Dr. A. A. RAMBAUT read a paper on two drawings of the Mare Serenitatis by John

Russell, R.A., which afforded some hitherto unpublished evidence with regard to the appearance of Linné in 1788. Dr. Rambaut showed photographs of the original drawings, on which Linné

appeared as a white spot, and not as a crater.—Mr. SAUNDER showed and described a photograph of one of the earliest maps of the moon, made by Langrenus about 1645.—The ASTRONOMER ROYAL

showed photographs of Comet Borrelly 1903 and Comet Perrine 1902, and pointed out their great similarity in appearance.—The Astronomer Royal also gave an account of the observations of the

recent shower of Leonid meteors on the morning of November 16.—Mr. DENNING'S paper on the same subject was also read. There was complete agreement among the observers as to the maximum

being between 17h. 30m. and 18h.—Mr. J. C. W. HERSCHEL read a paper on an examination of the relative star density on different parts of the plates forming the Harvard photographic star map,

from which it appeared that the maximum density was at about 9° from the centre of the plate, after which it fell off very rapidly.—Mr. CROMMELIN presented his ephemerides for physical

observations of Saturn, 1903–4, and gave the different values that had been found for the planet's rotation period.—The secretary read a paper by Prof. G. W. HOUGH on the rotation

period of Saturn deduced from his observations of the white spot first observed by Prof. Barnard on June 15.—Mr. Maunder read a letter from Mr. Percival LOWELL, in which the latter affirmed

his conviction of the reality of the canals of Mars, and also of the markings on Venus.—Prof. TURNER described his graphical method for determining the local or Greenwich time of sunset at

different places within a given region, and Mr. Benson spoke of a somewhat similar method previously devised by him.—The secretary read a paper by Mr. P. H. COWELL on the semidiameter,

parallactic inequality, and variation of the moon derived from the Greenwich meridian observations from 1847.0 to 1901.5.—Mr. H. C. PLUMMER described and illustrated his paper on oscillating

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