The Jasper weekly courier. [volume] (Jasper, Ind.) 1858-1922, 1879-02-07
SCIENCE IN 1873.
Progress Made Last Year Ia all branches
~ Research-irent Inventions and Dis-
covsries aud the Deductions from Them.

coxsrlen ana the Aptuucttons from Them
from the London Titncs.l
Simply 70 register the scientific worl
OF the past year which has found It's wa,
10 the light through the many scientific
societies all over the world would prtt
" well occupy an issue Of this paper
But this multitude 81 organizations b,
no means absorbs all the scientific work
Of the world, though probably most OF
il grayitatcs toward them. There is 4
host u scientific periodicals, home and
foreign, quite independent OF the SO.
cieties, which are often the first to give
10 the world the results OF research OF
the first importance. In this intensely
scientific age even the daily press i
sometimes the first To announce scien.
tific discoveries OF the first importance :
as witness the announcement Of Edi-
sons inventions. We ourselves. we
believe, were the first, in this country.
at least, TO publish, about year ago,
the news Of the iiquefaction Of the
permanent y gases. Our readers
must see nat II is . hopeless task 10
give a complete account Of tae scientific
work Of the year in the space at our
disposal We can only allude TO
a few points Of the greatest i'm
portance, and that aialy in re-
spect Of the work done in our own coun-
try. The principal scientific "event y
Of the year was, however, without ma.
tionality, notwithstanding the rumor
that the American astronomers sgot
up" the eclipse Of July 20 to give them
selves and their English contrercs an ex-
cuse for = holiday. The results Of this
eclipse have been pretty thoroughly dis
cussed in our columns; it has enabled
US 10 obtain a more definite knowledge
OF the character Of the suns activity, Of
the true nature OF. his wonderful. append
age, the corona, and possibly. also, OF
the origin Of the zodiacal light. Blu, in
the eyes Of some astronomers, and Of the
ssgeneral public" probably more in
teresting result was the discovery Of one,
il not two, inter- mercurial planets.
There can be little doubt, we think, as
TO the accuracy of the observations on
this point, and it is just announced that
an American scientist 1--WE wish we
knew Of more palatable term), Prof.
Dawson, has invented method of OBJ
serving the region near the sun without
an eclipse, which, II efficient, will PROP
ably place Watson's and Swift's obser-
vations beyond cavil. Independently OF
the eclipse, the spectoscopic and photo
graphic observation of the sun has been
actively carried on during the past year,
especially by Jansen Of Paris, and Tao
chlni and others in Italy, the former
having invented most ingenious APP
paratus, the photo Photograph, by means
OF which he is able 10 obtain larger and
much better defined photographs Of the
suns disk than ever were obtained be-
fore.
SOLAR OXYGEN.
BY this means some very remarkable
results have been obtained. Higgins.
we may say here, has been continuing
his solid spectroscopic work, photo
the spectra Of the fixed stars.
An important contribution TO this de-
partment Of solar observation is the Just
published first part Of the " Publications
d the Asstrophysical Ga new and signifi-
can't term) Observatory OF Po.sdam,-
observations Of sun spots
rom October, 1871, to December, 1873,
,y Dr. Sporer. Diapers announcement
y the discovery Of oxygen in the sun is
me OF great moment, but we believe
ome competent solar observers consid-
r the proof insufficient. A vast deal
has been written during the past wear
y Broun, Balfour Stewart, Medium.
stanford, Buchan, Faye and Others on
ne sun-spot period and its supposed
onnection with certain terrestrial
'henomena. Jevons has made out
plausible case for their con-
lection with commercial crises, Wal
Drd with famines and Mr.. T.. ID.
.rchibald with locust plaques. Although
ne transit Of Mercury has not the
important bearings attaching to like |,
vent in the case of his sister planet :
enus, still It Is Of great astronomical !
alne, and that of May was as care !
lliy observed by French and American
'stronomers as weather and other con-
lions would admit. Eleven new minor ,
lanets have been added to the already
ing. list during the year. These now
umper, we believe, one hundred and
inety-one. OF other planetary observa- B
ons, those Of Asaph Hall on the satel- 4
les Of Mars should be mentioned. The n
announcement that new crater had 0
zen discovered in the moon astounded y
'tronomers at the time, though cool re- b
sctlon showed that volcanic action g
sed not necessarily be supposed to be Q
the bottom Of it. The publication Of P
ewcomb's Lunar Researches = is an Z
'aition Of great value TO mathematical Q
'fonomy, and the charts OF Lohrmann !,
y Schmidt Of the moon are each the q
suit Of nearly half ccntury's work. G.
connection with astronomy we should N
M the reorganization Of the Paris oh. II
rvatory and the astronomer royals h
nuai report, with its summary OF the N
lnSlf ~ Nao,e ..l....... ~