Sacramento daily record-union. [volume] (Sacramento [Calif.]) 1875-1891, 1889-07-29

the Pacific
LICK OBSERVATORY Mount HamiItop\
via San Jose, July 2Sth.-The Astrononi'
| cal Society of the Pacific met in the Iibrarv
| OF the Lick Observatory on Saturday last
with good attendance.
1t was announced that the report of the
solar eclipse of last January. now printinS
by order of the Regents of the University
had reached page 601-about a third of the
volume. 1t contains reports from more
than 100 persons, distributed at twenty-fiye
different observatory stations
The Hon. c. F. Crocker has offered TO
near lhe expense of an expedition from the
LICK Observatory TO Cayenne. South Amer
lea, next December, and it is expecfed at
that time TO confirm and extend some of
the dIscoYerleS made at the last eclipse.
The announcement was also made that
Hon. Joseph A. Donahue, of Menlo Park
had founded medal TO be given for the
discovery of comets, and had provided a
permanent fund for the purpose This off
was gratefully accepted by the Society
There were too many papers presented TO
allow all Of them to be read, and accord.
lngly some were postponed until the next
meeting.
The papers read, either by title or in full
were
On The Possibility of Pbotocraobirg
the Corona in Full Sunshine" bv Mr.,
kuler.
On The Orbit of Comet Barnard. June
25d, by Mr.. Lenschner.
On The Occultation of Jupiter to be Ex-
pected in 1889" by Mr.. Hill.
photograph of the Milky Way near In.
piter, taken the Oath instant. with one
hour and forty-eight minutes exposure y
by Mr.. Barnard, This beautiful pic
ture was exhibited to the meeting.
The Real Shape of the NebuIar which We
See as Spiral" by Mr.. Holden. The latter
paper was the longest one of the evening
and will be printed in the publications of
the society in full. Its purpose is to show
the real shape OF the socalled spiral nebu,
lar IN the space of their dimensions as de-
duced from their apparent shape as pro-
Jected In two dimensions on the back
grounds OF the sky. This is a problem
that has bad no solution up TO this time.
Alter the adjournment of the society the
members looked at the various objects Of
interest shown by the astronomers of the
Observatory and then portion returned to
the Smith Creek Hotel to sleep, while the
rest, or as many as possible, were enter
tanned by the astronomers on the noun
tain.
The affairs of the society are in pros
porous condition, owing TO the great in
terest taken in its progress bv the men,
bers. 1t Is essentially a society for amateurs.
and desires TO include in its membership
every person in California who takes an
interest in astronomy, whether he has
made studies in this direction or not.
Several ladies are already members. The
annual dues are s. per year, and there is no
initial fee. Life membership is $50 The
publications are sent to every member, and
three OF its six meetings are held in San
Francisco.
The scope of the society is defined so
that 1t can have no possible rivalry with
any other. Its sole object 10 to forward
the study and the science of astronomy.
The following persons were elected to
active or life membership at the meeting:
EX- United States Senator James q. Fair,
Robert D. Fry, Rudolph E. Voigkt. ] p
Belknap, Mrs William Alvord, Alexander
Montgomery, Mrs. Alexander Montgomery.
John Partridge, DR.. George c. Pardee Miss
Fidelia NJ. Jewett, Miss L. J. Martin, Les
ter l.. Robinson, Andrew B. Forbes. John
X: Spring, Judge John K Boalt Robert H.
White, Horace L. Hill, J. G. Saxey. DIR.
w. B. Leavitt, DR.. L. L. Dunbar. Charles
Webb Howard, John Perry Jr, DIR. NJ. J.
Sullivan, Darius Ogden Mills, CAPTAIN
Charles Goodall, Adam Grant, Joseph d.
Grant, Arthur w. Foster, all of San Fran
cisco.
Hon. Alf L. Tubbs, ]. W. McClymonds,
Charles G. Yale, George H. Strong, ex-
Governor George c. Perkins, John c. Bull
lock, of Oakland, Cal.
Charles r Tisdal, of Alameda. Cal
Charles w. Friend, # Carson CITY, New.
G. II. Clement, of Livermore. Cal.
United States Senator John P. Jones, of
Nevada
Henry D. Alvord, of San Jose, Cal. and
Senor Felipe Vale Senior Manuel G. Prieta.
Director Angel Anguino, Fredonia Ouin-
tano, Camille Gonzalez, Francis Rodriguez
Rey, of Mexico.
MEDAL FOR sKYsCRAPERs.
The Hon. Joseph A. Donohue, of Menlo
Park, has offered to the Astronomical Soci-
ETY. of the Pacific to establish medal to
be given to the first discoverer cf every
unexpected comet, and to the first person
making precise observation of a telescope
periodic comet at any one of its expected
returns.
This medal is intended solely as a recog-
milton of merit and to commemorate the
discovery, and is not designed in any sense
as reward
The astronomers reward consists in the
discovery itself. Mr.. Donohue also offered
thC gnu VI lulu 10 MAINTAIN
such medal in perpetuity from and after
January l, 1890.
The Society has gratefully accepted the
offer, and will proceed to give practical eff
feet to it by the establishment of the medal
and by the fixing of the regulations for its
bestowal
No application for the award of the
medal is required. 1t will be given, as a
matter of course, to the acknowledged dis
coverer of each new comet.
1t is, however, prescribed that letter
should be addressed to the Director of the
Lick Observatory, which communication
must contain all the particulars of the first
observation.
Such medals as this are given by various
scientific societies and academies, both in
America and abroad, and they serve as
inter esting and valued mementos to their
possessors as incentives to the younger
generation of astronomers and as series
of landmarks in the history of scientific
progress.
The full conditions on which the award
will be made will shortly be printed in the
various scientific journals and in the pub
llcatiOn of the Astronomical Society of the
Pacific, where they can be found by those