Abstract
IT is pleasant to see that the Brussels Observatory is in a position to resume the publication of its memoirs (Annals of the Belgian Royal Observatory, vol. xiv., part 2). After a discussion of the division errors of the Repsold meridian circle, Prof. Stroobant contributes an interesting essay on the constitution of the ring of minor planets. Tables and diagrams are given of the distribution of the various elements; the striking grouping of the perihelia towards Jupiter's perihelion is already well known, and Newcomb gave an explanation of it from theory. The eccentricities show a similar grouping, high eccentricities being most frequent in the quadrants where the perihelia congregate; this can also be explained by the action of Jupiter. The formulae expressing the perihelion density (N is the number of perihelia in an are of 30°) and the eccentricity are:
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CROMMELIN, A. The Belgian Royal Observatory . Nature 104, 676–677 (1920). https://doi.org/10.1038/104676a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/104676a0