Astronomy and Cosmical Physics at the British Association

Abstract

AT the Bradford meeting, in 1900, a department of astronomy was established as a subsection of Section A, in deference to a wish that had been expressed that astronomy should be better represented at the British Association. After two years experience, it was felt that the astronomical papers that were received were scarcely enough to justify this division of Section A, and this year the subsection was strengthened by the addition of cosmical physics. On the Friday the whole section was given up to cosmical physics; on the Monday and Tuesday the sub-section met separately. On all three days the room was well filled, and it was apparent that the enlarged subsection was in some ways a success. But towards the end of the meeting there was a strong expression of opinion that it is not to the advantage of the section as a whole that it should be so much subdivided, and the whole matter will have to be carefully considered before next year. Perhaps a solution of the diffiernt might be found in the division of all papers for Section A into two classes-papers that are generally intelligible and papers that are not and in relegating the latter class only to sub-sectional meetings. It is not impossible that this might have beneficial results in more ways than one.