In the case of Sirius and its faint attendant, the mass of the bright star is about twice the mass of the satellite, while its light is about 40,000 times greater! Here the satellite is either a cooled-down sun or perhaps a gaseous nebula. There seems to be no other explanation of this curious paradox. The same remark applies to Procyon, where the bright star is about 100,000 times brighter than its faint companion, although its mass is only 5 times greater. The bright star Capella forms a curious anomaly or paradox. Spectroscopic observations show that it is a very close binary pair. It has been seen "elongated" at the Greenwich Observatory with the great 28-inch refractor--the work of Sir Howard Grubb--and the spectroscopic and visual measurements agree in indicating that its mass is about 18 times the mass of the sun. But its parallax (about 0"·08) shows that it is about 128 times brighter than the sun! This great brilliancy is inconsistent with the star's computed mass, which would indicate a much smaller brightness. The sun placed at the distance of Capella would, I find, shine as a star of about 5½ magnitude, while Capella is one of the brightest stars in the sky. As the spectrum of Capella's light closely resembles the solar spectrum, we seem justified in assuming that the two bodies have pretty much the same physical composition. The discrepancy between the computed and actual brightness of the star cannot be explained satisfactorily, and the star remains an astronomical enigma. Three remarkable double-star systems have been discovered by Dr. See in the southern hemisphere. The first of these is the bright star α Phœnicis, of which the magnitude is 2·4, or only very slightly fainter than the Pole Star. It is attended by a faint star of the 13th magnitude at a distance of less than 10 seconds (1897). The bright star is of a deep orange or reddish colour, and the great difference in brightness between the component stars "renders the system both striking and difficult." The second is μ Velorum, a star of the 3rd magnitude, which has a companion of the 11th magnitude, and only 2½" from its bright primary (1897). Dr. See describes this pair as "one of the most extraordinary in the heavens." The third is η Centauri, of 2½ magnitude, with a companion of 13½ magnitude at a distance of 5"·65 (1897); colours yellow and purple. This pair is "extremely difficult, requiring a powerful telescope to see it." Dr. See thinks that these three objects "may be regarded as amongst the most splendid in the heavens." The following notes are from Burnham's recently published _General Catalogue of Double Stars_.