On the evening of November 24, 1876, the late Dr. Schmidt, of Athens, discovered a new star of the third magnitude, near Rho Cygni, in a spot where he was certain that no bright star was visible four nights previously. When first seen, it was somewhat brighter than Eta Pegasi. It did not, however, remain long at this degree of brightness, but rapidly decreased, and on November 30 had faded to fifth magnitude. It afterward diminished very regularly, and in September, 1885, was estimated only fifteenth magnitude with the 15½ inch refractor of Mr. Wigglesworth's observatory. The star was examined with the spectroscope a few days after its discovery, and showed bright lines similar to the "Blaze Star" in the Northern Crown. One of these bright lines was believed to be identical with Kirchhoff's No. 1474, which has been observed in the spectrum of the solar corona during total eclipses of the sun. This star would seem to be quite new, as there is no star in any of the catalogues in its position. In September, 1877, it was examined with the spectroscope at Lord Crawford's observatory, and its light was found to be almost entirely monochromatic (of only one color), showing that the star "had changed into a planetary nebula of small angular diameter" (!) In August, 1885, a star of about seventh magnitude made its appearance close to the nucleus of the Great Nebula in Andromeda--a well-known object visible to the naked eye, and which has been well called "the Queen of the Nebulæ." The new star was independently discovered by several observers toward the end of August, but seems to have been first certainly seen by Mr. T. W. Ward, of Belfast, on August 19, at 11 P.M. At Greenwich observatory the spectrum of the new star was found "of precisely the same character as that of the nebula, _i. e._, it was perfectly continuous, no lines, either bright or dark, being visible, and the red end was wanting." Dr. Huggins, however, on September 9, thought he could see from three to five bright lines in its spectrum. The star gradually faded away, and on February 7, 1886, was estimated only sixteenth magnitude in the 26 inch refractor of the naval observatory at Washington. From a series of measures by Prof. Asaph Hall he found "no certain indications of any parallax," so that evidently the star and the nebula, in which it probably lies, are situated at an immense distance from the earth. Prof. Seeliger has investigated the decrease in light of the star on the hypothesis that it was a cooling body, which had been suddenly raised to an intense heat by the shock of a collision, and finds a fair agreement between theory and observation. Anwers points out the similarity between this outburst and the new star of 1860 in the cluster 80 Messier, and thinks it very probable that both phenomena were due to physical changes in the nebulæ in which they occurred.