The first part of the volume is dedicated to the minor planets, and includes observations taken at Paris and Greenwich. There are also circulars by F. Tietjen for the Berlin Jahrbuch, 1875-1878; discoveries of new minor planets by J.S. Watson, P.P. Henry, J. Palisa, C.H.F. Peters, M. Borrelly, M. Perrotin and M. Cotterot, chiefly in the form of telegrams and ephemerides; and elements and observations of known asteroids, largely in German. The second part concerns the intra mercurial planet and its relation to sunspot activity. There is a refutation of the intermercurial planet theory by R. Mansill, experiments to observe it, a newspaper description of those methods employed, and extensive reports from Sydney, Australia. There are also brief sections on the discovery of satellites about Mars and Saturn. The last part of the volume is devoted to cometary matters, chiefly requests and demands for information on such comets as Encke's, Winnecke's and Coggia's. There is also a theory of the nature of comets proposed by J. Cross.