Page:Philosophical Transactions - Volume 077.djvu/13
Germany, I have taken the opportunity of his absence to sweep in the neighbourhood of the sun, in search of comets; and last night, the 1st of August, about 10 o'clock, I found an object very much resembling in colour and brightness the 27th nebula of the Connoissance des Temps, with the difference however of being round. I suspected it to be a comet; but a haziness coming on, it was not possible intirely to satisfy myself as to its motion till this evening. I made several drawings of the stars in the field of view with it, and have inclosed a copy of them, with my observations annexed, that you may compare them together.
August 1, 1786, 9 h. 50′, the object in the center is like a star out of focus, while the rest are perfectly distinct, and I suspect it to be a comet. Tab. I. fig. 1.
10 h. 33′, fig. 2. the suspected comet makes now a perfect isosceles triangle with the two stars a and b.
11 h. 8′, I think the situation of the comet is now as in fig. 3.; but it is so hazy that I cannot sufficiently see the small star b to be assured of the motion.
By the naked eye the comet is between the 54th and 53d Ursæ majoris, and the 14th, 15th, and 16th Comæ Berenices, and makes an obtuse triangle with them, the vertex of which is turned towards the south.
August 2. 10 h. 9′, the comet is now, with respect to the stars a and b[1], situated as in fig, 4, therefore the motion since last night is evident.
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- ↑ A doubt having arisen about the identity of the stars marked a and b in the figures, I have examined that part of the heavens in which the comet was the 1st of August, in order to settle this point, but find so many small stars in that neighbourhood that I have not been able to fix on any of them that will exactly
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