discovered lij Dr. Olbers, &c. 231 



possession of a formerly unknown species of celestial bodies, 

 which, by their smallness and considerable deviation from 

 the path in which the planets move, are in no danger of 

 disturbing, or being disturbed by them ; and the great suc- 

 cess that has already attended the pursuit of the celebrated 

 discoverers of Ceres, Pallas, Juno, and Vesta, will induce 

 us to hope that some further light may soon be thrown upofi 

 this new and most interesting branch of astronomy. 



Observations of the expected Comet. 

 The CG_met which has been seen descending to the sun, 

 and from the motion of which it was concluded that we 

 should probably see it again on its return from the perihelion, 

 was expected to make its reappearance about the middle of 

 last January, near the southern parts of the constellation of 

 the Whale. 



January 27. Towards the evening, on my return from 

 Bath, where I had been a few days, I gave my sister Ca- 

 rolina the place where this comet might be looked for, and 

 between flying clouds, the same evening about 6^^ 49' she 

 saw it just long enou2:h to make a short sketch of its situa- 

 tion. 



January 31 . Clouds having obscured the sky till this time, 

 I obtained a transitory view of the comet, and perceived 

 that it was within a few degrees of the place which had been 

 assigned to it; the unfavourable state of the atmosphere, 

 however, would not permit the use of any instrument pro- 

 per for examining it minutely. 



There will be no occasion for my giving a more particular 

 account of its place, than that it was very near the elec- 

 trometer of the constellation, which in Mr. Bode's maps is 

 taWed inac/tina elect rica ; the only intention I had in look^ 

 ing for it, being to make a few observations upon its physi- 

 cal condition. 



February 1. The comet had moved but very little from 

 the place where it was last night ; and as the air was pretty 

 clear, I used a 10- feet reflector with a low power to ex- 

 amine it. There was no visible nucleus, nor did the light 

 which is called the coma increase suddenly towards the cen- 

 tre. 



