Astronomical Society. 299 



tifullv fine, the moon's dark limb and unilluminated disk unusually 

 distinct: the atmosphere peculiarly serene, and the moon's limb, as 

 well as the star, remarkably steady. The observation was made 

 with his five-feet equatorial, furnished with a power of 127 ; the ob- 

 server was at the telescope 4 or 5 minutes before the immersion 

 could happen : every thing went on as usual, till the moon's limb 

 came in contact with the star ; but the expected occultation did not 

 occur. He noted the time when the apparent contact took place, 

 which was at 3 1 ' 20'" 54 s ,0 by the clock. The star, unshorn of any 

 of its splendour, remained visible on the unillumined lunar disk, till 

 311 2]m 2%9 by the clock, when it instantaneously disappeared. Not 

 the slightest sensible deviation in the star's place occurred between 

 the moments of apparent contact and subsequent disappearance j 

 and it exhibited the same perfectly defined disk whilst on the moon's 

 limb, as it was observed to have, previously to the contact. 



The corrections for the clock's error being applied, the observa- 

 tions will stand thus : h m s 



Apparent contact at 3 20 29,87 



Instantaneous immersion . . 3 20 38,77 

 Emersion 4 14 32,88 



The only corresponding observations of this occultation which have 

 come to Mr. South's knowledge, were made by Mr. Littrow and 

 Mr. Baily, and their results are given in the Memoirs of this Society. 

 As Mr. Littrow has not narrated any peculiarity, it is probable none 

 presented itself to him j and Mr. Baily has authorized Mr. South to 

 state that he saw nothing anomalous ; a circumstance certainly im- 

 portant, seeing that in Blackman Street the apparent projection of 

 the star on the moon's disk, continued nearly nine seconds of time. 

 On the same evening in Blackman Street, a star of the 8th or 9th 

 magnitude suffered occultation by the moon's dark limb, nearly at the 

 same part, at which 8 Piscium entered on the disk ; the star disap- 

 peared instantaneously at 5 h 2 m fi s ,0 by Mr. South's clock 5 prior to 

 occultation, however, this star was not seen projected upon the limb ; 

 but the low altitude of the moon rendered the observation less sa- 

 tisfactory than was the previous occultation of $ Piscium. 



The recorded observations of other Astronomers are then quoted 

 in the words of their respective authors, or in authentic abstracts ; 

 and are principally derived from the Memoires de I' Academic Royale 

 des Sciences, the Histoireet Memoires de i Academie Roy ale des Sciences 

 de Toulouse, the Histoire Ce'leste Francaise, the Connoissance des Terns, 

 and the Observations Astronomiques foites (I VObservatoire Royal de 

 Paris, torn. I. : this done, they are arranged in a tabular form, pre- 

 senting at one view, the name of the observer, the place of observa- 

 tion, the nature of the. occultation, the age of the Moon, and her 

 motion at the time, whether northerly or southerly j information of a 

 nature not easily to be abridged, and far too voluminous, to have in- 

 sertion in the Monthly notices of the Society's proceedings. 



On perusing them, however, we find, that more than 20 stars have 

 exhibited peculiarities at, or on) the moon's limb, prior to immersion 

 behind it, or emersion from it j thai the anomalies are not confined 



to 



