ON COMETS. 121 



but Still unquestionably made out. This has been held to 

 prove that the comet is by very slow degrees approaching 

 the sun, and will at last fall into it as if it moved in a 

 space not quite empty, and were in some very slight 

 degree resisted in its motion, I cannot quite reconcile 

 myself to this opinion, and I think I have perceived 

 another explanation of the fact, which I have given else- 

 where ; but to state this would lead me too far, and i 

 must now go on to relate one of the strangest and most 

 uncouth facts of this strange cometic history. 



(36.) On the 27th February 1826, Professor Biela, an 

 Austrian astronomer of Josephstadt, discovered a small 

 comet. When its motions were carefully studied it was 

 found by M. Clausen, anotlier of those indefatigable 

 German computists, that it revolved in an elliptic orbit 

 in a period of 6 years and 8 months. On looking back 

 into the list of comets, it proved to be identical with 

 comets that had been observed in 1772, 1805, and 

 perhaps in 1818. Its return was accordingly predicted, 

 and the prediction verified with the most striking exact- 

 ness. And this went on regularly till its appearance 

 (also predicted) in 1846. In that year it was observed 

 as usual, and all seemed to be going on quietly and com- 

 fortably, when behold ! suddenly on the 13th of January 

 it split into two distinct comets! each with a head and 

 coma and a little nucleus of its own. There is some 

 little contradiction about the exact date. Lieutenant 

 IMaury, of the United States Observatory of Washington, 

 repojicd officially on the i^th having seen it double on the 

 i^fth, but Professor Wichmann, who saiv it double on the 



