44B Asironomical and JYautical Collections, 



Egyptian year 

 olJS abouassar. 



could scarcely have been unl^nown to Ptolemy. This was the 

 first year of Ptolemy Philadelphus. 



465, Athyr (III.) 29, (p. 169, B. vol. 2, p. 21, H.) Timocharis 

 writes that he observed in Alexandria, the 47th year of the first 

 Calippic period of 76 years, on the 8th of Anthesterion, or the 

 29th of the Egyptian month Athyr, 3^ hours before midnight, 



. the moon in y 0^ 20' ; her southern half occulted the follow- 

 ing third or half of the Pleiades: the extremity of the Pleiades 

 being in op 29J°, and in nearly 3° 2' N. lat. 



^-282y-54.35d. 



466, Thoth (I) 7, (p. 170, B. vol. 2, p. 24, H.) Timocharis con- 

 tinues, that in the 48th year of the same Calippic period of 76 

 years, on the 26th of Pyanepsion, which was the 7th of Thoth, 

 about 14jh., the moon, just after her rising, touched the star 

 Spica at her northernmost Hmb : the latitude of the star was 

 2° S. ; its longitude 172J°. These two observations of Spica 

 give the precession ] 0' in 12 years, as they ought to do, accord- 

 ing to more modern experience. ^ --28ly— 136.34'*. 



468, (p. 62, 63, B. p. 162, 163, H.) Aristarchus observed the 

 summer solstice at the end of the 50th year of the first Calip- 

 pic period; that is, according to Hipparchus, 152 years after 

 Meton and Euctemon, or in the 44th from the death of Alex- 

 ander, which was the year 468 of Nabonassar. See 316. 

 About 0-279y-l-94^ 



476, Athyr (III.) 20, (p. 252, B. vol. 2, p. 226, H.) In Diony- 

 sius's 13th year, the 25th of his month Aegon, the planet 

 Mars came close to the northernmost star in the forehead of 

 the scorpion ; this was in the 52d year after the death of 

 Alexander, or the 476th of Nabonassar ; the 20-21 of the 

 Egyptian month Athyr, toward sunrise : the star being in ni 

 2° 15'. ^ -27iy-65.62\ 



476, Mesore (XII) 17. (p. 242. B. vol. 2. p. 205. H.) Timo- 

 charis records an observation made in the 13th year of Phila- 

 delphus, on the 17-1 8th of Mesore ; Venus passed exactly 

 over the star opposite to the forerunner of Vindemiator, which 

 is the star following the star at the end of the southern wing 

 of Virgo, the year being the 476th of Nabonassar ; the time 

 near sunrise. <^— 2714-201.38'*. 



It follows that the first year of Philadelphus was the 464th 

 of Nabonassar, or the 40th after Alexander. The astronomers 

 seem not to have continued to date from the epoch of Ptolemy 

 Soter so long as the medals. 

 484, Thoth (I) 18. (P. 237. B. vol. 2. p. 187. H.) In the 21st 

 year of the era of Dionysius, which was the 484th of Nabo- 

 nassar, on the 22d of the month which he calls Scorpion, or the 



