406 M, Cacciatore on the Moveable Star 



the light of his glass, and quickly perceived a star of the 

 8th magnitude preceding the principal by 8 seconds in 

 right ascension, and only IJ minute to the south. He 

 noted these facts, and left off his observations, resolved to 

 leave, on the following evening, the star of Mayer for the 

 purpose of following the new one. But unfortunately the 

 sky became more unfavourable than on the preceding 

 night; it continued constantly in a cloudy or rainy state 

 till the end of the month, and, when on the evening of the 

 second of June he resumed his research, the twilight was 

 so strong, that he could do nothing* He had hopes, that 

 in the course of the present year, he might be able to 

 ascertain something of a satisfactory nature ; but from the 

 month of September, 1835, to March, 1836, the season 

 continued so remarkably unpropitious, that he was able to 

 make but a very limited number of observations, even on 

 Halley's comet. For 38 years that he has resided in the 

 Observatory, he states, that he never knew of a similar 

 occurrence. He had made, however, during some morn- 

 ings in the month of January, all possible observations, 

 being strongly encouraged by the circumstance, that near 

 the 503rd star of Mayer, there was no other star. He pur- 

 sued his investigations in those regions which appeared 

 most convenient^ abandoning, for this purpose, all his 

 other labours, in order to devote himself entirely to this 

 research, to prevent any of the rare intervals from the 

 covered state of the sky from being lost ; but all in vain. 



Disappointed by such loss of time, and fruitless labour, 

 he conceives, that he would be wanting in his duty, if he 

 did not invite astronomers to look out for the new star, 

 which, from the facts described, undoubtedly exists in the 

 heavens. He has given up all idea of discovering it himself* 

 But who knows if some more fortunate astronomer may 

 not discover quickly, near the constellation of the Virgin, 

 this star which presented, in three days, a motion less than 

 a minute of a degree in right ascension, and less than half 

 a minute of declination. If we consider it placed beyond 

 Herschel, as appears natural, it ought to have a semi great 

 axis double of that of Herschel, as Cacciatore pointed out 

 in his memoir on the return of Halley's comet, published 

 in May, 1835, at the time when he was in full hope^ of 



