50 



Mr. Galloway's Translation q/Dr. 01bers*s 

 Pcrihelio7i Passage^ November 11 '5, 1835. 



Though the distance of the comet from the earth begins 

 again to increase after the first half of January, this will be 

 more than compensated by its progressive approach to the sun. 

 Besides, the probability of being able to see the comet will 

 be greatest, not at the time of the opposition, or soon after 

 it, but in February and March. 



Some writers have excited in the public greatly exaggerated 

 ideas of the splendour and brilliancy with which, as they pre- 

 tend, the comet will appear in October 1835. The expecta- 

 tions thus raised will greatly fail to be realized. The comet 

 will, on the whole, rather exhibit the same degree of lumi- 

 nousness as in 1607, which Kepler describes, and does not 

 speak of as being particularly remarkable. It will be far in- 

 ferior to the comet of 1811, and probably resemble the third 

 comet of 1825*5 when this last was in its most favourable po- 

 sition with respect to our horizon, and which made no great 

 impression on the bulk of the people. Only the head of 

 Halley's comet will probably appear brighter and more re- 

 markably formed than that of the comet of 1825. We have 

 four different delineations of Halley's comet as it appeared in 

 the telescope in 1 682 ; one by Hevel in the A?inusClimacte7icus, 

 as it was seen by him on the 8th of September (Hevel had 

 previously published this drawing in the Acta E7mditorum^ 

 1682); and three in ihe Posthumous Works ofR. Hooke. The 



• Under the bright sky of Florence, Inghirami was able to follow and 

 observe this comet from 1825 to the 8th of July 1826. {Astr. Nachr.y 

 V. Band, p. 150.) At that time the distance of the comet from the sun was 

 3*147, which differs little from the distance of Halley*s comet from the 

 sun on the 22nd of March 1835, viz. 3-461. This circumstance must greatly 

 strengthen the hope of seeing Halley's comet in the spring of 1835. 



