32 Transactions. — Miscellaneous. 



New South Wales the same morning — though, of course, some 

 two hours later — was, however, received during the day. 



Bad weather prevented further observations until Sunday 

 morning, the 28th April, when the comet was visible for a few 

 minutes only, owing to its close proximity to the sun. It 

 rose about 5.53 a.m., and was overpowered by the daylight at 

 6.10 a.m. Unfortunately, my observatory is so situated that 

 I could not reach it so low in the heavens, and, although I 

 carefully swept for it between 7 and 8 a.m., I did not succeed 

 in finding it. Judging from the view I bad of the planet Mer- 

 cury, I am disposed to think that the comet might have been 

 seen with my 3J in. telescope at that hour, as the morning 

 was extremely clear and bright. I next saw the comet on 

 Tuesday, the 30th April, at 5.40 p.m. My point of observa- 

 tion was the main road across the Kelburne Estate. At this 

 time the comet appeared about as bright as Mercury ; the tail 

 was indistinct, owing to the strong daylight. As it set ten 

 minutes after T first saw it, I was unable to get home to my 

 telescope. 



The next evening — Wednesday, the 1st May — I bad the 

 first satisfactory view of the comet through the telescope. The 

 nucleus was very bright, comparatively distinct, and somewhat 

 bean-shaped. The coma was some distance in front of it, and 

 swept round on either side, flowing away behind the nucleus 

 aud forming two very distinct tails. There was little change 

 on Thursday, the 2nd May. On Friday, the 3rd May, some 

 traces of the long, faint southern tail, which afterwards became 

 such a remarkable feature of this comet, were first seen, but 

 not clearly until Sunday. Whilst the tails were increasing in 

 length and brightness the nucleus declined in size, brilliancy, 

 and distinctness. The coma appeared to be gradually swept 

 back, until on Tuesday, the 7th, the nucleus was entirely in 

 front of it. By this time I think the comet was beginning to 

 decrease in brilliancy, though the disappearance of the moon 

 during the early evening of Monday, the 6th, rendered it diffi- 

 cult to make any reliable comparisons with previous observa- 

 tions. I was, however, in the habit of noticing what stars could 

 be seen when the comet first became visible in the evening twi- 

 light, and, from these comparative observations, I am confident 

 that the nucleus, at any rate, considerably decreased in bril- 

 liancy before the 6th May. This, I may mention, was the first 

 evening without the moon, and it is therefore probable that 

 the comet would have been seen to much greater advantage 

 had the evenings been dark during the first week of its appear- 

 ance in the evening sky. The two sketches (Plate I.) which 

 accompany these notes were made on the evening of the 6th 

 May. One is a telescopic view of the head, and the other an 

 attempt to show the comet as it appeared to the naked eye. 



