1 882. 21- Trans. N. V. Ac. Sd. 



was the thz'rd from the sunward end of the spectrum ; the fourth was 

 nearly as bright, and the nebulosity between them was so much fainter 

 than elsewhere, that in a small telescope, or in the large one after day- 

 dawn, the nucleus seemed to be broken in two at this point.t 



" The nuclear streak was slightly curved, and the knots in it were a lit- 

 tle out of line. A bright wisp extended from the end of it out into the 

 tail. These appearances were well seen on the loth with the 9><-inch 

 glass, and still better on the 15th with the 23-inch; on the 24th the 

 moonlight was very strong, and the comet rather faint, but the same 

 features could be still made out. 



"On the 15th. the nuclear streak measured 48" in length. 



"On the 15th and 24th, the companion comet was looked for, but I 

 could not find it. 



" On the 2d, the head of the comet was brighter than Regulus, but 

 not so bright as Sirius. It disappeared in the dawn, before Procyon 

 even, but Procyon was farther from the sunrise. The tail was very 

 bright, and well defined at both edges — about i^%° long. 



" On the 4th, the head equalled Regulus. On the concave side of the 

 tail (the northern), there was near the head a good deal of scattered 

 nebulosity, visible to the naked eye, and veiling the outline of the tail 

 in that region. 



" On the loth, nothing of special interest was noted, except that the 

 outline of the tail, near the head, was less definite than before. 



" On the 15th, a very curious phenomenon* was noted, to which my 

 attention had been called by a letter from Prof. Smith, of Kansas State 

 University. From the head of the comet there extended toward the sun 

 a faint streamer of light, about yi' wide, with nearly parallel edges, 

 which were pretty sharply defined. It seemed to originate in the tail 

 of the comet, a degree or so above the head, and extended towards the 

 sun about 3>^° or so below the head, being 4° or 5° long in all. It 

 faded away at the lower (sunward) end, without any definite boundary. 

 It coald be faintly made out with the naked eye, but was best seen 

 with a small telescope of two inches aperture, magnifying about ten 

 times. 



"The tail was nearly 20° long, and distinctly forked at the end, the 

 convex side being prolonged by an oblique streamer. Head on the 

 1 5th brighter than oc Hydrae, not so bright as Regulus. On the 24th, 

 the head was about fourth magnitude star. I believe this embodies 

 everything of importance noted here." 



t This will account for the many reports of the breaking up of the nucleus of the comet. 

 Three condensation points were noted at Washington with the 26-inch glass, but nothing 

 like a split was observed. 



* This same phenomenon was observed at Washington as early as October 8, when the 

 sunward appendage was between 30' and 50' long, and on the morning of the loth it was 3° 

 long. 



