30 REPORT OF THE SECRETARY. 



" Comet II, 1882, was the great comet of the year. It was seen with 

 the naked eye, at many places in the northern hemisphere ; but the 

 first accurate observations seem to be those made by Mr. Finlay at 

 the Cape of Good Hope on September 7. This comet was very 

 bright, and was remarkable on account of several condensed parts that 

 were seen in its nucleus, and which led to statements of a separation 

 of this nucleus. But these brighter parts were always connected by 

 fainter parts of the coma. It is probable that these apparent separa- 

 tions have led to discordancies in the observations, which will make it 

 difficult to combine the numerous positions of this comet into a homo- 

 geneous system. Several elliptic orbits have been computed, the pe- 

 riodic times varying from five hundred to a thousand years." 



" Comet III, 1882, was a faint object. It was discovered by Mr. E. E. 

 Barnard, at Nashville, Tenn., September 13, 1882. Observations were 

 made in the southern hemisphere on December 8, and probably it was 

 followed longer. The orbit seems to be parabolic." 



The wide interest felt by astronomers in the Smithsonian interna- 

 tional announcements of planetary and cometary discoveries is evinced 

 by the number of proposals and suggestions received at the Institution, 

 for increasing the range and efficiency of the service. On one hand, 

 frequent applications have been made to the Institution urging that 

 American discoveries should be widely telegraphed at home as well as 

 abroad. On another, it has been repeatedly urged that in view of the 

 comparatively ephemeral character of the appearances of most of the 

 comets, frequent and prompt announcements should be telegraphed of 

 observed changes of position from day to day, as well as of provisional 

 computations of orbits. Yaluable as such early information would evi- 

 dently be, the Institution has not been able (in the support of its other 

 multitudinous interests) to incur the additional expense of such trans- 

 missions. And the liberality of the various telegraphic companies has 

 already been so extended beyond original purpose and proposal, that 

 we can hardly, with propriety, solicit this large increase of concession. 



The " Science Observer," published at Boston, has (with a commend- 

 able enterprise), in connection with the Harvard College Observatory ,^^ 

 entered this field of active usefulness, and by means of "special cir- 

 culars" has acceptably supplemented the work of the Institution in this- 

 department. The peculiar cable code employed by the '' Science Ob- 

 server" has not however commended itself for adoption by the Smith- 

 sonian Institution. 



There has been some difference of opinion among astronomers as to 

 the best form of presentation of the elements of position of a new comen 

 or planetoid. From want of care, or of attention by some to the pub- 

 lished formulae in announcing their discoveries, difficulties of interpre- 

 tation have occasionally arisen. A portion of the correspondence of 

 the Institution on this subject is given in the appendix to this report. 



