296 SCIENTIFIC RECORD FOR 1882. 



The great comet of 1882. — It is very seldom that any discovery unites 

 in itself so many and such important points of interest as bas been the 

 case with the great cometnow engaging so ranch attention. The report 

 of the discovery by M. Cruls of a new naked-eye comet was in itself 

 enough to arouse a keen degree of interest; for as three such objects 

 had already been observed within the last twelve months, that a f* urth 

 should follow in such quick succession was quite an unprecedented 

 event. M. Cruls' discovery had scarcely been published in England 

 before a yet more unusual observation was made. Mr. Common, of 

 Ealing, who ever since the accidental discovery of the comet "Tewfik," 

 during the total eclipse of May 16 last, had persistently examined the 

 neighborhood of the sun with what might well have appeared to be the 

 forlorn hope of detecting some comet wandering there, was at length 

 rewarded, on Sunday, September 17, by the sight of a splendid comet 

 close to the sun, of which he obtained observations. 

 • In the extreme south of Europe more favorable conditions prevailed; 

 and the comet was seen on September 18 at a large number of i^laces 

 in Italy, Spain, and Algeria in full daylight, when only 4° from the 

 sun. And, indeed, Mr. Common was not the oidy person who was 

 fortunate enough to see it on September 17, before perihelion ; for a 

 dispatch from Reus, near Tarragona, announced that there the inhabit- 

 ants were astonished to see a comet close to the sun, so that, though 

 only 1°.5 distant from it, it was bright enough to catch the eye of casual 

 gazers. Indeed, it was so bright that it could be seen even through 

 light cloud. Its tail could readily be detected by means of an opera- 

 glass furnished with a dark glass. On the following daj', however, M. 

 Thollon, at Nice, was able to detect some portion of the tail without 

 even this assistance, for he says : "The coma and part of the tail visi- 

 ble to the naked eye were nearly 20' in length. Their outer contour 

 took the shape of a half-ell ii)se of eccentricity about 4, and the fairly 

 large and very brilliant nucleus occupied a position intermediate be- 

 tween the apex and the focus.'' 



The same cloud-bank which baffled English observers on this and the 

 following days covered the north of France likewise, and in despair of 

 its breaking up, M. de Fonvielle resolved to rise above it, and on Friday, 

 • September 22, prepared for a balloon ascent. Fearing, however, that 

 hiis own sight was not sufficientlj' good, he resigned his place in the car 

 to M. Maurice Mallet, whom he duly instructed as to the observations 

 tx) be obtained. The small dimensions of the car greatly hampered the 

 adventurous astronomer, who, however, succeeded in making a sketch, 

 and in obtaining a rough estimation of the distance from the sun and 

 position- angle of the comet. 



The cloudy weather rendered it diflBcult to obtain sufficient observa- 

 tions to form an orbit; but Mr. S. C. Chandler, jr., of Harvard College, at 



