ASTRONOMY. 149 



epbemeiis coiui)uted directly from the elements was —4'". 4; + 4', corre- 

 sponding to a retardation of tjie perihelion time of about two days. 



Comet Olhers, originally discovered by tlie celebrated Dr. Gibers on 

 March G, 1815, was picked up by Brooks on August 24, 1887, iiide- 

 dendentlj' of Giuzel's ephemeris. Bessel, who made a discussion of 

 tlu; earlier observations, predicted a return to perihelion on February 

 9, 1887, and Dr. Ginzel, rediscussing the orbit in a very elaborate 

 manner, found the most ])robable date of perihelion to be Decem- 

 ber 17, 188G, with an uncertainty of l.G years. Perihelion actually 

 occurred on Octobers, 1887. Esi)ecial interest attaches to this comet 

 as the third member of the group of comets having a period of about 

 seventy-live years (Halley's, Pons', and Gibers'), w'hich has returned 

 to perihelion in conformity with prediction. Kammermann, at Geneva, 

 described it on August 29, 1887, as a bright 7.8 magnitude, with a faint 

 tail. There seems to be no reason for supposing that it has lost any- 

 thing of its light-giving power since its previous appearance in 1815. 

 The last observation at this return was made at the Lick Gbservatory 

 on July 5, 1888, when the theoretical brightness was less than one- 

 tenth that at the time of discovery. 



Comet Tempel. — The comet discovered by Tempel on July 3, 1873, and 

 found to have a period of five and one quarter years, was observed at its 

 return in 1878, but escaped observation in 1883 when it was due at peri- 

 helion on November 20. The conditions of visibilitj' seem to be even 

 worse for the return of 1889, the comet temaining too near the sun, 

 while the circumstances of the return in 1894 are but little diflerent 

 from those of 1883. 



Comet Winneclce. — Von Haerdtl has rediscussed the motion of Win- 

 necke's comet, making use of observations at a later return than Gp- 

 polzer could employ in 1880. The object was to detect, if possible, any 

 increase in the mean motion similar to tluit exhibited by Eucke's comet, 

 though not sensible in Faye's comet, possibly owing to its great perihe- 

 lion distance. He finds no acceleration whatever of the mean motion, 

 the actual figures indicating rather a slight retardation, but far too 

 small to justify any conclusion other than absence of change in the 

 mean motion and length of period. 

 Comet 188G VIII; 

 —Comet c 1887. 



Discovered by Barnard on January 23, 1887; last 

 observed on jVlay 22, 1887; perihelion Xovcmbt-r 28, 



188G. 



Comet 1887 I: 



=Coniet a 1.SS7. 



=Tlio meat souilioru comet 



A cable dispatch from Dr. Thome, the di- 

 rector of the Cordoba Observatory in South 

 America, announced his discovery on Jan- 

 uary 18, 1887, of a large comet, or rather the tail of a large comet, faint 

 aird illusor.v in the twilight and mist of the horizon. From later infor- 

 mation it ai)peared that the conu't was seen at Blauwberg, near Cape 

 Town, on the same evening, by a farmer and a fishernniu, and a day or 

 two later it was seen at several places in Australia. Dr. Thome was 



