(16) 
The solution of these equations furnished the following entirely 
improbable values: 
A M,=+51°.8590 Aum=—2°011252 Ae= — 0.07627 
The question of course remained in how far these values might 
be brought within admissible limits by small allowable modifica- 
tions in the assumed angles of position. Moreover, on account of 
their being arithmetical means, the corrections assumed for the six 
epochs were rot exactly situated on the curve which connects the 
deviations in the best way possible. I have constructed therefore 
the curve of errors for the Elements II on a relatively large scale 
and I have deduced by its aid, for the same epochs as above, the 
following angles of position: 
0, —=16°.281 0,=59°581 Oy 45°446 
0, = 33°.503 0, = 13°.029 0; = 172°.924 
From these I computed: 
@=+ 0.484570 2=+0.299769 y= + 0.120475. 
The solution of the equations now led to: 
A My = 4570261 Aw——2°23501 Ae=— 0.0854 
It seemed to me that this proved sufficiently how impossible it 
is to cause the disappearance of the observed systematic course by 
a purely elliptic motion and I therefore stopped at System II, taking 
this to be the best which can be deduced for the present from the 
observations. 
Finally I have determined the semi-axis of the orbit for each 
observer who had given more than three measurements of distance. 
As a rule measurements leaving a greater error than 0”.5 were 
excluded. This fate befell, besides one unsuccessful observation of 
SeccHI in 1863, only 5 other measurements of OZ. This is not 
to be wondered at, if we consider the low position of Sirius at 
Pulkowa. The results obtained are compiled alphabetically in 
the following table where the column a gives the number of 
measurements from which a is deduced. 
