Astronomical and NaiUkal Collections. 183 



was + 5".7 or — 10" in the latitude + 3". 2 or — 1", accord- 

 ing to Sniadecki and Derfflinger : in the K. longitude of 

 ^ — 6".8 or + 23", and in the latitude + 7" or + 6". De- 

 lambre's tables of U gave the longitude — 21".l,.— 19",— 26" 

 ©r + 12", and the latitude + 1".7, + 2," — 2", or + 4, ac- 

 cording to Sniadecki, Bittner, Biirg, and Derfflinger. For Sa- 

 turn's longitude, + 63 '.1, + 87", and -f- 87", latitude, 0", 

 + 12", and + 14", according to Sniadecki, Bittner, and Der- 

 fflinger respectively.— Bode, 1823, p. 119, 120, 131, 132, 144, 

 174, 175. 



We find in the Correspondance Astronomique, for February, 

 1820, above thirty observations of the lunar distances from 

 Venus, made at Toulon, for the purpose of ascertaining the 

 accuracy of Inghirami's tables published in that work, and 

 f)artly copied into these Collections-: the greatest ^rror does not 

 exceed 1 1' of longitude ; and the mean error is much less. 

 There are also thirteen observations of the distance of Jupiter, 

 jin which the mean error is still less, and the greatest about 9'. 



With respect to the comparative facility of observing lunar 

 occultations, it is remarkable, that of thirty-five conjunctions of 

 iixed stars with the moon, announced in the Berlin almanack 

 for 1819, nine only were occultations viaible at Berlin, and 

 Professor Bode was unable, on accoupt of the weather, to 

 .observe any one of these. 



Professor Hansteen of Christiania, so well known for the 

 accuracy of his maguetical researches, has £«inounced to the 

 Baron von Zach as an iqiportant discovery, that polarity is by 

 no means confined to iron ; but that the wall of a house, a tree, 

 and the mast of a ship, are capable of producing the effects of 

 a north pole below, and a south pole above. It is weH known, 

 ihat the late M. Coulomb once fancied that he had discovered 

 Home magnetic properties in various substances, independently 

 .of any iron contained in them : but his experimeots were re- 

 peated at the Royal Institution without success, and he was 

 afterwards obliged to abandon the opinion. It is said that Pro- 

 fessor Hansteen was once a believer in animal magnetism : a 

 circumstance which does not give much weight to his evidence 



