106 Chronicles of Science. | Jan. 
this, at actual evaluations, the extremes of which differ only by the 
minute amount of 0-09. Is it possible for us to withstand the con- 
clusion that our estimations so long adhered to must sooner or later 
be materially ‘‘ reconstructed,” and as a consequence, that those por- 
tions of our treatises involving this distance must be unceremoniously 
pulled to pieces and built up again. An original calculation of the 
mean distance of the earth from the sun, amended according to Stone 
and Ellery’s value of the parallax, makes it 91,512,649 miles.* 
Chiefly in consequence of the larger major planets being, during 
the past autumn, unfavourably placed for observation, we have little to 
report in the department of planetary astronomy ; the inferior con- 
junction of Venus on Sept. 28, is the only phenomenon of importance 
which has happened, and none of the observations which have as yet 
come under our notice contain any features calling for special remark. 
The already very long list of minor planets has received one 
addition due to the labours of Mr. Watson, director, in succession 
to Brunnow, of the Observatory of Ann Arbor, Michigan, F.S.A. 
This planet, which takes the ordinal number of 79, was found 
on Sept. 14, shining as a star of the tenth magnitude. The fol- 
lowing provisional elements have been determined by M. Allé, of 
Prague.t 
Epoch 1863, Oct. 4:0, Berlin M. T. 
Monn onsituden 4 )cnrhe = w2ee cOltsd-0 
Longitude of Perihelion . . = 44 56 24:24 
Ascending WO 6 6 6 6 = AG sv Sou Mean’ Eiqu 1863 
Inclination of Orbit . . . = 4 42 39:20 
D Bei soothe aa Wher 11 13 98 wherefore 
Eccentricity = 0:194563 
Log. Mean Distance . . . 0°3910464 
Mean Daily Motion . . . = 919°"2568 
The new planet revolves round the sun in an orbit slightly larger 
than Parthenope’s. It has not yet received a name. 
On Nov. 13, M. Schmidt of Athens discovered another, the 80th, 
in the constellation Taurus. It shone then as a star of the tenth 
magnitude, but fell rapidly more than a whole magnitude in less than 
a week from that time. 
On October 9 a watchmaker at Leipzic, surnamed Bicker, had the 
good fortune to discover a small telescope comet, which Tempel of 
Marseilles found independently five days later. 
The following elements are by M. Romberg :-— 
Perihelion Passage - « + = 1863, Dec. 27:70863 G.M. T. 
Longitude of Perihelion 
180 17 551 Apparent Eq. 
Longitude of Ascending Node. 
104 51 288 Oct. 14:5 
Inclination of Orbit atts = 82 16 29:4 
Perihelion Distance 5g Oo ae US Bysi0) 
Heliocentric Motion . . . - Direct. 
* Tt should be remarked that parallactic observations of Mars are not gene- 
rally regarded as susceptible of a high degree of accuracy, and that therefore we 
shall have to wait for the next transit of Venus (in 1874) to become well acquainted 
with the precise extent of the required diminution of distance. 
+ ‘Astronomische Nachrichten,’ November 13, 1863. 
