1864. | Astronomy. 107 
These elements bear considerable resemblance to those of Comet il. 
1818. Hereafter it will be reasonable to inquire whether the two 
bodies are identical, thus adding another ‘periodic’ comet to our stock 
of knowledge. It may be added that these elements are not wholly 
dissimilar to those of Comets i. of 1840 and iii. of 1860; neither 
should the singular fact be passed over that the three first elements 
differ but 11°, 12°, and 3° from the corresponding ones of the Comet i. 
of 1863. 
M. Tempel was worthily rewarded, on Noy. 4, for the industry he 
so untiringly displays, by discovering another comet, one visible to the 
naked eye, and therefore more than usually interesting. 
The following elements are also by M. Romberg :— 
Perihelion Passage . 1863, Nov. 949923 
) / “i 
Longitude of Perihelion . . 94 46 106 
Longitude of Ascending Node = 97 31 15:2 
Inclination of Orbit =i SMe OMa Gro 
Perihelion Distance . . . = 0°70656 
Heliocentric Motion . - Direct. 
At the time of its discovery this comet was as bright asa star of the 
4th magnitude, and it had a short tail. As its perihelion passage pre- 
ceded that of Backer’s comet it becomes Comet iv. of 1863, the latter 
being Comet v., inverting the order of discovery. Both are still visible. 
Sidereal astronomy is a branch of the science which, from its very 
nature, makes progress less rapidly than most others. Labourers are 
here fewer, because, in many important respects, instruments equal to 
the work are somewhat scarce. Mr. Lassell, who is diligently engaged 
in scrutinizing the heavens through the fine atmosphere of Malta, has 
communicated to the Royal Society an interesting note on the well- 
known planetary nebula in Aquarius (1 H IV. R. A. 20h. 56m.; ¢ 11° 
56’8.), in which the following passages occur :—‘‘ With comparatively 
low powers it appears at first sight as a vividly light-blue elliptic 
nebula, with a slight prolongation of the nebula, or a very faint star 
at or near the ends of the transverse axis.” Under high powers and 
the most favourable circumstances, “I have discerned within the ne- 
bula a brilliant elliptic rig extremely well defined, and apparently 
haying no connection with the surrounding nebula, which indeed has 
the appearance of a gaseous or gauze-like envelope, scarcely interfer- 
ing with the sharpness of the ring, and only diminishing somewhat its 
brightness.” 
To the same Society, on Nov. 19, Sir John Herschel presented a 
work, which will, we think, equal any of his former efforts. We allude 
to a gigantic catalogue of all the known nebule, 5,063 in number, 
compiled from every available source. Sir John’s own catalogue of 
1853 furnishes 2,507 objects, his Cape observations 1,713 more, the 
residue being obtained from miscellaneous sources. The epoch chosen 
is 1860, and the information, arranged in twelve columns, furnishes, 
amongst other things, constants for reduction and copious synonyms. 
The catalogue is at present only in manuscript, but we trust that no 
more time than is absolutely necessary will elapse before this valuable 
