. History of Astronomy for the Year 1805. 247 
single observer is enabled’ to make use of the repeating 
circle, i 
M. Augustus Pictet, of Geneva, has given a method of 
- observing meridian transits, by means of the sextants which 
are used in the navy. It is sufficient to fix due west a mark 
which will be at 90° exactly from all the points in ihe meri- 
dian. 
M. Julian Ortez Canelas, son-in-law of the Jate Tofind; 
and director of the observatory of Spain, has sent us the ob- 
servations made in the isle of Leon from 1798 to 1801. 
M. Tiscar has sent us observations of eclipses, and accu- 
rate calculations, from which to deduce the longitudes. 
M. de Ferrers, a Spanish officer, travelling in America, 
has sent us an observation of the eclipse of the 26th of June, 
1805, which was not visible in Europe. He settles New 
York in latitude 40° 49’, and 5° 6° 0” west of Paris. The 
beginning happened at 6" 50° 10” apparent time. From this 
Tcéncluded the conjunction at 11524’ 42” at Paris, and the 
error of the tables —- 46”; but as it includes the supposi-- 
tion of the latitude of the moon, it may be something Jess, - 
M. de Ferrers adds the positions of New York and Albany, . 
and several other observations. 
We have received from Portugal the Bphetiievides of 
Coimbra for 1803; they are sjmilar to those of 1804, which 
we mentioned last year. The author has banished the signs 
and the seconds : every thing is expressed in degrees, minutes, 
and hundredths ; the time is in hours, minutes, and bun- 
dredths ; and all the calculations are for mean noon. The 
article Planets contains all the longitudes, heliocentric and 
geocentric latitudes; their right ascensions, their declina- 
tions, their transits, and their parallax. Instead of confign- 
rations of the satellites, we find for the times of eclipses 
their situation relative to the centre of Jupiter expressed by 
two rectangular co-ordinates, one of which has tor its axis 
the line of the belts. ‘he distances of the moon from the 
sun and the stars are only given for noon and midnight 5 
‘but at the end of the calendar we see, as in the preceding vo- 
Jume, subsidiary tables, intended to enable mariners to dis- 
" pense with the tables of logarithms in the most ordinary cal- 
Q4 culations. 
