92 New Comet. 



helion before it was seen in tl)is coiintr}' ; but, had we been 

 on the look-out a few months ago, in the morning, before 

 the sun rose, we miglu prol.>ablv h:ivc seen it in its passage 

 towards him. It is no-.v receding ahnosr perpendicularly 

 from the ecliptic, but mav probably be visible for near a 

 month longer. Cy a good observation to-night, comparing 

 it with Beta Ilerculis (which wns in the iicld of a night glass), 

 it follows that star ii' 41" in time, and has 3' greater north 

 declination, 



I have viewed it \\ith a 7'fect Newtonian reflector of Cl- 

 inches aperture, with magnifying powers from 90 to 500 

 times J with a CassVgrain telescope of larger size ; with an 

 excellent achromatic of Mr. Dollond : but its effect is best 

 by a good night glass magnifyina" about six or eight times; 

 with this the tail is ascertained to be 1° 40' long. To-night 

 it passes over a beautiful cluster of small star?, which are 

 not at all aflectcd by the transmission. The tail forms an 

 angle of about 35 or 40° wide, but in the night glass and to 

 the naked eye appears to issue immediately behind the nu- 

 cleus; but in the above powerful instruments the nucleus 

 appears of a hazy ill-defined roundness, nearly as large as 

 Jupiter; and the vapour appears to surround the head, afid 

 then be forced behind. 



I herewith send the sketches I made this evening 

 (Plate II.) : the first from the night glass, the second from 

 the Newtonian reflector magnifying ninety times. 

 I am, sir. 



Your humble servant, 



W. Walker. 



The following notice respecting the comet appears in the 

 Monitcur of the Sth of October : — " M. Pons, btloncing to 

 the observatory a^ Marseilles, was the first astronomer who 

 discovered the comet in France, on the 20th of last month ; 

 and M. de Thuis, of the same establishment, noticed it on 

 the 2 J St and 22d. From the observations which they com- 

 municated to the astronomers at Paris, M. Buivkhardt de- 

 termined the following orbit, which he presented to the class 



of 



