UeJL-Bions 07i ihc vezu Vianet. Jrl 



obfcrved it to be without any nebulous ring, and to have a 

 very flow motion, he had feveral times conjeftured it might 

 be a planet. This letter, written on the 24th of January, was 

 unfortunatelv 71 days on the road ; it was therefore difficult, 

 from the only two pofitions given by Piazzi, to conjcfture 

 the place of this wandering (tar after fo long a period. J have, 

 liowevcr, endeavoured to take advantage of the circumltance, 

 that on the /oth of .Tannary the ftar from being retrograde 

 had become direft, and, on the fuppofition of a circular orbit, 

 liave found that its diftance from the fun murt be three femi- 

 diametcrs of the earth's orbit ; fo that this ftar may be anew 

 planet, the orbit of which will fall between thoL of Mars and 

 Jupiter. There is reafon to think that the orbit of this planet, 

 like thofeof all the reft, will have a perceptible eccentricitv*, 

 and confe'juentlv the hypothefis of a circular orbit, uliich 

 1 fuppofed, nuift be improper for reprefenting its motion and 

 geocentric place after fo long a period : we muft therefore 

 wait for the remainder of Piazzi's obfervations, v.hich he no 

 doubt has continued. The heavens with us, fince the receipt 

 of Piazzi's letter, have been always overcaft: you, perhaps, 

 have a Iky more favourable for aftronomical obfervations 

 than ouisf. In this pcrfuafion, I feud you mv elements of the 

 orbit, calculated, as you will fee, from thefe imperfe6l obferva- 

 tions, by which you will be able to calculate the planet's place 

 nearly. Htlioccnt. long, of the liar at noon, Dec. 31, 1800, 

 a' 6' 54'; heliocent. motion in long, in 1 00 days 18° 19'. 

 Longitude of the afcending node, 3' 8° 3 a'. Inclination of 

 the orbit, 3*^ 50'. But, as already faid, thefe refults are 

 fnbjecl to great doubts ; for they are founded only on two 

 verv imperfe6l obfervations, and on the very infufficient hy- 

 pothefis of a circular orbit. I, however, flatter myfelf that 

 this letter will foon reach you ; and, before the liar be loft in 

 the fun's beams, von will perhaps be lo fortunate with your 

 fiipcrior inllnunrnts as to find it, and to be able to give roe 

 more correct information refpe«ftinc it." 



Immediately after I received Oriani's letter, I calculated 

 the place of the planet with its elements, and fearched for \t 

 in tlie heavens on feveral ferene evenings; but, unfortunatelv, 

 tlie information bad arrived too late. This fmall (lar had 

 already advanced Loo near to the fun, fo as to be loll in ita 



* AccorAmgtQ tny <o»}(i'mat cu!chla:io>!:y7\ very great one, 014 ; ttie 

 grcatcft next to tliat of M'-iAiry. Time will Ihow whether I was right. 



t At ihf botti^m (if the Thuringiau {'yrcUs.iwo hun'lred per cent, winfe 

 liun Milan! How bauly my friend \v;is informed rclptitmg our Ajiril 

 we ithcr ! It is a common proverb at Gotlia, tl1.1t during the biightcit and 

 fiiicU Vcather one rouU not go ahnud without a great coiit or umUicilj. 



E 4 ray% 



