French National hijl'iinte. 1 8 1 



Mafchcrorii, who was deputed by the Cifalpine republic 

 to affift in fixiugthe nnitvofthc newmeafures, and of Whotii 

 the fciences were deprived laft year, made in 1785 new re- 

 fearches, and gare fome ingenious propofitions rcl'peding the 

 equilibrium or domes wilh circular cliipucal and polygonal 

 bafe-!. 



After manv new rcflcftions and feveral experiments, which 

 may be of the greatell ufe in praftice, C. Bodlit has refumed 

 liis two memoirs, which he has thrown into one, fimplifying 

 his calculations in feveral places. He hJismadea great niany 

 additions both in theory and praftice, 0) that the whole now 

 forms a work which mav he confulcrcd as new. 



Comet. 



C. Meiffier read a note on the comet which he difcovered' 

 on the i3th of July laft, about half after 11 in the evening. 

 It had a very faint light: in 41 minutes time it had i\' 40" 

 direct motion in right afcenfion, and 6' j)'^*' in northern de- 

 clination decreafing. The fame comet was feen the fame ' 

 dav, and almoit at the fiime inlhmt, bv Mechain and Bou- ' 

 vard ; and ihe latter obferved il on the meridian at 11 h. 57' 

 49'' true time. Its right afcenfion was 111° 15', and its 

 northern declination 69' 30'. 



It has fince been known that it was obferved the fame day 

 at Marfeilles by C. Pons, who had even feen it the day be- 

 fore. But the cloucP did not then permit him to afccrlain, 

 by regular obfcrvations, whether it was a comet or onlv a 

 nebulus. Mechain lias calculated its elements. 



Obfervation of the Suminer Soljlice of the Year 9 (1801). 



Duc-la-Chapelle, afl'ociate, has communicated to us the 

 refult of the ol)fervatit)ns he made at Montauban, to deter- 

 mine the folllitial altitude of the fim and the obliquity of the ' 

 ecliptic. 



By the mean of nine days obfcrvations he found the appa- 

 f Mt obliquity to be 23 28' 9", I'uppofing the femi-diametcr . 



the fun 1^' 48'', and the latitude of his obfervatorv 44^ 



- til 

 )" • 



Ihefe obfcrvations were made with Lacaille's fextant ; and 



' would pcrliaps l)e proper to take from the tables of that 



onomer the diameter of the fun and the refractions which 



- determined with the fame inftrumcul, bccaufe thcfe tables 



ontain alfo the errors of that ilxtant. By thele means the 



'-•rvations of J^uc-la-Chapcllc would agree with ours, Bv ' 



iiean of cisrhteen days obfcrvations, made with Borda's 



Ic, I fouiitT the ubli(iuity to be 23^ 28' ii"2. Mtchaiu 



Nl 3 and 



