60 View offome late Difcoveries and Improvements 



the moon, are in the fouthern part of that planet, while on 

 the earth the greater part of the mountains are towards the 

 north. The day in Venus appears to that aftronomer to be 

 23 hours 21 minutes. It differs therefore very little from 

 the fidereal day of the earth, which is 23 hours 56 minutes 

 4 feconds. 



The volcano of the moon has been feen feveral times by 

 the naked eye. Caroche faw it at Paris on the fecond of 

 March 1797. It exhibited the appearance of a candle juft 

 going out. It refembled a brilliant fpot lefs fenfible than the 

 greateft fateliite of Jupiter, but larger. Its exiftence there- 

 fore can no longer be doubted. 



La Place has publifhed an excellent memoir on the 

 movements of the moon. 



Hennert fays that the diurnal movement of the earth 

 may undergo fome variations ; but that its variations are 

 eompenfated in fuch a manner, that they may be confidered 

 as uniform. 



Herfchel has obferved around Saturn a quintuple belt of 

 fpots. By thefe means he has fhown the length of the day 

 of that planet, and determined its diurnal rotation, which he 

 eftimates at 10 hours 16 minutes 2 feconds. 



Lalande calculated the orbit of the 83d comet to the 

 month of December 1793 ; but an 84th comet was feen by 

 Bode at Berlin, on the nth of November 1795, near the 

 conftellation of Hercules. It was feen alfo by Bouvard, at 

 Paris, on the 14th of the fame month. It was fmall, had no 

 tail, and was not vifible to the naked eye. Its orbit has been 

 calculated by Zach. It was in its perihelion on the 14th of- 

 December at 15 hours 32 feconds mean time at Gotha. Its 

 diitance then from the fun was o,22. 



An 85th comet was difcovered in Virgo by Olbers, at 

 Bremen, who calculated its orbit. 



An 86th w^s difcovered from the obfervatory at Paris, by 

 Bouvard, on the 14th of Auguft 1797, at ten o'clock at 

 night. It was feen next day, at Leipfic, by Rudiger. It, was 



feen 



