1.4;2 Intelligence and Miscellaneous Articles. 



There was next read a letter to the President from Professor 

 Santini, dated Padua, 6th November 1826, and containing various 

 astronomical observations. M. Santini commences by detailing 

 observations df a Comet discovered by M. Pons at Florence, the 

 7th of October. These observations extend from 29th of August 

 to 5th of November. From those of 3Cth of August, 28th of Sep- 

 tember, and 20th of October, M. Santini has computed the fol- 

 lowing elements, for a parabolic orbit ; though the true orbit he 

 says would rather seem to be hyperbolic. 



Passage of the perihelion October 9''-2310 M.T. at Padua. 



Log. perihelion distance 9 93028 



Longitude of perihelion .... 57° 35' 6" 



Longitude of the node 43 9 5 



Inclination 25 30 7 



Motion direct. 



M. Santini communicates, 2dly, Observations of the planet Ceres 

 near its opposition to the Sun in 1826, viz. from 26th of June to 1st 

 of July inclusive. 3dly, Observations of the planet Pallas near its 

 opposition in 1826, viz. from 26th of June to 29th inclusive, ithly. 

 Observations of the planet Vesta near its opposition in 1826, viz. 

 from August l^th to 23d inclusive, M. Santini has compared these 

 observations with the geocentric positions of Pallas and Vesta, as 

 computed by Professor Encke, and published in Bode's Jahrbuch 

 for 1828, pages 157, 160. The mean differences are, for Pallas in 

 M. + 3"-96, in decl. — 0-54<: for Vesta in iR + ll'-43 in decl. 

 -4'-32. 



In a postscript dated 7th of November, M. S. announces the dis- 

 covery of another Comet by M. Pons, in the constellation Bootis, 

 on the 22d of October. 



Lastly, There was read a letter from Colonel Beaufoy to Lieut. 

 Stratford, R.N., containing Observations on the solar eclipse of 

 November 28th, made by Lieut. G. Beaufoy, R.N., Bushey Heath. 



Nov. 28th. Solar eclipse. Began 2P 46™ 4'; M.T., Bushey. 

 Ended 23 58 19, do. do. 



No spot visible on the sun's disc: — Edge of the moon uneven. 

 Her horns blunted. 



XXXIIL Intelligence and Miscellaneous Articles. 



CHLORINE IN THE NATIVE BLACK OXIDE OF MANGANESE. 



MR. J. MAC MULLEN, in a paper contained in the last num- 

 ber of the Royal Institution Journal, has arrived at some very 

 extraordinary conclusions. — He considers not only that native 

 black oxide of manganese contains chlorine, " but that it is in the 

 state of chloric acid, and that the native oxide is, at least in part, 

 and probably in proportions varying with the different specimens 

 of the ore, a native chlorate of manganese." 



I shall probably offer a few observations on the above paper in 

 the next number of the Phil. Mag. and Annals. R. P. 



