<] MM E iV-T A T I A S T R O N M I & A. 247 



(1 The apparence of paraUas which I had found in observalions of several stars in Ihe 

 « satne part of the heavens , also might be thought to afiFord consideraLIe probability 

 « Ihat the explanalion by parallax was not Ihe true explanation. " 



. « The argument furnished by solar nutation , seems to produce such additionai 

 « weight , Ihat, at this time, I consider the eyidence in favour of parallax greater 

 « than ever. " 



« Mr. Pond, in the concluding paragraph of bis paper, has statcd , in very streng 

 « terms, bis opinion of the comparative merits of the Iwo inslrumeuts; bnt I have little 

 « doubl that opinion will be found quite incorrect, wilh a reference to this point. " 



Tandem { nam et illa quodammodo huc pertinent), landem Pond ins circa motum 

 fisarum versus aiislrum, quem primus anno 1817 indicaverat, quaedam refert nova in 

 scriptione Junii 16, 1825: cujus hie est epilogus (*) : 



« I fear the examination of these lables wil ralher increase than diminisb that ten- 

 « dency to scepticisoi which does and indeed ought to exist , relative to the determina- 

 « tion of such very small quantilies by astronomical Observation; but I deem it pecu- 

 fe liarly incumbent on aiiy one , placed in the Situation which I hold , not to be influen- 

 « ced by these considerations : on the contraij, the difficuUy and perplexity of the 

 « subject should only act as an incentive to contrive more powerful methods of inves- 

 u tigation. " 



« Nothing has ever been farther from my intenlion , than to place this subject in a 

 « controvcrsial point of view. It would be worse than useless so to do , since the diffi- 

 « culty will ia the space of a very few years in all probability be salisfactorily ex- 

 « plaiaed. " 



§ 16. 



Claudit Herschelius historiam parallaxeos in Anglia, scripta commentatione , qua 



diiplicium vult observari variationes , non in distautia illas autem , sed in angulo posi- 



tionis, locum habentes (f). 



Melhodum omnem me P. II. explicare memini. Ipse de ea Judicium fert bis verbis : 



« If I am not mistaken, Ihen, we have here a method of investigaiing parallax very 



« rauch more delicate than any, which has yet been proposed — open to no insupe- 



« ra- 



( *) Phil. Trans. i8a5. P. II. p. 6io. Tom. CXV. xmii. Titulus est : On the amual variations of samt 

 of (he priiwipal fixed stars. By i, P o n d , F. Ä. S. Asiron. Boyal. 



( t ) Phil. Trans. i8a6. P, III, p. a66. Tora. CXVI. Titulus est : On the parallax ofihi fixed Stars. 

 fy J. F. W. Herscliel. Esg. DI. A. See. B. S. Communicated January ig, 1826, 



