XXII GEELMUYDEN. ASTRONOMICAL OBSERVATIONS. [NORW. POL. EXP. 



The calculation by means of the Gonnaissance des Temps gave the results 



( I 8t contact, Htv Gr. M. T. = 40 m 58" ) 



Hansen \ \ 39 m 53 s 



( 2 nd - - =38 48 j 



f 1 st contact, Hto Gr. M. T. = 41 

 Sverdrupf 



1 2 nd - == 37 



Sverdrup, last trace 



In this case it was not deemed safe to use the last as an independent 

 observation, because it was made with the small instrument and a very boi- 

 ling limb. The mean of the two others is 



Hw Gr. M. T. = 39 m 40". 



Preparations were also made for observing the Eclipse of 1895 Aug. 20 

 which was calculated to have a duration of about 33 m . Three circummeridian 

 altitudes of the sun the same day (some 6 hours before) gave the latitude 

 84 IT 49" and the error of Hw approximately 4 h 31 m s late, but the ship 

 had a considerable south-easterly drift in these days. There was, however, 

 a gale blowing with snow almost the whole afternoon. A clear interval, begin- 

 ning some minutes after 1 st contact, made it possible to follow the eclipse 

 until a moment which was estimated to be 4 6 minutes before 2 nd contact. A 

 calculation has shown that this estimate was a couple of minutes too small. 



Lunar Distances. 



On some occasions the Moon's distance was measured from the Sun (once), 

 Jupiter (5 times), Mars or Pollux (once each). According to nautical usage 

 the altitudes of the two objects were measured before and after the distances 

 in order to get, by interpolation, the altitudes at the moment of the mean of 

 the distances; it was, however, preferred to calculate these altitudes and to 

 use the measured altitudes as a means of completing the determinations of 

 time and latitude. In most cases these altitudes were taken with the altazi- 

 muth, but only in one position of the instrument; the zenith point of the 

 vertical circle was then deduced from neighbouring observations. 



The measured distances will be found among the other observations with 

 the sextant. In the computation due regard was taken to the elliptical figure 

 of the disc due to refraction and to the small effect of the Moon's parallax in 



