194 Caroline Liicretia Herschel. [isss. 



and has sent a second paper of 4GO double stars to the 

 Royal Societj r . He is returned from Paris, and is now 

 busy erecting an observatory, as he means to stay six 

 months in England, and cannot be so long without star- 

 gazing. I enclose a little thing which I published in 

 Schumacher's Astronomische Nachrichten which may in- 

 terest you. Shortly I shall have the pleasure to transmit 

 you some papers on the longitude of Paris, and on the 

 parallax of the fixed stars, which I have now in hand. Do 

 not suppose that I pretend to have discovered parallax, but 

 if it exists to a sensible amount, I think it cannot long 

 remain undiscovered if anybody can be found to put into 

 execution the method I am about to propose, and I hope it 

 will be taken up by astronomers in general. 



I have so far perfected the system of sweeping with the 

 twenty -foot that I can now make sure of the polar distances 

 of objects to within 1', and their right ascensions to cer- 

 tainly within 2" of time. I have re-observed a great many 

 of the nebula?, and in the course of the few sweeps I have 

 made, have discovered many not in j^our most useful cata- 

 logue. But I am now fixed in town for the winter, and 

 have brought up the said catalogue to consider of the best 

 mode of preparing it for publication, if it meets with your 

 approbation. 



Mr. South's later observations striking!}' confirm the re- 

 sults obtained by us jointly respecting the revolving stars, 

 and afford new and very remarkable instances in support of 

 my father's ideas on this subject. Of one pair (the double 

 star Ursa Majoris) I have no doubt we shall soon obtain 

 elliptic elements. 



The following is the answer from Professor Gauss to 

 the letter already given : 



