575 



Society, so well known for his attachment to science, and his muni- 

 ficence in furthering it, the Astronomer Royal recommended Mr. 

 Hind for the practical charge of that gentleman's private observatory 

 in Regent's Park. It is for the observations made for Mr. Bishop, 

 that the Council have made their award; and I beg to enumerate the 

 principal. 



Mr. Hind has discovered no fewer than ten new planets, and 

 computed the elements of their orbits first from his own observa- 

 tions, and again from those of other astronomers ; and he has greatly 

 improved our knowledge of the motions of the other members of the 

 planetoidal group, by similar discussions, in each case, of all avail- 

 able data. 



He has also discovered three new comets, and assisted greatly in 

 procuring multiplied observations of them and of others, by his rapid 

 calculation and speedy publication of successive approximations to 

 the elements of their orbits ; having thereby enabled many comets 

 to be followed up through important portions of their paths, which 

 would otherwise have been lost, as witness the momentous and 

 then unique case of his comet of 1847, which was observed at its 

 perihelion passage at noonday, and in the immediate proximity 

 of the sun, in consequence of the accuracy of Mr. Hind's computed 

 places. 



With the powerful and efficient means thus furnished by Mr. 

 Bishop, this assiduous observer has, moreover, discovered two ellip- 

 tical nebulae, and a remarkable variable star in Ophiuchus, which, 

 when first seen in April 1848, was of the fourth magnitude, and has 

 now diminished to the twelfth. He has also noted the variability of 

 other stars, including the very remarkable changes in S Cancri, of 

 which he published an ephemeris. He has strengthened the evi- 

 dence of the existence of a physical connexion between the consti- 

 tuents of binary stars ; and with Mr. Bishop he has accurately 

 mapped and published, for the advantage of astronomers in general, 

 all the stars in a large part of the ecliptic region of the sky, down to 

 and including the eleventh magnitude. These maps cannot fail to 

 be of great utility in promoting the future discovery of planets and 

 asteroids ; in fact, of gleaning the heavens in that very interesting 

 department. The dates and names of Mr. Hind's own discoveries 

 in it being 



VOL. VII. 3 E 



