SECTION III. 



DE YICO'S COMET OF 1844. 



ON the 22d of August, 1844, Father De Vico, di- 

 rector of the observatory at Home, discovered a telescopic 

 comet in the constellation of the Whale. He imme- 

 diately announced the discovery to Professor Schumacher, 

 of Altona, but his letter did not arrive till the 26th of 

 September. Meanwhile, the comet had been discovered 

 independently by several different observers. It was 

 seen by Professor Encke at Berlin on the 5th of Sep- 

 tember, and on the 6th it was seen at Hamburg by M. 

 Melhop, an amateur astronomer. On the 10th of Sep- 

 tember it was discovered by Mr. H. L. Smith of Cleveland, 

 Ohio, who observed it every day for nearly a fortnight. 

 About the third week in September, it was just dis- 

 cernible with the naked eye, and with slight optical aid 

 had a very beautiful appearance, the nucleus being 

 bright and star-like, and having a tail about one degree in 

 length, extending in a direction opposite to the sun. 

 At the Pulkova observatory, the comet was followed till 

 the 31st of December. 



It was soon found by M. Faye and others, that the 

 comet deviated remarkably from a parabolic orbit ; and it 



