On the Comet of September ]862. No. 1. 

 By MR. JOHN TEBBUTT, JUN. 



[Eead October 8th, 1862.] 



THE object of the present paper is to furnish the members of 

 the society with some popular information respecting the comet 

 which has been visible during the past month. The paper is a 

 short one, owing to the whole of my available time having been 

 occupied in making and reducing observations and performing 

 other necessary calculations. So far as I can learn from the 

 newspapers, the comet appears to have been seen at Brisbane 

 in the neighbouring colony of Queensland, at the close of the 

 last week in August. A letter from Mr. Biden, dated from the 

 ship " Stornoway," and also a telegram from Brisbane appeared 

 in the Herald of the 1st ultimo, announcing its visibility. I may 

 here remark, in passing, that when a comet makes its appearance, 

 the fact should, if possible, be at once communicated to those 

 stations where the instruments necessary for observation are 

 located, in order to ensure complete and accurate observation of 

 the stranger while it is within reach of the telescope. It was 

 through a neglect of these precautions that a large comet seen 

 at Brisbane in the beginning of November last, altogether escaped 

 observation, so that we remain in utter ignorance of the elements 

 of its orbit. But to return to our subject. On seeing the an- 

 nouncement in the Herald, I made preparations for observing the 

 new visitor with the best instrumental means at command. This 

 consisted of a telescope of 3 J inches aperture and 4 feet focal length, 

 provided with a ring-micrometer constructed by Mr. Tornaghi of 

 Sydney. The comet was first detected with the naked eye afc 

 twenty-six minutes past six o'clock on the evening of the 1st, the 

 twilight being pretty strong at the time. This circumstance 

 proved our new visitor to be one of more than ordinary brilliancy. 

 As the twilight declined the comet's head became, of course, 

 more distinct, but no portion of the tail could be distinguished 

 with the naked eye, owing to the presence of the moon, then in 

 her first quarter, and shining brightly. The comet would have 



