BY JOHN TEBBUTT, JUN. 147 



the announcement in the Illustrated London Xeu.'$, I naturally, 

 but, as the sequel will shew, rather hastily concluded that 

 Tempel's comet and our own were one and the same. With this 

 conclusion I rested satisfied till the Illustrated London New* came 

 to hand of the 2nd August, which contained the following more 

 precise notice respecting the discovery of Tempel's comet. 



" The new comet discovered by M. Tempel at Marseilles, on 

 the night of the 2nd and 3rd instant, near Beta, in the constel- 

 lation Cassiopea, we learn, was previously observed on the 2nd, 

 by M. Seeling, at Athens. It was seen by M. Tempel, with 

 difficulty, with the naked eye. With a glass it presented the 

 appearance of an irregular oval-formed nebulosity, without any 

 trace of a tail. On July 5th, at eleven o'clock, p.m., it was near 

 to Eta in the Great Bear." 



On reading this notice, it immediately occurred to me th;\t, 

 either the elements contained in the last paper were not so 

 accurate as I had supposed, or that the comet discovered by 

 MM. Tempel and Seeling was totally distinct from that which 

 had been the subject of observation here My attention was at 

 once drawn to the subject. On discussing the whole series of 

 observations from the 1st September to the 15th October, I found 

 no reason to doubt the accuracy of the elements. By means of 

 the elements I found the following for the approximate places of 

 the comet which has been visible here : 



July 3 d . 5. G.M.T. R.A. = 7G 27' Declination=C4- <3' N. 



July 7 d . 5. G.M.T. R.A. = 7724/ Declination =Gi c 52' N. 



The distances of the comet from the sun and earth at those 

 times were respectively as follows : 



July 3 d . 5. Distance from Sun 123 millions of miles ; from 

 Earth 171 millions of miles. 



July 7 d . 5. Distance from Sun 110 millions of miles; from 

 Earth lt>2 millions of miles. 



Now from the known brilliancy of the comet in that portion 

 of its orbit which it traversed while above our horizon from the 

 1st September to the middle of October it is obvious that it must 

 at the above dates have been far beyond the limits of unassisted 

 vision. In this circumstance, then, it differs from the comet 

 discovered by MM. Tempel and Seeling, which is stated to have 



