148 ON THE COMET OF SEPTEMBER 1862. No. 2. 



been just visible to the naked eye. Again, it will be observed 

 that the motion of our comet, although nearly in the direction 

 of the pole-star, was only a few minutes of arc daily, whereas 

 the other comet moved over the large arc of about seventy 

 degrees in three days. Here, then, is conclusive evidence that 

 the two comets were pursuing totally different orbits. On 

 making known this circumstance to a friend my attention was 

 drawn by him to the Illustrated London News of August 16th, 

 a later date than I myself had received. It was therein stated 

 that a comet had been discovered by Rosa at Rome, on the 25th 

 July, which became distinctly visible to the naked eye on the 

 3rd August. The notice is accompanied with a rough chart 

 showing the comet's apparent track among the stars from the 

 night of discovery to the 20th August. The chart enables 

 me at once to identify this comet as the one observed here, 

 for on calculating back from the elements, I find our comet 

 occupied precisely the positions indicated in the chart, and 

 must have become visible to the naked eye in the beginning 

 of August. On the night of discovery, the comet was distant 

 one hundred and three millions of miles from the sun, and 

 one hundred and eighteen millions from the earth. The comet 

 discovered by MM. Tempel and Seeling might have been 

 seen in the colony after the first week in July ; but I am 

 not aware that it has been seen by any one. It is usual for 

 Astronomers to designate the comets of any particular year 

 according to the order of their times of perihelion passage. 

 Taking, therefore, into account the fact that the two comets 

 under consideration appeared in Europe almost simultaneously, 

 and our present ignorance respecting the time of the perihelion 

 passage of the one, I am not yet justified in designating our 

 comet as " I. of 1862." I hoped the October mail would bring us 

 a considerable amount of intelligence respecting the late comet, 

 but that hope has not been realised. In the Herald of the 20th 

 ultimo, there is an extract of a letter from Mr. Hind to the Times, 

 which confirms to some extent the results contained in my last 

 paper. He states the comet will be nearest to the sun on the 

 23rd, (August is implied, though not expressed, in the extract), 

 and distant thirty-two and a half million.-, of miles from the earth 



