454 
NEW OBSERVATIONS OF TPIE PLANET MERCURY. 
The tliiid point we see at once on taking the means of the polars for 
dates and arranging them in a table as follows. 
TABLE IX. 
MEANS OF POLAR DIAMETERS 
Date. 
Feb. 
Jan. 
Feb. 
Reduced to Dist. Uuity. 
Cor. only for Threads 
and Spurious Disk. 
Feb. 25-Mar. 1 
Mar. 2-10 
(( 
11-20 
21-26 
7.20 
7.35' 
7.52 
7.67 
Reduced to Dist. Unity. 
Cor. for Irr. 
n 
6.87 
7.01 
7.06 
7.18 
7.30 
7.41 
34. Value of Polar Diameter. 
proportionate result at conjunction, we have for 
values : 
Uncorrected for irradiation, 
Corrected for irradiation, 
Taking now Table IX. and extending it to its 
the polar diameter the following 
r.8o 
7". 54 
These measures give for the planet a polar diameter of about 3,400 miles 
35. Dichotomy 
We now come to anothe 
upon quite a different subi 
Pl 
the measures 
fford 
dichotomy. D 
o 
the 
namely, the retardation of the 
app 
time of 
(Washington mean time) ; namely 
period covered by the observations dichotomy occurred fou 
1896, September 11, Q h. about 
a 
Octob 
er 
1897, January 
25, 
a 
C4 
2h 
U 
February 13, 14 h 
r 
while dichotomy should have occurred on 
1896, September 16, 20 h. 
22, 8h. 
" October 
1897, January 
Ih, 
iC 
February 10, 12 h. 
