Astronomy. 123 



New 



I p. M., Mr. Geo. 



P. Bond, Assistant at the Cambridge Observatory, discovered a telesco- 

 pic comet in the constellation Cygnus. Its place Nov. 25, 6 h 57 m 5 was 

 A. R. 20^ S§« !!■ and N. decl. 37° 2V 50". 



The following elements are derived from the earlier observations. 



Prof. Peirce. Mr. G. P. Bond. 



Perihelion pass. Gr. m. t. 1849, Jan. 19-238 Jan. 19-432. 



" distance, 09526 0-9601 



Long, of perihelion, 70° 16' 6° 30' 



asc. node, 215 46 215 02 



Inclination, 84 29 85 13 

 Motion direct. 



At its descending node, the comet passes very near the orbit of the 

 earth. 



5. Cornet Medal. — The king of Denmark has directed the comet 

 medal founded by his predecessor, to be awarded to Miss Maria Mitch- 



u <t 



ell, of Nantucket, for her discovery of the telescopic comet, discov- 

 ered Oct. 1, 1847. This is the first instance in which the comet medal 

 of the king of Denmark has been awarded to a lady. 



6. Some Remarks upon an American Nautical Almanac, (commu- 

 nicated for this Journal.) — Encouraged by the recent rapid progress of 

 their science in this country, our astronomers are beginning to aspire 

 to the possession of an ephemeris of their own. This important work 

 will not be undertaken, however, merely as an object of national pride, 

 nor for the sake of being independent of the labors of other countries. 

 As Americans, we naturally wish to see our country among the fore- 

 most in the pursuit of science, but her title to distinction will be judged 

 by the intrinsic value and importance of her contributions to science it- 

 self, which is " of no country and of no nation." The question, then, 

 which presents itself for consideration, is not simply u shall the United 

 States have an astronomical ephemeris of their own ?" — but m does 

 astronomy need a new one and a better one than it already possesses ?" 

 u *he latter question is answered in the affirmative, it will not be doubt- 

 ed that the United States should not fail to improve so good an oppor- 

 tunity of rendering a valuable service to science. 



P he ephemeris may be regarded as the exponent of the actual state 

 of astronomical science, at least so far as relates to the objects con- 

 tained in it. It professes to predict for certain given times, the exact 

 places of the principal heavenly bodies, and to furnish for the con- 

 venience of both the observer and the computer all the astronomical 

 quantities that are simply functions of the time. To be of any use in 

 enlarging the boundaries of the science, it is plain that every one of 

 these quantities should be given with the greatest possible degree of 

 accuracy ; and when a correction has been obtained for any one of 

 ll 'em, it should be immediately incorporated into the ephemeris. 



Now, that the present ephemerides of Greenwich, Berlin and Paris, 

 do not entirely fulfill these conditions, will appear upon a reference 

 merely to the dates of the astronomical tables upon which they are 

 based. Thus the ephemeris of the sun is prepared from Carlini's Ta- 

 bles appended to the " Effemeridi Astronomiche di Milano per Panno 

 1833 ;" that of the moon from Burckhardt's u Tables de la Lune, Paris, 



