Astronomy. 287 



and S. Dec. 3° 42' 5". On the 3d July, at 1 1^ 45™, its place was 

 256° 40' R. A. and 3° 51' 5" S. Decl. The new star was now in all 

 probability, a planet hitherto unknown. At Berlin, July 5, 18*7, at 

 10 11 48<n 28s, M. Encke found its place to be 256= 51' 34"-5, S. Dec. 



4° 8' 27"-8. 



The new planet was observed in London, by Mr. J. R. Hind, July 10th, 

 and at Philadelphia, at the High School Observatory, by Mr. S. C. Wal- 

 ker, on the 4th August. In a notice in the N. Am. and U. S. Gazette, 

 "rot. E. O. Kendall communicates the following elements of the new 

 planet, computed by Mr. Hind, from Encke's observation of July 5, 

 and his own of July 10 and 14, showing that the body belongs to the 

 greup between Mars and Jupiter. 



// 



Epoch, 1847, July 0. 283° 56' 54 



Perihelion, 8 17 24 -1 . , , . 



Ascending node, 137 25 35 . 2 J m. eqx. July 1. 



Inclination, 15 2 56 -1 



Angle of eccentricity, 13 49 20 

 Mean distance, 2-5216 



Sidereal period, 4004 years. 



2. Neptune, its supposed Ring and Satellite. — Several European 

 astronomers have pronounced in favor of the existence of a ring around 

 j»e planet Neptune. Mr. Lassell, of Liverpool, observing with his 



evvtonian reflector, of two-feet aperture, first announced its existence, 

 *n October, 1846; and in January last, Prof. Challis, of Cambridge, 

 using the large Northumberland reflector, was disposed to believe Mr. 

 L -s assertion. The ratio of the diameter of the ring to that of the 

 P la net is about that of 3 to 2. The angle made by the axis of the ring 

 v a parallel of declination, in S. preceding or N. following quarter, 



about 65°. Other observers, however, with equal means, cannot 

 de ject any such ring. 



™ r - Lassell has announced to the London Times, his verification of 



" e existence of a satellite of Neptune, suspected last November. 



A New Comet. — A telescopic comet was discovered by Mr. G. P. 



fjja, at the Harvard Observatory, July 14th, 1847. Its place, July 

 14th, Hh 45 m? was 16h 24rn R A ^ N< decL 85 o lT Seen trough 



te grand refractor, it exhibited a highly condensed central light, sur- 

 ^nded by a diffused nebulous appearance, With a faint tail stretching 



jn a direction opposite to the sun. 

 p lh e same comet had previously been discovered by Mr. Mauvais, of 

 SV ul y 4 > 18 47, its place being at 13 h 36- 56", R. A. 22*> 8™ 13% 

 an J N. decl. 80° 26'. 



D 4 - Vesta, (from a letter from Prof. Madler to Lieut. Gilliss, dated 



or Pat Observatory, May 25; communicated for this Journal.)—" Vesta 



e, «g very near to the earth in April and May, I undertook to measure 



sdui meter, and obtained five sets of observations, which give sixty-six 



1 es (fifteen to a degree). I have reduced the measured angles, by 



th rr n tlng them for °"" 3 irradiation > the an S le of a fixed star given by 



eDor 



pat refractor." 



