XXI. 



Bhments of the Comet of 1819. 



By NATHANIEL BOWDITCH, LL. D 



N the evening of the third of July 1819, 1 saw this comet 

 for the first time at Salem ; in the direction N. N. W. and very 

 near the horizon, hut no ohservations were made till the following 

 evening, when distances were measured from Lyra, Dubhe, and 

 the Polar Star. Similar observations were made on the follow- 

 ing evenings when the weather was favourable, till the 22d of the 



same month, during which time the comet passed obliquoly 

 through the body of the constellation Lynx, from the upper part 

 of the left thidi to the middle of the back^ describing nearly an 





apparent arch of a great circle of 12°. The long duration of the 

 twilight, the constant haziness of the weather, and the obstructions 

 from the frees and houses, in the only place where I could conve- 

 niently view the comet, rendered the ohservations of it difficult, 



p 



and somewhat uncertain, particularly towards the latter part of its 

 appearance. After the 2^d of July it was so very hazy (hat the 

 comet could not he seen with sufficient distinctness to admit of a 

 tolerably accurate ohservation. Several occupations prevented 

 me from attending to the reduction and calculation of these obser- 

 vations till near the time of the disappearance of the comet, and 

 then by combining three of the observations I obtained the ap- 

 proximate elements published in the Salem Gazette of Aug. 24, 



