58 
NATURE 
[Mov. 16, 1882 
the Eastern Star, published at Grahamstown, Cape 
Colony, in which Mr. L, A. Eddie, F.R.A.S., draws atten- 
tion to the duplication of the nucleus which appears to 
have been first remarked at the Royal Observatory, Cape 
of Good Hope, on September 30, and on the same date 
in the United States: a day or so later European obser- 
vers very generally perceived it. On the morning of 
September 24, at 4h. 30m., Mr. Eddie, says: “ A most 
glorious sight presented itself. The head of the comet 
had not yet risen, but a broad belt of golden light, about 
two degrees in breadth, streamed upwards from the hori- 
zon to about ten degrees ; and from the northern margin 
of this again, a thin streak of less brilliant light extended 
upwards to about another twelve degrees, and when the 
head had fully risen above the horizon at 4h. 43m. a.m., 
there were about twenty-five degrees in length of intensely 
luminous matter, stretching upwards from a still more 
luminous head, and inclined to the horizon at an angle of 
70°. , . . The head appeared as before, to consist of an 
apparently very solid though not very large nucleus, sur- 
rounded by a dense coma of no great extent, especially 
preceding the nucleus, and possessing no dark intervals, 
&c.’? The weather prevented further observation at 
Grahamstown till the morning of October 3, when, on 
directing his 9}-inch Calver upon the nucleus, Mr. Eddie 
saw not one round planetary disc, as he had last seen it, 
but “two distinct ellipsoidal nuclei in juxtaposition, each 
of them brighter on the interior edge, and drawn out, as 
it were, towards the comet’s ulterior boundary, so that 
their conjugate axes were about double the transverse. 
They closely resembled, in the inverting telescope, the 
flames of two candles placed the one above the other, so 
that the uppermost part of the lower flame almost over- 
lapped the lower portion of the other. There was a dark 
rift the breadth of the transverse axes of these nuclei, 
extending from the hindermost one into the tail. These 
two nuclei were not parallel with the axis of the comet, 
but the foremost was drawn, as it were, to the south, or 
nearer to the direction in which the comet is moving.” 
Mr. Eddie further compares the two nuclei to the double- 
star a Centauri when viexed through a clo1d with a low 
power. When daylight had advanced, they co 11d be seen in 
the telescope perfectly free from the light of the surround- 
ing coma. Onthe following morning the nuclei were dis- 
tinctly divided with powers of 60and 100 on the reflector: 
the preceding nucleus was larger and brighter than the 
other, but both were, if anything, smaller than previously. 
The Natal Mercury of October 6 describes the im- 
posing spectacle which the comet presented as it rose 
apparently from the Indian Ocean. The nucleus shone 
with a brilliancy rivalling Sirius, or even Venus, and the 
tail was slightly curved, and though, as dawn approached, 
a little diminished in length, appeared more concentrated 
and magnificent. 
Observers who remember the great comet of 1843, as 
it presented itself in the southern hemisphere, are some- 
what divided in opinion as to which body to give the 
palm on the score of brilliancy, though most of them 
appear inclined to favour the former. The Emperor of 
Brazil, who observed the comet of 1843 close to the sun 
on February 28, ani on the following evenings, considers 
it was not so remarkable for the brightness of the nucleus 
as the present comet, but that the tail had a much greater 
extent. 
At Santiago, Chile, the comet was visible on September 
17, some minutes before sunrise, and on the next 
morning could be followed until 11h. 30m. with the 
greatest facility without the telescope ; part of the tail 
near the nucleus was also visible, the northern border 
being much brighter than the other. On September 20, 
though the light of the comet had somewhat diminished, 
it was seen with the naked eye till 1oh. 30m. M. Niesten, 
Chief of the Belgian expedition for the observation of 
the transit of Venus, observed the comet in Chile: he 
found the length of the tail (northern branch) 25° on 
September 22, and 22° on the following morning. 
By the kindness of the Astronomer Royal, we learn that 
the comet was observed on the meridian at Melbourne on 
September 15, 16, and 17 civil reckoning; equatorial 
observations commenced on the morning of September 
10: Mr. John Tebbutt observed the comet the previous 
morning at his private observatory, Windsor, N.S.W. 
The Melbourne meridian observations will be of great 
value in the determination of the elements of the orbit 
prior to the comet’s rush through the solar coronal 
region, the last one having been made only fifteen hours 
before the perihelion passage. 
Subjoined is an ephemeris of the comet for 18h. M.T, 
at Greenwich. It will be seen that it is now well obser- 
vable on the meridian. 
Distance from 
Fight Ascension. Declination. Earth. aa 
Inept S. F ‘ ‘ 
Noy. 16.--. 925 58 &.-—125 351... 1406)... MEG8e 
TSO RSIM2h) --, eeee Ses Ones 
20). ONO 40)9..ni 2010305 ee SOON, pa mn fOz 
22). 2 OMULGAS ecygee20 40-4 a. 
QA cen ORS 5 kes 27 7:0) 5.5 Ts5 10... ross 
AAD) saoh i Tee SGP ATS). 530 
28)... S555 47 2. = 26 81 4s2N... ESTA”... cQ00 
The latest investigations on the motion of this comet 
tend to indicate, contrary to the expectation that was at 
first entertained by many astronomers, that it is not 
identical either with the great comet of 1843, nor with 
that which appeared with so great a resemblance in the 
elements of the orbit in 1880. Calculations by Messrs. 
Chandler, Wendell, and Hind, are so far in accord upon 
this point. 
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The readers of NATURE will be familiar with the de- 
scription of Edison’s large steam-dynamo, which first 
made its appearance in Paris in 1881, and of which two 
examples are now at work in the Edison installation at 
Holborn Viaduct. These monster dynamos, each requir- 
