t§G SOME ACCOUNT OF THE 



A clofer coincidence could not be expected, efpe- 

 dally as no account is made of feconds in any of the 

 latitudes given in the Zee) Mahommedjhuhy . But, if 

 farther refinement were defired, we might account for 

 the difference, by ihe Hindu obfervers not having 

 made any allowance for refraction. Thus, if we fup- 

 pofe the fun's altitude to have been obferved, when on 

 the equator, the refult will be as follows : 



Latitude of the obfervatorv 23° 10' 24" 

 Its complement, being the true alti- 

 tude of the fun on the equator GG 4Q 36 

 Refraction 24 



Sun's apparent altitude GG 50 



Latitude of the obfervatory from ob- 

 fervation of the fun upon the equator 

 without allowing for refraction 23 10 O 



But (befides that I do not pretend, that the mean 

 of my own obfervations can be relied on, to a lets 

 quantity than fifteen feconds,) when we coniider, that 

 a minute on the quadrant of the obfervatory is hardly 

 .OC) of an inch, without any contrivance for fubdi- 



:on, we lliall find it needlefs to defcend into fuch 

 minutenefs : and as JayajhJia had European obfervers, 

 it is not likely the refraction would be neglected, 

 cially as the Zee) Mahommedjhahy contains a table 

 for that purpofe. This table is an exact copy of M. 

 Be La Hire's, which may be feen in the Encyclo- 

 pedic, art. Refraction. 



Tins inftrument is called, Yd;ii-u! f cr-bhltti-yiin! cr . 

 -h one of the fame kind at Dehly, (No. 4, Dehly 

 obfervatory,) in the year 17^9, Jayafinha fays, he de- 

 termined the obliquity of the ecliptic to be 23° 28'. 

 Eh the following year (1/30) it was obferved by 



2. On 



