210 Miscellanies. 



to admit of its removal. It is expected that this enormous instrument 

 will be moved about and regulated by one man's arm, and placed in 

 its position with the greatest ease and certainty. The walls destined to 

 support the machinery, are built exactly in the meridional line, so that 

 the telescope which will lie between them will take in objects only as 

 they pass the meridional line ; they can be kept in view for half an 

 hour on each side of the meridian. As already intimated, the speculum 

 is six feet in diameter, and the focal distance is fifty two feet. It will 

 render visible a portion of the moon of the size of a common house. 

 Lord Rosse has erected an equatorial instrument, the largest ever 

 constructed. It is eighteen inches in diameter, and by its peculiar me- 

 chanism, the truest ever used. It is stated, that Sir James South laid 

 out seven thousand pounds in erecting one which did not answer, and 

 was afterwards broken up. 



5. Third Comet of 1843. — A telescopic comet was discovered, No- 

 vember 22d, 1843, at lh. A. M., near the star y Orionis, by M. Paye, 

 an astronomer attached to the Royal Observatory, at Paris. Notwith- 

 standing the clouds and vapors which impeded the view, the place of 

 the comet was found to be as follows: Nov. 22, 1843, 14h. 44m. lis. 

 Paris mean time, R. A. 81° 5' ; N. decl. 6° 56'. On account of clouds, 

 the comet was not again seen until the 24th, when its position was ac- 

 curately determined, as follows : Nov. 24, 1843, 17h. 14m. 43s. Paris 

 mean time, R. A. 80° 50' 42" ; N. decl. 6° 30' 35" ;— the apparent 

 right ascension having diminished seven minutes of arc within about 

 twenty-four hours, and the north declination having also diminished 

 twelve minutes. The nucleus of this comet is so distinct, as to permit 

 very precise observations. From the nucleus faint trains of light di- 

 verge nearly opposite to the sun ; the entire tail being about four min- 

 utes in length. 



Dr. South adds that the comet was observed by him, at his observa- 

 tory at Kensington. Seen through the large achromatic of 11*9 inches 

 diameter, with powers of 150 and 300, the nucleus seemed not round, 

 but elongated in the direction of the tail, which latter, after moonset, 

 extended about eleven minutes of arc. It does not bear much illumin- 

 ation of the field, although it was easily found with an achromatic 

 telescope of 2*75 inches aperture. Its approximate place, November 

 30, 1843, at 48m. 37s. after midnight, was in R. A. 5h. 21m. 37s. N. 

 decl. 5° 34' 32", very near the star A Orionis. — New York Journal of 

 Commerce, from a London paper. 



6. Remarkable Fulgurite. — M. Fiedler presented to the Academy of 

 Sciences a fulgurite remarkable for its size and preservation. We make 



