No, VIL 



A CALCULATION 



OF THE ORBIT OF THE COMET, 



Which lately appeared ; together -with some general Ob- 

 servations on Cornets. 



BY COL. JARED INLANSFIELD, 



SURVEYOR-GENERAL OF THE UNITED STATES. 



ABOUT the latter part of September, some persons 

 living in the vicinity of this place, gave notice, that 

 they had seen, for several successive evenings, an mi- 

 common kind of Star, which, from their description, I 

 concluded must be a Comet. On the first of October, 

 through intervals of clouds, which were ftying, I had a 

 momentary view of the object, which, from its situa- 

 tion in the heavens and crinited appearance, obviously 

 could not be one of the fixed stars, or planets. By the 

 observations of a few evenings after the 1st of October^ 

 the general direction of its motion, as seen from the 

 earth, was readily discovered, and it was evident that 

 this comet, or wanderer, was retiring from its visit to 

 the sun, or that it had passed the Perihelion, and ascend- 

 ing node of its orbit, and was receding from the regions 

 of the planets. These circumstances w ere unfavorable to 

 the views I had entertained of observing its motions, in 

 such situations of it§ orbit, and during such long inter- 



