240 KANSAS CITY REVIEW OF SCIENCE. 



in the Harvard Observatory Annals, This reticulated form of the head did not 

 reappear on any subsequent night. The changes in form have been very rapid and 

 wonderfully interesting. On Saturday morning there were two comparatively 

 bright jets of nebulosity extending out in the direction toward tlfe sun, but, sep- 

 arating and sweeping apart, were rpparently driven backward by a repulsive 

 force in the opposite direction. On the same side as these jets three other envel- 

 opes whose edges were at about equal distances from one another could be seen, 

 diminishing in brightness as they receded from the nucleus, while another fainter 

 jet was visible, issuing into the darker portion behind the nucleus. 



On Monday morning a faint and slender secondary tail was visible to the 

 naked eye extending toward and beyond a point a little to the right of Polaris, 

 the principal tail which was quite bright and broad curving, toward the left and 

 extending to, perhaps, half that distance. 



A very interesting phenomenon was observed on Tuesday morning. In the 

 evening only one jet was visible in the telescope making quite an angle with the di- 

 rection of the tail. During the morning, however, a second fainter jet appeared 

 nearly in the opposite direction from this, and at the same time the principal 

 jet grew broader and finally separated so that now there were three visible, of 

 which the center one was the brightest. 



The most remarkable phenomenon, however, occurred last night about ten 

 o'clock. During the early evening the comet was hidden by the clouds, but at 

 about ten o'clock it became visible and at first sight a great change was noticed 

 in its appearance. The fan or jet toward the sun had its usual appearance, but 

 directly opposite this was another jet much brighter and narrower. It appeared 

 nearly as bright indeed as the nucleus itself. A closer examination showed that 

 this was separated from the nucleus by a dark line. After a little this separation 

 became greater and the jet seemed to slowly float away from the nucleus and at 

 the same time to form a fainter nucleus of its own, thus giving the comet for a 

 time, the appearance of being double. The detached portion, however, gradually 

 grew fainter until when last seen, although plainly visible, it was no brighter 

 than the fan-shaped appendage on the opposite side of the nucleus. 



Cincinnati Observatory, July 17, 1881. 



ASTRONOMICAL NOTES FOR AUGUST, 1881. 



BY W. W. ALEXANDER, KANSAS CITY, MO. 



Mercury, on the 5th, reaches its greatest elongation west of the sun, 19° 6' ; 

 the position is favorable for observation, it being in the constellation Gemini, 

 nearly in a straight line with Castor and Pollux, about 9° south of the latter. On 

 the 7th it will enter Cancer and rise at 3h 40m A. M.; by the end of the month 

 it will be in superior conjunction with the sun. 



