22 



defined, but appeared more like nebula* or a bright auroral 

 streak." 



The comet was seen this evening (6th) at the telegraph 

 station on the River Katherine, in the Northern Territory, by 

 Mr. Murray ; also at Pine Creek, and by Mr. Little at Port 

 Darwin. 1 telegraphed its position to Singapore, but it was 

 not, I think, seen there. 



On Feb. 7 the tail was much fainter and reduced to a thin 

 nebulous streak, extending from a little above Fomalhaut up 

 to Kappa Eridani, passing through Alpha Phcenicis. 



Feb. 8. Comet fainter, and now has a slight curvature north- 

 wards. Can be traced from a little north of Fomalhaut, past 

 and north of Atylia Phoenicis, and Gamma Phoenicis being on 

 the northern edge, up to and pointing a little north of Kappa 

 Eridani. I lost it a little beyond that star, but Mr. Cooke 

 could trace it up nearly to the zenith. 



Feb. 9. Looked carefully for nucleus, but could not see it. 

 A bank of stratus below Fomalhaut on S.W. horizon, and 

 atmosphere thick. The tail now passes a little north of s and e 

 Phoenicis, a little south of Delta and Kpsilon Eridani, above 

 which I lost it, but my young assistant, Mr. Cooke, who has very 

 sharp eyes, said he could trace it nearly up to the four stars, 

 Alpha, EpsiJon, Beta, and Gamma Columba? (a short distance 

 west of the zenith), towards which it points. 



No special notes were made on the 10th and 11th, except 

 that the tail was rapidly getting fainter. 



On the 12th I succeeded in detecting the nucleus, and got 

 some differential measurements in BA. and Dec, comparing 

 it with a star of 6\ magnitude, No. 103 in the British Associa- 

 tion's Catalogue (29 in the Melbourne Catalogue), and a small 

 star of the 10th or 10-llth magnitude, being one of four small 

 stars forming a pretty trapezium in Sculptor, which were in the 

 same field as the nucleus, and to the south of the comet. The 

 nucleus was a faint nebulosity. I could see no central condensa- 

 tion, and could only just trace the tail in the field of the equatorial 

 finder, although it could be seen with the eye as a faint streak 

 of light in the sky. At lOh. 1m. the comet followed B.A.C. 

 103 ; 2m. 22s. and 14m. further south in declination. Its ap- 

 proximate position, therefore, was BA. Oh. 24m. 18s. ; Dec. 33° 

 55' south. 



On the 13th I again got some good measurements, using a star 

 of the 8th magnitude, which I have not found in any catalogue, 

 and whose place, therefore, will have to be obtained with a 

 transit circle on the meridian. 



The comet at 9h. 27m. followed the star 2m. 24s., and was 

 10' to the south in declination. 



