B. A. Gould—Southern Comet of February, 1880. 399 
series of observations to be more satisfactorily represented by an 
ellipse of much longer period served to weaken this belief to 
any extent. Nevertheless Hubbard showed that the corres- 
ponding diminution of the major axis was compatible with a 
probable error of only +11/"32 for a single observation, in 
place of 8/44 to which this value would be reduced by the 
adoption of his final elements. The similarity of the comet's 
appearance to that of 1702 also attracted attention. The orbit 
calculated for that comet by Struyck in Amsterdam bears no 
similarity to the well-determined one of the comet of 1668; 
ut Cassini, who observed the former, believed the two to be 
identical. The same opinion was maintained by Cooper in 
18 The tail in 1702 was 40° long, and its path was chiefly 
in the southern hemisphere, both which facts favor the sup- 
position of identity. Nevertheless, while a computation by 
Petersen, using for 1702 the orbit of the Comet of 1848, 
showed that the roughly given geocentric path might thus be 
somewhat roughly represented, Schumacher considered that 
the resultant places were compatible neither with the position 
of the tail March 2, 1702, as described by Maraldi, nor with 
the observation of the ship-captain Brouwer, cited by Struyck. 
1702 Feb. 23. 1771 June 6. 1843 Feb. 27. 
1736 July 12. 1806 Dee. 12. 1880 Jan. 27. 
The second Comet of 1806 appears to have passed its peri- 
helion on December 28th of that year. The latest determina- 
tion of its orbit is that by Hensel in 1862, the resulting 
inclination being essentially the same as that of the present 
comet. His other elements, however, are completely discor- 
_ dant, the form of the orbit being hyperbolic and the perihelion- 
distance large. It remains to be seen whether the observations 
could be represented by an orbit of different form and dimen- 
sions. There are other recorded apparitions which seem likely 
to have been returns of the same comet, such as those of the 
years 1533, 1468, and perhaps 1264; but I have not here the 
means of forming any careful opinion. 
