The Spectrum and Appearance of the recent Comet. 
By H. C. Russext, B.A., F.R.A.S. 
[Read before the Royal Society of N.S. W., 6 July, 1881.] 
I saw the comet first on the evening of May 25th. It was then 
a conspicuous object with the naked eye, and with the aid of a 
binocular glass I traced the tail twelve degrees. With the 11}- 
inch refractor the nucleus was very well defined ; it appeared a 
little oval in shape, the longer axis being coincident with the 
direction of the tail. There was a slight coma in front of it. The 
diameter of the nucleus was four seconds of are. 
the cl T a had very much increased in front of the 
nucleus, The morning of June 5th was fine, a still greater 
m ma was visible, the greater part of it in front of 
over a small star, ninth magnitude, some of the brighter parts 
of the coma going over it without stopping any of its light, so far 
= could see. This star with others in the are shown in 
Star was obtained. It was remarkable the change in the coma 
Which seemed to have taken place since the morning, but from its 
Subsequent appearance I think it must have been our atmosphere 
that prevented me from seeing as much of the coma in the evening 
of the 5th as I did in the morning. 
n the morning of June 6th I obtained a good set of measures 
of the comet and a seven magnitude star, and on the evening of 
on in the coma. This was the only time that there seemed to 
any dark shadow behind the nucleus, and I may mention that the 
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