88 ' ON COMET II, 1881, 
From these calculations I have selected the following, by Her 
Ambronn, of Hamburg, as it is based on the longest series of 
observations :— << 
d. 
Perihelion passage ........0..s.+0++ 1880, Noy. 9°5320, Berlin M.T. 
Longitude of perihelion ......... 262° 30’ 9” ‘ 
Longitude of ascending node 249 35 36 M. Equinox, Ee 
Inclination of orbit ............... 60 41 5 
Perihelion distance ............0. 0°67406 
Motion Direct 
Dr. Holetschek, of the Vienna Observatory, and Mr. 8 © 
Chandler, of Boston, U.S., have both pointed out the general 
resemblance of these elements to those of the comet of 180%. 
From the elements which I have given of our late vis itor, Ht 
: i ice 99. distant 
appears that it was, on the evening of discovery, May 2+, 
At my last observation, namely, on the morning of June a 
these distances had diminished to 69;000,000 and 33,000,000 br 
miles respectively. The comet passed through perihelion oe 
minutes past 7 o’clock in the evening of June 16, Green 
time, and at 20 minutes past noon on June 19, it reached te 
of the earth’s orbit at the ascending node. Now it is 6 ae 
able circumstance, as I pointed out indeed in the previous papers 
that the earth at the time of the nodal passage was 20 as 
the prolongation of the axis of the comet’s tail. Had the com 
been delayed 2-75 days in coming to the line of nodes, the a 
would have been exactly in a line with the sun and the comet, sa 
the comet would of course have been projected on the suns 
as seen from our planet. It does not, however, appeat odes at 
probable that had the earth and comet been in the line of m 
— ee, whose distance I measured from ~ a 
of an ordinary sextant. The resulting length of te 
8° 38’, and, adopting my elements before given, this ie on 
spond to a real length of 8,000,000 of miles. Supposi™S between 
and comet to have been in the line of nodes, the distancé comet 
the two bodies would have been 26,000,000 of ee th 
being that distance within the earth’s orbit. It ap earth by 
fore, that the visible part of the tail would not reach the tail 
18,000,000 of miles. Doubtless the diffused matter © 
extended considerably further from the nucleus than } hat ay 
actually seen, but I do not think it at all probable : 
portion of it could have reached the terrestrial orbit sity 
interesting circumstance in connection with the late co”™ 2 
