284 RESULTS OF OBSERVATIONS OF COMETS I. AND II. 



RESULTS OF OBSERVATIONS OF COMETS I. AND II., 



1888, AT WINDSOR, N.S.W. 



By John Tebbutt, F.R.A.S., &c. 



[Read before the Royal Society of N.S.W. , November 7, i&S8.] 



Comet I., 1888. 



This comet was detected with the naked eye by Mr. Sawerthal 

 of the photographic department of the Royal Observatory, Cape 

 of Good Hope, on the morning of February 19th, civil time, 1888. 

 A position was at once determined by Mr. Finlay, first assistant 

 at the Observatory, and telegraphed to Kiel, whence information 

 of the discovery was distributed to all parts of the astronomical 

 world. About noon on February 23rd, I learned from the Sydney 

 Morning Herald, that the comet had been discovered. Its rough 

 position for the morning of discovery was given, but the name of 

 the discoverer did not become known to me for some weeks. It 

 appeared from the telegraphic announcement in the Herald that 

 reports of the comet's appearance had been received from various 

 parts of Victoria, the first being from a Mr. Nolan at Branxholme 

 where the comet was seen in the night of the 19th, meaning, I 

 presume, the morning of the 20th. On the morning of the 23rd 

 it was seen by Mr. Hunter, Chief Officer of the Julia Percy, and 

 was described as having a tail about three degrees long. 

 Unfortunately when intelligence of the discovery reached me, 

 the weather was becoming unfavourable for observation, and it 

 was not till the morning of the 28th, civil time, that I succeeded 

 in securing a position. Seventeen excellent measures were then 

 obtained with the position filar-micrometer of the 8 inch equatorial. 

 The nucleus during the first three weeks was stellar, and, except 

 when blurred by atmospheric causes, was well adapted for accurate 

 observation. On the morning of March 29th I found that the 

 comet's nucleus had become considerably elongated, and presented 

 two points of condensation. A brilliant point in the following 

 condensation was chosen for observation. On the following 

 morning it was remarked that the nucleus had become greatly 

 elongated, its major axis making an angle of about 20° or 30° with 

 a parallel of declination. On and after the this date the following 

 or brighter part of the nucleus was observed, but in consequence 

 of the major axis being approximately in the direction of a parallel 

 of declination the resulting differences of right ascension are not 

 so satisfactory as the differences of declination. The nucleus was 





