H alley's Comet, 



[Oct, 



[Mr. Taylor, of the Madras Observatory, has kindly sent us the 

 Annuai re da Bureau des Longitudes fox the year 183G, thinking that 

 the remarks of M. Arago on the Comet of Halley might prove interest- 

 ing to our readers, as a supplement to his own observations to be found 

 at p. 165 of our last number; the appearances of the comet in India 

 and in Europe, having presented great discordancies. It will be noted 

 that the singular luminous sectors, seen by the observers in Europe, 

 were not remarked here; nor is there any mention made by M. Arago 

 of the very remarkable " corneal shadow" witnessed by Mr. Taylor. 

 We find the observations of M. Arago translated, and conveniently 

 abridged, in the Records of General Science, of which we therefore 

 avail ourselves.— Editor Madras Journal.'] 



" Hallei/s Comet. — This remarkable visitor was first seen in the 

 beautiful sky of Italy, on the 5th August last, at the Observatory of 

 Rome, by Dumouchel and Vico. Its position then, was near £ of the 

 Bull. On the 2lst of the same month, it was observed at Paris, Bres- 

 law and Naples ; on the 22d at Vienna and Berlin ; 23d at London ; 

 24th at Nimes ; 26th at Dublin; 27th at Florence and Bologna ; 31st 

 at Yale College, Newhaven, in North America, by Professor Olmsted 

 and Tutor Loomis, its right ascension, being by observation, 5h. 50'5m., 

 and its declination N. 24° 46''8 ; on the 1st September at Turin 

 and Geneva. By a letter, dated Madras, 27th September, which I have 

 received, it appears*, that " no trace of the mysterious body can be 

 found."f It was seen by the naked eye at Paris on the 23d Sept. and 

 at Geneva on the 24th. On the 15th October, with the naked eye, the 

 tail of the comet embraced an extent of 20°, but on the 16th, it appeared 

 to extend only 10° or 12°. On the 30th, it was very distinctly visible 

 to the naked eye all over Europe and America. This was 47 days be- 

 fore it reached its perihelion, which happened on the 16th of Novem- 

 ber. The previous calculation of Damoiseau gave the 4th of November 

 for this event, that of Pontecoulant the 7th of the same month. But a 

 more complete calculation of the action of the earth, and, especially, 

 the substitution for the mass of Jupiter of the fraction t -oVt» i nstea d oi 

 rendered it necessary to add 6 days to the previous determina- 

 tion, which brought the number to the 1 3th, within 3 days of the actual 

 date. When Pontecoulant thus deduced the 13th as the date of the 

 perihelion, he proceeded on the calculation, that 1054 globes similar to 



* This is a mistake, as will, be seen by reference to our last, number p. 165. It was first 

 seen on the 30th August, but, owing to the intervention of cloudy weather, no glimpse 

 could be caught again until the night of the 19th of September. On the following night 

 the Editor saw it through the telescope at the Madras Observatory.— Editor Madras Journal. 



t It was visible in the Bombay presidency on the 6th October.— Epit, Records. 



