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POPULAR SCIENCE REVIEW. 
CentaurV^ And Pogson understood that it was the comet 
itself that he was searching for, since he wrote as follows, in 
describing the results of his search : — “ I was on the look out 
from Comet-rise (16^.) to Sun-rise the next two mornings, but 
clouds and rain disappointed me. On the third attempt, how- 
ever, I had better luck. Just about 17 5^. mean time a brief 
blue space enabled me to find Biela, and though I could only 
get four comparisons with an anonymous star, it had moved 
forward 2*5 s. in four minutes, and that settled its being the 
right object. I recorded it as ‘ Circular ; bright, with a decided 
nucelus, but no tail, and about 45" in diameter.’ This was in 
strong twilight. Next morning, December 3, I got a much 
better observation of it ; seven comparisons with another 
anonymous star ; two with one of our current Madras Catalogue 
Stars, and two with 7734 Taylor. This time my notes were: 
‘Circular, diameter 75", bright nucleus, a faint but distinct 
tail, 8' in length and spreading, position angle from nucleus 
about 280°.’ I had no time to spare to look for the other 
comet, and the next morning the clouds and rain had returned. 
The positions, the first rough, the second pretty fair, from the 
two known stars, are : — 
Dec. 2. 
3. 
Madras M. T. 
h. m. s. 
17 33 21 
17 25 17 
R. A. 
h. m. s. 
14 7 27 
14 22 2*9 
Apparent N. P. D. 
124 46 
125 4 28 
It is manifest, however, that whatever the object seen by 
Pogson may have been, it was not Biela’s comet ; for the comet 
was due in that part of its orbit no less than twelve weeks 
earlier, and any retardation which could have produced so great 
a delay would have altogether changed the character of the 
comet’s path. 
Still it might be supposed that certainly what Pogson saw 
was on the track of Biela’s comet, was in fact the cluster of 
bodies which produced the meteor-shower of November 27. 
Even this, however, is so far from being demonstrated that 
skilful mathematicians consider the object seen by Pogson to 
have had no connection whatever either with Biela itself or its 
meteoric train. 
This at any rate is certain — a flight of bodies travelling 
on the track of Biela’s comet, and crossing the earth’s orbit on 
November 27, could not possibly have been seen in the positions 
in which Pogson saw a cometic or cloud-like object. We have. 
Professor A. S. Herschel has pointed out, unmistakable evidence 
that Pogson saw one and the same object. For he rated the 
motion of the object on the first morning, and the observed 
