Mr. Gregory's Account of the Discovery of a Comet , &c. 51 
certain of it. When the night was completely come on, it be- 
came evident it was a comet, the coma being of a white light, 
hazy, and ill defined. I could perceive no nucleus, nor as 
yet any appearance of a tail. 
I waited for, and was fortunate enough to obtain, an ob- 
servation of its passage over the meridian under the pole, at 
4 h 8' 30" by Earnshaw's clock, or 4 h 6' 43" sidereal time; 
its zenith-distance, by Bird's quadrant, being 75 0 16' 1 6". 
The observation of the passage over the meridian was taken 
by guessing when a hazy dim appearance, about the shape 
and size of a hen's egg, was in the centre of the field of the 
transit instrument ; any light, however weak, effacing all the 
light of the comet. 
These observations were merely formed from the best judg- 
ment I could make by the naked eye, for, as I before ob- 
served, the light of the comet was so weak, as not to bear 
any degree of light sufficient to render visible the wires 
in the night telescope ; which I have mounted on a polar 
axis, with a proper system of wires to take differences of right 
ascension and declination. 
I continued to watch the comet until three o'clock in the 
morning, when it had ascended to some considerable altitude; 
I could perceive with the night telescope a very faint, but yet 
sufficiently evident tail, and that the comet had moved a few 
minutes to the west ; that is, had increased its right ascen- 
sion, and also its polar distance. I then observed the comet 
with other telescopes, of less aperture and deeper powers ; in 
such it appeared a confused white hazy light, nor could I per- 
ceive any nucleus or tail, although it was visible in the night- 
glass, with its direction towards the zenith. 
H a 
