Dr. Herschei/s Miscellaneous Observations. 
27 
examined them both, and marked down their colour, red. The 
nth of April, 1782, I looked at them again, and noted my 
having seen them distinctly, with a power of 460 ; and that 
they were single stars. 
The 24th of last May, I missed one of the two, and examin- 
ing the spot again the 25th, and many times afterwards, found 
that one of them was not to be seen. The situation of the 
stars is such that, not having fixed instruments, I could not 
well determine which of the two was the lost one. I therefore 
requested the favour of my much esteemed friend, the astro- 
nomer royal, to ascertain the remaining star ; and it appears 
from Dr. Maskelyne's answer to my letter, that the 55th 
Herculis is the one which we have lost. 
Remarkable Phenomena in an Eclipse of the Moon. 
The 2 2d of October, 1790, when the moon was totally 
eclipsed, I viewed the disk of it with a twenty-feet reflector, 
carrying a magnifying power of 360. In several parts of it 
I perceived many bright, red, luminous points. Most of them 
were small and round. The brightness of the moon, notwith- 
standing the great defalcation of light occasioned by the 
eclipse, would not permit me to view it long enough to take 
the places of these points. They were, indeed, very nume- 
rous ; as I suppose that I saw, at least, one hundred and fifty of 
them . Their light did not much exceed that of Mons Porphy- 
rites Hevelii . 
We know too little of the surface of the moon to venture at 
a surmise of the cause from whence the great brightness, simi- 
larity, and remarkable colour of these points could arise. 
Slough, Dec. 17, 1791. 
E 2 
