172 ' Scientific Intelligence: 
rally than seems to have been the case, the favour of those who 
may have it in their power to add to the collection. The Mu- 
seum had no doubt for some years been allowed to fall into a 
state of neglect, as happened with the Natural History Collec- 
tion of the College : this last has now risen into splendour from 
its ashes ; and as the Museum of the Antiquarians has been 
recently arranged, and put upon such a footing, that due regard 
and advantage is taken of whatever is sent to the Collection, we 
hope soon to see it assume the important station it ought to hold 
as a public collection of Antiquities relative to Scotland. 
Art. XXXIII.— scientific INTELLIGENCE. 
I. NATURAL PHILOSOPHY. 
ASTRONOMY. 
1. Great Comet of 1811. — The great size and beauty of the 
'comet of 1811, and the long period during which it continued 
visible, from 27th March 1811 to August 17. 1812, render it 
one of the most remarkable which has appeared in modem 
times. Several elements of its orbit have been published by 
different astronomers ; but, with the view of taking into account 
all the smaller corrections, such as the precession, aberration, 
nutation, parallax, and the disturbing forces of the planets, M. F. 
Argelander of Konigsburg has recomputed its elements, and the 
details of his computation will occupy a separate work, which 
is now in the press. The basis of M. Argelander’s calculations 
are the elliptic elements of M. Bessel ; and his data are those 
obtained from Zach, Bessel, Bond, and Wisniewski. The fol- 
lowing are the elements which he obtained : 
Limits of 
u. Error. 
Passage of Perihelion, M. Time at Paris, September, 12.261874 zt 0.00109 
Distance of Perihelion from Node, 
Longitude of Perihelion, _ _ - 
Longitude of Node 
Inclination of Orbit, 
Perihelion distance, 
Excentricity, . _ . 
Period, - - - . - 
65° 24' 7".891 zt 3".911 
75 0 58.581 zt 4.656 
140 25 6.472 ± 2.526 
106 57 33.833 zt 2.250 
L03540074 -f- 0.00001 
0.99515325 zh 0.00005 
Years, 3122,45 zt 50.4 
