Mr. Pond on the parallax of thefixed stars. 165 
This quantity by the French refraction employed by Dr. 
Brinkley, would be reduced to about 0.5". 
Winter 
et Cygni. 
Summer 
Observations. 
u 
Observations. 
9 l8l2 
57,120 
n 
20 1813 
57>489 
1813 30 5^,933 
29 
57 S 66 
Difference 
°>433 
From the above observations then, it appears that in the 
three stars supposed by Dr. Brinkley to have the greatest 
parallax, viz. ct Lyras, a Cygni, and a Aquilas, we find dis- 
cordances between the summer and winter observations of 
nearly half a second ; now, though these quantities are so 
much smaller than those found by Dr. Brinkley, they appear 
to me to be equally independent of any accidental error of 
observation, and it is not improbable but they may originate 
from some similar cause. But, I confess, I doubt much if this 
cause be parallax, and for the following reasons. 
I do not find these discordances sensibly increased by direct 
comparison with an opposite star as Capella ; now the maxi- 
mum of parallax is nearly as great in Capella, as in «. Aquil^, 
at least in the proportion of 4 to 5 ; it is very unlikely then, 
the parallax of the one star should be above 5", and the other 
an insensible quantity. It may be remarked, that both Dr. 
Brinkley and myself, find nearly the same discordance in all 
these stars, though the deduced parallax necessarily comes 
out very different. This is very unlikely to happen from 
parallax. Moreover, these stars all pass the meridian about 
the time of the winter solstice at their maximum of parallax, 
