a 4 
204 Eiftory of Aftronomy for 1798. > [Aprif . 
jeéts fenfible, amd alwayé prefent to their 
¥iew. . : p 
Citizen Le Francois, therefore, is 
the perfon to whom we may apply what 
Virgil faid of Palinurus ; 
_ Sydera cunéta notat tacito labentia ceelo 5 
as he really performs what Palinurus 
was unable to-do. The female citizen 
Le Francors has already reduced 6000, 
and fhe promifes us 4000 more for this 
year, although there are thirty-fix ope- 
rations to each. . In the month of Sep- 
tember I placed in the oblervatory of 
the military fchool a new meridian 
telefcope, made by Lenore, with 
an objeét-glafs of €CAROCHE, with a 
large orifice : it is better placed than the 
firft; the fupports have no conneétion 
with the roof, and the inftrument 
will be lefs fubje€t to vary from change 
of temperature. With this infrument 
‘we fhali continue to determine the right 
afeenfions of the fundamental ftars of all. 
“our zones of the 50,000 flars.. 
The phyfical theory of aftronomy has 
alfo a remarkable epoch in this year. Ci- 
tizen LEPLACE, to whom we are in- 
debted for the explication of the accelera- 
‘tion of the moon, has difcovered that the 
apogee and the node have alfo fecular 
equations; and a great number of ob- 
fervations have verified this noble difco- 
very. It was ufefal, howe er, to_con- 
firm it further, by obfesvations of the 
middle age, and of thefe there are fome, 
although very few. The manufcript of 
Jbn-Lunis, an Arabian of the reth cen- 
tury, contains fome moft valuable ob- 
‘fervations: the original is at Leyden; 
‘we have made fome unavailing attempts 
to procure a copy of it. Citizen Caus- 
‘gun, one of our profefiors of Arabic, of- 
fered. to go to Leyden to copy the obfer- 
vations himfelf; but I found a copy of 
them in the manufcripts of J. DELISLE, 
my predeceffor in the college of France; 
and I hope that we fhall foon have the 
yxefults of thefe ineftiraable obfervations. 
—- “The 29th Ventofe (March r9th) the 
‘inftitute propofed for the fubject of a 
prize, the comparifon of 500 obfervations 
‘of the moon with the tables, to determine 
better the twenty-two equations which 
Wwe employ at prefent for the movement 
of the moon; and I know already one 
candidate who has made immenfe calcu- 
fations for this purpofe. Our prize will 
ferve to terminate and to publifh this im- 
portant labour, which, united. with the 
theory of Citizen LePiace, will-add a 
Hew degree of precifion to the tables: of 
Se «oon and the calculation of longi-_ 
see! 4 
_one. 
tudes. If at fea, errors have been cor- 
mitted of three myriameters (fever 
leagues), through the defeét of the tables, 
they will be foon reduced to two or three 
leagues. > 
Citizen MesstER, who is continually 
‘employed in the refearch. of comets, dif- 
covered: one the 23d Germinal {April 12, 
1798) towards the Pleiades: it was {mall 
and withcut a tail, but brilliant emough ; 
it was not to be feen by thie naked eye. 
This is the twenty-firfi that Citizen Mes- 
SKER has difcovered fince 1758, and the 
forty-firft which he has obferved. The 
number of comets attually knewn con- - 
fifts of eighty-eicht, according to the 
catalogue which is in my aitronomy- 
Doctor BurcKHARDT, a fkilful affrono- 
mer of Gotha, who has been at Paris for: 
fome months, was anxious to calculate the 
orbit of this comet, and he did it in two 
days; which may be noted asan extraor- | 
dinary circumftanee. IE have publithed 
the obfervations of Citizen IMESSIER, 
which Dr. BurcKHARDT has reduced: 
and calculated, by employing many poti- 
tions of new ftars by Citizen LEFRAN- 
COIs, nephew of Laranpe. This co- 
met was at nearly the fame diftance from: 
us as the fim, which: diftance changed 
but little during a month = it was feen 
no more after the 5th Prairial (May 24). 
Thad reprefented its route on pafteboard 
for my auditors, as is my ufual method, 
and every one might there find the dif- 
tance and the fituation of the comet for 
every day. Citizen Bouvarb, at the 
obfervatcry, has likewife made a number 
of obfervations, which we thall publifh,, 
together with thofe of Citizen MESSIER,. 
waiting till they appear more in detail in 
the “ Memoirs of the National Infittute of 
Sciences and Arti,” together with the 
chart of its reute, as Citizen Mrssrtrer 
conftantly gave them in the © Memsirs of 
the ci-devant Academy: Br. OLBERS, 
of Bremen, alfo obferved it, when he had 
advice of it by means of the « Zeurnal de 
E APES? : . 
But before this real comet, Paris re- 
founded with the report of a pretended. 
The 27th Nivofe (Jan. 16) they 
fet up the cry of a new comet on the 
Pont Neuf, and many people were confi- 
derably alarmed. at it. Neverthelefs it 
was nothing but Venus, which appeared: 
in broad day over the Luxembourg, ‘the 
day in which 29,000 perions, expecting 
General Buonaparrs, had_ their eyes 
directed, towards. that part... It may be 
feen. thus every. 19th day of the monthy 
i€ attention be g#ven.to it; but it is rare 
that 
