Abstract
HARTWIG'S COMET (1880 d).βIn a circular issued by Prof. Winnecke from the Observatory of Strasburg on the 1st inst., he gives reasons for assuming that the comet detected by Dr. Hartwig on September 29 may have a much shorter period than was conjectured in his first circular. On calculating parabolic elements from the Strasburg observations of September 29 and October 8, and one by Prof. Auwers at Berlin on October 17, MM. Ambronn and Wislicenus, students in the University of Strasburg, found the middle observation could not be more closely represented than with an error of something over two minutes of arc. Prof. Winnecke, as was stated in our previous notice, considered he had reason for suspecting the identity of Hartwig's comet with that of 1506, and a further examination of the historical descriptions has led him to direct attention to the comets of 1382, 1444, and 1569, and with the perihelion passage fixed to July 13, 1444, and October 15, 1569, he finds geocentric positions which he regards as in sufficient agreement with the records. A period of revolution of about 621/3 years is therefore obtained, and an ellipse with this period has been adapted by Dr. Schur and Dr. Hartwig to the observations on September 29 and October 14 and 24. The resulting elements are as follow:β
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Our Astronomical Column . Nature 23, 43 (1880). https://doi.org/10.1038/023043a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/023043a0