Pons' Comet

Abstract

THIS comet has been visible here some time. I first saw it at 9 p.m. on January 15, but only for two or three minutes, through the clouds. On the following evening (January 16) I saw it well. To the naked eye it looked like a star of the first magnitude seen through a haze; the tail was visible, but not at all conspicuous. In the telescope (4-inch) the head was large, but appeared wholly nebulous, with a bright central condensation; the tail broad, but faint. I could only trace it some 2° or 3°. The brightness of the nucleus must have been considerable, as when close to the horizon I could see it through a pretty thick cloud. Subsequently the nucleus has seemed to me decidedly more disk-like, I suppose from being better seen. I may add that the sunset-glows and the unusually cloudy weather we are having have interfered greatly with satisfactory observation.