Abstract
COMETARY STATISTICS.—Some interesting figures concerning comets have been educed by M. Borrelly, and appear in Nos. 51–52 of the Gazette Astronomique. For 376 comets discovered since the sixteenth century he gives the place of discovery, Marseilles heading the list with 64, Paris coming second with 46, and Geneva, Florence, Lick, Nice, and Berlin following with 16, 15, 14, 12, and 12 respectively. It is noteworthy that of British observatories, Slough is top with seven discoveries, and Bristol, twenty-second in the complete list, has four to its credit. Nearly two-thirds of the comets discussed were discovered in the morning before sunrise, and the second half of the year has proved more prolific in cometary discoveries than the first. Of these 376 comets, 106 were periodic and 19 have been observed at more than one return; only 56 have been visible to the naked eye, and seven could be seen during full daylight.
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Our Astronomical Column . Nature 89, 199–200 (1912). https://doi.org/10.1038/089199a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/089199a0