PONS COMET.

Te Aroha News, Volume I, Issue 34, 26 January 1884, Page 6

PONS COMET.

A comlt is now visible in our western sky. This visitant from the depths of space is know n as Pons Comet, and appeared last in the year 1812. Thursday night it was visible to the naked eye, but unfortunately u hen found it wa?: just entering a bank ot clouds, and no telescopic observations could therefore be made. "With a hand telescope the nucleus and tail were distinctly visible, the latter stretching towards the north. The position of the comet this evening- will beright ascension, 23h. 31m.; declination, 7deg. south. It sets at 9.04 p.m. This comet was discovered first upon its return to the sun by Mr Brooks, in the United States. Since then it has been travelling towards our southern hemisphere. At the present tinrj its distance from the earth is a little o\ L-r 60,000,000 miles. On the 26th January it will be in perihelion with the sun, and will then be distant from that luminary about 72 million miles. In the observations made at the obsei vatories in the Northern HemUpliere great fluctuations were noticed in the light of this comet. This is probably the reason why w e have not seen it bei oi c the present time, as according to the computed brightness it (-■hould have been visible to the naked eye towards the end of last month. The a\ euther we have lately experienced has also doubtless prevented it from being visible before. The variability in the light ot these mysterious bodies was vei y noticeable in the case of comet Wells in 18S2, which appeared for only a short time in out evening sky. In the present case the brijfhtne^ at discovery being taken as unity, it .should be now I L7 times as bright as when iirst observed. The last accounts from E m ope mentioned that faint traces of the tail could only be seen During the short time the comet remained visible last evening, the tail was very apparent in the s.nall telescope. J. T. S'fEvr.xsoN\ Auckland, January ]Sth, 188-4.