“From the Paris Moniteur
Date
12-30-1811
Newspaper
Mirror of the Times
Page and Column
Page 1, Column 5
Newspaper Location
Augusta, Georgia
Serial Number
628
Abstract
News of the comet of 1811 from a European observatory.
Transcript
From the Paris Moniteur. Having been requested to [unreadable] my elements of the Comet by actual observation; I have the honor to communicate to you their result. The Comet was nearest the sun on the 12th of Sept. it was seen 39 millions of leagues distant from that body, and 34 millions of leagues, from the earth. From the above date, its distance from the sun will increase, and its distance from the earth will decrease, till about the middle of October, when the least distance of the comet from the earth will still be more than 31 millions of leagues. It is not probable that the brilliance of the comet will go on increasing; for it will lose somewhat more of its luminous aspect by its removal from the sun, than it will gain by its approximation to the earth. In general, the situaton of the orbit of this coimet is such, that it can never approach near the earth. The nucleus of this comet appears separated from its coma, which surrounds it in the form of a parabolic ring. This appearance which has not yet been observed in other comets, is ascertained by the observations of all the astronomers of Paris, and will doubtless be confirmed by those of other astronomers. Probably, however, it does not at all follow that the body is absolutely detached from the coma as the space which appears void may be filled with particles much less luminous than the rest of the coma. The following are the elements of the orbit of this comet:--Perihelion distance 1,022,41. The instant of its passage by the perihelion 48 minutes past nine in the evening of the 12th Sept. 1811. Ascending node, 13 deg. 140 min. inclination, 72 deg. 12 min. place; of the perihelion, 74 deg. 12 min. I am, &c. BURKHART, Member of the Institute Paris, September 20.
Recommended Citation
"“From the Paris Moniteur" (1811). New Madrid Compendium Far-Field Database. 615.
https://digitalcommons.memphis.edu/cas-ceri-new-madrid-compendium/615
