Page:Philosophical Transactions - Volume 095.djvu/69

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of ascertaining the Magnitude of small celestial Bodies.
57

so that the new star may be called a small one of the 8th."

With the 10-feet reflector, power 496,3 , I viewed it attentively, and comparing it with g and h, Fig. 3, could find no difference in the appearance but what might be owing to its being a larger star.

By way of putting this to a trial, I changed the power to 879,4, but could not find that it magnified the new one more than it did the stirs g and h.

"I cannot perceive any disk; its apparent magnitude with this power is greater than that of the star g, and also a very little greater than that of h; but in, the finder, and the night-glass g is considerably smaller than the new star, and h is also a very little smaller."

I compared it now with a star which in the finder appeared to be a very little larger; and in the telescope with 879,4 the apparent magnitude of this star was also larger than that of the new one.

"As far as I can judge without seeing the asteroids of Mr. Piazzi and Dr. Olbers at the same time with Mr. Harding's, the last must be at least as small as the smallest of the former, which is that of Dr. Olbers."

"The star k, Fig. 1, observed Sept. 24, is wanting, and was therefore the object I was in search of, which by computation must have been that day in the place where I saw it."

"The new star being now in the meridian with all those to which I am comparing it, and the air at this altitude being very clear, I still find appearances as before described: the new object cannot be distinguished from the stars by magnifying power, so that this celestial body is a true asteroid."

MDCCCV.
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