brilliancy on the 20th. Full moonlight prevented any further records of the vanishing star, but taking advantage of a very fine interval during the totality of the lunar eclipse of June 1st, its invisibility was satisfactorily established; and though sought for on every suitable opportunity throughout the following five months, it has not since re-appeared.
The light comparisons actually made were as follows:
1863 May 20th . . . . . . . . . . . . | 9·1 | magnitude. |
1863 May„ 21st . . . . . . . . . . . . | 9·6 | magnitude.„ |
1863 May„ 22nd . . . . . . . . . . . . | 10·1 | magnitude.„ |
1863 May„ 24th . . . . . . . . . . . . | 10·5 | magnitude.„ |
1863 May„ 25th . . . . . . . . . . . . | 11·0 | magnitude.„ |
1863 May„ 28th . . . . . . . . . . . . | 11·4 | magnitude.„ |
1863 May„ 27th . . . . . . . . . . . . | 11·9 | magnitude.„ |
1863 May„ 28th . . . . . . . . . . . . | 12·2 | magnitude.„ |
Of the other new variable, situated in the constellation Sagittarius, little more can be said than that it was first seen on July 19th 1883, as a somewhat ruddy star of the 8½ magnitude; and that from then until the present time it has slowly and steadily diminished to the 12th magnitude, or one twenty-fifth of its greatest recorded intensity of light. Dates of its actual invisibility in previous years cannot be furnished as in the case of U Scorpii, but if visible at all it was most certainly less than 11½ magnitude on August 30th 1859; on July 22nd, and on August 7th 1860.
The approximate positions of the two new stars, reduced to 1860, are:
Light Range. | Right Ascension. | South Declination. | |||||
h. | m. | s. | ° | ′ | ″ | ||
U. Scorpii | 9·5 to below 13·5 magnitude | 16 | 14 | 25·5 | 17 | 33 | 21 |
T Sagittarii. | 8·5 to below 12·0 magnitude„ | 19 | 8 | 9·4 | 17 | 12 | 11 |
N. R. Pogson.
Madras Observatory,
December 1863.