Page:Philosophical Transactions - Volume 095.djvu/63

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of ascertaining the Magnitude of small celestial Bodies.
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deceptions, I fixed them up, against a tablet 154 inches from the eye, where it was intended project the spurious disks of the globules, and examined them at that distance with the naked eye. Comparing ,then the size of the black to the white, I judged No. 1 of the black to be a little larger than No. 6 of the white circles. By a measure taken afterwards, it appeared that the black one was ,40 and the white ,39. Without sup- posing that every estimation may be made at this distance with equal accuracy, to the hundredth part of an inch, it is sufficiently evident that no material deception can take place in estimating by either of the sets of circles on account of their colour.

17th Experiment, with different Illumination.

A similar experiment was made in the microscope, by which the globules Were measured. Two of them were placed on the measuring stand, and with an illumination from below, they appeared black, and were projected on white paper. The diameter of each globule and the distance between them were then measured. After this, I caused the illumination to come from above, and the globules being now of a silvery white, were projected on a slate. In this situation, when I repeated the former measures, no difference could be perceived.

18th Experiment. Measures of spurious Disks.

The spurious disk of a globule was then projected on the tablet where the white circles were placed. While I was comparing it with No. 4, which is ,31 in diameter and estimated it to be a little less than the circle, the spurious disk grew brighter; but it remained still of the same size; so that a variation in the quantity of the illumination will make no difference.

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