Abstract
DISCOVERY OF A COMET 1912—From The Times of February 26, we learn that a faint comet was discovered by Mr. B. Lowe, at Laura, South Australia, on December 31, 1912. According to the report by Mr. Dodwell, director of the Adelaide Observatory, the object was visible in a small telescope, and was seen to have a short tail; its position on December 30, at 5.30 p.m. (G.M.T.), was about 4° south of Spica, and it was travelling southwards so rapidly that the position on January 5 was about α=1411. 30m., δ=29° 50′ S. An approximate orbit gives February 3 as the time of perihelion passage, when the comet was probably some sixty million miles from the sun, and indicates that the least distance from the earth occurred about the time the object was discovered, and was about twenty-five million miles. Mr. Dodwell also states that Mr. Lowe anticipated Mr. Gale in the discovery of comet 1910a, but did not notify the fact until later.
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Our Astronomical Column . Nature 91, 19–20 (1913). https://doi.org/10.1038/091019a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/091019a0