ABSTRACT
The other end of its orbital oval is near that of Jupiter, so that it belongs to what is now known as the Jupiter family of 'planetary' comets. This comet also confirmed a fact, stated by Hevelius, that comets contract on approaching the sun, the contraction at the 1838 return being in the ratio of 800,000 to 1, rendering any doubt as to the actuality of the phenomenon impossible. It was remarkable in other ways, first for the scare caused by Olbers' announcement that it would pass through the earth's orbit on 1832. A little latitude in the interpretation of the Chinese observations, and a slight change in the elements from time to time, are all that is requisite to provide a complete set of twenty-five appearances of this comet, most of which were observed before the invention of the telescope. The most important result of the appearance of this comet was the foundation of Harvard College Observatory.
