Comet Nicolett Pons 1821 seen from Yorkshire

 

Leeds Intelligencer Monday 5^th March 1821

The Comet. The new comet Observatory, Gosport, Feb. 24.

A comet made its appearance here last evening at 35 minutes past six o'clock, within two or three degrees of Algenib, the last star in the wing of Pegasus. It is 32 degrees to the east of the sun, and sets with Saturn soon after eight o'clock, about W. N. W. but is 18.5 degrees to the north of that planet. Its small light nucleus was surrounded by a diffused coma, three fourths of a degree in diameter by the sextant, and its perpendicular tail, was nearly 4 degrees in length when the coruscations were most vivid, through the upper part of which a small star of the sixth magnitude was perceived by the help of a telescope. This is unquestionably the same comet that Seigneur Pons, Astronomer of the Ductless of Lucca, discovered in the constellation Pegasus, in the evening of thee 21st ult., but which, to our knowledge, has not yet been seen by the English astronomers.

Leeds Intelligencer Monday 5^th March 1821

The new comet has been seen at Wakefield, and also at Bingley. Its nucleus is exceedingly brilliant; its tail, which is about four degrees in length, appears larger at the beginning than at the extremity. Its apparent motion is very slow; it has barely proceeded two degrees and a half in right ascension and declension from the 21st of January last, to the 22nd of Feb. It sets about eight o'clock in the evening. The most favourable time for seeing it is, therefore, from six to half-past seven o'clock. It is in the West and still in the constellation of Pegasus. We have not yet heard of its having been observed at Leeds.

Note

This was comet Nicolett-Pons (J N Nicolett Royal Observatory Paris and J L Pons Marlia Italy) was discovered on January 21^st 1821 near gamma Pegasus, it was at its brightest on March 6^th when it was reported at between magnitude 3 to 4.