Comet observed from Gibraltar in 1860 with a Thomas Cooke telescope

 Colonel De Rottenburg wrote in a letter dated June 24^th 1860 from Gibraltar. “ I observed a brilliant comet in the constellation of Auriga this evening, a line from beta through a Geminorum continued about three times their distance passed through its nucleus.

It was easily seen with the naked eye, the nucleus was a little less brilliant than Castor . Its altitude above the western horizon about eqwual to that of Venus at the same time.

I turned my 6 feet equatorial of 4.5 inches aperture made by Messrs Thomas Cooke & Sons of |York on the comet.

It has a bifid tail, very like that of the year 1846 as shown in Keith Johnsone’s Atlas of Astronomy which is edited by Mr Hind. I used powers of 26, 50 and 100 on the comet; the nucleus has a very sensible disk. It bore the powers of 100 very well; one portion of the tail is much longer than the other, the south preceding being the longer.

With 100 power the nucleus was situated within the nebulosity, and the nebulosity was more arched and prominent on the south preceding part. It was first seen by a gentleman here on Saturday evening 23^rd June.

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