The New Hampshire Gazette And General Advertiser

SALEM, January 29. The Comet, whose appearance on Wednesday the 21st inst. was mentioned in our last, was not to be seen again, by reason of continued cloudy weather, till last Sunday evening:--its lustre and apparent magnitude were then diminished to such a degree, that, it is probable, it might have passed unnoticed, if it had not been discovered before. Its place in the Heavens was now greatly altered, having in the preceding four days, traversed a tract of 11 or 12 degrees, between Aries and Aquarius, and in a direction very nearly upon the same meridian, northward:: --it set that evening about 15 minutes after 8 o'clock, at W. S. W. a little westerly.- The two succeeding evenings were cloudy: but the last evening we had another view of the same star, which now appeared much dimmer than on Sunday evening, both on account of the moon's light being increased, and its own much lessened. Its motion seems still to continue very nearly in the direction of the meridian as before, and rectilinear, and is still moving northwards, tho with greatly retarded velocity, having in the last three days advanced about 2 1/2 degrees; so that its place is now about 14 1/2 degrees directly N. from the spot in which it appeared on the 21st. It set the last evening W. by S. about three degrees southerly, at about 20 or 25 minutes past 8 o'clock. This Comet is, therefore, now evidently moving off towards its aphelion; and though its apparent magnitude and lustre are daily diminishing, yet it is probable an attentive observer may be able to discover it, after the moon shall have passed the full, in a part of the Heavens very little distant from its present situation; when possibly it may appear rather more distinctly than at present, though its apparent magnitude will be much less.