Page:Philosophical Transactions - Volume 003.djvu/183

 the time of their first apparition, their duration, place, motion direct or retrograde, flow or swift; the bigness, figure and colour of their Heads, and the bigness, shape and position of their Tayles.

He begins his enumeration and History of the Comets from A. 1656, after the Creation of the World, or from A. 2292. before the Nativity of our Lord; where the Reader will meet with a great and pleasant variety of the shapes, colors, brightness, magnitudes, &c. of Comets, together with the various consequences, noted by Authors and Men of an Astrological and Divinatory Genius. He reckons up about 250 Comets in number; not as if there had not been many more, but because no more have been Registred in Ages, either negligent of, less knowing in such matters. He also takes notice of more Comets than one appearing at once, whereof there are to be found such Examples, that several times have been seen two, sometimes three, and twice four together; which latter he observes to have hapned A. 1509, and A. 1618. He notes some of the forme of a Wheel, some of that of an Horn, others of the shape of a Sword, Dagger, Zable, Javelin, Hallebard, Dragon, Beard, Flaming Pillar, Timber-beam, Dish, Shield, Tube, Pyramid; others with two or three Tayles; others, Trayn-less; others so resplendent, as to enlighten the Night considerably, yea as bright as the Sun, obscuring all other Stars, some round, some ovall, some square; others having their Train discontinued and interrupted in one or more places, as if it were absorbed by the Sky, and emerged again; others having Tayles like Peacocks; others such, as extended themselves into the length, some of 30, some of 40, 45, 60, 70, 100 degrees and above.

He takes notice, that before the Noble Tycho no Comet hath been exactly and fully observed or described, and he gives a large account not onely of the Comets of the said Tycho's Observation, which appear'd A. 1577. 1590, but also of that, which was seen A. 1607, (accurately described by Longomontanus and Kepler) and of those of 1618, especially that famous one of the same year, which at first was 71 Semi-diameters of the Earth distant from the Earth, but at last farther from it than the Sun, in regard it had towards the end a lesser Parallax, than he: besides that it Rh