Page:Philosophical Transactions - Volume 095.djvu/280

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The result of this investigation is, that by admitting a motion of the sun towards λ Herculis, the annual proper motions of our six stars, of which the sum is 5",3537, may be reduced to real motions of no more than 2",2249.

When first I proposed λ Herculis as an apex for the solar motion, it may be remembered that a reference to future observations was made for obtaining greater accuracy. Such observations we have now before us, in the valuable Tables from which I have taken the proper motions of the six stars; and I shall prove that, with their assistance, we may fix on a solar motion that will be considerably more favourable.

We have already shown, that to ascertain the precise place of the best apex is attended with some difficulty; but from the inspection of the figure which represents the quantities of real motion required when λ Herculis is fixed upon, it will be seen that, by a regular method of approximation, we may turn the line SP into a situation where all the angles of the