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Letter, 'An account of astronomical observations proposed to be made in South America' from J M [James Melville] Gilliss to Edward Sabine

Reference number: AP/31/7

Date: 25 October 1848

Description

Gilliss details the astronomical observations he intends to make: 'Mars on the meridian and extra-meridian, during the oppositions of 1849 and 1852; and Venus under analogous conditions at the inferior conjunctions and stationary terms of 1850 and 1852'. He asks for counsel from Sabine regarding his proposed observations and for suggestions of 'new series which the locality offers peculiar advantages for making'.

Annotations in ink throughout. Marked on front as 'To be printed in full in the Proceedings. P M R [Peter Mark Roget]'.

Subject: Astronomy

Received 22 November 1848. Communicated by Edward Sabine.

This letter was published in full in volume 5 of Abstracts of the Papers Printed in the Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London [later Proceedings of the Royal Society] as 'An account of astronomical observations proposed to be made in South America. By S. M. Gilliss, in an extract of a letter to Lieut.-Col. Sabine, R. A., For. Sec. R. S. Communicated by Lieut.-Col. Sabine'.

Reference number
AP/31/7
Earliest possible date
25 October 1848
Physical description
Ink on paper
Page extent
6 pages
Format
Manuscript

Creator name

James Melville Gilliss

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Citation

James Melville Gilliss, Letter, 'An account of astronomical observations proposed to be made in South America' from J M [James Melville] Gilliss to Edward Sabine, 25 October 1848, AP/31/7, The Royal Society Archives, London, https://makingscience.royalsociety.org/items/ap_31_7/letter-an-account-of-astronomical-observations-proposed-to-be-made-in-south-america-from-j-m-james-melville-gilliss-to-edward-sabine, accessed on 09 December 2025

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    The 'Archived Papers' collection is comprised of original manuscript scientific papers and letters submitted to the Royal Society which remained unpublished or were abstracted in the journal 'Proceedings of the Royal Society' published from 1830 onwards.

    Dates: 1768 - 1989

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