Also I began to make balloon ascensions.
It is easily seen that if the mirror be rotated at the same angular velocity as the sun the right ascensions will remain equal throughout the day, and therefore this device reflects the rays in the direction of the earth's axis; a second fixed mirror reflects them in any other fixed direction.
Since the transit circle is preferable to the equatorial for such observations wherein great accuracy is required, the declination and hour circles of an equatorial are employed, not for the determination of the right ascensions and declinations of celestial objects, but for directing the telescope with ease and certainty to any object situated in an approximately known position, and which may or may not be visible to the naked eye, or to define approximately the position of an unknown object.
A pair of stars of known declination are selected such that their zenith distances, when on the meridian, are nearly equal and opposite, and whose right ascensions differ by five or ten minutes of time.
Formerly attempts were made to determine parallaxes by measuring changes in the absolute right ascensions and declinations of the stars from observations with the meridian circle.