Faraday to George Biddell Airy   5 July 1861

The Green | Hampton Court | 5 July 1861

My dear Sir

I cannot wonder that the BA. want to hear you upon the Eclipse. Considering how astronomers &c from all parts of Europe may come to the Association it would be astonishing if the authorities did not desire it. Your kind note1 I shall report to the Managers2 but I am quite sure of the spirit in which they will receive it - for whether at our house or elsewhere their first desire is for the good of Science[.]

I am looking nightly at the beautiful comet3 Ah that you would tell us next season some of your thoughts about comets their physical nature - laws &c. What a subject for a man who has the feelings & the power of a poet combined with the strict & regulated principles of an astronomer & Mathematician?

Ever My dear Sir | Yours Truly | M. Faraday

G.B. Airy Esqr | &c &c &c

2
If Faraday did this, it was not recorded in the minutes.
3
This comet appeared on 30 June 1861 and at its peak the tail covered nearly 100° of arc. Ann.Reg., 1861, 103: 99-100.

Please cite as “Faraday4025,” in Ɛpsilon: The Michael Faraday Collection accessed on 8 May 2024, https://epsilon.ac.uk/view/faraday/letters/Faraday4025