Discovery
The 1919 December 7 issue of the Beobachtungs-Zirkulare der Astronomische Nachrichten included a prediction for the return of periodic comet Holmes by C. W. L. M. Ebell. The 1919 December 28 issue of the Beobachtungs-Zirkulare der Astronomische Nachrichten said that W. Baade (Hamburg Observatory, Germany) began a photographic search along its predicted path and on December 10 found a nebulous object on plates 2049 and 2051. This publication added that bad weather hindered attempts to confirm whether the object was Holmes or not, although it was noted that the motion in declination was different from that expected for that comet.
Positions
Analysis
The 1920 February 8 issue of the Beobachtungs-Zirkulare der Astronomische Nachrichten noted that R. Schorr (Hamburg Observatory, Germany) had exposed plates 2053 and 2054 on the expected position of Holmes on December 26, but detected nothing cometary. It was concluded that Holmes' comet had not been found and that Baade had photographed something else.
Sources:
Beobachtungs-Zirkulare der Astronomische Nachrichten, 1 (1919 Dec. 7), p. 32
Beobachtungs-Zirkulare der Astronomische Nachrichten, 1 (1919 Dec. 28), p. 38
Beobachtungs-Zirkulare der Astronomische Nachrichten, 2 (1920 Feb. 8), p. 7
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