Determine whether D. C. Berry observed Comet C/1946 P1 on 10 or 16 August 1946

Determine whether D. C. Berry observed Comet C/1946 P1 (Jones) on 10 August 1946, 16 August 1946, or on both dates, thereby resolving the discrepancy between contemporary newspaper reports and later comet catalogues.

Background

D. C. Berry was reported as having photographically confirmed Albert Jones’s comet from Dunedin. The paper presents conflicting dates: a newspaper report states that Berry observed the comet on 10 August 1946, whereas another account identifies 16 August 1946 as the confirmation date. The authors leave unresolved whether one or both observations occurred and whether the earlier observation was submitted internationally.