THE TRANSIT OF VENUS.

Evening Star, Issue 3686, 15 December 1874, Page 3

THE TRANSIT OF VENUS.

To the Editor. Sir, —As it appears that the transit was not visible at Dunedin, a short account of it as seen at Nelson may not be unacceptable to your readers. The day was cloudy, and we who were on the look-out were afraid at one time that we should not he able to see the transit. We were a very unscientific group. One or two had telescopes, one or two more sextants, I had an opera glass and others had nothing but bits of colored or smoked glass One ingenious individual made use of a square gin bottle—previously emptied of its contents. A fewminut*s after one the clouds cleared away, so far as to allow an excellent view of the sun’s disc Nobody knew exactly what to look for, so that it was not until Venus had made a notch of about half her own diameter in the sun’s disc that we recognised her presence, I then watched the notch grow deet er, until it became a round black spot, intensely black, and as sharply defined as if it had been a hole punched out of the sun. The straining on the eyes was so great, that after T bad seen a clear interval between Venus and the edge of the sun’s disc 1 did not observe until the time approached for the egress. The sun then shone bright and clear, and it required very much darkened glasses to bear the light. I watched the egress from the time Venus approached the < dge until not the faintest notch was visible. The whole transit was visible *0 the naked eye (through colored glasses of course), hut even mv opera glass made Venus look much larger and more distinct, and the telescope magnified much more. It is greatly to he regretted that an observing party was not stationed at Nelson, as I have no doubt that the whole of the phenomena might have been observed, and phonographs taken at any time during the transit.— 1 am, &c., E. H. Bakewell. Dunedin, December 14.