ASTRONOMICAL SOCIETY

Evening Star, Issue 23685, 19 September 1940, Page 14

ASTRONOMICAL SOCIETY

YEAR'S WORK REVIEWED ADDRESS BY MR G. S. SMITH A full programme of work had been carried out during the year, stated Mr W. D. Anderson ,who presided at the annual meeting of the astronomical section of the Otago branch of the Royal Society of Now Zealand. Moving the adoption of the annual report and statement of accounts, the Chairman reviewed the work of the year, and remarked that owing to the absence of planets from the evening skies throughout the year, and no doubt also to the distractions of the war, the attendances at the observatory on the public nights had not been quite so good as usual. Nevertheless, a full programme of work had been carried out, and altogether it could be claimed, the chairman said, that the society was functioning well and filling a useful place in the life of the community. He expressed the hope that favourable overhead conditions would prevail on November 12, when a transit of Mercury was due to occur. Those wishing to view this phenomenon would Lave an opportunity of doing so by visiting the observatory on the morning of that day. The election of officers resulted Chairman, Mr John C. Begg; acting chairman, Mr W. D. Anderson; honorary secretary and director of observatory, Mr W. H. B. Hobbs; honorary treasurer, Mr W. D. Anderson; committee—Dr C. M. Focken, Professor R. J. T. Bell, Messrs AV. A. Drew, E. G. M'George, H. Gardner, G. Couling, and G. S. Smith. At the conclusion of the annual meetig an interesting address, illustrated with views projected by the epidiascope and the planetarium, was delivered by Mr G. S. Smith.

Only two planets, Mr Smith said, could come between the earth and the son and so appear on the sun’s face. They were Mercury and Venus, whose orbits lay wholly between the orbit of the earth and the sun. The distances from the sun of the orbits of these three planets were; Mercury 36,000,000 miles, Venus 67,200,000 miles, and the earth 92,900,000 miles. Mercury revolved round the sun in 88 days, Venus in 225 days, and the earth in 365 days. A transit could be taken only when the earth, one of the planets, and the sun were in a straight line. The phenomenon of transits was a rare one, and the next transit of Venus would not take place until the year 2004.

Mr Smith mentioned that it was on an expedition fitted out and financed by King George 111. that Captain Cook discovered New Zealand. Cook’s voyage was to Tahiti to observe the transit of Venus in_ 1769. That was only the third time it had been actually observed, and there had been only two since.

At tbo conclusion of the address Mr Smith answered questions, and on the motion of Mr W. H. Drew was accorded a vote of thanks.