THE TRANSIT OF VENUS.

New Zealand Times, Volume XXX, Issue 4396, 22 April 1875, Page 3

THE TRANSIT OF VENUS.

' We find the following very interesting letter in the Utica Herald, U.S., of the 12th February hist. Queenstown, Otago, N.Z., , Q • Deo.ll,.lS7jt. My Dear Sir, —The monthly mail leaves to-night for San Francisco, and I cannot let it go without writing to you a few words announcing our almost complete success in observing the transit of Venus the day before yesterday. It is a relief after almost a year’s anxiety, and . I cannot yet quite - fully realise our good fortune. At three, minutes past one o’clock, according to computation, first contact had to occur.. In the morning telegrams dropped in from all parts of the island (the telegraph wires and, full apparatus, by disposition of the New Zealand Government, being led into our transit house), “rain" here, “ clouds” there, clouds all over New Zealand, clouds also at Queenstown. Major Palmer, chief of the English party, had established himself at Burnham, some miles, from Christchurch, with 'five branch stations. Lieutenant Crawford, of the southernmost branch station, at eleven o’clock telegraphed ; —“ All overcast, What hope have you ?” I answered “Overcast also here, but I do.not despair yet. Clouds are thin.” But the clouds remained, nevertheless, and other telegrams came —“ Kaiuing at Dunedin,” “ Earning at Bluff Harbor,” &c. In the meantime we examined our instruments a last time, saw that the clockworks of hellostat for photographic lens, and of equatorial, ran well ; the photographers put their glass plates (numbered from 1 to 200) in their right order, looked after the water supply (we had a little aqueduct built, so as to have a running stream from a spring 600 feet distant pouring in over the sink in the photographers’ building), tried the baths, &c. The chronometers were distributed, and I arranged my seat, table, steps, sun curtain, &c., in the equatorial house. The time drew hearer and nearer, but still the clouds were hiding the sun. I must confess I got a little nervous, I shut myself with the equatorial two minutes yet until beginning—and the sun suddenly has gained the victory ! It shines out brightly, and remains so for nearly two hours. By order, everybody does his duty silently, from the policeman on watch outside the gate of the enclosure to the rather talkative young assistant photographers. So silent is all that in my house, sixty feet off, I can distinctly hear the springing of the photographic slide—every clasp convincing me of one picture more. In the wall of the photographers’ house we had arranged ■ a speaking trumpet ; every now and then there came a call “ Dp, down, east, west !” This was to the assistant on -watch at the mirror. That throws the light through the lens of the photographer’s telescope, which has a length of forty feet. The clockwork driving that miiror sometimes heeded a little correction—therefore those calls. In my enclosure I continue to measure distances of Venus’s and sun’s limb. Then, after the planet had far advanced upon the disk, took advantage of the occasion for measuring with double-imago micrometer the apparent diameter of Venus, thus determining (for the first time, as I believe, since the creation of the world) the real size of Venus with the accuracy of about the three-hundredth part of its value. At about three o’clock naughty clouds began to interrupt our business. We came out qf our recesses, congratulated each other, and had some minutes’ rest. As the sun looks through between the clouds another system was now organised. Instead of at regular intervals, now a photograph was taken whenever the sun was shining through a gap, and I may as well say, our arrangements were so complete, our machinery working so well, that the sun could not send a ray through a narrow gap during a few seconds without being immediately caught and pictured. Thus we succeeded, as I find by a thorough examination yesterday afternoon, in getting in all 239 pictures. The last one of these was taken only sixteen minutes before egress. Then a heavy cloud put itself obstinately in the ‘way, and did not recede till exactly thirtythree seconds after the last contact, according to the computed time. Venus was seen no more. I called together the assistants to give three hearty cheers, and to dip three times our glorious flag. At about a quarter of six o’clock it was all ended. At half-past seven we had appointed with the other stations upon the island for a telegraphic chat. Congratulations dropped in oyer the wires from all sides, but our joy was marred by the reports from our colleagues at the other stations. We alone in New Zealand were favored by the heavens. It seems that at Auckland the ; first contacts were also observed, but that Major Palmer (who, besides ourselves, alone had photographic apparatus, as far as I know) did not succeed, is very much to be regretted. ■ Thus, my dear sir, I have given you a full exposition of our proceedings on the' evermemorable day, of the ,9th of December. I am glad that our efforts have not been in vain, and I am sure that you and all friends at Clinton and Hamilton College will rejoice with me. I must close now, but shall write to Clinton again from Melbourne, where I shall go about the end of this or the beginning of next month. Farewell, then, with my best, regards. —Yours, very truly, C. H. F. Peters. Hon. O. S. Williams.