THE TRANSIT OF VENUS.

New Zealand Times, Volume XXX, Issue 4424, 25 May 1875, Page 3

THE TRANSIT OF VENUS.

(From the iVew York Herald, February 23.) United States Steamer Swatara, Dunedin, New Zealand, Jan. 15, 1875. The United States expeditionary ship Swatara left Hobarton for the Auckland Islands on the iSth of December, or more properly, she sailed for New Zealand and the Chatham Islands, intending to touch at the Aucklands en route. This was in pursuance of a request from the German Consul-General at Melbourne, who was fearful that the German transit party sent to these islands had met with some serious mishap, as nothing had been heard of them on their arrival since their departure from Melbourne, more than three months before. According to arrangements, their vessel, a small sailing bark, should have made during this period two visits to New Zealand for chronometer comparison, and the absence of all news from her, taken in connection with the fact that this group of rocks is situated in a very stormy latitude, surrounded almost constantly with an inpenetrable veil of fog, rain or snow, and girt about with miles of reefs and sunken rocks, was sufficient to excite the liveliest apprehension. THE COURSE OP THE GOOD SAMARITANS. Accordingly, when, upon the morning of the 23rd, the main island was made out through the mist, all of the telescopes and binoculai's in the ship were brought into requisition to discover traces, if possible, of the German observing party. Our course lay up a long bay or arm of the sea, named upon the charts as Sarah's Bosom, and as we steamed slowly along in the shadow of the savage looking cliffs, and saw and heard the tremendous westerly swell breaking and thundering into foam upon the rocks that lay upon all sides, we began to believe that the fears of the consul were to be realised. However, as we passed around one of the larger islands in the fog, we suddenly opened on a small cove upon the right, and saw dimly through the mist a collection of about a dozen small white cottage looking buildings, nestling closely together at the foot of the hill. THE PRUSSIANS FOUND COMFORTABLE AND INDUSTRIOUS. Shortly afterward the Swatara was at anchor. A boat was manned and several of the officers went ashore. The sight of the observatories had of course dispelled all fears for their safety, but everybody was anxious to know what success had attended their observations on the day of the transit. These gentlemen found the Germans very comfortably situated indeed ; lodged in a fine, capacious cottage, furnished with every convenience. They had met with NOTHING BUT 3UCCESS since leaving Melbourne. They had arrived at the islands after a short voyage, located their station and sent the vessel to New Zealand to compare chronometers with our station at Queenstown, and she was expected back any day. She arrived the next day. They were under a thousand obligations to Captain Chandler for his kindness ; but really they wanted for nothing in the world but clear weather to enable them to complete their star observations for latitude and longitude, so that they might return home, and they would be very glad to compare chronometers with us. NOTES OF THE PRUSSIAN OBSERVERS. In answer to the questions concerning the success they had met with in observing the transit, they told us that the transit had occurred on the only clear day they had had for weeks, and that they thought themselves remarkably fortunate. During the early part of the day it had rained heavily ; but the weather had cleared when the transit was thirty minutes old, and the sky had remained clear until thirty minutes after the transit was over. They secured 115 photographs—good ones -—several mierometric measurements and perfect observations of internal and external contact at egress. A GOOD TIME. The entire party, eight in all, came on board and dined in the ward room, and we had a very jolly evening after the German fashion. We remained over until the afternoon of the next day—Christmas—when we started for Dunedin, arriving here Sunday evening. AMERICAN SUCCESSES. We learned here that the weather in all parts of New Zealand had been most unfavorable on the day of the transit ; the only successful party being that of the Americans at Queenstown, in charge of Dr. Peters. He succeeded in obtaining over 200 perfect photographs, with numerous mierometric measurements and perfect observations of the last contacts, both external and internal. ENGLISH BErORTS. The principal English observing station in New Zealand was at Christchurch, and Major Palmer in charge telegraphed as follows : From Bumham observatory here the observation of ingress was spoiled by clouds which prevented any measurements with the double image micrometer, prior to internal contact, and entirely hid the planet from view a few seconds before the contact itself. Photographs near the contact were impossible. About fourteen minutes after contact the sun showed a little more brightly at intervals, and a few micrometic measures of the distance of limbs were made during some eight or ten minutes, but these would be of but little value. A few photographs, most of them indifferent, were also secured. At three o'clock the sun became entirely hidden. At half-past four o'clock the look of the sky to windward gave hopes that the observation at egrees—of immensely, greater value than that of ingress—might yet. be secured, but it again clouded over, and the sun was not seen at all from half-past three until some ten minutes after the end of the transit, when it shone brightly until sunset. The five sub-stations at Grahamstown, Auckland, Wellington, Dunedin, and Naseby met with the same bad fortune, both at ingress and egress. THE FRENCH ASTRONOMICAL RESULT. To-day the French war steamer Le Vire, with the French Venus transit party on board, arrived from the Campbell Islands—a small group situated about two hundred miles to the southward of the Auckland Isles. She is on her way home with the party and instruments. They report that they had almost continuous stormy weather during their stay, that the aun was entirely obscured during the transit, and that consequently no observations of any kind were secured. . THE AUSTRALIAN PARTIES' NOTES. During this visit to Dunedin we learned something of the success attending the Australian transit parties. They were nearly all fortunate in having good weather, and very valuable data were obtained. Tho Government astronomer at Sydney reported that a beautiful halo was visible around Venus, indicating the atmosphere, which was visible before the planet was wholly on the sun. No black drop was discernible. The Government parties have a total of 960 photographs of the ingress and egress and 350 'photographs of the planet on the sun. The astronomer at Brisbane reports that the day was favorable, and that no black drop was seen. The dark edgo of Venus was illuminated five minutes before contact. At the station, internal contact at ingress and egress was observed.

At Williamstown, a sub-station near Melbourne, the internal and external contacts at egress were observed, and the astronomer at Carlton was oven more fortunate, for he observed the internal contact at ingress and both contacts at egress. The observer at Emerald Hill was also successful in his observations. At Adelaido observations were secured, but at Port Darwin the cloudy weather prevented observations being taken of the first contact, but the transit was visible occasionally afterward. THE AMERICAN TARTY AT CHATHAM ISLAND. The Swatara left 'Dunedin on the 30th of December for the Chatham Island. Arriving there on the 4th of January and taking the Chatham party on board, wo returned to our anchorage here on the 10th inst. "We found the Chatham Island party in good health but looking rather blue, and feeling very happy at the prospect of getting away from the Chathams. All this could be attributed, I suppose, to the fact that they, next after the

French transit party at the Campbell Islands,; were the most unfortunate of all the observing parties on this hemisphere. Mr. Edwin Smith, of the United States Coast Survey, chief of the Chatham Islands party, reports that the weather on the day of the transit was execrable. Thick rainy weather prevailed without break until the planet had completed one-half of its journey across the sun's face. Thus the contacts at ingress were lost. A short interval of clear sky enabled them to secure a number of photographs. Heavy clouds then swept over the face of the sun, and no further observations were possible during the transit. WHAT HAS BEEN ACCOMPLISHED. In summing up the results obtained by the Swatara parties, it may be remarked that while no one of the parties was blessed with a perfectly clear sky on the day of the transit, still the data obtained are quite enough for the purpose, provided as good results have been obtained at the corresponding stations in the Northern Hemisphere., Dr. Peters, of the New Zealand observing station, was perhaps, the most fortunate of the Americans, obtaining next to a perfect set of observations. While the English parties, in the same country, stationed at Chrischurch, Auckland, Naseby, Wellington, and Dunedin, failed entirely, on account of the weather. The American parties in Tasmania obtained very good results. But the most fortunate of all were the English parties in Australia. At Sydney and Melbourne the weather was clear, and complete sets of observations were secured, the contacts, both at ingress and egress, being obtained.

At the American station at Chatham Island the results were very meagre and appai'ently of indifferent value ; but even with the data obtained, astronomers will be able to compute with sufficient accuracy, from their knowledge of the orbit of the planqt and its rate of speed, the path of Venus across the sun's face, if not the exact instants of contact. A LOSB TO THE CAUSE OP SCIENCE. It is to be regretted, of course, that we failed to establish an observing party at the Crozet Islands; but the continuous stormy weather and the dangerous character of the coast, taken in connection with the limited amount of time at our disposal, rendered this impossible without running the risk of losing one or two of the other stations. In cases of isolated stations like this, foreign Governments furnished each observing party with a sepai-ate vessel, the English party at Kerguelen Island having two war steamers for their use. The French party at Campbell Islands, the German parties at Kerguelen, at Mauritius, and at the Aucklands, had each a vessel to land and to remain with them, while the Swatara, a thirdrate American man-of-war, had five parties, with instruments, houses, provisions, &c, complete, to land and attend to. COMPUTATIONS AND COMIECTIONB. The results of all this expenditure of time and labor will not be known for many months, or, at least, until the astronomers at head-quarters have finished their computations and made their final corrections and comparisons with the astronomers and scientific men of other nations; but the sun's distance once accurately known, the distance of all the planets will be ascertained, and a great advance will have been made in the most wonderful and mysterious of all the sciences.