National opinion. [volume] (Bradford, Vt.) 1865-1874, 1873-11-28
The TransIts or Venus.
The Transit OF ASA OF Great ImpOr-
tance scientifically.


tancc scientifically.
! The history OF the transits of Venus
is not without its interest. When Kep-
/ Ter. in 1927, had completed the " Ru-
dolphipe Tables (Rudolph ii. being
Emperor of Bohemia), he was in bet.
> ter position to calculate the motions of
, the planets. His first important dis
, covery was that Venus would traverse
, the suns disc on December G, 1881.
This, in little tract, he published to
the world in 1929. His calculations
. were that the ingress would take place
at sunset. Gassendi, French astron-
, omer, doubling TIE accuracy of KEEP
ler's calculations, began his watch on
the 4th, and continued it to the 7th.
Both he and Kepler were unsuccessful.
The calculations were only approxi-
mately true. 1t is now known that the
transit occurred during the night of
December 6, 1851. His calculations
were, therefore, correct.
The next transit of Venus (the first
actually observed), took place Novem-
Der "a, 1889. Kepler had not foreseen
it. He had said that after 1881 none
would take place till 176l. But far off
in England, where court and parliament
were engaged in a quarrel that finally
led to civil there was boy of
nineteen who I'd got hold OF the Ru-
dolphiHe Table jeremiah Horrocks
of Hoole, a RI | village fifteen miles
from Liverpt discovered, as he
thought, an or in Kepler's predic-
tion, and set / nself at work to verify
his suspicion. The tables indicated
that on the approaching 9th of Novem-
ber the planet would cross the heavens
little below the sun. BY some older
tables it was predicted that this would
occur above the sun. The thought
struck the boy that the mean of the
two results would show Venus actually
on the sun. Further calculations con
frmed his hopes. A transit upon which
no human eyes had ever looked, and
which the great astronomer of the age
had postponed till four generations at
least should have passed away, was to
occur within ten days. Horrocks had
not the means of making his discovery
known, save to an amateur astronomer
William Crabtree, a neighbor and
friend.
Both the young men prepared to |
watch for the phenomenon-th one at |
rocks had watched al: Saturday (23d) to |
give wide margin for allowance of err
rors. Nothing appeared. Sunday came
and he resumed his gaze. But he was
n religious man, and to be absent from
church services on the Lords day, even
to make discovery that would benefit
in future time millions of his race, was
to him a sin. He therefore left his
telescope and screen, and went to
church. AS soon as he was again at
leisure-that is at one-quarter past
three in the afternoon-he resumed his
labors. Shortly the planet appeared
like a black globe upon the suns disc
and moved across It from east to west.
Here his own account OF the phenome-
non: Sat this time an opening in the
clouds, which rendered the sun distinct
ly visible, seemed rs if Divine Provi-
dence encouraged my aspirations, when,
o most gratifying spectacle ! the object
OF so many earnest wishes, | perceived
a new spot OF unusual magnitude and of
a perfectly round form that had Just
wholly entered upon the left limb of
the sun, so that the margin of the sun
and spot coincided with each other,
forming the angle of contact" Owing
to the near approach of sunset, Hor- ,
rocks was unable to observe the transit
longer than half all hour. But enough;
he had seen it, followed it, measured ,
and transcribed it, and had made his
name immortal.
Crabtree, on the contrary, had been {
his screen in the darkened
room during the whole day. Up to
nearly evening the sun had been OBJ
scured by thick clouds, without
break since the morning, and the weary
well-nigh hopeless, was about
giving up in despair, when, just before =,
as if a veil had been drawn aside
from the heavens, the face of the great :.
uminary, with the planet crawling over y
It, was plainly depicted on the screen. y
The young astronomer was entranced. =
He lost sight of everything-measure- c
nents, time, drawing and colors-in his c
Of delight. But the vision, Z
hough it was only momentary, re- Z
NAMED so clear upon his mind that he 7
vas able afterwards to project a correct +
liagram from the memory. NJ
One hundred and twenty-five years y
brought the world to June 5, 176l, and N
thousands of eager faces in May parts y
If Europe and Asia were gazing on the p
econd recognized transit of Venus P
lcross the sun. Haley had now sug- r
rested that, by accurate observations I, ~
It distant places, the solar parallax be s,
scertained. For reasons which have 81
ver been unaccountable the whole af s.
air was failure. Observations did u
lot coincide nor did observers agree, :,
nd it has long been fortunate for man. r
ind that the results derived from an u
ther transit have been approximately
eliable.
OF the extensive preparations made
or observing the last transit Just al
nded to, we have already spoken. On
une 3, 1869, there were on the watch cl
etter men, and in use more perfect in
truments. Cook, the celebrated cir m
who afterwards lost his
fe at Otaheite, made the events of the to
Islands observations known
D the world by his published "Voy- ia
ges." The reports of the French Acad- yc
my of Sciences, the memoirs" of
hat was done by the Italian astron- vi
mers, and papers furnished by saUans pc
Madrid and st. Petersburgh, have
Il been before the world for a century, L.
nd the observations they record were fir
ing looked upon as trustworthy. They tn
ere, in fact, discussed by all the prin- ia
pal mathematicians in Europe, and
collected and published them or
J a whole in treatise on the subject. sa
The results of these observations to
ere, on the whole, accordant.
In 1924, Encke, celebrated German lac