The weekly Elko independent. [volume] (Elko, Nev.) 1872-1887, 1875-03-13
Tho TTal1sit Of Venus.

Ut luis point, and the success OF the emil
nent astronomers now residing here is q
cause for rcjeicing in this Community.
during the day. there WIS q very general
demand tct broken pancs Of glass and
bottles, which werc smoked and held in
readiness for looking at the sun a. $3.50
o'clock, when the great celestial event was
Preaicted to take place. The natives
Were'as busy with their preparations for
astrQnomlcai% observations as the white
foreigners. Little Kanakas were going
ABOUT the streets with pieces of blackcned
glass In hand, for the purpose of looking,
as they said, at the uokulaa, the morning
star, go through the sun, which they eS-
poet will be hereafter FURNISHED with an
increased solar splcndor.
1t was curious to listen to the remarks
and spcculations Of natives whose savage
fathers had never suspected this occasion
] nj ,moIing spot on the great light of day.
They knew that Lono, OF Captain Cook,
tho discoverer of these isles, had conc to
these seas to observe star in the sun,
. and 1t had been predicted in his day that
< It should be seen again, more than hun
urcd years afterward, on this day, with
the hour and the minute, and the very
second specified. And now there were
ten thousands throughout these isles,
looking upward to prove the truth Of this
'%century- old predictions EgS CT
AT "a few minutes past three o'clock,
you could sec everywhere in, the streets,
: faces looking upward toward the sun,
/ with q piece Of shaded glass in hand to
screen his fierce rays from mans weak,
yet ambitious searching eyes. A minute
or two elapsed; and no change in the
uasky rcd ball above. Another minute
gazing upward and still no spot flecks
tho face of the sombrc, rubesccnt orb.
Ha!-"Sja lal"--therc it is, cried one
keen-sightcd, close watching Kanaka; and
!, now We begin to see, y little I'd the right
OF the top or vortex OF the sun, q slight
dent or notch; and, as VIC gaze on, the
dent or spot enlargcs, advances within
the borders of the disk; and us the clearly
defined dark manonla upon the ruddy
:! Piain Is now distinctly seen by every eve,
an enthusiastic native says, "Surely, they
who behold this were prophets, and Lono
was prophet"
But we must turn to where the real star
: phrophets were at work, close 10 the
beach, in the grounds known as Homo
kAupu, Which will hereafter. he designated
as our "Point Venus"
Faithfully the heavenly traveller comes,
first forctold by Kcpler, and the chief OBJ
serves the first external contact of disk
and disk Mt 8 him. Is, and Lieutenant
; Noble, 3h. min. S., according to local
mean solar time. The agreement is sim
gular, but must be regarded as purely nc
cidcntal. But this is not the crisis of
greatest moment; it is when the perfect
rounded orb OF the planet is within the
sun, and the edge of its disk Mt the mo-
ment of leaving the inner circle of the lu-
minary indicates the internal contact, the
most interesting point to be observed in
ell this transit phenomenon.
AS the body of the planet was indent-
ing the suns rim, and advancing on TO-
wards immersion within its body, the
chief, who was now watching through n
nlcrometer, saw tho complete disk of
venus defined about thirty seconds be-
tore the nctual Internal contact was de-
tcTniincd, and for while lie imagined he
+ had missed the critical phase of the phc-
npmenon; but this revelation of the com
plete circle of the planet before actual in
ternal contact had taken place, was owing
to the cffulgcnce of tile corona or outer
flame waves of the sun, which illuminated
the whole surface of Venus some time
before complete immcrsion-a phase of
the phenomena never observed before,
and its detection on this occasion is due
to the optical perfection of the stelc-
& scopic Instruments employed. Licutcn-
ant Noble could distinguish rhc com
Plete. disk Of Venus fully five minutes
before internal contact; and Mr.. John.
son, observing ct Wnimea on the island
kauai, saw this ccinpletc disk no less than
twelve minutes before the complete en-
trnnce of the planet. y Z 't,!s. o.
This luminous presentation Of tile full
round body of Venus, when still only par
italy across the suns circle, was calcu-
lntcd to dazzle and dcceire our astrOno.
mcrJi but like faithful watchers, they
neglected not one moments observation,
and rs they scrutinizcd the advancing
planet, they disccrned approximately the
phase of internal contact, which the chief
recorded Mt 3h. 35m. 55.7s, and I.icutcn-
mt Noble Of 3n. 35m. 34.4s. ..
We got the time of the planet and the
sun, but we nlso wanted their pictures.
We thought wc had q. capital day for n
solar sitting; but it was In fuct too fine.
Too much glare and irradiation, and too
much atmospheric disturbance, especially
in tho wooden huts, so that the photo
graphs of the planet, taken with every
vigilance aud cArc by Lieutenant Rams
den, represented it triangular, square, and
cllipticSl, and everything but circular,
and tile value of thee pictures depended
upon tho accurate form Of the orb. The
famous Jansen revolving slide unfortu-
natcly fniied on, account OF the difficulty
Of pointing. So i.3.ts.Ay- rs
Uut, excepting this disturbance of tho
photoheliograph, all the observations of
the astronomers ut the Honolulu station
were cminently satisfactory. Tho astro-
nomical party at Waimca, Kauai, had also
nm excellent opportunity for observing the
transit; but We regret TO say that Pro
fossor Forbes and Mr.. Barnnclr, at Kailua,
Hawaii, should have been disappointed;
by acloud mt the critical phase of the con.
facts. Butyet they were enabled to make
many observations of value. The whole
observation of the British expedition To-
these islands must be regarded rs very
succcssful. 80 fs5E.s,
NEWSPAPER men whose journals have
said anything against my four.horgc
thief living IN Washington had better
keep away from that city, or color their
noses and thus disguise themselves so ~
TO appear like permanent residents :