New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1882-12-07
WAS SEEN IN NETWORK.

rKoSOMEEs. ....,.o.. -, ,,o.or.
r..oi,e tho mournful prognos'lea'icnS oi Iie'o,- ~
.,.r,.,s which sent astronomers 10 Deu WIN ne",y
80 an Tuesday night yesterday turpeu OUT u
d,y of reasonably clear weather' anu
up Ie,olded passage Of the planet Venus
-. the disc of the sun was visible mere 'hious"
's..,,,. ouration. Atmospheric disturbances
ea' ~ ...,,onts interfered with the scientific
:, most of the recorded observations
a.. Dorular elements of the spectacle, which
". ssvsr retun again TO the present Inhabitants
''s..lohs were present in generous abundance.
-. ws,e few of the many weathcrwise who re-
i~'s -. ,,ll n late hour on Tuesday TO con-
~. he meteorological oracles who believed that
,o,la be any clear weather yesterday either
- Nox- England The dismal predictions OF
~ 49, 4 the atmospheric conditions of the
''n' +. rnesdav morning. were fulfilled late at
80, Thou the rain BEGAN 10 fall at 1920 o'clock,
.ss,lv a, nrst but increasing in volume un1l ae
.,a,,sh. II came down with good deal oi
-, and was blown in slanting lines by
,,roog southeast wind. 1t ceased an hour
s..oaf,erward but at a. m. 1t was raining again.
v,s,.orrng held ont little promise TO the astron-
s.,,. The rain had ceased, but the sky was over
~. nth dark rain.couds Gradually they grew
hgh,sr and then parted so as to show gIImpses OF
49, ..niog moan through the riffs Shortly before
o,elock the clouds began to gather In streaks
e,,a,h links Of stratus clouds lay in the southwest
,od nor,heast and connecting them were parallel
h,oas Of clouds similar In texture to the
hanks and having sharply defined edges
Th.v reached almost to the zenith
,nd their ipierS;ices were filled with dull gray
mss that moved in unbroken procession in the
INNER air Behind these bars. vainly trying to
penetrate the barrier, glowed the sun. gliding an
sAxe occasionally but still unable TO show the
shining face thai the thousands were waiting for
with 80 much eagerness. Toward o'clock
the bands began 10 oseparate and riffs TO appear. and
soon the snnsrefugence and the breeze had cleared
ihe sky and cheered the astronomers The Dands
moved acr - the zenith the wind winnowed them
nne braxhed th until they strcaked the SKIP In
All directions, and nocculent fakes sailed across
the vide expauses Of blue. The celestial spectacle
was thus uncovered. and thousands of eyes we're
turned ounfdcn ly towards the sun to watch for the
tr, coming OF bis graceful visitor.
there was a wonderful exhibition OF interest in
he transt Every school that'could boast tele-
EOpe put il 10 Use for the benefit Of ITS pupils;
ever celestial Snowman in the streets
had numerous clientage; and men, women and
children everywhere took peeps through bits of
snosed or coiOred glass. There was no difficulty
IN sssing the planet with the naked eye protected
ssainst che glare 10y shaded glass;. from the time
ha, IT, disk had iniented the suns
nm until the close OF the transit
Whea wholly on the suns disk Venus appeared to
sblssk spot OF the size Of a silver dime against
ssaaeu plaque thirty or forty times It's diameter
trn through telescope of good power II acquired
gobular shape ami hOated on the surface
Silyery spot Of light with
..hshily notified appearance, such an instrument
!oe showed a golden thread Of light outlining the
ldden pornon OF the planet before It was wholly
q the suns disk, and furnishing observers with
Faefials Tor poetical talk about the atmosphere OF
'eaas
OBSERVATIONS AT COLUMBIA COLLEGE.
Professor J. X. Rces of Columbia College, impro-
,sd station ON the roof of the unfinished observ-
aofy tower There he mounted an excellent
cArk equatorial refractOr Of 5-inch OBJ
JET glass aud 74-inch focal lcngth,
which had been lifted 10 the roof
" derrick To reach it IL was necessary to
samble up several fights Of unfinished stars aud
SIMMER Of ladders bat scores Of the students did
ti' during the day a. well as several OF the pro-
h~ors friends and fellow-teachers. The remain
or OF the observers outfit was
a'ah ufae chronometer made by Parkinson and
.aesham, London, and a siderial chronOmeter made
"sesas OF this city. These instruments had been
"'Ieeled by comparison with the signals sent by
w'sfaph irom the Naval Observatory at Washing
=" aoa marked Columbia College time, which is II
.'A ana - s-lO seconds faster than Washington
"~s- Most Of the time Professor Rees
magnifying power of l6o.
oh was within the requirement OF
'taa at ofVcnus Commission, and Picker
s"h eye-piece. over which for still greater pro-
ION he screened shade of family colored glass.
'Aor lrowbridge had excused the class in civil
|Ae nng from lectures and they assisted Pro-
~ hses IN hs observations They were George
nooal l.. &. FiaIlos, G. Ferror and e. f. PARA
"ho read the chronometers. and George
sa1s j. NJ Carrere aud r J. Breroton. who
ea al the Instrument. The results OF the OBJ
'sOons made Professor llces gave TO TRIBUNE
hp'fisE a. follows.
=. 'ook nav place al the instrument at Oh. 3m.,
Aeh tine the edge OF the sun very
and there was some interference IRON the
-, Which were rather heavy aid were
.sN IN parallel bands At Oh. I'm. the
.s.n 10 show more clearly through all ex-
g., - WEARING In the sky still the seeing was not
r sha changed the magnIfying power Of the
49, irom lG5 10 4s. At Oh. sm. 4Os.
,l,slAg became very good and Venus was noticed
Ia ihoenting the suns disc. The first contact
"aently taken place some time before
,n e na which i place approximately at Oh.
a. eos At about Oh. lem. the sun
a. 0V more clearly. aud changed the power OF
a., Ve-peee back 10 1875. AT Oh. 2Im 51s.
v''Non OF the disc of Venus not in the sun, IN
sm'-.- htiie less than half was outlined by a
l-e Oh hight. which at Oh. Pam. lis.
vh,-s beautifully distinct. This phenomenon. for
t.ua.. %uonomers were on the lookout. was un-
e,,s,e, Que to the refFaction Of the suns light
o.. Tue atmosphere Of Venus At Oh. 2sm
ss,. 'aas was seen clearly ON the disc of the sun
s.s !, vac second contact. Between the second
Ls.sAa contacts observations showed that the
oi Fenuss disc was not uniform. Under