New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1883-02-04
TIE TRANSIT OF VENUS.

At the January meeting of the British Royal
Astronomical Society, Professor Ne"comb, OF
Washington, who went TO south Africa III
charge of one of the American ObscT'ng parties,
gave a bIef account of the result The station
selected was Wellesley, about fOrty-hve miles
northeast of Cape Town. On the morning OF
the transit. says the Professor, the sky was
somewhat clouded, but the weather improved,
and think that during the hours OF the transit,
which commenced about o'clock, the dehul-
ton of the SUI was as fine as have ever seen II
IN my life. There was bat one physical phenOm-
enon that was worthy or note, ana tlaC was
SO well marked that 1t could not escape any one;
ii was line of light that surrounded the dark
hemisphere of Venus, which was on the sun. l
looked VIEW carefully before first contact TO see
whether it was possible to see enus projected
upon the corona; but | was unable To see any
sign of the planet until it bad actually entered
uDon the suns DISC When il was halt-wa on,
il appeared as If Il piece OF the sun had Oeell
sharply cut out with kniie; ana the line OF
light which has been described by so many ou-
servers. and which had looked for IN vain be-
fore. began to show itself; but 1t was not con-
tinuo,ls all round the ID anet. On the contrary
ii was only seen at certain points. AS the lntcl-
nal contact approached | found that the line
of light slowly became brighter; and tor some
seconds before internal contact II was qlllte
continuous and was seen aS hne arc Oh liSht
Joining the cusps of the sun. 1t was 20 UilSh'
that II somewhat interttrcd with one ludg-
1oel,t in determining the time when the solar
CuEps met. The cusps were somewhat blunted or
Spread out 10y iTTadiatiOn, whereas the line Oh
light around the planet was narrow ana sharp
/ observed the Cusps gradually dlssOlYe lhlo this
line of light; AND Tor "a period OF i've seconds
there was Il certain hesitation, III my mlnd, as
TO the character of the Phenomena, ana "htlhtr
the tue eeOmetrica contact had, OF had not,
taken place. After that five seconds the lelt
began to flow in on either side with great rapid
ity; and after that did not notice anything IKE
shade or ligament Joining the planet ana the
suns limb.
THE UNDULATORY THEORY or LIGHT.
In the last of a series OF lectures Just closed
ly Professor TyDdail on Light md the Eye"
Ieexpla ned why the undulatory had supplanted
the emission theory OF light. The air, which
WAS the medium Of conveying sound, might, lie
said be COMPARED with the lumlniferOus ether
nerya,ling all space. The ctheT's movements
were unduldtOIy, though the waves, IKE those
of water in the chaotic foam 81 the Niagara
Falls might cross ana rectCss IN every dliec-
ion NewtOu's emission theory was first Op-
posed by the celebrated astronomer lluyghtns,
and the NJ less famous mathematician Euler,
and no scientist OF any TeputG now upheId
Neyton's conception of light as al minute
number of proiectiles impinglng upon the eye.
When tested by the facts, THAT notion had ut
teIly broken down; whereas, not one OF the
facts had been left unexplained 10y the undua-
tory theory. 1t accounted for all the phenOm-
ena Of reflection: for all the phenomena OF
refractiOn, single and double; for all the plIe-
Domena of attraction for the cOors OF THE k
plates and thin, as well as Tor the colOrs OF all
natural bodies. 1t accounted for all the pho
nOmena of polarization, for all those cbromatic
splendors exhibited by crystals III polarzed
light. Thousands of isolated facts might be
RANGED under each of these heads the undua
tory theory accounted for them all. 1t traced
sud illuminated paths through what would be
otherwise the most hopeless Jungle OF phenom-
ena in which human thought could be en-
tangled. ., IN -. a.. .
This. said Professor Tyndall, was why the
foremost men of HE age accepted the lumhll e,
erous ether, not as q vague dream, but az real
entity-a substance endowed with inertia, ana
capable. in accordance with the established
laws of motion, of imparting its thrill to other
substances 1t was DR.. Thomas Young, his
own predecessor in the char of Natural PiIlos,
ophy in the Royal Institution in the first year OF
the present century, who finally overthrow the
emission theory. Yong never saw with ms
ewes the waves of sound, but he had the force
uf imagination to picture them aud the intellect
to investigate them. Aud he rose from inc
investigation of the unseen waves OF alr to That
~ The Unseen waves of ether, his belief in the
one being little, if at ali, inferior to his belief
in the other.