66 



BCENEKY OF THE HEAVENS. 



upon the surface, an evident proof of the borrowed radiance of the orb. The first transit 

 ever observed was predicted by Keppler, and witnessed by Gassendi, at Paris, on the 7th of 

 November 1631. The second observed transit, on the 3d November 1651, was watched 

 at Surat in India, by Shakerley, a young Englishman, who, having found by calculation 

 that it would be visible only in Asia, proceeded thither to witness the occurrence. The 

 third recorded transit, on the 3d of May 1661, was observed by Hevelius at Dantzic, and 

 bv Huyghens, Street, and Mercator at London, who are said to have made their observa 

 tions at Long Acre, with a telescope of excellent workmanship. Halley enjoyed the sight 

 of another 7th November 1677, at St. Helena; and was the first who witnessed both the 

 ingress and egress of the planet. Lalande, in his old age, remarked of the transit of 8th 

 November 1802 : "The passage of Mercury over the sun's disk was observed this morning for 

 the nineteenth time. Astronomers enjoyed in the cornpletest manner the sight of this curious 

 phenomenon. I was the more anxious to have a view of it, as I shall never see it more." 



The recent transits of Mercury have been chiefly interesting on account of the accuracy 

 with which they have been predicted. Formerly, owing to difficulties of observation, the 

 tables of the planet's motions were so imperfect, that there was no certainty respecting the 

 exact time of the phenomenon. Gassendi was on the watch three days for the transit he 

 witnessed. Hevelius and his assistants were kept waiting at their telescopes four days. 

 Both Halley's and Lalande's calculations were wrong by three quarters of an hour with 

 reference to the transit of 1786. At a later date, the errors amounted to minutes. At 

 length in 1844, Leverrier took the planet in hand, instituted a profound examination into 

 the theory of it's motions, and constructed tables which represent them with wonderful 

 precision. Mr. Mitchel, of the newly-established observatory of Cincinnati, in the United 

 States, remarks of the transit of 8th May 1845 : " Five minutes before the computed time 

 of the 'contact (Leverrier's), I took my place at the instrument ; the beautiful machinery that 

 carries the telescope with the sun was set in motion ; and the instrument directed to that 

 part of the sun's disk at which it was anticipated the contact would take place. It seemed 

 as if time had folded his wings, so slowly did the moments crawl on. I watched until I 

 was told that but one minute remained; and within sixteen seconds of the time, I had tho 

 almost bewildering gratification of seeing the planet break the contact, and slowly move 

 on till it buried itself, round, and deep, and sharp, in the sun." 



VENUS. The nearest planet to the earth, and the second in point of distance from tho 

 sun, Venus is the most beautiful of his satellites, and brilliant of the stars. Like Mercury, 

 she 'never adorns the midnight sky, nor has she ever been seen rising in the east while 

 the sun was setting in the west, or on the meridian at either sunrise or sunset. This 

 shows her path to be comparatively near the throne of the great luminary, from whom 

 she never departs more than 48, rather more than half the space from the horizon to tho 

 zenith; and to be interior to that of the earth, while exterior to that of Mercury, whose 

 greatest elongation, or distance from the sun, is little more than 28. In addition to this, 

 she has been observed to eclipse Mercury, a clear proof of her position in space being 

 external to him, an instance of which occurred on the 17th of May 1737. Venus is 

 alternately a morning and evening star, visible for about three hours after sunset, and as 

 long before sunrise. As a morning star she was called Phosphorus and Lucifer by the 

 ancients, and as an evening star Hesperus and Vesper. This bright herald of the sun's 

 advance to the eastern horizon, and his faithful follower to the western, were once sup 

 posed to be distinct bodies. Pythagoras is said to have been the first who proclaimed 

 their identity. Obvious as this conclusion now is, it required experience and reflection 

 to arrive at it. The Greek Phosphorus, or the UgJit-bringer, alludes to the office of the 

 planet, when rising before the sun, she ushers in the day. The Romans adopted the 

 expression : hence, the invocation in Martial, Phosphore, redde diem, " Phosphorus, 



