156 
NATURE 
[ Dec. 14, 1882 
mining the parallax. He will now, of course, work out 
these calculations, which promise to be amongst the most 
important of all the observations. At Oran M. Janssen 
was likewise favoured with sunshine. He was not com- 
missioned by the Academy, but made spectroscopic ob- 
servations on his own account. In this department he 
seems to have admirably succeeded, having obtained 
capital photographs 30 centimetres in size. He tele- 
graphs that he has not only taken excellent photographs, 
but that he has further been able to observe atmospheric 
phenomena. As to Col. Perrier, who was posted in 
Florida, the French Foreign Office have received a tele- 
gram reporting full success, but giving no details. 
telegrams from the missions in Patagonia, Chili, and 
Port-au-Prince have as yet been received. In short, of the 
results thus far known only observations in Mexico and 
Florida for the calculation of parallax, and those of Oran 
with the spectroscope seem to have been successful. 
The transit was observed at many places in the United 
States. Special observations were made at the Observa- 
tory of the Central High School of Philadelphia by Pro- 
fessors Snyder and Ritter. 
Venus was crossing the sun’s disc. 
The sky was cloudy 
all day. 
All four contacts were observed, and the last 
two well observed. The weather was not so favourable | 
for the observation of the first two. The planet was 
seen off the disc at first, and in the fourth with a ring of 
light frequently visible. While the exact time has not 
yet been computed, it is known that the first two contacts 
were in advance of the ephemeris. Prof. Snyder says 
that just at or before the first contact the planet was pro- 
jected on the chromosphere. The point where this 
occurred was verified by a notch of the advancing planet. 
As Venus approached the second contact a bright lumi- 
nous horn darted out from the sun round the planet, but | 
not encircling it, being only visible on one side. The 
same thing was also visible at the third contact. Just 
before the second contact the edge still off the sun was 
illuminated by a most beautiful hazy ring of light, seem- 
ing to havea sensible breadth. During the second con- 
tact the ligament phenomenon was visible, but not so 
_markedly as it was observed in the case of the transit of 
Mercury in 1878. Just preceding and during the second 
contact the atmosphere was hazy, but the phenomena 
were well observed nevertheless. The weather at the 
third contact was much better, and the ligament pheno- 
No | 
The weather was favourable, | 
but clouds obscured the sun during part of the time that | 
| 
| 
menon was not noticed, though a faint obscuration of | 
the luminous line existed just before the geometrical 
contact, the latter being well observed. After the third 
contact the horn appearance again came, there being 
several times noticed evidences of a ring of light. At 
the last contact, and after the notch had disappeared, 
the planet seemed to linger off the edge of the sun. The 
Philadelphia observations ofall fourcontacts are considered 
to have been successful. A snowstorm prevailed in Canada | 
and the Northern portion of the United States, seriously 
interfering with the observations elsewhere. But successful 
views of at least part of the contacts are reported from 
Ottawa, Albany, Howard University, near Boston; the 
Naval Observatory, Washington ; and the Johns Hopkins | 
University, Baltimore. 
Prof. Sharpless, posted at Haverford College Observa- 
tory, near Philadelphia, reports the Washington mean 
time of the contacts as follows :—First contact, 9h. 56m. 5s.; 
second contact, gh. 15m. 49s. ; third contact, 2h. 39m. 435.; | 
fourth contact, 2h. 59m. 5Is. 
At the Washington Naval Observatory the observers 
slightly differ in the times recorded for the contacts. | 
Prof. Frisby, who had a six-inch equatorial, reports that 
the first contact occurred at 8h. 56m. 45s.; the second con- 
tact at gh. 16m. 9s.; the third at 2h. 38m. 57s. ; the fourth 
at 2h. 58m. 55s. Prof. Sampson, with a nine-inch equa- 
torial, reports the first contact to have happened at 
8h. 55m. 9s.; the second at gh. 16m. 19s. ; the third at 
2h. 39m. 56s.; the fourth at 2h. 59m. 37s.; the time of 
the fourth contact is somewhat uncertain, owing to the 
prevalence of clouds. Washington mean time was used. 
Fifty-three photographs were taken during the transit. 
The professors report that their labours were generally 
successful, and that if other stations were equally for- 
tunate the result ought to be computed within two years. 
Successful observations were made at Yale College, 
Newhaven, and also by Professor Draper in New York, 
who got good photographs. The French Astronomical 
Commission succeeded, at St. Augustine, Florida, in 
taking 200 photographs. Partially successful results were 
obtained by the Belgian Commission at San Antonio, in 
Texas, where 204 photographs were taken of the later 
phases, the first two contacts being lost. Fully successful 
observations were made at San Francisco, with 48 photo- 
graphs ; and partly successful ones at Cedar Keys, Florida, 
where the first contact was lost, while the other three 
were well observed. 
One hundred and eighty photographs were successfully 
taken by the German Commission at Hartford, Con- 
necticut. They failed to observe the first contact, but 
afterwards got eight full sets of heliometric observations, 
which made all they desired, and which they consider 
very satisfactory. No trace of a satellite was visible. 
Partly successful results were further obtained by the 
Germans at Aiken, South Carolina, where they lost the 
first two contacts, but got three sets of heliometric 
measurements in the afternoon. 
At the Harvard College .Observatory spectroscopic ob- 
servation showed no perceptible absorp-ttion of the sun’s 
light by the planet’s atmosphere. 
Telegrams announce a complete success in New 
Zealand, Panama, New Mexico, Jamaica, and some 
parts of Australia. In New Zealand, England was re- 
presented by Colonel Tupman and Li: utenant Coke, R.N., 
both observers in 1874. The observations of the transit 
are described as very successful, and Colonel Tupman 
expected that the observations for determination of the 
longitude would be complete by Sunday last. The United 
States party, under Mr. Edwin Smith, observed at Wel- 
lington, and were successful in taking two hundred and 
thirty-six photographs. Of the Australian stations per- 
fectly successful observations were secured at Hobart 
Town (Tasmania), Wentworth (New South Wales), and 
in South Australia At Adelaide the transit was slightly 
obscured by clouds, but no information to hand states 
whether the contacts were observed or not. In Queens- 
land no success was obtained: Mr. Russell at Sydney 
arranged to provide about ten observers at lofty stations 
| along the east coast ; heavy rain fell in Sydney and Gipps- 
land, but it is probable that observations have been secured 
by some of the observers, although no success was 
obtained at the Sydney Observatory. At Melbourne ob- 
servations were secured, and twenty-three photographs 
taken. The Government of Victoria provided for two or 
three stations respecting which no information has been 
received, but judging from the state of the weather in 
Melbourne, there is a probability of success. > 
We have received the following communications on 
this subject :— 
IN a communication from the observatory of the Col- 
legio Romano we are informed that the observations of 
the transit at Rome were quite successful, although the 
sky a few minutes before contact was cloudy. Signor 
Tacchini observed the contacts with the grating spectro» 
scope applied to a Merz refractor of 25 c., and M. 
Milloseisch simply used a Cauchoix refractor of 15 c. 
in the ordinary way. In the morning, Signor Tacchini, 
