194 



NA TURE 



\yan. 7, 1875 



of systematic ascents, in order to inquire into the condi- 

 tion of the upper winds, and to measure their deflection 

 or velocity, or their dimensions either in vertical or in 

 horizontal directions. 



Some of the readers of Nature may possibly feel 

 inchned to help me in working out these suggestions 

 practically, or at least to ascertain if they are justified 

 by facts as far as can be ascertained without travel- 

 ling in the air. W. de Fonvielle 



EARTHQUAKES IN THE PHILIPPINE 

 ISLANDS 



A CORRESPONDENCE from Manila, dated Oct. 

 17-18, gives the following notice of earthquakes 

 occurring there and in the neighbourhood on Oct. 16, 

 which may be of interest to some readers of Nature : — 

 Manila. 



10.12 A.M. — Hard shock; duration about i min. ; 

 general direction from E. — W., but moving from S.E. — 

 N.W. to N.E.— S.W. 



10.15 A.M. — E. 25° N. — W. 25° S. ; duration 5 sec; 

 rotation from E. — N. 



10.20 A.M. till 10.15 P-M. — Thirty-seven other light 

 shocks, i.e. in the whole thirty-nine shocks in twelve 

 hours. 



The interval of these shocks became at last greater 

 and greater in the following order : — 



10.20 A.M. 11.20 A.M. J2.2 r.M. 12.55 P.M. 



10.25 „ 11-23 » 12.19 » 1-9 ,. 

 10.30 „ 11.26 „ 12.20 „ 1.52 „ 



10.40 „ 11.31 „ 12.22 „ 2.40 ., 



10.43 „ 11.34 „ 12.24 ,, 4-2 „ 



10.46 „ II.4I „ 12.31 „ 6.25 „ 



10.50 „ 11.44 -> 12.42 „ S.I5 „ 



10.51 ,, 11.46 ., 12.45 » 9-15 ji 



II. 12 „ 11.58 „ 12.50 „ 10.15 ,, 



II. 15 „ 



Diilacan. 

 lo.S A.M. — Hard shock. 



lo.ii A.M. till I P.M. — Lighter shocks. , 



Pampanga. 



10.13 A.M.— N.W.— S.E. Hard shock; duration 50 sec. 



10.21 A.M. — Duration 20 sec. 

 12.30 P.M. — Light shock. 



Pangasinan. 

 10.25 A.M.— S.E.— N.W. Duration 26 sec ; light 

 shock. 



Cavite. 

 10.11 A.M. — Light shock. 

 10.45 A.M.— Light shock. 

 12,13 P.M.— Light shock. 



\Batangas. 

 10.2 A.M. — E. — W. Two shocks, of lo sec. and 7 sec. 

 duration. 



Laguna. 

 Light shock ; 2 sec. duration. 

 Royal Natural Hist. Museum, A. B. Meyer 



Dresden, Dec. 25 



THE TRANSIT OF VENUS 

 'T'HE following telegrams have been received during 

 ■*• the past week : — 



From Prof. Peters, vid Wellington, New Zealand :— 

 " Transit observation great success first contact ; pho- 

 tographs, 237." 



'' Ne-M York, Dec. 31.— Intelligence has been received 

 herefrom Honolulu, dated the 12th inst., respecting the 



observations of the Transit of Venus at that station. The 

 atmospheric conditions were favourable for the observa- 

 tions ; 150 measures of cusps and lirnbs and 60 photo- 

 graphs were obtained. A totally unexpected appearance 

 was presented at the internal contact. The disc of the 

 planet became visible as an entire circle some minutes 

 before contact, and from then to the complete establish- 

 ment no definite or sudden phase was observed. There 

 was no black drop after the internal contact. Twenty out 

 of sixty photographs came out blurred. Valuable results, 

 however, were obtained. The first external contact oc- 

 curred at 3h. 7m., and the first internal contact at two 

 minutes later than the Ihitisli Nautical Almanack stated. 

 The revelation of the complete circle of the planet 

 occurred before the actual internal contact, owing to the 

 effulgence of the corona, the sun illuminating the whole 

 surface of Venus before the complete immersion." 



In connection with the news from Honolulu, an article 

 in the Times of Tuesday says : — "The most remarkable 

 part about it is that the observers evidently regarded as 

 an ' unexpected appearance ' a phenomenon similar to 

 one observed and recorded in the former transits of 1761 

 and 1769. In the observations of Chappe d'Auteroche in 

 the latter year, recorded by Cassini, a drawing is actually 

 given of the horns of Venus visible beyond the edge of 

 the sun, and it seems probable from the text that the 

 planet was actually seen on the sun's chromosphere at the 

 moment of egress." 



Indeed, this phenomenon need not have caused any 

 surprise if the conditions had been previously clearly 

 understood. In reference to this point, some statements 

 from the Daily News Thebes correspondent (Dec. 9) are 

 worth quoting. In speaking of the cor^'mencement of the 

 phenomenon the correspondent says Venus " appeared 

 anything but a promising subject for the purpose at first. 

 She seemed literally to dance about the face of the sun, 

 and her limb v;as jagged like a saw. They both appeared 

 elliptical in an almost extraordinary degree, owing of 

 course to refraction, and they did not lose it entirely till 

 they were at least 7° from the horizon. Gradually the 

 limbs of both got more and more defined, till Venus 

 looked hke a small black pea resting on a luminous disc. 

 The sun, however, still remained somewhat troublesome, 

 particularly to the photographers, and it was not till just 

 before internal contact that he was really steady. The 

 atmosphere of Venus was distinctly seen at certain 

 periods. It showed as a pale white circle round part of 

 her edge, and was totally different to the brilliant sun- 

 light. The general remark was that it reminded us of 

 moonlight. This caused a certain difficulty in estimating 

 the true time of contacts, and perhaps any small discre- 

 pancy in obser\'ation may be accounted for by this pheno- 

 menon. . . . There is one curious coincidence to note, 

 and that is, that no one seemed to have observed the 

 black drop which has been so much talked about ; a faint 

 haze was seen, and a few jets of black springing out from 

 each side of the point of contact, but nothing more. 

 Neither in the photographs did it show, which perhaps 

 might have been expected. Certainly, the weather could 

 not have been more favourable just at the critical time, 

 though, curiously enough, immediately after, a haze came 

 on, which would seriously have affected the results. Need 

 I say that we are all thankful the observation has passed 

 off so well, and if only the other stations to which expedi- 

 tions have been sent are equally fortunate, the sun's dis- 

 tance ought to be definitely settled. I fully expect that 

 the appearance of the faint line will give rise to a long 

 discussion in the astronomical world. It will be very 

 curious to note what other stations saw. At all events 

 one thing is certain, and that is that our atmosphere 

 must have been very clear, and also that of \'enus ; clouds 

 in the planet must have intercepted the sunlight, and 

 have prevented the formation of the luminous ring, or 

 rather partial ring. At one time the whole planet, when 



