xx President's Address 



third law that the solar parallax can thus be indirectly 

 determined. The observations themselves have been carried 

 out on a very elaborate and somewhat novel plan, suggested 

 by Mr. Gill, the astronomer at the Cape. The period of 

 observation terminated last Wednesday. So far as Mel- 

 bourne is concerned the series has not been very successful, 

 owing to the prevalence of the cloudy weather throughout 

 the early part of the period. Nevertheless, I think a very 

 valuable set of measures has been secured. 



The preparations for the transit of Yenus, on 6th 

 December, have lately been occupying our attention, 

 and it is now decided that we shall have observing 

 stations at Melbourne, at Sale (in Gippsland), and in 

 or near Hobart. The last phases of the phenomenon 

 occur just after the sun rises in this part of the world; 

 we shall therefore see nothing of the earlier or intermediate 

 phases. In Melbourne the sun will only have risen about 

 13 degs. above the horizon before the transit is over, and in 

 Hobart only about 15 degs. Nevertheless, the contacts 

 at egress, the last critical phase, should be well seen at any 

 part of Eastern Australia. As this is the last transit of 

 Venus that will occur for more than 120 years, of course 

 the event is looked forward to with considerable interest. 

 The various national observing parties are already on their 

 road to the several observing points, and I have had the 

 pleasure of seeing several of our English observers here 

 within the last fortnight. One British party goes to Bris- 

 bane, another to New Zealand, and there will be an 

 American observing party also in New Zealand. 



In conjunction with the transit of Venus operations we 

 are arranging with some of the British observers for the 

 determination of the difference of longitude between Green- 

 wich and the Australian cities by telegraph. To do this, 

 Lieutenant Darwin, a member of the Brisbane observing 

 party, will, after the transit, proceed to Singapore ; at the 

 same time Australia sends an observer with transit instru- 

 ments and chronometers to Port Darwin. These gentlemen, 



