CKLESTIAL DAY OBSKRTATIONS. 
119 
The following conclusions are deduced from the observations OSscrvations 
made on Venus. 
upon the 
planet Venus 
1. That Venus maybe seen distinctly, with a moderate degree in theday- 
r time. 
of 
I used very often to divert myself by observing the pleasant manner in 
which tne sun passed behind the spire, and was eelipsed by it for 
some time ; for the image of the spire and sun were very large, being 
made by a lens of Vi feet focal distance. And once as I observed the 
occullation of the sun behind the spire, just as the disk disappeared, I 
' saw several small, bright, round bodies or balls ruiiuinu towards the 
' sun from the dark part of the room, even to the distance of 20 iuches. 
' I observed their motion was a little irregular, but rectilinear, and 
i seemed aecelerated as they approached the sun. {These luaiiuuut 
. globules appeared also on the other .dde of the spire, and preceded the 
■ sun, running out into the dark room, sometimes more, sometimes le.s.«, 
togeflicr in the sumc manner as they followed the sun at its occultatiun. 
They appeared to be in general l-20th of an inch in diameter, and 
I therefore must be very large lumiiions globe.s in some part of the 
I heavens, whose light was extinguished by that of the sun, so that they 
• appeared not in open day light ; but whether of the aieteor-kind, or 
V what sort of bodies tliey might be, T eonld not conjecture.”— T was 
jalways at a loss, till lately, to conceive what kind of bodies the 
' luminous globes here mentioned might be. But in my frequent views 
of Venus, when very near the sun, I several times observed a similar 
phenomenon. Sometimes one, and sometimes 4 or 5 round luminous 
Hbodies, some larger and some smaller than the apparent size of the 
planet, moved across the field of the telescope in a rectilinear direc- 
Ition. When the equatorial motion was performed in order to search 
I for the planet, or to keep it in the field, 1 once or twice mistook one of 
Itliesc bodies foi the planet, till its rapid motion undeceived me. I soon, 
ihowever, ascertained, beyond a doubt, that these bodies were nothing 
iraore tlian birds of different sizes, and at different distances ; tlie convex 
surface of w hose bodies tt-as in such a position as strongly to reflt'ct to the 
eye the solar rays ; their true figure being undistinguishabie by reason 
of their motion and their distance. When they were near nud 
appeared larger, their shape could be in some measure distinguished. 
'Sometimes small winged insects at no great distance from the tele.scope 
presented a similar appearance. I seldom or never observed the 
phei lomcnon now described, except when the telescope was pointed in 
la direction nearly to that of the sun. There can be no doubt that this 
■wa.s the eanscof the phenomenon obsers ed by Mr. IMartiii ; and I state 
♦his circumstance, to shew, w ith what caution we should draw con- 
clusions 
