[ 72 ] 
Upon hearing a gentleman in the lower apartment 
call out to be fliewed the atmofphere of Venus, I 
now left my telefcope, went down (lairs to Mr. 
Nairne and Mr. Dollond, and defired them to be 
attentive at their telefcopes, and they would fee this 
fhining annulus, which they attended to, and after 
a little while faw it plainly, although for fome time 
they could not perceive any fuch thing. Then the 
other gentlemen prefent faw it, but not before me 
nor them. 
Thefe obfervations being made, I (late the firft 
external contadt at 7 h io' 37" apparent time for 
Greenwich. Circular contact internally at y h 29' 
25". Completion of the thread of light at y h 29' 
48" under the circumftances above defcribed. 
Although I would not willingly form any hypo- 
thecs from the aforementioned phenomena, there is 
one of them, namely, the appearance of the well- 
defined (Ireaks of light between the fiffures, which 
leems accountable for thus. The partial light which 
preceded it, I take to be rays lcattered by refradlion 
and reflection through that part of the planet’s at- 
mofphere where the contadt was to happen ; and the 
well-defined (Ireaks of light following it, I take to 
have been the fun beams palling between mountains 
on the furface of Venus’s globe. 
To this* account I have added feveral drawings of 
the appearances in the tranfit of 1761, and of the 
like appearances in the tranfit of 1769 ; and mull 
here beg leave to explain the meaning of an ex- 
prefiion made ufe of by me in the account of the 
former tranfit of 1761, in Phil. Tranf. In that ac- 
count, 
