THE TRANSIT OF VENUS.

New Zealand Times, Volume XXIX, Issue 4167, 29 July 1874, Page 3

THE TRANSIT OF VENUS.

(From the Sydney Morning Herald.) By the arrival of the G-leuguim, the first shipment of instruments for watching the transit of Venus has come to hand, and has been, by the Government astronomer (Mr. H. C. Bussell), unpacked at the Observatory in splendid condition. The new telescope is one of the very best modern construction —the clear aperture of the object glass inches and three-eighths of an inch. This is believed to be the finest “refractor” which has ever been in use in the southern hemisphere, and it will be mounted at the Observatory as soon as the necessary alterations can be effected in that part of the building in which it is to stand. This magnificent instru-

ment is supplied until a beautiful apparatus, specially designed for observing and photographing the transit of Venus, which, as our readers are aware, is now occupying the earnest attention and commanding the sedulous efforts of the whole scientific world. The preparations for observing this Important astronomical phenomenon are in a forward state, so far as new South Wales is concerned. Three stations besides Sydney will be occupied, viz., Eden, Goulbum, and the Blue Mountains, fifty miles west of Sydney. The temporary wooden observatories for each of these places have all been erected on Fort Phillip, and at present stand in the enclosure at the back, ready to be transported, each to its destination. The requisite changes In the dome of the Sydney observatory are now being actively carried out, and will be completed in the course of a few* weeks, when practice will be commenced with the observers, preparatory to the event on the 9th of December next. The second lot of instruments required is in the Halloween, now in the harbor, and the third and final shipment is due.