# Minutes of the Observation of the Transit of Venus over the Sun, the 6th of June 1761, Taken at Calcutta in Bengal, Latitude 22 degrees 30<sup>′</sup>, Longitude East from London Nearly 92 degrees: Communicated from the Court of Directors of the East India Company, by Charles Morton, M. D. F. R. S.

**Author(s):** Charles Morton, William Magee  
**Year:** 1761  
**Journal:** Philosophical Transactions (1683-1775)  
**Volume:** 52  
**Pages:** 3 pages  
**Identifier:** jstor-105674  
**JSTOR URL:** <https://www.jstor.org/stable/105674>  

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XCVI. Minutes of the Observation of the Transit of Venus over the Sun, the 6th of June 1761, taken at Calcutta in Bengal, Latitude $22^\circ 30'$, Longitude East from London nearly $92^\circ$: communicated from the Court of Directors of the East India Company, by Charles Morton, M.D. F.R.S.

Read Nov. 4, 1762.

| Event                                      | Time   |
|--------------------------------------------|--------|
| The appulse uncertain, but very apparent at | $8 \text{ h } 11 \text{ m } 35 \text{ s}$ |
| The center of Venus on the Sun's limb      | $8 \text{ h } 16 \text{ m } 35 \text{ s}$ |
| The interior contact at the ingress         | $8 \text{ h } 24 \text{ m } 40 \text{ s}$ |
| Interior contact at the egress              | $2 \text{ h } 15 \text{ m } 55 \text{ s}$ |
| Center of Venus on the Sun's limb at the egress | $2 \text{ h } 24 \text{ m } 0 \text{ s}$ |
| Total egress                               | $2 \text{ h } 32 \text{ m } 0 \text{ s}$ |

The above observations were minuted from a stopwatch of Mr. Ellicott's, having no pendulum-clock or time-piece.

The weather being cloudy for several days before that of observation, there was no opportunity of ascertaining the error of the watch; but, on the day of observation, I found, upon comparing the watch with a meridian line in the town-hall, that when the center of the Sun's image was on the meridian line, the time pointed by the watch was $4' 10''$ past twelve.

Comparing the watch the 7th, 8th, and 9th June with the meridian line, I found it had gained nearly two minutes each day, the time pointed by the watch on the 9th June being $10' 5''$, when the Sun was on the meridian.
It took about 5'' to wind the watch up every day, which I carefully observed; from the aforegoing remarks I have made the following corrections.

Centre of Venus on the Sun's limb at \[8^h\ 12' 54''\]
ingress \[8^h\ 20' 58''\]
Interior contact at the ingress \[2^h\ 11' 34''\]
Centre of Venus on the Sun's limb at \[2^h\ 19' 38''\]
the egress \[2^h\ 27' 38''\]
Total egress \[6^h\ 22' 48''\]

And if the same time be allowed for the first semidiameter of the planet coming on as the other three, it must have commenced at \(8^h\ 4' 50''\), so that the total duration was

William Magee.