Transit of Mercury by Jay
On November 9, 1769 Captain James
Cook of H.M.S. Endeavour and astronomer Charles Green were on the Coromandel Peninsula
in what is now known as (appropriately enough) Mercury Bay recording the
Transit of Mercury. The Coromandel’s
weather is unpredictable and can go from being bright and sunny one moment to dark
and torrential rains the next. I had the
good fortune to live there from 2000 – 2001 not far from where Cook and Green
recorded their historic observations. I
remember visiting Shakespeare Cliff where there is a memorial located
commemorating the important event where it was thought they made their
recordings. It has since been proven
that they actually observed the transit from the beach, and according to Sydney
Parkinson, Endeavour’s artist, another observation seems to have been made from
the ship.
Though a poor astronomer as well as
being mathematically incompetent and technically deficient, I am fascinated
with science and theory not to mention history.
1769 was a big year for transit viewing.
On June 3 -4, interested spectators could get a view of Venus passing
across the disc of the sun as long as they had access to a telescope. A few months later on November 9, 1769,
Mercury made its transit. This is extremely rare for the transits of Mercury
and Venus to occur in the same year.
Captain James Cook and Charles Green as well as other members of the
crew were luckily able to view both transits.
The day seemed perfect for viewing.
According to the gentleman scientist, Joseph Banks, this was “fortunate
circumstance as except yesterday and today we have not had a clear day for some
time” (Banks’ Journal). Fate seemed to
be with the expedition for astronomical viewing, for the weather was
predominantly clear for observing both transits, Venus from Tahiti and Mercury
from New Zealand. Unfortunately, on the
day of the Mercury transit, tragedy occurred.
It seems there was a dispute over the trading of cloth between
Lieutenant John Gore and a Maori named Otirreeoonooe. Details are vague, but it seems that Gore
became incensed when Otirreeoonoe took off in the canoe with the cloth the
lieutenant had given him without giving him his own whereupon Gore shot and
killed him. When Cook found out, he was
frustrated and upset that one of his own officers (Gore was actually third in
command of the ship at the time) had resorted to killing a man for stealing a
piece of cloth. It had been an eventful
day marred by the bloody incident.
I had no such worries last Monday
when I took out my Nikon and homemade solar filter (courtesy of my creative
wife Tina) when I woke up shortly before 7:00 A.M. to observe this year’s
Transit of Mercury here in Pineville, North Carolina. I was ready for the ingress which occurred between
7:12 and 7:16 though I was unable to get a good view due to the trees blocking
my view in the back yard. It wasn’t long
though before I was able to get a clear view and shot of the tiny and innocuous
looking planet passing before that majestic ball of hydrogen and helium. Throughout the day I was able to take about
115 pictures at various times. Unfortunately,
I missed the egress, for I had inadvertently touched the viewfinder button so
that I was unable to see the sun through the lens. Because I was unfamiliar with the camera and
only had a few minutes to catch what would be a tiny “tear drop” or “black drop”
effect, I missed out on what would have been some fascinating pictures. However, I was satisfied with the pictures I
had taken – not bad for an astronomical novice.
If only Captain Cook and the royal astronomer Charles Green had had the
technology that I, in my ignorance, had so carelessly used, I’m sure they would
have made a much better “go of it” than me!
Enjoy the
pictures!
