Credit: © The Royal Society
                             
                         
                     
                         
                         
                             
                                 Image number: RS.9606
                             
                         
                         
                     
                 
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            Ingress of Venus and “Black drop” effect during the 1769 Transit of Venus
                                Date
                            
                            
                                12 June 1769
                            
                            
                        
                            
                            
                            
                                Creator
                            
                            
                                William Hirst (British) , Astronomer, Astronomer
                            
                            
                        
                            
                            
                            
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                                Material
                            
                            
                            
                        
                            
                            
                            
                                Dimensions
                            
                            
                                height (painting): 229mm
width (painting): 180mm
                            
                        
                            
                            
                            width (painting): 180mm
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                                Description
                            
                            
                                Two views of the teardrop effect observed during transit, as Venus is near the solar edge, but also positioned well inside the solar disc. With two additional views of Venus outside the solar disc, at “first presage” and at ingress [“the appearance of the black notch]. Four figures of the event seen by Hirst using a 2-foot long reflecting telescope to x55 magnification. Not signed.
The illustrations correspond to figures 1-2 and 5-6 [although here in a different order] on plate 10 and 11 of the published paper “Account of several phaenomena observed during the Ingress of Venus into the solar disc” by William Hirst, Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society, vol.59 (1769) pp.228-235.
                            
                            
                        
                            
                            
                            The illustrations correspond to figures 1-2 and 5-6 [although here in a different order] on plate 10 and 11 of the published paper “Account of several phaenomena observed during the Ingress of Venus into the solar disc” by William Hirst, Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society, vol.59 (1769) pp.228-235.
                                Associated place