“Correcting the observed contact times,” he continued, “the following table was obtained: ADOPTED CONTACT TIMES. _Mean time of Columbia College._ _Mean time in Washington._ H. M. S. H. M. S. I [J]9 8 50.0 8 56 31.6 II 9 28 45.9 9 16 27.5 III 2 52 13.5 2 39 55.1 IV [K]3 11 52.1 2 59 33.7 FOOTNOTES: [J] Notch plainly on. Estimated a minute late. [K] Poor contact. Cloudy. “The observation of the first contact was interfered with by the clouds. Between the first contact and the second contact the light shining through Venus’s atmosphere was a fine sight. I should say that it first appeared to my eye when the planet was a little more than half way on the sun, and disappeared about a minute before the planet reached second contact. “I might, perhaps, introduce here,” said the professor, drawing a circle upon the blackboard, “the meaning of the terms first contact, second contact, and so on. Taking this circle to represent the sun, Venus is a disc which is about one-twenty-first part the diameter of the sun, and by first contact we simply mean the instant when the disc Venus, approaching the disc of the sun, touches it at one point externally. The second contact occurs at the time when the disc of Venus just touches the sun internally. The third contact Is the instant when the disc of Venus just touches the disc of the sun internally on one side, and the fourth contact is the instant when it touches on the other side. “The line of light,” the Professor went on, after his explanation, “marking out the portion of Venus’ disk not on the sun, changed its appearance considerably while my attention was fixed upon it. I first saw a faint curved line of light off of the sun, and apparently marking out the part of Venus’ disk not on the sun, this curved line being entirely disconnected from the sun. A little later this arc of light was lengthened to a semicircular thread and touched the edge of the sun, marking out the complete outline of the part of Venus’ disk not on the sun. The semicircular gold thread seemed to be an exact continuation of the dark rim of the planet. Finally this line broadened at the point where it touched the sun’s rim, or edge, and the summit of the arc disappeared. The wings of light thus formed were, at their base, not in the exact continuation of the dark outline of the planet. I watched for the repetition of these appearances between third and fourth contacts, but failed to see anything. The sky between the first and second contacts was much clearer of haze than between the third and fourth.