Papers and proceedings of the Royal Society of Tasmania . arbour, and the chronometrical dif-ferences of meridians employed in the determination of thelongitude for Hobart Town, from them, were very numerous. The determination of the latitude of any place is a muchsimpler problem ; the latitude obtained by Captain Kay,was theresult of sextant observations by the method of circum-meri-dional altitudes of the sun and stars. In their reduction,Baily*s Tables and Formulae of reduction to the meridian, andIvorys Tables of refraction, with their correction for pressureand temperature were used. Capt
Papers and proceedings of the Royal Society of Tasmania . arbour, and the chronometrical dif-ferences of meridians employed in the determination of thelongitude for Hobart Town, from them, were very numerous. The determination of the latitude of any place is a muchsimpler problem ; the latitude obtained by Captain Kay,was theresult of sextant observations by the method of circum-meri-dional altitudes of the sun and stars. In their reduction,Baily*s Tables and Formulae of reduction to the meridian, andIvorys Tables of refraction, with their correction for pressureand temperature were used. Captain Kay thinks that thelatitude assigned to the observatory cannot be much in we consider the number of observations made and the largeamount of labour bestowed upon them, the authority connected,and the result obtained, we have an equal right to considerthe geographical position of Hobart Town, as correct as anyof the Australian colonies. In all probability not one of the (6^1^^ . ti^ TRANSIT Of MERCURY OVER THE SUNS DISC NOVEMBER 5^ 1868 ,tss. ^^^ HOBART TOWN TIME OF INGRESS 6 ., del. F. Jbb^i tCurxey Defirtrfni^nt^.tioluiii T^n-/i 11 ten principal observers engaged at the transit of Venus in 1769had a fixed position more correct than that at Hobart Town. There-discussion of the transit of Venus in 1769 recentlymade by Mr. Stone, at the Greenwich observatory, from resultsof fall observations made at the time, has reduced the sunsdistance to near that arrived at by the opposition of Mars, andthe speed of light, viz., 91,700,000 miles. This great problemtherefore may be considered almost settled within the require-ments of our present astronomy, and only waits for confirmationat the next transit of Venus to make all things necessity is more felt owing to some doubt having arisenon a misinterpretation said to be made by Mr. Stone, in hisre-discussion on Chappes statement made at the time of con-tact of the sun and Pla
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