magnitude of the eclipse. At Oxford nearly all people with normal eyesight, among whom, alas, I cannot number myself, saw Venus without optical aid. I know of two[1] who saw Vega without looking for it and without knowing where it was to be found, and of two others[2] who thought they saw it, but could not be sure. I know of two who saw Mercury, one of whom[3] caught only a momentary glimpse, while the other[4] kept it in view for twelve minutes. I should be glad to hear from any one who saw one or more stars besides Venus. At Cambridge, where the magnitude was approximately the same as at Oxford, four observers are stated to have seen Vega and one Mercury.[5] I have not heard of stars other than Venus being seen with the naked eye where the eclipse was of less than 10⋅6 digits magnitude. Now, if we in Oxford could see stars in the plural, why could not the Athenians in similar circumstances? Our naked-eye observers have therefore achieved three results: (i) they have rendered it unnecessary to pull about the motion of Sun or Moon to satisfy this eclipse; (2) they have established the veracity of Thucydides, and (3) they have deprived him of an excuse for a delightful trip to Adrianople. I fear, however, that
- ↑ Mr. P. V. M. Benecke of Magdalen College and Mr. L. G. Wickham Legg of New College.
- ↑ Mr. J. A.R. Munro, Rector of Lincoln College, and Mr. W. A. Fotheringham of Magdalen College.
- ↑ Mr. Barrett of the Radcliffe Observatory.
- ↑ Mr. W. A. Fotheringham.
- ↑ The Observatory, xliv (1921), 144. In the Journal of the British Astronomical Association, xxxi (1921), pp. 267, 268, 276, 277, it is reported that at Quoybelloch, Deerness, Orkney, some pupils of Mr. Moar saw four or five stars. This would be within the zone of annularity (maximum phase 11·7 digits). The Rev. Dr. Fellowes, of The Cloisters, Windsor Castle (maximum phase 10·6 digits), reports having seen Venus, Mercury, Vega, and Capella with the naked eye. Arcturus was seen, apparently, at Hereford (maximum phase 10·8 digits), and four girls at Stonehouse (maximum phase 10·8 digits) saw Aldebaran. The observers of Arcturus and Aldebaran do not appear to have known where to look, and the stars were only identified by their description of the position.
