ZS2 OF THE DISTANCES AND ti AGNltUDES

heavens. But when Venus is between the earthand the fun, as she was at the time of her latetransits, her distance from the earth is betweenthree and four times less than that of the fun.And, consequently, if Venus be then viewed bytwo observers on the earth, who are at a greatdistance from each other, she will appear to eachof them to be on different parts of the fun’s fur*face at the fame instant.

Thus let S be the fun, (Pi* XI. fig. i.) VVenus, and A B D E the earth ; and let one ob-server be at A, another at B, and a third at D*all looking at Venus at the fame moment of ab-solute time. Then, to the observer at A, Venuswill appear upon the fun at F} to the observerat B, the will appear upon the sun at G; and tothe observer at D, (he will appear upon the sunat H. Or if Venus be supposed to be at rest atV, whilst the observer is carried by the earth’smotion on its axis, from A to D, through thearc A B D, it is plain that the planet V will thenappear to have moved on the fun from F to H,through the space F G H.

Let us now suppose the earth ab de (fig. 2.)to be nearer the fun S, than as represented infig. 1; in which case Venus (v) will be propor-tionally nearer to the earth ; and the arc a bthrough which the observer is carried, will beara greater proportion to the distance of Venus (v)from the earth, in fig. 2. than the fame arc ABD

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