Transits

Transits

This page is a supplement to Mysterious Universe, a handbook of astronomical anomalies

Since mankind aimed the first telescopes at the moon, a number of avid observers have claimed the existence of (what seems to be) tiny asteroid-like (or giant meteoroid-like) objects crossing the moon's enlarged image. Of course, this page has nothing to do with the moon itself, but... on the other hand, the phenomenon of the asteroid-like (or meteoroid-like) transits would have been unknown if there was no such thing as telescopic lunar observing...

An additional catalog of observations of moon-related transits
Derived from the article On Dark Meteors by Frits Hopman (Journal BAA, 1898), and Transit of a Dark Body across the Moon's Disc by W.H.Steavenson (Journal BAA, 1920) (pages 279 and 283 in Mysterious Universe, a handbook of astronomical anomalies, W.R.Corliss, The Sourcebook Project, 1979)

• 1892 April 4, by A. M. du Celliee Muller, Nijmegen - Netherlands
• 1896 July 22, by William Robert Brooks, Geneva - New York (USA)
• 1896 August 22, by Gathman, USA
• 1896 September 28, by Philipp J. H. Fauth, Landstuhl - Germany
• 1897 February 16, by O. Hoffmann, Buda Pesht - Hungary
• 1920 November 23, by William Herbert Steavenson (Royal Observatory)

Derived from the archive of Belgian author Julien Weverbergh and Romanian author Ion Hobana

• 1874 april 24, a certain professor Schafarick (Safarik?) at Prague observed ''''such a strange object, it appeared brightly illuminated while crossing the moon rather slowly, and remained visible afterwards. I don't know what I have to say about it...''''''' (Jacques Vallee, Anatomy, page 28) (L'annee Scientifique, 1877, page 45).
• 1968 July 30, around 22:10, by Mihai Beres, Tusnad-Baius - Romania (observation of a starlike object appearing near the moon and crossing the moon's disc).

Note:
Transits of this sort of objects were (or are) also noticed during observations of the sun.
WARNING!!!
NEVER OBSERVE THE SUN WITHOUT PROTECTING FILTER!!!!! (BAADER, MYLAR, CORONADO, etc...). Do NOT use the small dark-green "sun filters" for eyepieces, because the glass in such a filter could crack due to the extreme heat from the sun's focus!
If you want to detect possible silhouetted objects which could (or are about to) cross the sun's disc (such as the ISS space station in orbit around earth, or pollen-related tiny objects in our atmosphere), try to do it on the sun's projected image on a white wall or placard at a not-too-large distance from the telescope's eyepiece.

Danny Caes,
Ghent Belgium