A Cooke in Peebleshire

 

Robert Mathison of Innerleithen Peeblesshire observed the Transit of Mercury on May 6^th 1878 using a Thomas Cooke of York 4.1 inch telescope.

The transit was seen from the ‘observatory’ no trace of the planet could be seen outside the disk of the Sun. A small group of sunspots were seen on the Sun close to the planet at 4.40 pm.

One point that caught the attention of Mathison was that a bright white point of light which he followed until 5.30 pm when the Sun was covered by clouds. Other observers at this location confirmed the sighting of the bright white spot.