Magdeburg, Germany — 10 October 1802
Astronomer’s report of a dark moving object
Le Verrier reports an unknown dark object seen by Fritsch, rapidly crossing the sun’s disk. He writes: “Fritsch, at Magdeburg, saw a spot moving 2 minutes of arc in 3 minutes of time, and not seen after a cloudy interval of 4 hours.”
Source: Le Verrier, “Examen des observations qu’on a presentees, a diverses epoques, comme pouvant appartenir aux passages d’une planete intra-mercurielle devant le disque du Soleil,” Comptes Rendus of the French Academy of Sciences 83 (1876): 583-9, to 587-8. 378. Case: W330