Maximilianus Hell (1720-1792) - Munin

eady on a hilltop nearby. The weather was bad on 3 June; the visitors from Copenhagen only
managed to catch glimpses of Venus in front of the Sun and saw nothing of the moments of
contact. In his unpublished expedition report, which is preserved at the Kongelige Bibliotek
(„Royal Library‟) in Copenhagen, 140 Peder Horrebow explains that: 141
the outcome has for me been the same as for most others who made expeditions
with the same task; the sky was quite cloudy at the time when Venus was to
make its passage, preventing me from making any observations at all.
Admittedly, I did see Venus in the Sun, but hardly enough, as I shall explain
presently; but the Sun was completely covered by clouds at the time when those
observations were to be made which were of importance and which were to
serve as a basis for conclusions.
Attempts to determine the geographical co-ordinates of Dønnes were conducted over the days
and weeks that followed, but again, Horrebow stresses that his results are unsatisfactory,
blaming his quadrant for this.
The sailors of Horrebow‟s ship, who continued northwards to carry Hell and Sajnovics back
to Trondheim, told a different story. According to them, Horrebow had been afraid to sail
whenever a strong wind started blowing, ordering the sailors to seek port instead. Besides this,
they had gone ashore for all their meals, thus wasting a lot of time. 142 If Sajnovics‟ account is
to be believed, this behaviour may explain why Horrebow and Bützow never succeeded in
reaching their intended destination. It is known that the Trondheim-based botanist Henrik
Tonning (1732-1796), not mentioned by Horrebow, also participated in the expedition. His
wish to travel further north was not granted by the leader of the expedition, however. 143
and stayed there until 13 June (Sajn.s diary, 18 August 1769). Horrebow‟s MS, p. 19, however, reports of
astronomical observations made at Dønnes as late as 1 July 1769. In the Trondheim weekly, K. alleene privil.
Trondhiems Adr. Cont. Efterretn., 1769. No. 30. Fredagen den 28 Julii, Horrebow and Bützow are listed as
“Jndpasserede” („persons arriving‟). See also Aspaas & Voje Johansen 2004b and Voje Johansen 2011b.
140 See the preceding footnote.
141 P. Horrebow‟s MS, pp. 2-3: “det har gaaet mig, som de fleeste andre, som reiste i samme ærinde, at nemlig
himmelen var den tid, da Venus skulde passere, gandske tyk, saa jeg slet ingen observation kunde giöre; jeg fik
vel Venerem i Soelen at see, dog det neppe nok, som nærmere skal blive forklaret, men Soelen var gandske
bedækket af skyer, naar de observationer skulde giöres, som vare af vigtighed, og hvoraf siden noget skulde
sluttes”.
142 Sajn.‟s diary, 30 June 1769.
143 Sajn.‟s diary, 20 August 1769. Tonning had travelled to Uppsala to study botany under Linnaeus along with
Borchgrevink, in 1766. Unlike the latter, he defended a dissertation there in 1768 and could thus claim to be a
professional natural historian (cf. Jørgensen 2007, pp. 51-52).
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