Transits of Venus: Last chance to see

First witnessed by England’s own Jeremiah Horrocks and William Crabtree, and referred to by Edmond Halley as “the sight which is by far the noblest which astronomy affords”, a transit of Venus is a rare treat. In all human history, only six have been observed. After the transit of 2012 June, the next will not occur until 2117. Past transits were chased across the Earth by astronomers hoping to apply Halley’s method for determining the size and scale of the Solar System, while attempts to document the critical ‘contacts’ led to early experiments in cinematography. This talk will review the history of transit observations and provide a complete guide to what to look for at the last transit visible in our lifetimes.

Back to conference programme

 

About Bill Sheehan

Bill Sheehan has been interested in astronomy, especially the Moon and planets, since he was nine. His main preoccupation has been the planet Mars, and he has observed every opposition since that of March 1965. His many books include Planets and Perception; The Immortal Fire Within: the life and work of Edward Emerson Barnard; The Planet Mars; and Transits of Venus (with John Westfall). He is a 2001 Fellow of the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation for his book in progress, The Structure and Evolution of the Galaxy, and Gold Medallist of the Oriental Astronomical Association. Asteroid 16037 has been named ‘Sheehan’ in his honour. He has an observatory near Paynesville, Minnesota, USA.