Sun-Earth Day 2004: Venus Transit
Abstract
The NASA Sun-Earth Connection Education Forum annually promotes an event called Sun-Earth Day. For Sun-Earth Day 2004 SECEF has selected the transit of Venus as the theme. Opportunities are available to prepare for the viewing of this event. The event last occurred in 1882, so no one alive today has ever witnessed the transit of Venus. Through parallax measurements, it allowed astronomers to define, for the first time, a fairly accurate number for the A.U. and therefore, the distance to all the other known planets. The website http://sunearth.gsfc.nasa.gov/sunearthday has been developed to provide the necessary resources and opportunities for participation in Sun-Earth Day. This is the fourth year that we offer new and exciting space science. This year in particular the content area crosses all of space sciences offering activities and resources for every classroom and museum event. The goal is to involve as much of the student population and the public in this event as possible and to help them understand the immense importance and excitement surrounding this and previous transits. Through engaging activities focused on US and world history, technology, math, and astronomy, classrooms and museums can create their own event or participate in one of the opportunities we make available. Comparisons of Venus with the Earth and Mars, calculations of the distances to nearby stars, and the use of transits to identify extra-solar planets will all add to the excitement of this cosmic occurrence.
- Publication:
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AGU Fall Meeting Abstracts
- Pub Date:
- December 2003
- Bibcode:
- 2003AGUFMED12E..02T
- Keywords:
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- 6285 Stellar planetary systems;
- 6605 Education