Transits of Venus, 1761 and 1769.
Abstract
The Transits of Venus of 1761 and 1769 were widely anticipated, due to the efforts of Edmond Halley and Joseph-Nicolas Delisle in promoting observations to determine solar parallax. Extensive planning resulted in widespread participation; with at least 110 different observing stations stations worldwide for one or both of the events.
Results from the 1761 expeditions derived solar parallax measurements between 8.28 and 10.60 arc seconds. The 1769 results were much better, 8.43 to 8.80 arc seconds, as compared with the accurate value of 8.79 arc seconds. This presentation will note the efforts of Halley, Delisle, and James Ferguson in promoting scientific observation of the transit. The poster will include the observations of Thorbern Bergman at Uppsala, Sweden; Samuel Dunn at the Royal Observatory, Greenwich; Charles Green at King George's Island; Samuel Horsley at Oxford; and William Smith at Norriton. These observers are distinguished from their contemporaries by the interesting graphic aids they used to present their studies.- Publication:
-
American Astronomical Society Meeting Abstracts
- Pub Date:
- December 2003
- Bibcode:
- 2003AAS...203.1609A