A thousand people gathered at the Chicago lakefront to
observe the planet Venus appearing as a tiny black dot
traveling across the surface of the Sun. This observation,
with our noted location and timing, and in conjunction
with others from around the world, allowed for reestablishing
first-hand what is known today as 1 astronomical unit.
This
was a very rare event. The 1st transit to be observed
was in 1639 by Jeremiah Horrocks. Since then there have
been only 4 Venus transits, with the last one occurring
in 1882 – 122 years ago!
JUNE
8, 2004
THE TRANSIT OF VENUS |
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