July 16, 2011
Dear all,
A couple of new items have been added to the Transit of Venus Project’s website during the last month: two exciting projects to join, and a new look for the local predictions of the 1639-2125 transits.
The sun’s distance by simultaneous solar imaging
Next to the classical method of Halley (timing the start and end of the transit from different locations), there’s another method to determine the sun’s distance from a transit of Venus: photographing the sun at the same moment from different locations. This procedure was out of the question in the 18th and 19th century because of difficulties with exact time keeping, but thanks to today’s techniques it’s now possible to conduct this method. Besides, it has a strong didactical value too, because the effect of parallax is directly perceivable and agrees with the way we experience parallax in daily life. Right now, a brief description of the method is given; an explanation of the evaluation of the results will follow shortly.
See transitofvenus.nl/wp/getting-involved/measure-the-suns-distance/
Observing the aureole effect
One of the more peculiar effects during ingress and egress is the illumination of Venus’ atmosphere, and it keeps us surprising. Recently, Bill Sheehan and Jay Pasachoff showed that the first astronomer who observed this aureole effect in 1761 and attributed it to the atmosphere of Venus wasn’t Michael Lomonosov, as was long thought. Using 2004 recordings of the aureole effect, Paolo Tanga investigated the effect and related its appearance to the structure of the planet’s atmosphere. Tanga now invites you to make subsequent observations of the aureole during the 2012 transit of Venus in order to contribute to our understanding of the upper atmosphere of Venus.
See transitofvenus.nl/wp/observing/aureole/
Local predictions of the 1639-2125 transits
This is one of the key pages for your preparations for the 2012 transit of Venus. Where and when is the transit visible? What time are the contacts at my place? What part of the transit will I be able to see? You’ll find an answers to these questions on our website. And there’s more. You can also find the circumstances of all the transits back to the one Jeremiah Horrocks saw in December 1639, and look into the future up to the transit of December 2125. François Mignard formulated the algorithm for the computation of the contacts, and our web developer Rikkert Koppes managed to present all data in a user friendly and catchy design. Make sure to stop by!
See transitofvenus.nl/wp/where-when/local-transit-times/
I would like to thank all of you who have made a donation to fund the development of our phone app. But we’re still short of our $15,000 goal. Please consider making or increasing your donation – today! Without your support, we won’t be able to start developing the app that will assist you and thousands of others in observing next year’s transit. For more information see the detailed plan on Chuck Bueter’s website: www.transitofvenus.org/education/video-new-media/217-phone-app.
You are also invited to join our group on Facebook: www.facebook.com/groups/108400462513165. If this newsletter was forwarded to you and you would like to be on our mailing list, just send a message to info@transitofvenus.nl and you’ll be kept in the loop. If you’re thinking about contributing to our website, don’t hesitate to contact us!