By Steven van Roode
The transit of Venus on 1639 December 4 was the first transit ever witnessed by humans. Only shortly before the transit occurred, Jeremiah Horrocks predicted the rare astronomical event and just had enough time to notify his friend William Crabtree to be on guard. Both were able to get a glimpse of the silhouette of Venus against a setting sun on the evening of December 4. Although the last part of the transit was visible from Europe, there are no other observations known.
England
Young amateur astronomer Jeremiah Horrocks predicted and observed the 1639 transit of Venus. It is commonly stated that he performed his observations from Carr House in Much Hoole, although Horrocks didn’t mention either Carr House or Much Hoole in his report Venus in Sole Visa. Nevertheless, there is a memorial plate at Carr House commemorating the momentous observation by Horrocks.
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Location: 53°41′12″.9 N, 2°48′54″.3 W times of contact
Carr House and the memorial plate in Much Hoole. (Picture courtesy of Lancashire County Council)
Amateur astronomer William Crabtree was told by his friend Horrocks of the predicted transit of Venus and he also spotted the planet’s silhouette on the solar disk. Crabtree probably observed from Ivy Cottage in Salford, which is thought most likely to have been the home of Crabtree at the time of the 1639 transit of Venus. At the junction of Lower Broughton Road and Priory Grove in Salford there is a street sign which says ‘Priory Grove Late Crabtree Croft’. A few yards south of that there is a plaque describing the event at 388-90 Lower Broughton Road, which is the location of Ivy Cottage. At Scarr Wheel House, a few hundred yards up the road, there is a circular blue plaque which was first put up to commemorate the event, but this was later found to be not the correct location.
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Location: 53°30′11″.0 N, 2°16′04″.1 W times of contact
The commemorative plaque at Ivy Cottage, Salford.