The Venus Transit, But Not In Hurlford!

I got up early today to enjoy the Transit of Venus. This is the once-in-a-lifetime phenomenon of the planet Venus transversing across the Sun. It occurs approximately every 129 years, and nobody alive today has ever seen this before.

Not that I’m an expert in astronomy or anything! Just that the Venus Transit has captured my imagination over the last two weeks. It is so unique that it has only been reported happening five times previously in our history. The first recorded sighting being in 1639 by Jeremiah Horrox.

In 1768, Captain James Cook set sail on his first epic voyage aboard the Endeavour. This three-year expedition was to become one of the greatest journeys of European exploration, with Cook’s now famous, but accidental discovery of Australia. The reason his voyage was commissioned in the first place is less well known. It was a scientific mission, organized by the Royal Society of London to observe the 1769 transit of Venus from the island of Tahiti.

The significance of such observations later allowed astronomers like American William Harkness in 1894 to work out how far the Sun is from Earth; 92.8 million miles. At the time this calculation was known as ‘the most noblest cause in astronomy.’ It consequently saw astronomers and mathematicians calculate how far the other planets in the solar system are from us.

Ford’s however were the only Transits I saw this morning. The reason being that it was cloudy all day in Hurlford! Just my luck.

I can guarantee I won’t see the next one. Its ETA is 2247.