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Transit of Venus Program
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April 16 |
Image 207.jpg depicts the halo around Venus, but it inadvertently shows the halo encircling the whole planet. The halo would only be seen against the black background outside of the sun's limb, not around any portion of the planet that appears upon the sun. |
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April 12 |
Added link to "Errata" page: http://www.transitofvenus.org/glpa03tov.htm Comments for users of the Transit of Venus program, read to planetarians at the 2003 Annual Conference of the Great Lakes Planetarium Association (G). |
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April 11 |
Jay Pasachoff notes two blunders: "... the narrator mispronounced "Le Gentil'; it ends in a silent 'l.' Also, the word 'enormity' was used instead of 'enormousness' near the end; 'enormity' means something bad, not something large." I am seeking the original source of the assertion that Ben Franklin issued a written pass to foreign vessels. If you find it, please send the reference to bueter@transitofvenus.org. Thanks. Jim Manning wrote a kind review of the Transit of Venus DVD/CD set in the March issue of the Planetarian. Astronomy enthusiasts are welcome to join our transit of Venus celebration in northern Indiana. See www.transitofvenus.org/roadtrip.htm for details. |
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March 1 |
Per Brian Grieg, image 070.jpg entitled Mappemonde, which is
labeled as a map of earth by Delisle, is a Dutch map. Delisle made a
true mappemonde based on a Paris meridian, whereas James Ferguson
translated the map and based it on a Greenwich meridian. Grieg has
found the original colored version of Delisle's map, and will upload it
shortly. See 18th Century Transits at http://www.melbourneobservatory.com/
in the interim.
New NASA video clip zooms out from Venus and shows transit from
near-Earth orbit: |
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2004 (above) |
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December 2003 |
Corrections:
Notes:
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Listening to parallax.
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At the parallax portion of the DVD, consider doing the thumb demonstration live. Here is another parallax demo you can try in the planetarium. Project an image of the sun just above the springline. Hold a ball on a stick to simulate Venus and walk from left to right in front of the visitors so that Venus appears in front of the projection (for some of them) without the projected sun image casting a shadow. Have the visitors clap when Venus first appears to "touch" the left edge of the sun, for the duration of the simulated transit, and until Venus clears the sun. With practice, you can show how different parts of the room (representing observers spread across the earth) see the transit occurring at different times. The clapping should start at one side of the room and finish at the other.
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Parallax diagrams not used.
www.transitofvenus.org/jars-scopes.doc
The Transit of Venus After Baby Food Jars & Gun Scopes; a 21st
century admonition to planetarians; from Chuck Bueter.
http://www.transitofvenus.org/glpa03tov.htm
Comments for users of the Transit of Venus program, read to planetarians
at the 2003 Annual Conference of the Great
Lakes Planetarium Association (G),
including this excerpt:
