Stardate
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- Episode
- Transit of Venus
- Broadcast Info
- 2004 (29 mins)
- Description
- Next Tuesday morning sees an incredibly rare astronomic event, when the planet Venus passes in front of the Sun. No-one now alive has ever seen it. Here Adam Hart-Davis, who heads up the live BBC coverage on Tuesday, explains how to watch safely and how to join the Open University project to use the transit to measure the distance to the sun - as attempted by Captain James Cook in 1769. Caution. Never look at the Sun.
Venus passing in front of sun Stockwood Green pupils astronomical equipment Horrocks Jeremiah dramatic reconstructions transit 1761 transit 1769 Captain-Cook transit 1874 transit 1882 - Genre
- Science; Astronomy
How to cite this record
The Open University, "Stardate". https://learningonscreen.ac.uk/ou/search/index.php/prog/6850 (Accessed 11 Jan 2025)