[Chaos-l] Fwd: Transit of Venus Project

[Terry Crook]

I realize this is a 2012 event, but what is the date?
If the Sun is due west at 27° above the horizon at 6PM, that's got to be 
early Summer I would think!

Taurus Terry in Chapel Hill
35° 55' 47"N, 79° 01' 00"W

On 3/8/2011 7:20 PM, walter fowler wrote:
> Joe, you are so forward looking.  I had no idea that the transit would 
> be so late.  The last time was early in the morning and we had done 
> advertising and had a crowd and a couple of TV news crews.  The only 
> thing missing was the sun!  Any recommendations about that sort of 
> outcome?  But hey, I'm game.  The last time we always had the next one 
> to look forward to - this coming transit will be our last shot.   Walter
>
> On Tue, Mar 8, 2011 at 1:09 PM, Joe Pedit <pedit at email.unc.edu 
> <mailto:pedit at email.unc.edu>> wrote:
>
>     Ebenezer Point might be a good location for viewing the transit if
>     it isn't windy.  The transit starts around 6 PM with the sun
>     almost due west at an altitude of 27 degrees.  The telescopes
>     could be set up near the water so the thermal instabilities of the
>     warm pavement in the parking area could be avoided.  A well
>     publicized event might draw a large crowd, particularly if the
>     state park waived the entrance fee.
>     Joe
>
>
>     On 3/7/2011 2:50 PM, Jayme Hanzak wrote:
>>     Hi everyone!
>>
>>     The following message just came through on the History of Astronomy
>>     listserv I subscribe to.
>>
>>     I thought CHAOS members would be interested in it as well.
>>
>>     all the best,
>>
>>     Barbara Becker
>>     ========
>>
>>     Message from Bill Sheehan:
>>
>>     From: Bill and Debb <sheehan41 at charter.net>
>>     <mailto:sheehan41 at charter.net>
>>     Subject: Transit of Venus Project
>>
>>     Date: Sunday, March 6, 2011, 12:02 PM
>>
>>
>>     Dear Colleagues,
>>
>>
>>        A number of us, following the AAS meeting in Seattle, have become
>>     interested in coordinating efforts internationally for purposes of
>>     observing the transit of Venus in 2012, the last to occur during our
>>     lifetimes.   We are attempting to organize ourselves under a common
>>     umbrella organization tentatively called "The Transit of Venus
>>     Project" (until a better name can be found).
>>
>>
>>        As all of you are aware, the 2012 transit will be extremely
>>     advantageous for observers, since almost all the most populated
>>     areas
>>     of the Earth will be able to see at least some of the transit (the
>>     only land masses excepted are the tip of Spain, the western part of
>>     Africa,  the eastern part of South America  and Antarctica).  In
>>     addition to high-tech observations of the transit (including some
>>     from space) such as were made in 2004, we wish to emphasize the
>>     singular importance of the transits in the history of astronomy and
>>     in the geographical exploration of the Earth, which led to massive
>>     preparations and daring expeditions in the Eighteenth Century in
>>     pursuit of the Halleyan project of determining the solar parallax.
>>      The level of interest and commitment at the time was comparable to
>>     that of the Race to the Moon in our own recent history.
>>
>>
>>        We are hoping that any of you who are interested in becoming
>>     involved-whether as a planner and coordinator or as a participant or
>>     both-will apprise us of your level of interest and the status of
>>     your
>>     personal preparations and plans to observe the transit.  We would
>>     also ask you to suggest the names of others who may be interested in
>>     participating.  Our goal is ultimately to have observers stationed
>>     throughout the world, and are especially eager to have observers
>>     stationed at sites important historically during past transits
>>     (Steven van Roode's web page on this subject is extraordinarily
>>     complete) and those who are able to emulate past observations using
>>     historical instruments.  Your response to this e-mail will result in
>>     your being kept in the loop-and  future communications will probably
>>     include a regular (monthly, bimonthly?) organ for coordinating these
>>     activities.
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>        Sincerely,
>>
>>
>>        William Sheehan, on behalf of the "Transit of Venus Project"
>>     -- 
>>     Dr. Barbara J. Becker
>>     History Department
>>     200 Murray Krieger Hall
>>     University of California, Irvine
>>     Irvine   California   92697
>>     http://eee.uci.edu/clients/bjbecker
>>
>>
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>
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