The transit of Venus, 8 June 2004: a teachers' guide to finding the Earth-See distance

摘要

Transits of Venus have been observed since the 17th century and were soon recognized as a way of determining the distance from the Earth to the Sun. But just how can this be done? There are in fact four methods and this article examines them in turn, making clear how Venus will appear to move, what observations are required, the calculations that follow and the relative merits of each method.