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Jeremiah
Horrocks and the Transit of Venus
Jeremiah Horrocks was born in Toxteth, Liverpool
and came to live in Hoole in 1639 possibly to tutor the
children of John Stone who lived at Carr House at the time.
It was from Hoole that he made the famous prediction and
observaton of the Transit of Venus. At the time transits
were important because they provided a method of calculating
the distance between the earth and the sun.Towards the end
of 1640 he returned to Toxteh where he died at the age of
22. There is a memorial to Jeremiah Horrocks outside St
Michaels Church, Hoole. Jeremiah
Horrocks - More Info
Local
Celebrations
A number of local events are being held in celebration of
Jeremiah Horrocks and the Transit of Venus. Please check
our events listings for
more details.
From
May 2004 there will be a major exhibition on display at
Astley Hall Museum. See the Astley
Hall website for more details.
The
University of Central Lancashire in Preston is celebrating
the 2004 Transit of Venus and the historical heritage of
Jeremiah Horrocks through a
series of lectures, events & international collaborations.
Transit of Venus Projects for
Amateur Astronomers and Schools
Measuring
the radius of Venus' orbit
Determing
of the own geographical coordinates and the projected distance
of different observers
Determing
the radius of the Earth
Measuring
the angular radius of the Sun
Exercises
in photographing the Sun and exact position measurements
on the Sun's disc (Sunspots)
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