Library of Congress May 9, 2012

1. Dr. Sten Odenwald NASA Library of Congress May 9, 2012

2. Acknowledgments Music Division Ms. Susan Clermont Mr. Loras Schissel Ms. Jan Lauridsen Rare Books and Manuscripts Ms. Elizabeth Gettins Website Mr. Pat Padua Mr. Domenic Sergii Ms. Betsy Miller Ms. Moryma Andelott Network Development Team

3. Galileo ca 1609.

4. Galileo ca 1609. Inappropriate use of Telescope Probably illegal use in many countries

5. Galileo ca 1609.

15. 1,500 BC Assyrian Venus Transit observation ? 

16. Montezuma ca 1520?

17. 1631… Predicted but not visible in Europe

18. 1639 Jerimiah Horrocks correctly predicts, and first observes, ‘new’ Venus transit. William Crabtree also sees it.

26. December 4, 1639 June 5, 1761 June 3, 1769 December 8, 1874 December 6, 1882 June 8, 2004 122.5 years 8 years 105.5 years 8 years 122.5 years

27. 1761 Transit seen by 176 people. Atmosphere discovered by Mikhael Lomonosov Public reaction?

29. 1769 400 sightings published. • Captain Cook’s Tahiti chronicles

30. Le Gentil’sill-fated expedition New York Times August 30, 1874

31. 1769 Norrington’s observation from Pennsylvania

32. The next transit…..????? New York Times, January 8, 1857

33. 1874 December 8, Many photographs taken, few useful. Congress allocates $75,000 for international scientific expeditions. Simon Newcomb

34. New York Times, December 21, 1874

35. New York Times, November 15, 1879

37. …No intelligent person who realizes its importance will fail to do as much toward the celebration of the rare event as to follow the planet’s course with the aid of smoked glass, at some point during its passage. It is the simplest sight imaginable, a tiny black dot making its way over the sun, but the solution of the great problem of the sun’s distance may hinge on the seemingly unimportant occurrence. New York Times, November 27, 1882

38. An image of the 1882 transit of Venus recorded at Lick Observatory, California Photograph of the 1882 transit of Venus taken at Vassar College by Maria Mitchell and her students. (Picture courtesy of Vassar College Library)

39. New York Times, December 23, 1882

40. 1882 December 7 Massive public interest.

42. The Transit of Venus March

43. The Venus Gallop

44. The Venus Polka The Venus Waltz

45. Library of Congress- I Hear America Singing • Sousa’s Transit of Venus March • Additional VT theme-related sheet music • Educational Activities http://lcweb2.loc.gov/diglib/ihas/html/venus/venus-home.html

46. Some things never change… “Senator Chea Campaign Demagoguery” Washington Post September 27, 1884

47. New York Times, April 26, 1894

48. The Astronomical Unit Tycho Brahe ca 1595.........................5,000,000 miles Kepler ca 1610...................................15,000,000 miles Giovanni Cassini 1672......................87,000,000 miles 1882 Venus Transit..........................92,720,000 miles 1960 Venus Radar studies..............92,957,209 miles.

49. “There will be no other [transit of Venus] till the twenty-first century of our era has dawned upon the earth, and the June flowers are blooming in 2004. What will be the state of science when the next transit season arrives God only knows.” [1882 – William Harkness, USNO]

50. Bill never said anything about Cicadas!!!!