Since Venus transits do not occur very often – twice with eight years apart about every hundred years - not everybody get the opportunity to experience this unique phenomenon. The phenomenon also made researchers in the past wonder and also to do the strangest things. One of them risked both life, health and marriage in order to witness our sister planets exclusive journey across the solar disk.

by Anne Mette Sannes

	1631 and 1639 Two young amateur astronomers were not only the first people to observe a Venus transit - they also predicted the transit in 2004! Learn more.

	Edmond Legentil – an unfortunate astronomer In 1761, participating in a big project with more than two hundred astronomers, the French astronomer Guillame Legentil set out to observe the Venus transit. But the place he was heading for was under occupation, and since he was not able to observe the phenomenon from the ship, he decided to wait and observe the next transit from the Philippines eight years later. But there was trouble in sight for the patient astronomer … Learn more.
	Navigating by stars and primitive tools In 1766, Captain Cook, the British explorer, is asked to sail to Tahiti with the ship Endeavour to observe and measure the Venus transit in 1769, three years later. Learn more.
	Amazing observations from Vardø, Norway Maximilian Hell, a Hungarian astronomer and Jesuit, made a very successful observation of the Venus-transit from Vardø in 1769. Hells observation made it possible to estimate the Sun's parallax which made it possible to calculate the average distance between Earth and the Sun.  Learn more.

	1874 and 1882 A major international program is started, and there are great expectations due to improvements of telescopes and observing techniques Learn more.
	2004 and 2012 Venus transits for the people! The only Venus transits that humans living now are able to observe!  Learn more.

MORE INFORMATION

Major celestial events in Norway 2010-2015