Transit of Venus - news

Jeremiah Horrocks Memorial Lecture series
Friday 5th March, 6.30pm, Harrington Lecture Theatre
"Jeremiah Horrocks and the North West Astronomers" Professor Allan Chapman

Allan Chapman is a professional historian of science with particular research interests are in scientific biography and astronomy. Allan has written a number of authoritative books on the history of astronomy and is known popularly for his regular articles in Astronomy Now. He has also made a number of TV appearances on Open University programmes and The Sky at Night. Last year he appeared in a three-part documentary series on Channel 4 entitled "Gods in the Sky", which explored early religious beliefs and the relationship to astronomical thinking. Currently he is presenting a well received programme on Channel Five entitled "Great Scientists" where he outlines the lives of Aristotle, Darwin, Einstein, Galileo and Newton. He is the world expert on Jeremiah Horrocks and through this lecture, Allan will provide an insight into this exceptional scientist and how Horrocks can be truly called the father of British astronomy.

Tickets are free of charge. Please contact on for further information.

Jeremiah Horrocks Memorial Lecture series
Wednesday 28th January, 7.30pm, Harrington Lecture Theatre
"The Sun: A new encounter with our closest star" Dr Robert W. Walsh

Our Sun may appear tranquil and constant but is it in fact a seething
ball of million degree, electrifited gas. With the very latest space-based
solar observations, this lecture will show how the Sun's strong
magnetic field creates a wealth of exotic solar phenomena ranging from
high-rise magnetic arches to twisting and turning solar eruptions.
We will investigate our Sun's recent violent nature as
we run for cover from erupting solar storms and try to predict the
effect of space weather upon Planet Earth.

Tickets are free of charge. Please contact on for further information.

UCLan vt-2004 National Node for the UK
The University of Central Lancashire is now the national coordinator for the European Southern Observatory's vt-2004 project. This will be mediated via transit-of-venus.org.uk/vt-2004/ and we will shortly be adding an events logger for anyone to provide details of activities in their area.

Motivate Maths Transit video conferences
Carolin Crawford and Helen Mason of Motivate Maths are organising video conferences in support of the Transit of Venus. These will take place on 11 May 2004 to prepare for the Transit and again on the 24 June 2004 to present results. See the Motivate Maths Transit video conferences page.

RAS Venus newspaper competition for schools
The Royal Astronomical Society are inviting school pupils to create a newspaper or write a feature article to mark the very special event that is the Transit of Venus.

The Newspaper Competition is open to pupils in the age ranges 7-11 and 11-14 years.

The Feature Article Competition is open to pupils in the age ranges 14-16 and 16-19 years.

Groups or committed individuals may enter, but based on past experience, it is recommended that the Newspaper Competition be undertaken by groups of pupils. They cannot accept more than two entries per class. See the RAS competition webpage for more information.

UCLan at Astrofest

The University of Central Lancashire will be at European Astrofest 2004, Kensington Town Hall, London on the 6th and 7th February 2004. Come along and see us, our portfolio of courses and our plans for the 2004 Transit of Venus! UCLan's own Professor Don Kurtz will be speaking about oscillating stars during the Astrofest conference sessions on Saturday.

Royal Society of New Zealand announces competition winners
Three schools have been selected from 72 entries to go on the 2004 Transit of Venus Expedition to the UK, leaving New Zealand on 28 May. Dame Anne Salmond (University of Auckland) and co-judges from the principal sponsor, Freemasons New Zealand (Dr Alex Davidson and Mr Noel Ryan), and the British High Commission (High Commissioner Richard Fell and first secretary Paul Noon) chose the following teams from ten finalists put forward by a preliminary judging panel:

Nelson College, Nelson City

Pakuranga College, Bucklands Beach, Auckland

Tolaga Bay Area School, Tolaga Bay

Teams from these schools will be coming to the UK for the Transit of Venus, and one will be the guests of the IAU Colloquim 196 in Preston. See www.transitofvenus.co.nz for details.

72 New Zealand schools compete to come to the UK
The Royal Society of New Zealand expedition competition has attracted 72 entries. Three teams of finalists will travel to the UK, one visiting Preston to observe at Carr House on the day of the Transit. The entries were "excellent" said Glenda Lewis of RSNZ. The UK National Node congratulate the RSNZ on this tremendous response and look forward to meeting one of the winning teams! See the New Zealand Transit of Venus website for details.

Royal Society of New Zealand sending Expedition to the UK
Several teams of school children will be visiting the UK to coincide with the Transit of Venus. Captain Cook discovered these Pacific Islands following his successful expedition to Tahiti to observe the 1769 Transit of Venus. The teams will visit a number of places of current and historic interest, and one will be at Carr House on the day of the event in June. Visit the Transit of Venus: Voyages in time and space website for more information.

Nehru Centre, Mumbai hosts Transit of Venus workshop
The Nehru Centre, Mumbai, India is hosting a workshop focussed on the 2004 Transit of Venus. The emphasis on the was how to make people, especially children, aware of the exciting celestial phenomenon. See the Times of India report.

Venus Transit 2004 European website
The European Southern Observatory (ESO) and the European Association for Astronomy Education (EAAE), together with the Institut de Mécanique Céleste et de Calcul des Éphémérides (IMCCE) and the Observatoire de Paris in France, as well as the Astronomical Institute of the Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic have launched a Venus Transit 2004 website (www.vt-2004.org) to support the VT-2004 project. The VT-2004 project invites active participation of all interested individuals (including teachers, students, amateur astronomers, etc.) and educational institutions (planetariums, public observatories, science centres, etc.). It encourages and will coordinate the making of real-time measurements of one of the most fundamental astronomical parameters, the distance from the Earth to the Sun.