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The transit of Venus in 1874

Observations of the 1874 transit of Venus seem to have been based on a misguided belief that nineteenth century techniques were superior to those of the previous century. Here A. J. Meadows explains, with the benefit of hindsight, how the expectations of the nineteenth century astronomers were not fulfilled.

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References

  1. Woolf, H., The Transits of Venus (Princeton University Press, Princeton, 1959).

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  2. History of the Royal Astronomical Society, 183 (Royal Astronomical Society, London, 1923).

  3. Ibid.

  4. Newcomb, S., Popular Astronomy, 2nd ed., 183–192 (Macmillan, London, 1883).

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Meadows, A. The transit of Venus in 1874. Nature 250, 749–752 (1974). https://doi.org/10.1038/250749a0

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