How is NASA using transits today to find new planets orbiting distant Suns? Astronomers will witness a transit of a distant Exo-planet around it's sun about the same time Venus transits our Sun.
NASA's Sun-Earth Days travelled to a native Hawaiian elementary school in Hilo to record a classroom activity about the Transit of Venus. The students built small telescopes and practiced following a model of Venus across a projected image of our Sun. Along the way, they learned about the 1874 Transit event which ties in closely with Hawaiian history.
Most people think that the Pacific was settled by accident. But this clip upsets that notion by focusing on the lost technique of "Wayfinding." Is it possible that Polynesians used the Pacific for trading routes and refined their navigational techniques to reach the Americas millenia before Columbus?
Hawaiians have always held a special place in their hearts for observing the stars. This clip looks at Hawaii's past relationaship and current relationship with astronomy.
A look at the history behind the Venus Transits, up to 1874.
A look at the Transits of 1874 and 1882 which astronomers used to determine the scale of the Solar System.
This trailer summarizes the history and significance of the transit of Venus while preparing for June 5-6, 2012, spectacle. The story traces its value from early expeditions seeking to measure the size of the solar system, to similarities with transits around distant stars being detected by the Kepler spacecraft. Available in full-dome video for digital theaters.
A major solar 'superstorm' such as the one in 1859 could cost $30 billion a day to the US electrical power grid, and up to $70 billion to the satellite industry.