Transit of Venus

Educational sheets ESO-Brandys May, 7th - 9th 2004 Rosa M. Ros (EAAE)

Educational sheets

Objectives,

- to offer to teachers useful material to motivate students to observe TOV

- to show “what” is a TOV and “when” we can see

- to explain “why” and “how” the TOV allows us to determine the distance Earth-Sun

Educational sheets

Objectives,

- to offer didactic materials

- to reduce mathematical content in order to provide useful school material

- to simplify the problem so that it is possible for the students to understand its essence and be able to solve it calling on their own resources

Educational sheetsObjectives,

- to present a scientific problem as, - set of funny and exciting experiments for

younger students - and a “challenge” with an “achievable”

solution for older studentsIn Summary,

Science is not boring, it is exciting!!!

Educational sheets No less important,

- The school can participate in a European project to recalculate the Earth-Sun distance using their observations and some of the facilities (more accurate mathematical methods and equipment) that modern science uses currently.

- The students have to send their observations (without them it is not possible to make the calculations) and the “Scientists” will give the result.

4 Educational sheets

Human Models

Why the VOT occurs rarely and with special rhythm?Parallax Concept

Why the VOT can be used to determine the distance Earth-Sun?Simplified Calculations

How to calculate the Earth-Sun distance by VOT ?Lab Model

How to calculate the Earth-Sun distance using a lab model?

Human Models 1/2

Why the VOT occurs rarely and with special rhythm?

Objective: to explain why the TOV takes place twice in 8 years after a 120 year period only

- to build a cardboard model and to carry out human model in the playground of the school

Human Models 2/2to carry out human model in the playground of the

school to reproduce the Venus movements

Parallax Concept 1/2

Why the VOT can be used to determine the distance Earth-Sun?

Objective: to introduce the relationship between parallax angles and distance by means of

Parallax Concept 2/2

carrying out simple experiments in the school in order to verify that “if the distance increases the parallax angle decreases”

Simplified Calculations 1/2

How to calculate the Earth-Sun distance by VOT?

Objective: to calculate the distance Earth-Sun repeating the simplified process carried out in the 18th century according to Halley’s idea.

Simplified Calculations 2/2

to use the observations made in 1769

Lab Model 1/2

How to estimate the Earth-Sun Distance by means of a model of the Phases of Venus

Objective: A lab experiment to understand and visualise the phases of Venus.

Lab Model 2/2

to repeat Galileo’s

first proof of 1610

that the Sun is

at the centre of

our planetary system.

Educational sheets

European Association for Astronomy Education