The transit will be repeated in 8 year’s time on June 6th 2012, best seen from the western Pacific, when the planet will cross the north pole of the solar disc. Thereafter a transit of Venus will not recur until 11th December 2117. The previous transit of Venus took place on December 6th 1882, long before even the most long-lived resident of Totteridge was born.

To mark the occasion, Dr.Mike Dworetsky, the Director of the Mill Hill Observatory (part of the Department of Physics and Astronomy at University College London), declared an Open Day to enable members of the public to witness the spectacular event through a selection of the instruments available there.

Some 560 people visited the Observatory during the transit. A sizeable queue had formed by 6.00 a.m. outside the gates and enthusiasts were allowed entry in groups of about ten to look through the telescopes and view a special video display.
The transit of Venus was suggested by Sir Edmund Halley (of Halley’s Comet fame) as a means of estimating the distance between the earth and the sun by the method of parallax, using accurate measurements from different locations on the earth of the time it takes for Venus to cross the face of the sun. He had calculated that the event would take place in 1761 and proposed that arrangements should be made for the necessary observations to be undertaken. Halley’s proposal to the Royal Society was made in 1691 when he was 57 years old, so he was well aware that the observations would not be possible until after his death. Halley died on January 14th 1742. His suggestion led, however, to a huge international effort to make the necessary measurements. Unfortunately, for many and various reasons, the results were disappointing but a second chance was offered by the succeeding transit in 1769 and led to Captain Cook’s first voyage in the Endeavour to Tahiti from where the transit was duly observed. For Cook, of course, this was just the beginning and he continued to New Zealand and Australia.

Some of the astronomical equipment taken on the voyage now resides in the Sidney Observatory. It is a matter of some local pride that the founder of the University of Sidney, Sir Charles Nicholson, lived in Totteridge.

The Mill Hill Observatory holds regular Open Days. Call the observatory on 020 8959 0421 for more information.