Download - Transit of Venus
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