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

2. 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

3. 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

4. Educational sheets Objectives, - to present a scientific problem as, - set of funny and exciting experiments for younger students - and a “challenge” with an “achievable” solution for older students In Summary, Science is not boring, it is exciting!!!

5. 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.

6. 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?

7. 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

8. Human Models 2/2 to carry out human model in the playground of the school to reproduce the Venus movements

9. 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

10. Parallax Concept 2/2 carrying out simple experiments in the school in order to verify that “if the distance increases the parallax angle decreases”

11. 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 18 th century according to Halley’s idea.

12. Simplified Calculations 2/2 to use the observations made in 1769

13. 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.

14. Lab Model 2/2 to repeat Galileo’s first proof of 1610 that the Sun is at the centre of our planetary system.

15. Educational sheets European Association for Astronomy Education