Venus Transit June 2004

Andreas Inderbitzin, Ing.HTL, Head of the Society of Astro- Amateurs, Zuerich, Switzerland, is looking for
Southern African volunteers to participate in a project observing the transit of Venus on June 08, 2004.

He says: "Our group of amateur astronomers consists of about 25 members (from 20 to 70 years of age) in Zuerich.
We plan to take advantage of the forthcoming Venus Transit in 2004 to determine the astronomy unit according to
Halley (1656-1742). We are therefore looking for interested collaborators on the Southern hemisphere.

Main points of interest from our point of view for this project are to:

(i)    learn about the historical background;
(ii) understand the mechanics behind this transit;
(iii) determine with the means of an amateur astronomer the transit times of the 2nd and 3rd contact.
        For this we plan to have multiple observatory point in the northern and Southern Hemisphere to
        minimize the risk of having clouds obstructing the view;
(iv) exchange the acquired data (online?)
(v)    inform the public.

The official start of the project will be on the 26 of October 2000 in Zuerich."

Interested observers are requested to contact Trevor Gould at:
Mobile 083-212-8945
Home 011-886-5602
e-mail: trevorgo@tnet.co.za