The Transit of Venus from Jeremiah Horrocks 1639 to 2012 – Graham McLoughlin

Tonight we will hear the fascinating story of Jeremiah Horrocks from Much Hoole near Preston, who was known as the Father of British Astronomy.  He was the only person to predict the transit of Venus of 1639 and was one of only two people to observe and record the event.
Horrocks was also the first person to demonstrate that the Moon moved around the Earth in an elliptical orbit but, most remarkably, he correctly asserted that Jupiter was accelerating in its orbit while Saturn was slowing and interpreted this as due to mutual gravitational interaction, thereby demonstrating that gravity’s actions were not limited to the Earth, Sun, and Moon.