- Jean Sylvain Bailly,
Histoire de l’astronomie moderne, depuis la fondation de l’École d’Alexandrie, jusqu’à l'époque de M.D.CC.LXXX, nouv.
éd. (De Bure, Paris, 1785), vol. 2, pp. 151-154,
435-438 &
vol. 3,
pp. 104-109.
- Jean-Étienne Montucla,
Histoire des mathématiques, dans laquelle on rend compte de leurs progrès depuis leur origine jusqu’à nos jours, oû l’on expose
le tableau et le développement des principales découvertes dans toutes les parties de Mathématiques, les contestations qui sont
élevées entre les Mathématiciens, et les principaux traits de la vie des plus célèbres, nouv. éd. (Henri Agasse, Paris,
1799-1802), vol. 2, pp. 320-326 &
vol. 4,
pp. 102-112.
- Jean-Baptiste Joseph Delambre,
Histoire de l’astronomie au dix-huitième siècle (Bachelier, Paris, 1827).
- Edmund Paulin Dubois, Les passages de Vénus sur le disque solaire, considérés au point de vue de la détermination
de la distance du Soleil à la Terre. Passage de 1874: notions historiques sur les passages de 1761 et 1769
(Gauthier-Villars, Paris, 1873) – ix+245 pp.
- Richard Anthony Proctor, Transits of Venus: A Popular Account of Past and Coming Transits, from the First
Observed by Horrocks A.D. 1639 to the Transit of A.D. 2012 (Longmans, Green & Co., London, 1874) –
236 pp. – also published in 1875 by R. Worthington & Co. (New York) – a 4th edition was published in 1882.
- George Forbes, The Transit of Venus (MacMillan & Co., London/New York, 1874) – 99 pp.
- Thomas Hayward Budd, The Transit of Venus: Its Meaning and Use (Longmans & Co., London, 1875) – 20 pp.
- Richard Anthony Proctor, The
Sun: Ruler, Fire, Light, and Life of the Planetary System, 3rd ed. (Longmans, Green & Co., London, 1876), pp. 7-66
[Chapter I: The Suns Distance and Dimensions].
- L’Abbe B. Lefebvre, Les passage de Vénus sur le disque solaire: Étude historique (Charles/Peeters, Louvain, 1883)
– 70 pp.
- Rudolf Wolf,
Handbuch der Astronomie, ihrer Geschichte und Litteratur (F. Schulthess, Zürich, 1892), vol. 2,
pp. 244-246.
- Harry Woolf, The Transits of Venus: A Study of Eighteenth-Century Science (Princeton University Press,
Princeton, 1959) – xiii+258 pp. – reprinted in 1981 by Arno Press, New York.
- Donald Howard Menzel, Venus Past, and the Distance of the Sun (American Philosophical Society, Philadelphia,
1968 [= Transactions of the American Philosophical Society, 113, nr. 3]) – 21 pp.
- Allan Chapman, “The Transits of Venus”, Endeavour, 22 (1998), 148-151.
- Michael Maunder & Patrick Moore, Transit: When Planets Cross the Sun (Springer-Verlag, Berlin, 2000) –
viii+164 pp.
- Eli Maor, June 8, 2004: Venus in Transit (Princeton
University Press, Princeton, 2000) – xiii+186 pp.
- David Sellers, The Transit of Venus: The Quest to Find the True
Distance of the Sun (MagaVelda Press, Leeds, 2001) – 222 pp.
- J. Donald Fernie, Setting
Sail for the Universe: Astronomers and their Discoveries (Rutgers University Press, New Brunswick [etc.], 2002) – collection
of popular essays on the history of astronomy, of which six (nrs. 17 & 19-23) focus on the transits of Venus.
- Arkan Simaan (ed.), Vénus devant le Soleil: Comprendre et
observer un phénomène astronomique (Vuibert/Adapt, Paris, 2003) –
with contributions by Jacques Blamont, Guillaume Cannat, Yves Delaye, Michel
Laudon, Jean-Pierre Luminet, David Sellers & Steven M. van Roode – v+200 pp.
- Daniel Hudon, “A (Not So) Brief History of the Transits of Venus”, Journal
of the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada, 98 (2004), nr. 2,
6-20.
- William Sheehan & John
E. Westfall, The Transits
of Venus (Prometheus Books, Amherst [NY], 2004) – 407 pp.
- Jean-Eudes Arlot
(ed.), Le Passage de Vénus (IMCCE/EDP Sciences, ???,
2004) – 240 pp.
- Jean-Eudes Arlot
(ed.), Les rendez-vous de Vénus (IMCCE/EDP Sciences, ???, 2004)
– CD-ROM.
- Christophe Marlot, Les Passages de Vénus: Histoire et
observation dun phénomène astronomique (Vuibert/Adapt, Paris, 2004) –
400 pp.
- Nuno
Crato, Fernando Reis & Luis Tirapicos, Trânsitos de Vénus: À
Procura da Escala Exacta do Sistema Solar (Gradiva,
???, 2004) –
184 pp.
- Eli
Maor, Venus in Transit (Princeton
University Press, Princeton/Oxford, 2004) – xiii+195 pp. [updated
and expanded version of Maor (2000)].
- Steven J. Dick, “The Transit of Venus”, Scientific American, 290 (2004), nr. 5, 72-79.
- Ray Jayawardhana, “Chasing the Shadow of Venus”, Astronomy, 32 (2004), nr. 5, 31-37.
- Martin J. Neumann, “Venus vor der Sonne: Ein seltenes Rendezvous”, Sterne
und Weltraum, 43 (2004), nr. 6, 22-32.
- Edmond
Halley, “De Visibili Conjunctione Inferiorum Planetarum cum Sole, Dissertatio Astronomica”, Philosophical
Transactions [of the Royal Society of London], Giving Some Account of the Present Undertakings, Studies and
Labours of the Ingenious, in Many Considerable Parts of the World, 17 (1693), 511-522 [nr. 193;
published in 1691] – vol. 16 in the 1963 reprint.
- Charles Leadbetter, A Treatise of Eclipses of the Sun and the Moon for
Thirty-Five Years, commencing Anno 1715, ending 1749; containing the
Beginning, Middle and Ending, the Digits eclipsed; together, with the Types
of those that will be Visible at London, with the General Times of the Solar
Eclipses, and the Limits of the Shade of the Moon determined; to which are
added: the Calculations of the Times of the Transits of Venus and Mercury over the Sun,
with the Types thereof, for Seventy-Nine Years, and the Conjunctions of
Jupiter and Saturn, to the Year 1821, 2nd ed. (John Wilcox, London, 1731); 3rd ed. in 3 vols. (???,
London, 1745-’50).
- William Whiston, The Transits of Venus and Mercury over the Sun at their Ascending and Descending
Nodes, for Two Centuries and a Half (???, London,
1736).
- Joseph
Louis Comte de Lagrange, “Mémoire sur le passage de Vénus du 3 Juin 1769”, Histoire
et Mémoires de l’Académie Royale des
Sciences et des Belles-Lettres de Berlin 1766, 265-301 [published in 1768]
– reprinted in: J.-A. Seret
(ed.), Oeuvres de Lagrange (Gauthier-Villars, Paris, 1868),
vol. 2, pp. 335-374.
- Richard
Price, “A Letter from Richard Price, D.D. F.R.S. to Benjamin Franklin, L.L.D. F.R.S. on the
Effect of the Aberration of Light on the Time of a Transit of Venus over the Sun”, Philosophical
Transactions of the Royal Society of London, 60 (1770), 536-540.
- A.J. Lexell, “Eine kurze Methode, die Wirkungen der
Parallaxe bey Durchgängen von Planeten vor der Sonne, zu berechnen”, Berliner
Astronomisches Jahrbuch
für 1777 (???, Berlin,
177?), 157-???.
- ?. Jeurat, “Mémoire sur la
non-application de la correction de l’aberration des planètes dans le
calcul de leur passage au-devant du Soleili”, Mémoires de mathématique et de physique, tirés
des registres de l’Académie Royale des Sciences pour
l’année 1786, 572-??? [published in 1788?].
- Honoré Flaugergues, “Formel um die Wirkung der Parallaxe bei Vorübergängen des Merkur oder Venus vor der
Sonnen-Scheibe, zu berechnen”, [Berliner] Astronomisches Jahrbuch für das Jahr 1797, nebst einer Sammlung der
neuesten in die astronomischen Wissenschaften einschlagenden Abhandlungen, Beobachtungen und Nachrichten
(George Decker, Berlin, 1794), Suppl. III, pp. 76-??.
- F.T. Schubert, “Beitrag zur Berechnung der Durchgänge der untern Planeten durch die Sonne”,
Berliner Astronomisches Jahrbuch für 1803 (???,
Berlin, 180?),
139-???.
- Johan de Kanter Phil.z., Nieuwe ecliptische tafelen, met derzelver toepassing op het meetkunstig
ontwerpen der zon- en maan-eclipsen, en der voorbijgangen van Mercurius en Venus over de zon
(A.P. de Winter, Middelburg, 1802) – xiv+255+128 pp. [reprinted in 1803].
- Johann Franz Encke, “Über die Vorausberechnung der Planeten-Durchgänge”, Berliner Astronomisches
Jahrbuch für 1842 (Druckerei der Königliche Akademie der Wissenschaften, Berlin, 1840), pp. 291-303.
- J.A. Grunert, “Theorie der Sonnenfinsternisse, der Durchgänge der
unteren Planeten vor der Sonne, und der Sternbedeckungen für einen
gegebenen Ort der Erde”, Denkschriften der Kaiserlichen Akademie der
Wissenschaften zu Wien, Mathematisch-naturwissenschaftliche Classe, 7
(1854), 197-??? & 8
(1855), 133-???.
- Simon Newcomb, “Discussion and Results of Observations on Transits of Mercury,
from 1667 to 1881”, Astronomical Papers Prepared for the Use of the American Ephemeris and Nautical Almanac,
1 (1882), 363-484.
- J.R. Eastman, “Transits of Inferior Planets”, The Sidereal Messenger, 2
(1883), 182-1??.
- M. Updegraff, “Transits of Venus and Mercury”, The Sidereal Messenger, 10
(1891), 225-2??.
- J. Morrison, “Methods of calculating Transits”, Popular Astronomy, 5
(1898), 536-5??.
- Roberdeau Buchanan, The Mathematical Theory of Eclipses according to Chauvenet’s Transformation of Bessel’s
Method Explained and Illustrated, to which are appended Transits of Mercury and Venus and Occultations of Fixed
Stars (J.B. Lippincott Company, Philadelphia/London, 1904) – x+247 pp.
- William Haller Cassell, “Transits of Mercury and Venus”, Popular Astronomy, 24 (1916), 171-173.
- A.C. de Kock, “De berekening van den overgang van een binnenplaneet over de zon”, Hemel en Dampkring,
26 (1928), 137-143 & 167-173.
- Jean Meeus, “The Transits of Venus 3000 B.C. to A.D. 3000”, Journal of the British
Astronomical Association, 68 (1958), 98-108.
- Jean Meeus, “De overgangen van Venus”, Hemel en Dampkring, 56 (1958), 235-245.
- John Guy Porter, “Transits of Mercury and Venus”, Journal of the British Astronomical
Association, 80 (1970), 183-189.
- Maurice Danloux-Dumesnils, “Périodicité des passages de Vénus”, l’Astronomie, 91 (1977), 117-127.
- Jean Bouzon, “A propos de de la périodicité des passages de Vénus”, l’Astronomie, 92
(1978), 264.
- Jean Meeus, Transits
(Willmann-Bell Inc., Richmond, 1989) – provides details for the Venus transits from –2000 to +4000.
- Jean Meeus, Astronomical Tables
of the Sun, Moon and Planets (Willmann-Bell Inc., Richmond, 1995) – pp. 450-451 list summary
details for the Venus transits from A.D. 1 to 4000.
- Pierre Causeret, “Calcul de la distance Terre-Soleil à partir d’un transit de Vénus”,
l’Astronomie, 114 (2000), 62-64.
- Albert
Marth, “Note on the Transit of the Earth and Moon across the Sun’s Disk
as seen from Mars on November 12, 1879, and on some kindred Phenomena”,
Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, 39 (1879),
513-514.
- Albert
Marth, “Note on the Transit of the Planet Mars and its Satellites across
the Sun’s disc, which will occur for the Planet Jupiter and its Satellites
on April 13, 1886”, Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical
Society, 46 (1886), 161-164.
- Albert
Marth, “Note on the Transit of Mercury over the Sun’s Disc, which takes place for Venus on 1894 March 21, and on
the Transits of Venus and Mercury, which occur for Saturn’s System on the same day”, Monthly Notices of the Royal
Astronomical Society, 54 (1894), 172-174.
- Brian G. Marsden, “Transits”, Journal of the British Astronomical
Association, 66 (1956), 270-275.
- Jean Meeus, “The Transit of the Earth on 1984 May 11”, Journal of the British Astronomical
Association, 72 (1962), 286.
- Jean Meeus, “Some Rare Transits”, Journal of the British Astronomical
Association, 77 (1967), 256-259.
- Jean
Meeus & Edwin Goffin, “Transits of Earth as Seen from Mars”, Journal of the British Astronomical
Association, 93 (1983), 120-123.
- Joseph-Jérôme le François de
Lalande, “Explication du prolongement obscur du disque de Vénus, qu’on
aperçoit dans ses passages sur le Soleil”, Mémoires de mathématique
et de physique, tirés des registres de l’Académie
Royale des Sciences pour l’année 1770, 406-412 [published in 1773?].
- Edmund
Paulin Dubois, “Sur l’influence de la réfraction atmosphérique, relative à l’instant d’un contact dans un passage de
Vénus”, Comptes rendus hebdomadaires des séances de l’Académie des sciences, 76 (1873), 1526-1530.
- Jean Abraham Chrétien Oudemans, “Observations
relatives à une Communication de M. Ed. Dubois, sur l’influence de la réfraction
atmosphérique, à l’instant d’un
contact dans un passage de Vénus”, Comptes rendus hebdomadaires des séances de l’Académie des sciences, 77
(1873), 994-995.
- Edmund
Paulin Dubois, “Réponse aux Observations de M. Oudemans, sur l’influence de la réfraction atmosphérique à l’instant
d’un contact dans un passage de Vénus”, Comptes rendus hebdomadaires des séances de l’Académie des sciences, 77
(1873), 1150.
- Oswald
Lohse, “Ueber die Wirkung der Venus-Atmosphäre bei Vorübergängen des Planeten vor der
Sonne”, Astronomische Nachrichten, 83 (1874), 119-130
[nr. 1976].
- Hendrik Gerard van de Sande Bakhuyzen, “Die Bildung des sogenannten schwarzen Tropfens beim Venusübergang”,
Astronomische Nachrichten, 83 (1874), 305-316 [nr. 1988].
- Charles
Joseph Etienne Wolf & Ch. André, “Recherches sur les apparences singulières qui ont souvent
accompagné
l’observation des contacts de Mercure et de Vénus avec le bord du Soleil”, Annales de l’Observatoire de Paris:
Mémoires, 10 (1874), B.1-B.37.
- Ch. André,
“Sur le phénomène de la goutte noire”, Comptes rendus hebdomadaires des séances de l’Académie des Sciences,
83 (1876), 946-948.
- Hendrik Gerard
van de Sande Bakhuyzen, “Observations relatives à l’explication du phénomène de la goutte noire, au moment du contact
extérieur de Vénus et du Soleil”, Comptes rendus hebdomadaires des séances de l’Académie des Sciences, 83
(1876), 1230-1232.
- Edward
James Stone, “On some Phenomena of the Internal Contacts common to the Transits of Venus, observed
in 1769 and 1874, and some Remarks thereon”, Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society,
37 (1876), 45-55.
- Stephen
Joseph Perry, “On some Diffraction Experiments of M. Ch. André with reference to Astronomical Instruments,
and the General Theory of this Diffraction”, Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, 37 (1876),
56-58.
- Stephen
Joseph Perry, “On the Phenomena exhibited by a Planet in its Transit across the Solar Disc, from Observations made by
M. Ch. André”, Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, 37 (1876), 59-61.
- [William
Henry Mahoney Christie], “The Aureole round Venus”, The Observatory, 1 (1877), 223.
- John
Brett, “The Specular Reflexion Hypothesis, and its bearing on the Transit of Venus”, Monthly Notices of the Royal
Astronomical Society, 37 (1877), 126-127.
- Richard
Anthony Proctor, “Note on the Arc of Light seen round Venus in Transit”, Monthly Notices of the
Royal Astronomical Society, 37 (1877), 459-460.
- Ch. André & A. Angot, “Origine du ligament noir dans les passages de Vénus et de Mercure et moyen de l’éviter”,
Astronomische Nachrichten, 101 (1881), 33-46 [nr. 2403].
- C. Bruce Allen, “The Black Drop”, The Astronomical Register, 19 (1881),
176-177.
- C. Bruce Allen, “The Transit and the Black Drop”, The Astronomical Register, 20 (1882),
235-236.
- J.A. Brashear, “The Ring of
Light around Venus”, The Sidereal Messenger, 1
(1882), 263-2??.
- J.E. Keeler, “The Ring of
Light around Venus”, The Sidereal Messenger, 1
(1882), 292-2??.
- James
Francis Tennant, “The ‘Black Drop’ in the Transit of Venus”, The Observatory, 5 (1882), 171.
- Ch. André,
“Sur un nouveau cas de formation du ligament noir, et de son utilité pour l’observation du passage de Vénus”, Comptes
rendus hebdomadaires des séances de l’Académie des sciences, 94 (1882), 1401-1402
[= Astronomische Nachrichten, 102 (1882), 215-218 [nr. 2438]].
- George Davidson, “The Apparent Projection of Stars upon the Bright Limb of the Moon at Occultation, and similar Phenomena
at Total Solar Eclipses, Transits of Venus and Mercury, etc.”, Proceedings of the California Academy of Sciences,
3rd series, 1 (1900), 63-102.
- Z. Daniel, “The Ring of
Light around Venus”, Popular Astronomy, 15
(1907), 516-5??.
- Henry Norris Russell, “The Ring
of Light around Venus”, Popular Astronomy, 15
(1907), 516-5??.
- Guido Horn d’Arturo, “Il fenomeno della
“goccia nera” e l’astigmatismo”, Pubblicazioni dell’Osservatorio astronomico della R. Università di Bologna,
1 (1922), nr. 3, 25-57.
- Arthur Jack Meadows, “The Discovery of an Atmosphere on Venus”, Annals of Science, 22 (1966), 117-127.
- Axel
D. Wittmann, “Numerical
Simulations of the Mercury Transit Black Drop Phenomenon”, Astronomy
& Astrophysics, 31 (1974), 239-243.
- M.L. Sveshnikov & A.M. Sveshnikov, “The “Black Drop” Phenomenon of Mercury Transits”,
in: Alvaro Lopez Garcia, Eleonora I. Yagudina, Maria J. Martinez Uso & Alicia Cordero
Barbero (eds.), Proceedings of the 3rd International Workshop on Positional Astronomy and Celestial Mechanics, held in Cuenca, Spain, October 17-21,
1994 (Observatorio Astronomico, Valencia, 1996), pp. 111-???.
- A.M. Sveshnikov
& M.L. Sveshnikov, “The “Black Drop” Phenomenon and Reduction of the Mercury
Transit Observations”, in: Sylvio Ferraz-Mello, Bruno Morando &
Jean-Eudes Arlot (eds.), Dynamics, Ephemerides and Astrometry of the
Solar System: Proceedings of the 172nd Symposium of the International Astronomical Union, held in Paris, France,
3-8 July 1995 (Kluwer Academic Publishers, Dordrecht/Boston/London,
1996), pp. 453-454.
- Bradley E. Schaefer, “The Transit of Venus and the Notorious Black Drop Effect”,
Bulletin of the American Astronomical Society, 32 (2001),
1383-1384.
- Bradley E. Schaefer, “The Transit of Venus and the Notorious Black Drop Effect”, Journal for the History of
Astronomy, 32 (2001), 325-336.
- Andrew T. Young, “Venus and
Refraction”, The Observatory, 121 (2001), 176–178.
- Jay M. Pasachoff, Glenn Schneider & Leon Golub, “Explanation of
the Black-Drop Effect at Transits of Mercury and the Forthcoming Transit of Venus”,
Bulletin of the American Astronomical Society, 35 (2003), 1202.
- Glenn
Schneider, Jay M. Pasachoff & Leon Golub, “TRACE Observations of
the 15 November 1999 Transit of Mercury and the Black Drop Effect for
the 2004 Transit of Venus”, Icarus, 168 (2004), 249-256.
- Bernard E.J. Pagel, “Mea Culpa: Black Drop not due to Venus Atmosphere”, The Observatory, 124
(2004), 54.
In 1645 the Italian astronomer Francesco Fontana claimed that he had discovered a satellite in the
vicinity of Venus through his telescope. Several other astronomers (including Jean Dominique Cassini) made similar claims
during the 17th and 18th century but these claims could never be substantiated.
In 1773 the German astronomer Johann Heinrich Lambert announced an orbit for the supposed satellite which
he assumed to revolve around Venus in an eccentric orbit in 11 days and 5 hours. However, no such satellite was
seen during the transits of Venus in 1761, 1769, 1874 & 1882, although several observers searched diligently for a
satellite near the disk of Venus as it crossed the solar disk.
In 1888 the Belgian astronomer Paul Stroobant published a memoir in which he convincingly argued that in
most cases the observers had either been fooled by ghost images of Venus in their telescopes or a background star. Modern
space missions to the planet Venus have up to now failed to detect any satellite.
- Johann
Heinrich Lambert, “Essai d’une Théorie du Satellite de Vénus”, Nouveaux Mémoires de l’Académie Royale des Sciences et
Belles-Lettres Année MDCCLXXIII, Classe de Philosophie Expérimentale, pp. 222-250 [published in 1775].
- F. Schorr, Der Venusmond und die Untersuchungen über die früheren Beobachtungen dieses Mondes (Vieweg,
Braunschweig, 1875) – xvi+186 pp.
- Hans Carl Frederik Christian Schjellerup, “On some Hitherto Unknown Observations of a Supposed Satellite of Venus”,
Copernicus: An International Journal of Astronomy, 2 (1882), 164-168.
- Paul Stroobant, “Étude sur le satellite énigmatique de Vénus”, Astronomische Nachrichten, 118 (1887),
5-10 [nr. ????].
- H.C. Wilson, “The Supposed Satellite of Venus”, The Sidereal
Messenger, 6 (1887),
357-3??.
- Paul Stroobant, “Étude sur le satellite énigmatique de Vénus”, Mémoires Couronnés et Mémoires des Savants Étrangers
publiées par l‘Académie Royale des Sciences, des Lettres et des Beaux-Arts de Belgique, 49 (1888), nr. 5.
- Edward Emerson Barnard, “[Negative observations of a Venus Moon]”
– cited in Ashbrook (1954), no reference given.
- Joseph Ashbrook, “Astronomical Scrapbook: The Satellite of Venus”, Sky and Telescope, 13 (1954),
333 – reprinted in Joseph Ashbrook, The Astronomical Scrapbook: Skywatchers, Pioneers, and Seekers in Astronomy
(Sky Publishing Corporation/Cambridge University Press, Cambridge [Mass]/Cambridge, 1984), pp. 281-283 & 459.
In his biography of Charlemagne, the Frankish annalist Einhard reported
that a few years before his death a black spot had been seen on the Sun’s disk for seven
days (Vita Karoli Magni,
cap. 32). Other
contemporary sources placed the event in March 807 and averred that it had been the planet Mercury. Later, Islamic
philosophers as Abu Yusuf Ya‘qub ibn Ishaq al-Sabbah al Kindi (c. 810 - c. 866), Abu ‘Ali al-Husayn ibn
‘Abdallah ibn Sina (Avicenna, 980 - 1037) and others cited similar observations as proof that the orbits of Mercury and
Venus were situated below that of the Sun.
A transit of Mercury can only be seen with the aid of a telescope,
but a transit of Venus should be visible to the naked eye when the sunlight is sufficiently tempered by thin clouds or dust or when the Sun is near to the
horizon. So it is possible that amongst the many pre-telescopic observations of sunspots noted in Chinese, Islamic,
European and other sources there may lurk an early record of a transit of Venus. However, many of these observations are
only roughly dated, and those reports that are accurately dated do not coincide with a date for a transit of Venus.
- Samuel
Jenkins Johnson, “On a Probable Assyrian Transit of Venus”, Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical
Society, 43 (1882), 41-42 – appears to be based on an early and unreliable translation
from the so-called “Venus Tablets of Ammisaduqa” (Enuma Anu Enlil, tablet 63).
- George Sarton, “Early Observations of the Sunspots”, Isis, 35 (1947), 69-71.
- Cottie Arthur Burland, “Inscription on Stela I, El Castillo, region of Santa Lucia Cozumalhuapa, Guatemala”,
in: Proceedings of the 32 International Congress of Americanists, Copenhagen, 8-14 Aug. 1956
(???, Copenhagen, 1958), pp. 326-330
[not seen] – refers to a supposed Maya observation of
a Venus transit
in 416. There was no transit of Venus in that year.
- Cottie Arthur Burland, “The Consummation of Quetzalcoatl: Transits of Venus in Mexican Inscriptions”, in: Verhandlungen
des XXXVIII. Internationalen Amerikanistenkongresses, Stuttgart-München, 12. bis 18. August 1968
(Renner, Munich, 1969), vol. 2, pp. 155-157 – gives speculative interpretations of Mesoamerican references to
Venus, linking them to transits of Venus in 416, December 659, 9 December 1145 and 25 May 1518 (or
possibly December 1388 or 1396). There were no transits of Venus in 416, 659, 1145 and 1388. The Venus transits of
23 November 1396 and 25 May 1518 were completely and partially visible from the Yucatan peninsula.
- Bernard R. Goldstein, “Some Medieval Reports of Venus and Mercury Transits”, Centaurus, 14 (1969),
49-59 – reprinted in: Bernard R. Goldstein, Theory and Observation in Ancient and Medieval Astronomy (Variorum
Reprints, London, 1985), nr. XV.
- Bernard R. Goldstein, “Theory and Observation in Medieval Astronomy”, Isis, 63 (1972), 39-47 –
reprinted in: Bernard R. Goldstein, Theory and Observation in Ancient and Medieval Astronomy (Variorum Reprints,
London, 1985), nr. V.
- A.U. Usmanov, “Ibn Sina and his Contributions in the History of the Development of the Mathematical Sciences”, in:
??? (ed.), Mathematics and Astronomy in the Works of Ibn Sina, his
Contemporaries and Successors (???, Tashkent, 1981), pp. 55-58 &
156 [in Russian, not seen].
- Patrick Moore, The Guinness Book of Astronomy Facts & Feats, 2nd ed. (Guinness Superlatives, Enfield, 1983),
p. ?? – claims that the Venus transit of 23/24 November 910 was possibly
observed by Abu Nasr Muhammad ibn Muhammad ibn Tarkhan ibn Awzalagh al-Farabi (Alpharabius,
c. 870 - 950) in Kazachstan
but gives no source. The 910 transit of Venus was not visible from
Kazachstan.
- S.
Mohammad Hadi Hadavi, “Another Reports for Observation of Venus Transit by Avicenna and its Effect on Ancient
Astronomy”, Bulletin of the American Astronomical Society, 18 (1986), 686 &
19
(1987), 690-691.
- F. Richard Stephenson, “Historical Evidence concerning the Sun: Interpretation of Sunspot Records during the Telescopic and
Pretelescopic Eras”, Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society, Series A, 330 (1990), 499-512.
- H.U.
Keller & T.K. Friedli, “Visibility Limit of Naked-Eye Sunspots”, Quarterly
Journal of the Royal Astronomical Society, 33 (1992), 83-89.
- John North, Norton History of Astronomy and Cosmology (W.W. Norton & Co., New York/London, 1994),
pp. 156-157 – mentions a supposed Maya observation of a transit of Venus on 15 December 1145. No source is quoted
but it appears to be based on Burland (1969). Venus passed just north of the solar disk on 26 November 1145 but there
was no transit.
- Jesús
Galindo Trejo, “Alineación de estructuras arqueoastronómicas en la
región maya: ¿indicio de una astronomía de alta precisión?”, La
Pintura Mural Prehispánica en México: Boletín informativo, Año VI,
números 12-13 (2000), pp. 44-51 – suggests that an image of
the Sun’s disk with a Venus deity in the Sala de los Frescos in Mayapán (Yucatán)
refers to a possible observation of the Venus transit of 23 November
1153 or 25 May 1275.
- María Elena Ruiz Gallut, Jesús Galindo Trejo & Daniel Flores
Gutiérrez, “Mayapán: De regiones oscuras y deidades luminosas. Práctica
astronómica en el Postclásico maya”, in: B. de la Fuente (ed.), La
Pintura Mural Prehispánica en México (Universidad Nacional Autónoma
de México/Instituto de Investigaciones Estéticas, Mexico City, 2001),
vol. ??,
pp. 265-275 – see the previous entry.