XPost: alt.astronomy   
   From: hyagillot@tesco.net   
      
   "Gordon D. Pusch"  wrote in message   
   news:gioewvjxan.fsf@pusch.xnet.com...   
   > "Earth Resident"  writes:   
   > > How did scientists calculate the distance between earth and moon, earth   
   > > and sun etc.   
      
   > Later, more accurate measuremeents of the distance to the Moon used   
   > parallax (change in apparent angle with viewpoint) to determine the   
   > distance through trigonometery,   
   > ;   
   > for a high-school astronomy lab exercise that replicates this method,   
   > see: .   
      
   When was this?   
      
   I forget all the details, but captain cook going to the south pacific/   
   australia was in part to observe venus going in front of the sun (ie a   
   transit).   
      
   Knowing how far he was from the European observatories, and comparing the   
   observations of how venus passed in front of the sun gives you an absolute   
   distance to add to the relative distances you get from orbit data.   
      
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