Decrease font size Increase font size Print this page Français

Understanding > Astronomical calculations > Phenomena IX

Canon of the transits of Venus in front of the Sun

for the period 1631 - 2100



For each transit, we provide the following information :

  • The number of the transit in the complete original canon accessible clicking here (http://vt2004.imcce.fr)
  • The date of the middle of the transit (day/month/year).
  • The timing of the topocentric maximum in UTC.
  • The type of transit (P : partial, C : central, NC : non central).
  • The minimum topocentric distance between the centre of the Sun and the centre of the planet in minutes and secondes of degrees.
  • The duration of the general phase of the transit.

n° Date Instant UT Type Distance Duration
59 07/12/1631  05h19h27s NC 15'15.03" 03h26m13s
60 04/12/1639  18h25h37s NC 08'19.27" 07h11m26s
61 06/06/1761  05h19h16s NC 09'08.70" 06h47m56s
62 03/06/1769  22h25h20s NC 09'47.64" 06h33m40s
63 09/12/1874  04h07h26s NC 13'25.68" 04h57m08s
64 06/12/1882  17h05h59s NC 10'13.02" 06h33m52s
65 08/06/2004  08h19h44s NC 10'05.16" 06h26m25s
66 06/06/2012  01h29h24s NC 08'52.65" 06h52m58s

For the calculation of this canon we used the following physical parameters : 

  • the horizontal parallax of the Sun at one astronomical unit = 8.794148".
  • the solar semi-diameter = 15´ 59.63".
  • the ratio of the radius of Venus on the equatorial radius of the Earth: k = 0.9488346.
  • the equatorial radius of the Earth = 6378140m.
  • the square of the ellipticity of the terrestrial ellipsoid = 0.00669438.

For the calculations of the ephemerides of the planets Venus and the Earth, we used the following theoretical models : 

  • The planetary theories SLP98 under the form of series of Tchebychev polynomials produced by G. Francou from the planetary theories VSOP87 (P. Bretagnon and G. Francou, 1988).
  • the theorie of precession by Lieske (1976).
  • the theorie of nutation by Wahr (1981).
  • the formula of the sidereal time by Aoki (1992).

For the old periods, the difference between the Universal Time (UT) and the terrestrial time (TT) is calculated thanks to formulae provided by J. Chapront, M. Chapront and G. Francou (1997). For the future, this difference is extrapolated thanks to the last known values. 

click here for a detailed explanation of the transits in front of the Sun