7 research outputs found
Experimental Reconstruction of Lomonosov's Discovery of Venus's Atmosphere with Antique Refractors During the 2012 Transit of Venus
In 1761, the Russian polymath Mikhail Vasilievich Lomonosov (1711-1765)
discovered the atmosphere of Venus during its transit over the Sun's disc. In
this paper we report on experimental reenactments of Lomonosov's discovery with
antique refractors during the transit of Venus June 5-6, 2012. We conclude that
Lomonosov's telescope was fully adequate to the task of detecting the arc of
light around Venus off the Sun's disc during ingress or egress if proper
experimental techniques as described by Lomonosov in his 1761 report are
employed.Comment: 14 pages, 9 figure