Jeremiah Horrocks - A Very Curious Astronomer

Guest Speaker

Thursday, 19th November 2020 (19:45 - 22:00)

Venue: Virtual Meeting

On Sunday 24th November, 1639, Jeremiah Horrocks observed a Transit of the planet Venus across the face of the Sun, from Much Hoole, a village south of Preston, Lancashire, England. Horrocks and his friend William Crabtree, observing from Salford, Lancashire, were the only people to see the first ever observed Transit of Venus. Horrocks had successfully predicted an event that nobody else knew was going to happen. To see the Transit, Horrocks had to overcome the vagaries of Lancastrian weather; whilst giving due to attention to “greater things, which it was certainly not proper to neglect for these subordinate pursuits”, at St Michael’s church, Much Hoole. I have a few things in common with Jeremiah Horrocks. We’re both astronomers; we both grew up in Lancashire; we both have (had) relatives in Rhode Island, America. We both attended Emmanuel College in Cambridge (as did a surprising number of other historical characters, some of whom knew Jeremiah). This lecture is a guided tour through Jeremiah Horrocks’s brief, extraordinary life.

Speaker: Mike Frost

Learn more about Mike Frost

Mexborough & Swinton Astronomical Society is a Registered Charity in England & Wales, Registered Charity No 1064103.

Registered Address: 147 Queen Street, Swinton, Mexborough, South Yorkshire, S64 8NG

Affiliated to the Federation of Astronomical Societies.

Terms of Use Privacy & Cookies

Copyright © 2005-2024 Mexborough & Swinton Astronomical Society.

We use cookies to improve our website and your experience when using it. Cookies used for the essential operation of the site have already been set. To find out more about the cookies we use and how to delete them, see our Privacy Policy.

I accept cookies from this site