Transit of Venus Observation Site

The Transit of Venus Observation Site near Burnham, New Zealand, marks the spot where a British expedition set out to observe one of astronomy's rarest events.

About the Transit of Venus Observation Site

The station was established in 1874 for the transit of Venus on 9 December of that year, part of an international scientific effort that also sent expeditions from England, France, Germany and the United States to observing sites across New Zealand.

History

The Burnham station was led by Major H. S. Palmer. A backup site was also set up at Naseby, in northern Otago, equipped with a 10.2 cm Simms refractor and a portable transit telescope and astronomical clock in case conditions at Burnham proved unsuitable. On the day, cloud cover at Burnham limited observers to a partial view, catching Venus crossing roughly three-eighths of the Sun's diameter through breaks in the clouds. The site was formally recognised as a Historic Reserve in 1920.

Location & getting there

The site lies near Burnham, close to Christchurch, on New Zealand's South Island.

Visiting the Transit of Venus Observation Site

As a historic reserve, the site is open to visitors, though it's worth checking current access information locally before making the trip, since facilities on site are minimal.

See your named star from here

The astronomers at Burnham travelled a long way to fix the position of Venus for a few hours in 1874; today, the coordinates of your own named star are on permanent record and can be found from the same patch of sky. See the star catalogue to find yours.