Transits of Venus and Solar diameter measures from ground: method and results from Athens (2004) and Huairou (2012)

Abstract

The variation of the solar diameter in time and in position angle has implications in astrophysics and in general relativity, as the long series of studies attest. The Transits of Venus in 2004 and 2012 have been carefully studied because of the rarity of the phenomenon and its historical importance due the AU measure and to the discovery of Venus atmosphere. The characterization of Venus atmosphere and the measure of the solar diameter to the milliarcsecond level of precision have been studied also from satellite images. The results of the solar diameter measurements made with the observations in Athens (2004) and at the Huairou Solar Observing Station in China (2012) are presented. The topic of the oblateness of the Sun at sunset and its intrinsic value is drafted to introduce the general public to the relativistic relevance of measuring the solar figure, in the occasion of the International Year of Light 2015.