History of observation of Venus's interlacement of the Sun disk

The interlacements were visible in the years 1631, 1639, 1761, 1769, 1879 and 1882. The first one, who predicted the intelacement was Johannes Kepler. It took place in 1631, but nobody saw it (due to bad weather in Paris). The second interlacement of Venus was predicted by Jeremias Horrocks and was probably the first man who saw it in 1639.

Astronoms went on dramatic trips during the centuries to see such a natural phenomenon. The reason was the finding of distance between the Sun and the Earth. It was possible to estimate it from the observations of those natural phenomenons from various places of the Earth. It wasn't easy at all, because the exact measurements of moments of beginnings and endings were blocked by extension of Venus's image into shape. This effect is possible to see during the interlacement this year.