The Transits of Venus by William Sheehan and John Westfall Prometheus Books, $28, ISBN 1591021758
THERE will be a transit of Venus on 8 June. The planet will pass directly between the sun and the Earth, and for a few hours will appear as a small black disk crawling very slowly across the brilliant face of the sun. It will certainly not be spectacular, but it will be watched with great interest.
Its fascination lies in its infrequency: the last transits occurred in 1874 and 1882. They occur in pairs separated by eight years, then no more appear for over…
