Venus in transit

passage

movement, motion, travel, crossing

transit

the process of moving goods or people from one place to another

view

opinion, belief, notion

explain

describe, clarify, give details, make clear.

treat sb to sth

entertain sb with sth special

astronomical

relating to the scientific study of the stars.

steadily

gradually, little by little, inch by inch.

inch

to move very slowly in a particular direction, or to make something do this

occasion

event, time, circumstance

astronomer

a scientist who studies the stars and planets

party

group, team, organization

observe

watch, scrutinize, monitor.

base

to have your main place of work, business etc in a particular place

it is alleged(that)

to say that something is true or that someone has done something wrong, although it has not been proved.

force

a group of people who have been trained and organized to do a particular job

schoolmistress

a female teacher, especially in a private school (=one that parents pay to send their children to).

outperform

surpass, outdo, do better than.

professional

showing that someone has been well trained and is good at their work

accuracy

exactness, precision, exactness.

draw somebody to something

attract, appeal, lure, entice.

the four corners of the earth/world/globe

places or countries that are very far away from each other.

put down to

to think that something is caused by something else

extraordinary

amazing,special, remarkable.

polymath

someone who has a lot of knowledge about many different subjects.

innermost

furthest inside or nearest to the centre.

desolate

isolated, uninhabited, wild.

latitude

the distance north or south of the equator (=the imaginary line around the middle of the world), measured in degrees.

disc

a round flat shape or object

parallax

the effect by which the position or direction of an object appears to change when the object is seen from different positions

apparent

obvious, clear, noiceable.

due to

because of, owing to, as a result to

ultimate

eventual, last, final.

fundamental

basic, major, elementary.

govern

control, rule, regulate

orbit

the curved path travelled by an object which is moving around another much larger object such as the earth, the sun etc -> orbital (adj)

accurate

precise, correct, exact

goal

objective, aim, purpose, target.

scale

size, range, extent

fall into place

make sense, become clear, take shape.

determine

find out, establish, form.

work out

to calculate an answer, amount, price etc

occur

happen, take place.

in pairs

in groups of two

roughly

approximately, about, around, nearly.

nevertheless

but, however, nonetheless, though.

predict

forecast, foresee, guess.

survive

live, stay alive, last

inspire

motivate, encourage, stimulate.

pin sb/sth down

to understand something clearly or be able to describe it exactly.

set out on a journey/drive/voyage etc

to start a journey, especially a long journey

expedition

journey, trip, tour, voyage.

diverse

different, varied, assorted.

deserve

be worthy of, ought to have.

sympathy

the feeling of being sorry for someone who is in a bad situation

thwart

pevent, impede, ruin, frustrate

besiege

to surround a city or castle with military force until the people inside let you take control.

flee

run away, escape, run off.

pitch and roll

an up and down movement of a ship or an aircraft

rule smt/sb out

preclude, prohibit, prevent.

attempt

effort, try, endeavor.

undaunted

undeterred= not afraid of continuing to try to do something in spite of difficulties or danger.

the equator

an imaginary line drawn around the middle of the earth that is exactly the same distance from the north pole and the south pole

set off

to start to go somewhere

ironically

used when talking about a situation in which the opposite of what you expected happens or is true

cloud

to make sth less pleasant or enjoyable

dispiriting

disappointing, upsetting, hopeless

precise

exact, accurate, specific.

instrument

tool, gadget, device

dog

trouble, bother, hassle

black drop effect

an optical phenomenon visible during a transit of venus and, to a lesser extent, a transit of mercury.

smeared

dirty, muddy, messy

establish

set up, create, launch.

diffract

deflection, spreading, diversion -> diffraction (n)

exhibit

show, display, present

halo of

a circle of light or something bright.

refract

if glass or water refracts light, the light changes direction when it passes through the glass or water.

obtain

get, gain, attain, acquire.

labour

to work hard.

analyse

investigate, study, examine, scrutinize.

expedition

journey, trip, tour, voyage.

observe

watch, scrutinize, monitor.

transit

the process of moving goods or people from one place to another

determine

find out, establish, form.

parallax

the effect by which the position or direction of an object appears to change when the object is seen from different positions

accurate

precise, correct, exact

supersede

replace= if a new idea, product, or method supersedes another one, it becomes used instead because it is more modern or effective.

cosmic

vast, huge, immense. #tiny

scale

to make writing or a picture the right size for a particular purpose

extend

make bigger, expand, enlarge.

shift

move, change, modification

spectacle

a very impressive show or scene.

pave the way for

to make a later event or development possible by producing the right conditions.

vital

very important, crucial, central, necessary.

breakthrough

advance, innovation, invention.

cosmos

the whole universe, especially when you think of it as a system