The science of astronomy was revolutionized in 1543 when Nicolas Copernicus argued that Earth orbited the Sun. From this basic idea, scientists such as Galileo and Kepler transformed our understanding of the universe.

Kepler discovered that planets traveled in slightly elliptical orbits and developed a system to predict their positions more precisely. To demonstrate the accuracy of his system, Kepler predicted that a transit of Mercury would occur on November 7, 1631 (Mercury's transit was confirmed by four observers). A transit of Venus would follow on December 6.

The 1631 transit of Venus was not visible in Europe. But in October 1639, Jeremiah Horrocks discovered that there would be another transit in December of that year. Horrocks and his friend William Crabtree were the first people to witness a transit of Venus.

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