Unfortunately I don't have any books to recommend. I don't remember where I learned about Cepheid variables and type 1a supernovae (maybe science shows, maybe y

Unfortunately I don't have any books to recommend. I don't remember where I learned about Cepheid variables and type 1a supernovae (maybe science shows, maybe youtube, ...) but I learned about the transit of Venus stuff on a big Wikipedia rabbit hole one evening. I think the pre-quantum mechanics era for physics and astronomy is super interesting. People figured out so much with such primitive tools, and it's all very accessible and easy to understand.