History of Astronomy: Cook, the Transit of Venus, Aftermath and Legacy, by Stewart Coulter

Cook was commissioned by the Admiralty to command a scientific voyage to the South Pacific Ocean to observe the transit of Venus – the first opportunity to determine the distance of the Earth from the Sun. The talk will draw upon links with RGO, ROG, NMM and the Royal Naval College. It begins with Cook’s early naval career and what got him noticed to take charge of the expedition to Tahiti and beyond.   This will be followed by an explanation of what the real point of the observation was – citing the Royal Society’s Memorial to King George III, their request to fund the voyage which involved transcribing the original at the RS Library.  Results of the world-wide observations will be described, the first international co-operation led by the French.

An explanation of the cadence of transits, pairs a little over a century apart, will be given.  Only seven transits…