ENGLISH

The Day the World Discovered the Sun: An Extraordinary Story of Scientific Adventure and the Race to Track the Transit of Venus

By Mark Anderson

Book information

Publisher
Da Capo Press
Year
2012
ISBN
0306820382, 9780306820380
Language
english
Format
PDF
Filesize
4 MB (3846172 bytes)
Pages
305\305
Topic
Physics Astronomy
Orientation
yes
Scanned
no
Time added
2012-10-05 09:13:06
Физика;Астрономия и астрофизика;История астрономии

Description

On June 3, 1769, the planet Venus briefly passed across the face of the sun in a cosmic alignment that occurs twice per century. Anticipation of the rare celestial event sparked a worldwide competition among aspiring global superpowers, each sending their own scientific expeditions to far-flung destinations to time the planet’s trek. These pioneers used the “Venus Transit” to discover the physical dimensions of the solar system and refine the methods of discovering longitude at sea. In this fast-paced narrative, Mark Anderson reveals the stories of three Venus Transit voyages--to the heart of the Arctic, the New World, and the Pacific&#151that risked every mortal peril of a candlelit age. With time running out, each expedition struggles to reach its destination—a quest that races to an unforgettable climax on a momentous summer day when the universe suddenly became much larger than anyone had dared to imagine. The Day the World Discovered the Sun tells an epic story of the enduring human desire to understand our place in the universe.

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