The Transit Of Venus: The Quest To Find The True Distance Of The Sun

The Quest to find the Suns distance the Astronomical Unit runs like a bright thread through the entire tapestry of astronomical history. Its story reveals the extraordinary efforts, which have been devoted to discovering the true place of our earthly home in the solar system. It also shows the crucial role played by the transit of Venus in this endeavour.In the eighteenth century this rare and spectacular event the passage of the planets disc across the face of the Sun lured intrepid expeditions, including Captain Cooks famous Endeavour voyage, to far flung corners of the world. It did not occur at all during the twentieth century and when it occurs in 2004 and 2012, not one soul will be living who observed the last one in 1882.Now, we have radar techniques to help us determine the distance of our nearest star, but the transit of Venus has lost none of its fascination.This unusual book relates the compelling story of the methods that astronomers have used up to the present day and lays bare the reasoning which allows us to say that we truly know the distance of the Sun.