Notice bibliographique
- Notice
Type(s) de contenu et mode(s) de consultation : Texte noté. Image fixe : sans médiation
Auteur(s) : Wulf, Andrea
Titre(s) : Chasing Venus [Texte imprimé] : the race to measure the heavens / Andrea Wulf
Édition : 1st American ed
Publication : New York : A. A. Knopf, 2012
Description matérielle : xxvi, 304 p. : ill., maps ; 25 cm
Comprend : The gauntlet ; Transit 1761. Call to action ; The French are first ; Britain enters
the race ; To Siberia ; Getting ready for Venus ; Day of transit, 6 June 1761 ; How
far to the sun? ; Transit 1769. A second change ; Russia enters the race ; The most
daring voyage of all ; Scandinavia, or, The Land of the Midnight Sun ; The North American
continent ; Racing to the four corners of the globe ; Day of transit, 3 June 1769
; After the transit ; A new dawn ; List of observers, 1761 ; List of observers,
1769.
Note(s) : Includes bibliographical references (p. 220-237) and index
"The author of the highly acclaimed Founding Gardeners now gives us an enlightening
chronicle of the first truly international scientific endeavor--the eighteenth-century
quest to observe the transit of Venus and measure the solar system. On June 6, 1761,
the world paused to observe a momentous occasion: the first transit of Venus between
the earth and the sun in more than a century. Through that observation, astronomers
could calculate the size of the solar system--but only if the transit could be viewed
at the same time from many locations. Overcoming incredible odds and political strife,
astronomers from Britain, France, Russia, Germany, Sweden, and the American colonies
set up observatories in remote corners of the world only to have their efforts thwarted
by unpredictable weather and warring armies. Fortunately, transits of Venus occur
in pairs: eight years later, the scientists were given a second chance to get it right.
Chasing Venus brings to life this extraordinary endeavor: the personalities of eighteenth-century
astronomy, the collaborations, discoveries, personal rivalries, volatile international
politics, and the race to be first to measure the distances between the planets"--Provided
by publisher ; "On June 6, 1761, the world paused to observe a momentous occasion:
the first transit of Venus between the Earth and the sun in more than a century. Through
that observation, astronomers could calculate the size of the solar system--but only
if the transit could be viewed at the same time from many locations. Overcoming incredible
odds and political strife, astronomers from Britain, France, Russia, Germany, Sweden,
and the American colonies set up observatories in remote corners of the world only
to have their efforts thwarted by unpredictable weather and warring armies. Fortunately,
transits of Venus occur in pairs: eight years later, the scientists were given a second
chance to get it right. Chasing Venus brings to life this extraordinary endeavor:
the personalities of eighteenth-century astronomy, the collaborations, discoveries,
personal rivalries, volatile international politics, and the race to be first to measure
the distances between the planets"--Provided by publisher
Sujet(s) : Astronomie géodésique -- 18e siècle
Astronomie -- 18e siècle
Vénus (planète) -- Passage
Identifiants, prix et caractéristiques : ISBN 9780307700179 (hardback). - ISBN 0307700178 (hardback)
Identifiant de la notice : ark:/12148/cb43785387p
Notice n° :
FRBNF43785387
(notice reprise d'un réservoir extérieur)