The continents of Australia, Antarctica, and the North-West Passage were as yet unknown to European map makers. That they were used up until the early part of the 20th century.įor the Transit of Venus voyage, James Cook was recommended by the Royal Geographic Society, eager to promote science and discovery.īut the Admiralty and George III had more than just scientific motives when they approved the voyage.Ĭaptain Cook was given secret orders to discover and chart all unknown lands in the South Seas and annex Grenville to survey the eastern coasts of Canada over a four year period.
In 1763 he was given command of the schooner Possible the great amphibious assault upon Quebec City in 1759.
He had performed a crucial charting of the St. Lieutenant James Cook was chosen to command the bark Endeavour. A good ship and a capable master were needed to make the voyage successful. Measuring the distance PG will give a measure Would see Venus crossing the Sun along the line b to b1. An observer at point B in the southern hemisphere See Venus crossing the sun along the line a to a1. An observer at point A in the northern hemisphere would Halley's proposal is explained in Figure 1. Transits are quite rare, and the next wouldn't occur until 1874. In 1716, Edmund Halley proposed that theĭistance from the Sun to the Earth could be calculated by timing the transit of Venus across the face of Of exploration and lead to the discovery and charting of New Zealand, the East Coast of Australia,Īnd the Hawaiian islands. Two hundred and fifty years ago, an astronomical event took place that would profoundly effect the history The Telescopes and Astronomical Instruments of Captain James Cook
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