Chasing Venus: The Race to Measure the Heavens
May 2012 · Sold by Vintage
4.0star
2 reviews
Ebook
336
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About this ebook
A “thrilling adventure story" (San Francisco Chronicle) that brings to life the astronomers who in the 1700s embarked upon a quest to calculate the size of the solar system, and paints a vivid portrait of the collaborations, rivalries, and volatile international politics that hindered them at every turn. • From the author of Magnificent Rebels and New York Times bestseller The Invention of Nature.
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 they could compile data from many different points of the globe, all recorded during the short period of the transit. Overcoming incredible odds and political strife, astronomers from Britain, France, Russia, Germany, Sweden, and the American colonies set up observatories in the remotest corners of the world, only to be thwarted by unpredictable weather and warring armies. Fortunately, transits of Venus occur in pairs; eight years later, they would have another opportunity to succeed.
Thanks to these scientists, neither our conception of the universe nor the nature of scientific research would ever be the same.
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 they could compile data from many different points of the globe, all recorded during the short period of the transit. Overcoming incredible odds and political strife, astronomers from Britain, France, Russia, Germany, Sweden, and the American colonies set up observatories in the remotest corners of the world, only to be thwarted by unpredictable weather and warring armies. Fortunately, transits of Venus occur in pairs; eight years later, they would have another opportunity to succeed.
Thanks to these scientists, neither our conception of the universe nor the nature of scientific research would ever be the same.
Ratings and reviews
4.0
2 reviews
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October 19, 2012
A interesting and informative read that can be, at times, a bit tedious. Full of colorful detail, its an excellent education on how people had to travel in the 1760s and also how the scientific organizations helped and competed with each other. It's also a great story about life -- sacrifice, perseverance, and dedication. The author is thorough, but can't stop herself from criticizing religion at every turn and from fawning over the ideals of the enlightened scientist. Her points about their personal dedication and international cooperation are valid though. Another criticism I have of this book is the total lack of explanation behind the computations for the mapmonde and the paralax, but I guess I'll have to go somewhere else for that. In the end, I don't regret having invested the time to read it.
About the author
ANDREA WULF was born in India and moved to Germany as a child. She lives in London, where she trained as a design historian at the Royal College of Art. She is the author of The Brother Gardeners, long-listed for the Samuel Johnson Prize in 2008 and winner of the American Horticultural Society 2010 Book Award, and of Founding Gardeners; she is also the coauthor (with Emma Gieben-Gamal) of This Other Eden: Seven Great Gardens and 300 Years of English History. She has written for The Sunday Times, Financial Times, The Wall Street Journal, and Los Angeles Times, and she reviews for several newspapers, including The New York Times, The Guardian, and The Times Literary Supplement.
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