The other day there was an interesting conversation about tomorrows Transit of Venus and whether navigators back in the 1700's took advantage of the event to determine their position.
I found this account of James Cook and the 1768 Transit.
James Cook and the Transit of Venus.
Enjoy.
Larry P
If you subscribe to the NASA newsletter , there has been some very interesting articles/videos
The weather does not look promising here in New England for the transit tomorrow.
My brother up in central IL has got his telescope setup with a sun viewing filter ready to go. In fact he's taking the afternoon off to be sure he gets some good views. He is able to get pics out of it so I might could post some photos once he sends them to me.
He has sent me some sun spot pics he took so I know his rig works. We'll just have to see what happens this evening.
I heard that the natives "stole" his sextant, and that he managed to retrieve it with diplomacy in time for the transit, as the Marines were closing in to retrieve with force.
Watch it live.
B-)
