RiAus book club: Transit of Venus
Your final chance to witness an extraordinary astronomical event is marked by 2012. For the last time until 2117 the planet Venus will move directly between the Sun and the Earth, becoming visible as a black dot on the sun’s surface. Transit of Venus by Nick Lomb celebrates this phenomenon with rarely seen archival pictures and stories of adventure and exploration.
Spanning from 1631 to now, Lomb details viewing information for the 2012 transit and explains its significance through history. Many famous astronomers over the centuries have embarked on exciting journeys to witness the transit, including Captain Cook’s 1769 expedition that resulted in European settlement of Australia. This month’s book club selection was a timely read before this exciting event.
A “superb and lavishly illustrated book…essential reading for everyone.” Fred Watson
Related Content
Read a blog post by Valerie Sitters – The many transits to track the transit of Venus
Read an article by Paul Willis for the Adelaide Review – A planet passes by
Read a book review of Transit of Venus from The Washington Post – It’s time for Venus to transit
Read an article by NASA – James Cook and the Transit of Venus
You can listen to the audio clips about significance and history of the transits from RiAus Director Dr Paul Willis and Curator of Astronomy at the Sydney Observatory Dr Nick Lomb.
