Whose 1769 expedition included the task of observing the transit of the planet Venus over Tahiti?
"while voyaging to (unsuccessfully) observe the 1761 Transit in Sumatra. Using the solar parallax values obtained from the 1769 transit, Hornsby wrote in ""Philosophical Transitions"" December 1771 that ""the mean distance from the Earth to the Sun (is) 93,726,900 English miles."" The radar-based value used today for the astronomical unit is . This is only a difference of eight-tenths of one percent. Considering what these astronomers had to work with, their results were ""absolutely remarkable"". 1769 Transit of Venus observed from Tahiti On June 3, 1769, British navigator Captain James Cook, British naturalist Joseph Banks, British astronomer Charles Green and"
"Lords Commissioners of the Admiralty to observe the transit of Venus across the sun, a phenomenon that would be visible from Tahiti on 3 June 1769. He arrived in Tahiti's Matavai Bay, commanding on 12 April 1769. On 14 April, Cook met with Tutaha and Tepau. On 15 April, Cook picked the site for a fortified camp at Point Venus along with Banks, Parkinson, Daniel Solander, to protect Charles Green's observatory. The length of stay enabled them to undertake for the first time real ethnographic and scientific observations of the island. Assisted by the botanist Joseph Banks, and by the"
"were sent to collect wood and water, while Banks and his team gathered hundreds of plant specimens from along the icy shore. On 17 January two of Banks' servants died from cold while attempting to return to the ship during a heavy snowstorm. ""Endeavour"" resumed her voyage on 21 January 1769, heading west-northwest into warmer weather. She reached Tahiti on 10 April, where she remained for the next three months. The transit of Venus across the Sun occurred on 3 June, and was observed and recorded by astronomer Charles Green from ""Endeavour""'s deck. The transit observed, ""Endeavour"" departed Tahiti on"
"a telescope in the possession of Daniel Solander and another provided by the Navy. The expedition arrived at Tahiti, the chosen site for the observation of the transit, on 11 April 1769, anchoring in Matavai Bay on the north-western coast of the island two days later. A camp (Fort Venus) was established and the astronomical equipment was in place by the start of May. Of paramount importance for Green was the calculation of an accurate position of the location, which he calculated using the lunar distance method and by observation of the moons of Jupiter. The removal of the quadrant"
"promoted to lieutenant to grant him sufficient status to take the command. For its part, the Royal Society agreed that Cook would receive a one hundred guinea gratuity in addition to his Naval pay. The expedition sailed aboard , departing England on 26 August 1768. Cook and his crew rounded Cape Horn and continued westward across the Pacific, arriving Tahiti on 13 April 1769, where the observations of the Venus Transit were made. However, the result of the observations was not as conclusive or accurate as had been hoped. Once the observations were completed, Cook opened the sealed orders which"
"Ocean to observe and record the transit of Venus across the Sun. The expedition sailed from England on 26 August 1768, rounded Cape Horn and continued westward across the Pacific to arrive at Tahiti on 13 April 1769, where the observations of the Venus Transit were made. Once the observations were completed, Cook opened the sealed orders which were additional instructions from the Admiralty for the second part of his voyage: to search the south Pacific for signs of the postulated rich southern continent of ""Terra Australis"". With the help of a Tahitian named Tupaia, who had extensive knowledge of"
"Horn and continued westward across the Pacific to arrive at Matavai Bay, Tahiti on 13 April 1769, where the observations were to be made. The transit was scheduled to occur on 3 June, and in the meantime he commissioned the building of a small fort and observatory at what is now known as Point Venus. The astronomer appointed to the task was Charles Green, assistant to the recently appointed Astronomer Royal, Nevil Maskelyne. The primary purpose of the observation was to obtain measurements that could be used to calculate more accurately the distance of Venus from the Sun. If this"
"with good skills in cartography and mathematics. Departing from Plymouth Dockyard in August 1768, the expedition crossed the Atlantic, rounded Cape Horn and reached Tahiti in time to observe the transit of Venus. Cook then set sail into the largely uncharted ocean to the south, stopping at the Pacific islands of Huahine, Borabora and Raiatea to claim them for Great Britain, and unsuccessfully attempting to land at Rurutu. In September 1769 the expedition reached New Zealand, being the second Europeans to visit there, following the first European discovery by Abel Tasman 127 years earlier. Cook and his crew spent the"
"brisk trade developed, and large quantities of iron nails and spikes were exchanged for barkcloth, fish hooks, pearls,shells, adzes and other tools. The Frenchman Louis-Antoine de Bougainville also visited in 1768, and the artefacts and stories brought back to Europe from these 2 voyages helped to create the vision of Tahiti as a south pacific paradise. The Royal Society chose Tahiti as a suitable place to observe the astronomical event of the Transit of Venus, and for this purpose Cook was sent on his first voyage. On 13 April 1769, after eight months at sea, the Endeavour arrived at Tahiti's"
"was organised by Louis Antoine de Bougainville and received the support of such prominent figures of the time as Charles de Brosses (1709–1777), Comte de Buffon (1707–1788), Pierre Louis Moreau de Maupertuis (1698–1759) and Jérôme Lalande (1732–1807). The purpose of the expedition is to discover new territories available for settlement, to open a new route to reach China, to found new outlets for the French East India Company and, finally, discover acclimatable spices for the Isle de France (now Mauritius). An expedition to observe the transit of Venus across the Sun (in 1769) that included the discovery of new Islands,"
"the island until 27 July 1767. Wallis named the bay Port Royal. On 2 April 1768 Louis-Antoine de Bougainville, completing the first French circumnavigation in ""La Boudeuse"" and ""Étoile"", landed in Matavai Bay. He stayed about ten days on the island, which he called “Nouvelle-Cythère“, or ""New Cythera"", because of the warm welcome he had received and the sweetness of the Tahitian customs. A primary objective of James Cook's first voyage, in , was to observe the 1769 Transit of Venus from the South Pacific. Tahiti was chosen for the observations based on Wallis's recent discoveries. ""Endeavour's"" third lieutenant was"
"1874 Transit of Venus Expedition to Campbell Island The 1874 Transit of Venus Expedition to Campbell Island was an astronomical expedition by French scientists to observe 9 December 1874 transit of Venus on subantarctic Campbell Island in the Southern Ocean some 600 km south of New Zealand. It was one of several such scientific expeditions from various countries sent around the world to observe the rare astronomical event. The expedition was conducted under the auspices of the French Academy of Sciences which established a committee to plan the operation. A year before the transit was due the French naval frigate"
"Tahiti in time to observe the 1769 transit of Venus across the Sun. She then set sail into the largely uncharted ocean to the south, stopping at the Pacific islands of Huahine, Borabora, and Raiatea to allow Cook to claim them for Great Britain. In September 1769, she anchored off New Zealand, the first European vessel to reach the islands since Abel Tasman's ""Heemskerck"" 127 years earlier. In April 1770, ""Endeavour"" became the first ship to reach the east coast of Australia, when Cook went ashore at what is now known as Botany Bay. ""Endeavour"" then sailed north along the"
"1874 Transit of Venus Expedition to Hawaii The 1874 Transit of Venus Expedition to Hawaii was an astronomical expedition by British scientists to observe the December 8 transit of Venus at three separate observing sites in the Hawaiian Islands, then known as the Sandwich Islands. It was one of five 1874 transit expeditions organized by George Biddell Airy, Astronomer Royal at the Royal Observatory, Greenwich. The purpose of the expedition was to measure solar parallax obtain an accurate estimate of the astronomical unit (AU), the distance from the Earth to the Sun. Previous efforts to obtain a precise value of"
"the timings were inconsistently recorded in various of the astronomer's papers. The Astronomer Royal was critical of Green's work, especially of the observations Green made to calculate the latitude and longitude of Fort Venus It has been noted that although the times for the contacts given by the three observers (Green, Cook and Solander) present at Fort Venus vary, they show no pattern of inconsistency attributable to one observer alone. Following the departure from Tahiti, the ""Endeavour"" continued south-westwards as Cook carried out his orders to further explore the Southern Ocean. The expedition reached New Zealand in October 1769, giving"
"Bark ""Endeavour"" under the command of R.N. Lt. James Cook, bound for the Society Islands (present-day Tahiti). They arrived there in 1769, where the observations of Venus were taken during the transit on June 3. Spöring had to repair the astronomical quadrant after it had become damaged when it was taken by the local Polynesian inhabitants. Leaving the Society Islands, the expedition sailed southwards, reaching New Zealand, where Spöring and the other naturalists spent the ensuing months gathering and documenting specimens of native plant and animal life. At a bay now known as Tolaga Bay (not far from the modern"
"vast international endeavor. Even though the Seven Years' War was going on between Great Britain and France, the British Admiralty granted safe passage for French astronomer, Alexandre Guy Pingré on his way to view the 1761 transit. During Cook's journey to Tahiti, the French government instructed all its men-of-war not to harm the ""Endeavour"", since it was ‘out on enterprises of service to all mankind'. With the Venus Transits, astronomers of the eighteenth century illustrated unity in the scientific community. The entente, however, passed by noted astronomers and surveyors Charles Mason and Jeremiah Dixon, who were attacked by the French,"
"travels and while in Honolulu. George Lyon Tupman George Lyon Tupman FRAS (7 September 1838 – 3 November 1922) was the Chief Astronomer for the British astronomical expedition to Hawaii to observe the 1874 transit of Venus. George, the eldest son of George Tupman (1785–1847) and Elizabeth Emerson, was born at Boulogne-sur-Mer on 7 September 1838 and was educated for eight and a half years at the Royal Naval School, where he showed an interest in mathematical and scientific subjects. As an officer in the Royal Marine Artillery he served on H.M.S. Sidon at Rio and at the Cape and"
"Venus Expedition to New Zealand, after which he traveled to Hawaii aboard the ""Mikado"" to meet the team in Honolulu. George Biddell Airy published an ""Account of Observations of the Transit of Venus"" in Hawaii in 1881, with more than 200 pages about the expedition. 1874 Transit of Venus Expedition to Hawaii The 1874 Transit of Venus Expedition to Hawaii was an astronomical expedition by British scientists to observe the December 8 transit of Venus at three separate observing sites in the Hawaiian Islands, then known as the Sandwich Islands. It was one of five 1874 transit expeditions organized by"
"eclipse, and then Joseph Banks during the 1769 Transit of Venus observed from Tahiti. After which, Tupaia ""attached himself to the British,"" according to Anne Salmond. Tupaia was also an artist, and ten watercolors of his survive. Tupaia joined ""Endeavour"" in July 1769 when it passed his home island of Ra'iatea in the outward voyage from Plymouth. He was welcomed aboard at the insistence of Sir Joseph Banks, the Cook expedition's official botanist, on the basis of his evident skill as a navigator and mapmaker: when asked for details of the region Tupaia drew a chart showing all 130 islands"
"George Lyon Tupman George Lyon Tupman FRAS (7 September 1838 – 3 November 1922) was the Chief Astronomer for the British astronomical expedition to Hawaii to observe the 1874 transit of Venus. George, the eldest son of George Tupman (1785–1847) and Elizabeth Emerson, was born at Boulogne-sur-Mer on 7 September 1838 and was educated for eight and a half years at the Royal Naval School, where he showed an interest in mathematical and scientific subjects. As an officer in the Royal Marine Artillery he served on H.M.S. Sidon at Rio and at the Cape and on H.M.S. Forte at Montevideo,"
"navigator, Samuel Wallis, made the first European contact with Tahiti. Wallis returned from his voyage in time to help the Royal Society decide that it would be an ideal location to observe the Transit of Venus. A big advantage was that Tahiti was one of the few islands in the South Pacific that they knew the longitude and latitude of. The Admiralty was not really interested in particularly where in the South Pacific the observation of the Venus transit would take place. They were more interested in the ""secret"" mission that would be revealed after the Venus transit observation: the"
"exam and was appointed master's mate of HMS ""Dolphin"". Aboard the ""Dolphin"" Gore circumnavigated the globe twice—first under John Byron and then Samuel Wallis. His experience in the Pacific Ocean and on extended navy expeditions led to him being called up to join James Cook's mission to record the Transit of Venus in Tahiti and search for ""Terra Australis"" in 1768 aboard HMS ""Endeavour"". On ""Endeavour"", Gore was initially third-in-command (i.e. 3rd Lieutenant) behind Cook (1st Lieutenant) and Zachary Hicks Gore had previously been part of the Royal Navy crew aboard Wallis's ""Dolphin"" that had ""discovered"" Tahiti and he became"
"on 11 October, Raiatea on 2 November, and Borabora on 7 December. On 26 October 1788, , under the command of Captain William Bligh, landed in Tahiti with the mission of carrying Tahitian breadfruit trees (Tahitian: ""uru"") to the Caribbean. Sir Joseph Banks, the botanist from James Cook's first expedition, had concluded that this plant would be ideal to feed the African slaves working in the Caribbean plantations at very little cost. The crew remained in Tahiti for about five months, the time needed to transplant the seedlings of the trees. Three weeks after leaving Tahiti, on 28 April 1789,"
"observe and document the 1769 transit of Venus across the sun. Observation and documentation of the transit was to provide an accurate measurement of the distance between the earth and the sun. The southern ocean in 1769 was known to be the best place to take such a measurement. On his return journey, Cook ""discovered"" the east coast of Australia which he mapped on this journey home. In 1788 the First Fleet, arrived at Botany Bay and then moved on to settle on the shores of Sydney Cove. With the fleet was a young Lieutenant William Dawes, who had had"
"art, without his being under the necessity of having recourse to any other author."" Waddington's will, dated 12 May 1775 and proved posthumously in 1779, states his address as Downing Street, Westminster. His wife, Margaret, was the beneficiary. Robert Waddington (mathematician) Robert Waddington (died 1779) was a mathematician, astronomer and teacher of navigation. He is best known as one of the observers appointed by the Royal Society to observe the 1761 transit of Venus with Nevil Maskelyne on the island of Saint Helena. On that voyage they made successful use of the lunar-distance method of establishing longitude at sea. Waddington"
"it before any rival European power would be by using Cook's innocuous Transit of Venus mission. Cook, however, had his own personal doubts on the continent's existence. With the help of a Tahitian named Tupaia, who had extensive knowledge of Pacific geography, Cook managed to reach New Zealand on 6 October 1769, leading only the second group of Europeans to do so (after Abel Tasman over a century earlier, in 1642). Cook mapped the complete New Zealand coastline, making only some minor errors, such as calling Banks Peninsula an island. On 22 January 1770, Cook climbed Kaitapeha peak on Arapawa"
"Newfoundland's waters for 200 years. Following on from his exertions in Newfoundland, Cook wrote that he intended to go not only ""farther than any man has been before me, but as far as I think it is possible for a man to go"". On 25 May 1768, the Admiralty commissioned Cook to command a scientific voyage to the Pacific Ocean. The purpose of the voyage was to observe and record the 1769 transit of Venus across the Sun which, when combined with observations from other places, would help to determine the distance of the Sun. Cook, at age 39, was"
"and members of the transit committee in Paris, as well as for other expedition-related objects, including: The Campbell Island expedition was one of six French expeditions sent to observe the 1874 transit. The other two sites in the southern hemisphere were Saint Paul Island in the Indian Ocean and Nouméa in New Caledonia, while in the northern hemisphere French astronomers visited Nagasaki in Japan, Peking in China, and Saigon in Vietnam. Other countries which sent similar expeditions were the Netherlands, United Kingdom, Germany and the United States. 1874 Transit of Venus Expedition to Campbell Island The 1874 Transit of Venus"
"two artists, a scientific secretary, and two black servants from his estate. In 1772 he was travelling with James Cook and docked in Simons Town. There he met Christoffel Brand and a friendship started. He was the godfather of Brand's grandson Christoffel Brand. The voyage went to Brazil, where Banks made the first scientific description of a now common garden plant, bougainvillea (named after Cook's French counterpart, Louis Antoine de Bougainville), and to other parts of South America. The voyage then progressed to Tahiti (where the transit of Venus was observed, the overt purpose of the mission), to New Zealand"
"1835 Charles Darwin visited Tahiti aboard HMS ""Beagle"" on her circumnavigation, captained by Robert FitzRoy. He was impressed by what he perceived to be the positive influence the missionaries had had on the sobriety and moral character of the population. Darwin praised the scenery, but was not flattering towards Tahiti's Queen Pōmare IV. Captain Fitzroy negotiated payment of compensation for an attack on an English ship by Tahitians, which had taken place in 1833. In Sept. 1839, the island was visited by the United States Exploring Expedition. One of its members, Alfred Thomas Agate, produced a number of sketches of"
"It was rediscovered by the British on 3 July 1767 on a voyage led by Captain Philip Carteret, and named after Robert Pitcairn, the crew member who first spotted the island. Pitcairn was one of the sons of John Pitcairn. On January 15, 1790, the mutineers of ""Bounty"" and their Tahitian companions arrived on the island. The group consisted of Fletcher Christian and eight other mutineers from the Bounty. These were Ned Young, John Adams, Matthew Quintal, William McCoy, William Brown, Isaac Martin, John Mills and John Williams. Also with them were six Polynesian men (Manarii/Menalee, Niau/Nehou, and Teirnua/Te Moa"
"visited previously as a midshipman in on James Cook's third voyage. The voyage is documented in the published journals of Watts and surgeon Arthur Bowes Smyth In 1787, William Bligh took command of ""Bounty"" on a mission to convey breadfruit from the South Pacific to the Caribbean. Bligh had served as sailing master of during Cook's third voyage. ""Bounty"" reached Tahiti on 26 October 1788, after ten months at sea. Bligh and his crew spent five months in Tahiti. They established a nursery at Point Venus, collecting and preparing 1015 breadfruit plants to be transported. Bligh allowed the crew to"