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Chasing Venus: The Race to Measure the Heavens [Kietas viršelis]

3.94/5 (1278 ratings by Goodreads)
  • Formatas: Hardback, 336 pages, aukštis x plotis x storis: 240x164x33 mm, weight: 654 g
  • Išleidimo metai: 10-May-2012
  • Leidėjas: William Heinemann Ltd
  • ISBN-10: 0434021083
  • ISBN-13: 9780434021086
Kitos knygos pagal šią temą:
Chasing Venus: The Race to Measure the HeavensDidesnis paveikslėlis
  • Formatas: Hardback, 336 pages, aukštis x plotis x storis: 240x164x33 mm, weight: 654 g
  • Išleidimo metai: 10-May-2012
  • Leidėjas: William Heinemann Ltd
  • ISBN-10: 0434021083
  • ISBN-13: 9780434021086
Kitos knygos pagal šią temą:
Pastovi nuoroda: https://www.kriso.lt/db/9780434021086.html
On a summer's day in June 1761, astronomers all over the world cast their eyes to the sky to witness a rare astronomical event: the transit of Venus across the face of the sun. It was one of the most important collaborations of scientific history, as by racing to different points around the world and comparing results, these men hoped to unlock the key to one of the most pressing questions of the Enlightenment: the distance between the earth and the sun, which would allow them to calculate the dimensions of our solar system. For the first time, scientists from across the globe came together - despite politics, wars, trade disputes, terrible weather and bitter rivalry - to measure the universe.

Transits of Venus come in pairs, eight years apart - the next one will be June 2012, and won't occur again until December 2117. We will therefore be the last people for more than a century to see a phenomenon that inspired scientists from all over the world to work together for the first time in the history of mankind.

A thrilling adventure story, an inspiring tale of Enlightenment science, and a hugely informative slice of intellectual history with Britain at its centre, Chasing Venus is going to be this decade's Longitude.

Recenzijos

Andrea Wulf's story of the chase is an enthralling, nail-biting thriller and will undoubtedly prove one of the non-fiction books of the year. Even if you fail to see the Transit, don't miss this wonderful book, -- John Harding * Daily Mail * A fine example of scientific storytelling about astronomers of the Enlightenment observing the transit of Venus. Publishers got hot for science writing when Longitude by Dava Sobel took off unexpectedly as a long-term bestsellerAndrea Wulfs story of how astronomers of the Enlightenment hoped to measure the distance from the Earth to the Sun by observing the transit of Venus internationally on June 6, 1761, and again on June 3, 1769, is another fine example of such scientific storytellingFrom the original inspiration of Edmund Halley that led to the active co-operation of Captain Cook, Benjamin Franklin and even Catherine the Great, the enterprise is narrated with elegant expertise. -- Iain Finlayson * The Times * Historian Andrea Wulfs Chasing Venus is beautifully paced, alternating between expe­ditions, with lush descriptions of the often arduous journeys involved. * Nature * Chasing Venus: The Race to Measure the Heavens takes us first to the year 1761 and the phenomena that is a transit of Venus. It charts the story of a truly international effort; to not only observe the transit of 6 June 1761 and indeed its partner of 3 June 1769, but to present the real quest that was to finally determine the distance between the Earth and the Sun. The author weaves parallel stories involving the French and British expeditions, but makes sure that other delegations from Sweden, Germany, Italy and Russia are given a fair airing. Through this platform we meet the real characters. As political leaders try to prevent bloodshed on battlefields and carnage in capitals, the global scientific community, more appropriately philosophers and astronomers, contemplate their task in the dawn of enlightenment [ an] outstanding book! It's the book of the year so far do not miss it! * Astronomy Now * [ a] truly excellent bookAndrea Wulf tell[ s] the rip-roaring tales of numerous expeditions that set off around the globe to observe the Venusian transit of 1761[ She] communicate[ s] the verve and energy not to mention the perilous nature of the expeditions. -- Marcus Chown * New Scientist *

Daugiau informacijos

The fascinating story of the world's first international scientific collaboration.
Author's Note xi
Maps
xii
Dramatis Personae xvii
Prologue: The Gauntlet xix
PART I Transit 1761
1 Call to Action
3(16)
2 The French Are First
19(12)
3 Britain Enters the Race
31(11)
4 To Siberia
42(10)
5 Getting Ready For Venus
52(16)
6 Day of Transit, 6 June 1761
68(19)
7 How Far to the Sun?
87(14)
PART II Transit 1769
8 A Second Chance
101(10)
9 Russia Enters the Race
111(11)
10 The Most Daring Voyage of All
122(11)
11 Scandinavia or the Land of the Midnight Sun
133(8)
12 The North American Continent
141(14)
13 Racing to the Four Corners of the Globe
155(20)
14 Day of Transit, 3 June 1769
175(14)
15 After the Transit
189(11)
Epilogue: A New Dawn 200(7)
List of Observers 1761 207(5)
List of Observers 1769 212(5)
Selected Bibliography, Sources and Abbreviations 217(20)
Suggested Further Reading 237(2)
Picture Credits 239(8)
Acknowledgements 247(4)
Notes 251(44)
Index 295
Andrea Wulf was born in India and moved to Germany as a child. She trained as a design historian at the Royal College of Art and is the author of The Brother Gardeners (longlisted for the Samuel Johnson Prize 2008 and winner of the American Horticultural Society 2010 Book Award), The Founding Gardeners and the co-author (with Emma Gieben-Gamal) of This Other Eden: Seven Great Gardens and 300 Years of English History. She has written for The New York Times, the Guardian, the Wall Street Journal, the Los Angeles Times and many others. She lives in London.