The Day the World Discovered the Sun

March 19, 2012
In this exciting tale—part detective story, part history of science—Anderson (“Shakespeare” by Another Name) vividly recreates the torturous explorations and enthralling discovery of three peripatetic and insatiably curious explorers. The French astronomer Jean-Baptiste Chappe d’Auteroche, the British naval captain James Cook, and the Hungarian scientist and priest Maximilian Hell chased Venus across the sky in 1761 and 1769 as its shadow crossed the sun and they sought to uncover one of the 18th-century’s greatest scientific mysteries: the dimensions of the solar system. In these voyages, Cook, Chappe, and Hell determined that the Sun is 95 million miles from Earth and that the Sun’s horizontal parallax is about eight and a half seconds. These discoveries also led to the establishment of lunar longitude methods and the use of the sextant to determine longitude. Anderson points out that the next transit of Venus in June 2012 is sure to add to astronomers’ understanding of the nature of exoplanets in our solar system and whether or not such planets can support life similar to Earth. 16 pages of b&w photos. Agent: Jennifer Weltz, Jean V. Naggar Literary Agency.

April 15, 2012
A scientific adventure tale in which astronomers risk their lives, traveling the high seas in winter, trekking over ice-bound Siberia and facing deadly diseases. Anderson ("Shakespeare" by Another Name: The Life of Edward de Vere, Earl of Oxford, the Man Who Was Shakespeare, 2005) examines the scope of the 18th-century international project to determine the distance between the earth and the sun by measuring the transit of the planet Venus across its surface. He compares it to recent investigations like the mapping of the human genome, NASA's Apollo program and the building of the Large Hadron Collider. In 1761 and again in 1769, teams of astronomers circumnavigated the globe to make precise measurements of the transit. Although England, France, Prussia, Austria and Russia were at war, they collaborated on this major scientific venture, a once-in-a-century opportunity. In both years, Venus was observed and timed as it appeared to traverse the sun, using trigonometric calculations to triangulate the distance. Anderson writes that this was a marriage of advanced science and technology with extreme adventure, resulting in spinoffs such as the development of precision timekeepers and the reliable calculations of longitude. The achievement was commemorated by "the Apollo 15 mission...command module [which] was named Endeavour"--after Captain Cook's ship--and carried "a block of wood from the sternpost of [his] original HMS Endeavour." In 1769, the ship carried England's crew and succeeded in its mission, despite suffering the tragic deaths of most of its scientific crew. While the trigonometric calculations were state-of-the-art, if tedious, transporting the telescopic equipment, building observatories on the spot, making the observations and braving the rigors of the journey were anything but. A lively, fitting tribute to "mankind's first international 'big science' project."

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June 1, 2012

In 1769, in one of the earliest examples of "team science," expeditions were organized to collect observational data of the transit of Venus--which occurs when the planet's orbit crosses between the Sun and Earth--from several points on the globe. Spurred by the data from Venus's 1761 transit, the natural philosophers of the day knew that the 1769 transit measurements were key to calculating with greater accuracy the distance between Earth and the Sun as well as to better determining longitude for ship navigation. Anderson ("Shakespeare" by Another Name) tells the stories of three research voyages: James Cook's to Tahiti on the British Endeavour, French astronomer Jean-Baptiste Chappe d'Auteroche's on La Concepcion to the Gulf of California, and the Hungarian Jesuit scientist Maximilian Hell's to the Arctic Circle on the Urania. Their experiences are woven into an adventure tale informed by diary entries of the time. Astronomers today are preparing for a June 6, 2012, transit, which like the 18th-century transit is the second within a decade; the last was in 2004 and the next will be in 2117. VERDICT Recommended for casual students of history and astronomy.--Sara Rutter, Univ. of Hawaii at Manoa, Honolulu

Copyright 2012 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

May 15, 2012
On June 5, 2012, the planet Venus will pass between the sun and Earth, appearing as a tiny dot set against the sun. This rare astronomical event occurs only twice every 120 years. In 1769, the anticipation of this transit of Venus triggered a rush to the far corners of the planet to observe the transit, record data, and draw scientific conclusions. Using the evolving process of triangulation, it was believed that observation from various points would lead to precise measurement of the distance between the sun and Earth and, then, to the calculation of the size of the solar system. Anderson has written an exciting chronicle centered on three of the journeys to observe the passageto lower California, to the Arctic, and to the South Pacific. These travels were replete with dangers and surprises and were led by an interesting cast of characters, including the now iconic Captain James Cook. This is a fine combination of popular science and real-life adventure that will appeal to a broad spectrum of readers.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2012, American Library Association.)