New Scientist (19 January 2002)
David Sellers has produced a thoroughly engaging and well illustrated tale of the hunt for the accurate AU
Journal of the British Astronomical Association (April, 2002)
has great appeal ... research into many primary historical sources and such credentials lift the book in sheer quality and interest above other popular accounts
Federation of Astronomical Societies Newsletter (Spring 2002)
... an excellent book, providing an interesting perspective on one aspect of astronomical endeavour through the centuries. I would heartily recommend it
Journal of the British Astronomical Association (April, 2002)
has great appeal ... such credentials lift the book in sheer quality and interest above other popular accounts
Astronomy Now (August 2002)
... a well-written history. Recommended to anyone with an interest in historical astronomy.
Popular Astronomy (October-December 2002)
... a most engaging narrative ... [I] was so absorbed as to be unable to put it down
Book Description
The Quest to find the Sun’s distance the Astronomical Unit runs like a bright thread through the entire tapestry of astronomical history. Its story reveals the extraordinary efforts, which have been devoted to discovering the true place of our earthly home in the solar system. It also shows the crucial role played by the transit of Venus in this endeavour.
In the eighteenth century this rare and spectacular event the passage of the planet’s disc across the face of the Sun lured intrepid expeditions, including Captain Cook’s famous Endeavour voyage, to far flung corners of the world. It did not occur at all during the twentieth century and when it occurs in 2004 and 2012, not one soul will be living who observed the last one in 1882.
Now, we have radar techniques to help us determine the distance of our nearest star, but the transit of Venus has lost none of its fascination.
This unusual book relates the compelling story of the methods that astronomers have used up to the present day and lays bare the reasoning which allows us to say that we truly know the distance of the Sun.
In the eighteenth century this rare and spectacular event the passage of the planet’s disc across the face of the Sun lured intrepid expeditions, including Captain Cook’s famous Endeavour voyage, to far flung corners of the world. It did not occur at all during the twentieth century and when it occurs in 2004 and 2012, not one soul will be living who observed the last one in 1882.
Now, we have radar techniques to help us determine the distance of our nearest star, but the transit of Venus has lost none of its fascination.
This unusual book relates the compelling story of the methods that astronomers have used up to the present day and lays bare the reasoning which allows us to say that we truly know the distance of the Sun.
