Royal Society expedition to observe the transit of Venus
E780697
The Royal Society expedition to observe the transit of Venus was an 18th-century British scientific mission, notably including James Cook, sent to the South Pacific to make precise astronomical measurements that would help determine the scale of the solar system.
Observed surface forms (1)
| Surface form | Occurrences |
|---|---|
| Transit of Venus of 1769 | 1 |
Statements (47)
| Predicate | Object |
|---|---|
| instanceOf |
18th-century British expedition
ⓘ
astronomical observation mission ⓘ scientific expedition ⓘ |
| aimedToDetermine |
astronomical unit
ⓘ
scale of the solar system ⓘ |
| approvedBy | British government NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| captainOfVessel | James Cook NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| commandedBy | James Cook NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| commissionedBy | King George III NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| departureCountry | Great Britain NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| departurePort | Plymouth NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| destinationRegion | South Pacific NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| documentedIn |
James Cook’s journals
NERFINISHED
ⓘ
Joseph Banks’s journals ⓘ |
| endDate | 1771 ⓘ |
| era | Age of Enlightenment NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| flagState | Kingdom of Great Britain NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| includedScientist |
Charles Green
NERFINISHED
ⓘ
Daniel Solander NERFINISHED ⓘ Joseph Banks NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| methodUsed |
parallax measurements
ⓘ
timing of Venus transit contacts ⓘ |
| notableFor |
collaboration between Royal Society and Royal Navy
ⓘ
launching James Cook’s first Pacific voyage ⓘ |
| observationDate | 1769-06-03 ⓘ |
| observationSite |
Point Venus, Tahiti
NERFINISHED
ⓘ
Tahiti NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| organisedBy | Royal Society NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| partOf | 18th-century efforts to measure the astronomical unit ⓘ |
| precededBy | earlier 1761 transit of Venus observations ⓘ |
| primaryObjective | observe the 1769 transit of Venus ⓘ |
| relatedEvent | 1769 transit of Venus ⓘ |
| resultedIn |
detailed charts of New Zealand
ⓘ
detailed charts of eastern Australia ⓘ ethnographic observations in the Pacific ⓘ extensive botanical collections ⓘ more accurate estimate of Earth–Sun distance ⓘ |
| scientificDiscipline |
astronomy
ⓘ
cartography ⓘ geodesy ⓘ natural history ⓘ |
| secondaryObjective |
explore and chart the South Pacific
ⓘ
search for Terra Australis Incognita ⓘ |
| sponsoredBy | British Admiralty NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| startDate | 1768 ⓘ |
| usedVessel | HMS Endeavour NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| vesselType | Royal Navy bark ⓘ |
Referenced by (2)
Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.
this entity surface form:
Transit of Venus of 1769