Endeavour: Quest for the Distance of the Sun

About the Book

The voyage of Endeavour is known for its exploration of enchanting Tahiti and other islands of the South Seas, for discovering that neither of New Zealand’s islands was a part of the elusive Southern Continent, for tracing the perilous east coast of Australia. But the voyage should also be known for its contribution to astronomy. By timing a transit of Venus across the sun, James Cook and other observers on the voyage were able to contribute to our knowledge of the size of the solar system.

The book begins with the story of how the adventure was conceived and put together. Then the adventure itself is described, with its outgoing voyage from England to Madeira and Rio de Janeiro and around Cape Horn to Tahiti, and its return voyage from Tahiti and the Society Islands to New Zealand and Australia, then back to England by way of Indonesia and Cape Town. The scientific outcome is then described, as well as the future of the principal members of the expedition. Finally the voyage is put into the context of the long struggle to find the distance of the sun from several centuries before Christ till modern times.

About the Author

The author began his professional career as an engineer, first in the General Electric company in Schenectady then Lynn and later in the University of California at Berkeley. He turned to writing after joining the Elementary School Science Project, a National Science Foundation program at the University. There he developed an interest in the history of science, which has inspired several books. Besides an engineering book on dimensionless numbers for McGraw-Hill, he has published books on the history of science for children and young adults with Addison-Wesley and Enslow publishing companies.