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Chasing Venus

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Chasing Venus

By: Andrea Wulf
Narrated by: Robin Sachs
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About this listen

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 this decade's Longitude.

©2012 Andrea Wulf (P)2012 Random House Audiobooks Great Britain Solar System England

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Profile Image for Deirdre E Siegel

Another book of brilliance

Andrea Wulf has ticked the boxes again with this marvellous work of what we will do in the name of science and who will hinder the the process.
It was great to know that a generation of royalty were so well educated across the board, that the science of discovery was made possible for the greater good.
Fabulous listen, thank you Andrea Wulf, much appreciated :-)

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