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The Day the World Discovered the Sun: An Extraordinary Story of Scientific Adventure and the Race to Track the Transit of Venus
On June 3, 1769, the planet Venus briefly passed across the face of the sun in a cosmic alignment that occurs twice per century. Anticipation of the rare celestial event sparked a worldwide competition among aspiring global superpowers, each sending their own scientific expeditions to far-flung destinations to time the planet’s trek. These pioneers used the “Venus Transit” to discover the physical dimensions of the solar system and refine the methods of discovering longitude at sea. In this fast-paced narrative, Mark Anderson reveals the stories of three Venus Transit voyages--to the heart of the Arctic, the New World, and the Pacific—that risked every mortal peril of a candlelit age. With time running out, each expedition struggles to reach its destination—a quest that races to an unforgettable climax on a momentous summer day when the universe suddenly became much larger than anyone had dared to imagine.
The Day the World Discovered the Sun tells an epic story of the enduring human desire to understand our place in the universe.
The Day the World Discovered the Sun tells an epic story of the enduring human desire to understand our place in the universe.
304 pages, Hardcover
First published May 8, 2012
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341 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 42 reviews
November 16, 2018
There are some technical aspects to this book, but mostly it involves the great historical and scientific triumph of the 1769 endeavor to calculate the course of Venus as it traveled between Earth and the Sun. Embarking to such far-flung places such as Siberia, Tahiti, and Vardø, these scientists battled against the elements, typhus, scurvy, and native populations (sometimes friendly, sometimes not), to gather the data they needed. Considering that this event only occurs twice within a century, it was of vital importance that the most accurate data was collected. For anyone who enjoys stories of adventure in the days of exploration and discovery, this would be a book that you would like.
February 26, 2014
I don't give 5-star reviews lightly but this book made the cut. Drawing heavily on the diaries and available documents of the scientists, the book recounts their adventures as they traveled to remote parts of the globe to chart the two transits of Venus across the sun that occurred in the 1700s. The purpose was to discover the dimensions of the solar system by determining the distance from the Earth to the Sun and, as a by-product, contribute to the methodology of accurately determining longitude at sea. The ordeals of just getting to the locations with their cumbersome equipment(the tip of Africa, north of Finland, remote Russia and what is now Baha California) was just the start. Once there they had to construct observatories, deal with superstitious natives and just for fun, a bout of the plague that decimated their ranks. In between the two occurrences was the politics involved among the competing countries and attempting to determine whose calculations were correct. Captain Cook and Mason and Dixon were among the notable figures involved. This is a fast-paced narrative that is both an adventure tale and a peek into the evolving scientific methodologies in the 1700s.
July 1, 2016
This is a useful addition to the wealth of stories out there that are related to the effort to graph the two transits of Venus in the 1860s. The first voyage of Captain Cook with Joseph Banks is well known. This book also follows an expedition that ended up in Baja California and another that went to Lapland. Inclement weather, rough travel conditions, politics, epidemics, fractious native peoples, and finally, rocky data analysis dogged the project, which was one of the first global "big science" efforts. The AU or astronomical unit of 93,000,000 miles was indeed calculated, and the book has a nice appendix on the mathematical techniques involved in getting to that number. The author also does a good job of discussing why accurate observations and painstakingly calculated lunar and stellar almanacs were vitally important, as the celebrated Harrison chronometers did not become widely available for some years.
June 27, 2014
It took me a long time to get through this book. I actually read through half way almost a year ago, tried to pick up where I left off, and had to restart from the beginning. Partially, it's because of the way this book is structured: it tracks multiple simultaneous happenings at any one time, and so it's hard to keep track of what is happening where relative to anything else. And more, the writing style, while enjoyable and sometimes wonderful, is hard to read through without focus, making this book hard to get through when reading just before bed after a long day, as I usually do. But, it's a great set of stories, about an interesting time and subject, so I enjoyed it.
July 24, 2012
The Day the World Discovered the Sun © 2012
By Mark Anderson (Non-Fiction) – Non-Fiction – Venus Transit expeditions 1769
I’m not sure the title does this literature justice. It comes off sounding like a cheap Sci-Fi juvenile literature rag. The truth is this is anything but.
Mid eighteenth century, June 3rd, 1769 to be exact, a phenomenon was predicted to occur whereas the planet Venus would navigate across our sun in its entirety. On this occasion Venus would do so while also allowing a full observation from us here on Earth. This event rarely occurs every 100 years or more. The latest such event was last month on June 6th, 2012 and the next will not be until 2117.
Although entirely factual this novel reads nothing like a university level textbook. Rather it’s more of a grand adventure story than a history lesson. Captain Cook figures prominently amongst other such notables commissioned by their respective countries to venture to the far harsh reaches of our globe to attain the coveted measurements on that specific day. Most astronomers and their crews never even made it back alive.
So what’s the big deal? I’ll spare the mathematical jargon but the astronomers of the day, as well as Kings and heads of State, were quite keen on measuring this event from different viewpoints around the globe. So keen in fact that all the world leaders put aside their indifferences, even ongoing war, to collaborate and allow the specific detailed measurements to transpire. The results were then calculated and shared with one another the world over. Such global cooperation has never been attempted before this time and has also never been equaled since!
These calculations would reveal for the first time our explicit place in the universe. Particularly distances as in how far away the sun is, our neighbouring planets and so on measured in miles. The religious overtones for such mysteries of the day ran deep. Amongst this and other answers, the finer establishment of ‘longitude’ navigational skills would also come about. The multitude of lost sailing vessels and lives due to miscalculations in longitude were epidemic up until this time. Battles were lost due to war ships crashing into reefs of simply missing their intended mark by hundreds of miles.
This novel is undoubtedly the best way to get a History lesson hidden within a globetrotting adventure story. I recommend the effort.
By John Archibald, July 2012
By Mark Anderson (Non-Fiction) – Non-Fiction – Venus Transit expeditions 1769
I’m not sure the title does this literature justice. It comes off sounding like a cheap Sci-Fi juvenile literature rag. The truth is this is anything but.
Mid eighteenth century, June 3rd, 1769 to be exact, a phenomenon was predicted to occur whereas the planet Venus would navigate across our sun in its entirety. On this occasion Venus would do so while also allowing a full observation from us here on Earth. This event rarely occurs every 100 years or more. The latest such event was last month on June 6th, 2012 and the next will not be until 2117.
Although entirely factual this novel reads nothing like a university level textbook. Rather it’s more of a grand adventure story than a history lesson. Captain Cook figures prominently amongst other such notables commissioned by their respective countries to venture to the far harsh reaches of our globe to attain the coveted measurements on that specific day. Most astronomers and their crews never even made it back alive.
So what’s the big deal? I’ll spare the mathematical jargon but the astronomers of the day, as well as Kings and heads of State, were quite keen on measuring this event from different viewpoints around the globe. So keen in fact that all the world leaders put aside their indifferences, even ongoing war, to collaborate and allow the specific detailed measurements to transpire. The results were then calculated and shared with one another the world over. Such global cooperation has never been attempted before this time and has also never been equaled since!
These calculations would reveal for the first time our explicit place in the universe. Particularly distances as in how far away the sun is, our neighbouring planets and so on measured in miles. The religious overtones for such mysteries of the day ran deep. Amongst this and other answers, the finer establishment of ‘longitude’ navigational skills would also come about. The multitude of lost sailing vessels and lives due to miscalculations in longitude were epidemic up until this time. Battles were lost due to war ships crashing into reefs of simply missing their intended mark by hundreds of miles.
This novel is undoubtedly the best way to get a History lesson hidden within a globetrotting adventure story. I recommend the effort.
By John Archibald, July 2012
November 29, 2012
For some reason I love learning about the history of scientific advancement. This book reads like an adventure novel. If anything, in fact, its focus on the hardships of the requisite travel that each team undertook in preparation for the observations was, to me at least, a distraction, albeit a pleasant one, from the more pressing questions of scientific progress undertaken by this worldwide collaboration.
The idea, presented by Edmund Halley, of Halley's Comet fame, was nothing short of ingenious: record as accurately as possible the beginning and ending of the transit of Venus across the face of the sun as seen from various vantage points on Earth, and with that data, the distance to the sun could be triangulated. For the first time in history, mankind would know the size of the solar system. The only problem? Venus transits the sun only twice about every 150 years. 1761 and 1769 are the two transits detailed in this book. Due to inclement weather in several of the locations chosen as well as some surprising optical effects poorly understood at the time, the data gathered during the 1761 transit were inconsistent and inconclusive. The world's scientists had one more chance, in 1769, which if they missed, would mean another century and a half would pass before another attempt could be made.
This book details the travails of a handful of the teams that set out to record both the 1761 as well as the more successful 1769 transit. I enjoyed learning the kind of dedication the men on these teams exhibited, as well as the hardships they endured. Particularly admirable, I thought, was the account of Jean-Baptiste Chappe d'Auteroche, who was involved in both transits and who ultimately gave his life in his determination to further the cause of science. Also of note was that the famous Captain Cook was a key player on one of the transit teams.
A very interesting read. The Epilogue and the Technical Appendix are not to be missed, especially to those more interested in the history of science than the tales of adventure that comprise the bulk of this book.
The idea, presented by Edmund Halley, of Halley's Comet fame, was nothing short of ingenious: record as accurately as possible the beginning and ending of the transit of Venus across the face of the sun as seen from various vantage points on Earth, and with that data, the distance to the sun could be triangulated. For the first time in history, mankind would know the size of the solar system. The only problem? Venus transits the sun only twice about every 150 years. 1761 and 1769 are the two transits detailed in this book. Due to inclement weather in several of the locations chosen as well as some surprising optical effects poorly understood at the time, the data gathered during the 1761 transit were inconsistent and inconclusive. The world's scientists had one more chance, in 1769, which if they missed, would mean another century and a half would pass before another attempt could be made.
This book details the travails of a handful of the teams that set out to record both the 1761 as well as the more successful 1769 transit. I enjoyed learning the kind of dedication the men on these teams exhibited, as well as the hardships they endured. Particularly admirable, I thought, was the account of Jean-Baptiste Chappe d'Auteroche, who was involved in both transits and who ultimately gave his life in his determination to further the cause of science. Also of note was that the famous Captain Cook was a key player on one of the transit teams.
A very interesting read. The Epilogue and the Technical Appendix are not to be missed, especially to those more interested in the history of science than the tales of adventure that comprise the bulk of this book.
February 23, 2012
This book details the race to the ends of the earth to catch a glimpse of the Venus transit, which occurs only twice every 150 years. It was posited by Edmund Halley that by using this transit it would be possible to calculate the distance between the Earth and Sun to a 98% certainty AND HE WAS RIGHT! Be sure to read this book if you love adventure, science and astronomy! THE DAY THE WORLD DISCOVERED THE SUN has it all in one amazing read!
March 21, 2013
This is a wonderful story of adventure, political intrigue and more. I never realized how important the Transit of Venus was in centuries past, but the book makes me want to learn more. And I'm sorry that I didn't know about this in 2012 when the last transite of Venue occurred in this century. But it makes me want to find out about other wonders of the heavens that I need to be aware of.
May 27, 2013
It was OK. The writing was pretty good if a tad overwrought at times. The story is a compelling one.
The real problem, though, is that it exists in a competitive arena of popular scientific/adventure history. Roughly 1/3 of this book is about James Cook, Joseph Banks et. al. They are well documented elsewhere.
The real problem, though, is that it exists in a competitive arena of popular scientific/adventure history. Roughly 1/3 of this book is about James Cook, Joseph Banks et. al. They are well documented elsewhere.
July 30, 2018
A very interesting book about a subject I did not know at all. This is about the scientists of the 18th century, known as 'natural philosophers' and their striving to understand navigation, the planets, math, etc. The story focuses on their journey to figure out the exact distance from the sun to the earth and also to find an accurate way to know longitude while at sea. They used the 'Venus Transit', when Venus traveled across the sun, to get measurements to solve these questions. The transit took place in 1761 and 1769. The natural philosophers traveled to locations all over the earth to get measurements, for instance, Lapland, Siberia, Baja Peninsula, Tahiti. The book tells the story of their travels to these new and sometimes dangerous places. I found it very interesting even though the math and calculations were a bit over my head. One of my favorite incidents was when a Hungarian scientist in Lapland realized the Sami language is related to his native tongue, Hungarian. Highly recommend this book.
October 4, 2023
I think Anderson was too focused on the scientific element of this book to make a necessarily enjoyable reading experience. There were far too many pages about finding a way to measure the position of a ship at sea. It was confusing and a total distraction from the main storyline; a few pages would've been fine. This also wasn't the most accessible book for people unfamiliar with astronomy. It would've been easy to add in a few sentences of explanation when a new concept was introduced. Starting with the 1769 transit and then going back to the 1761 transit was also a bit confusing.
September 9, 2019
An entertain book looking at the profound extent humanity has gone through to discover the realities of our world and universe. Although I would not classify this as fast moving in anyway it was worthwhile.
July 2, 2017
Very engrossing, this book read like an adventure novel.
November 29, 2017
I was really excited to read this, and the first chapter was fast paced and interesting, but the rest of the book was so slow, and bogged down in details that weren't interesting or relevant.
April 13, 2018
A thoroughly enjoyable read.
August 2, 2020
Very interesting book about the extraordinary lengths that scientists and adventurers went to observe the transit of venus across the sun.
May 27, 2022
Yay science! I liked the history and the theory and experiments for information i take for granted.
June 23, 2022
An unexpected find. A corker of a book.
December 16, 2012
If you have ever had the adventure of going out into the field to make scientific or engineering measurements you will find this book fascinating. Measuring the transit of Venus in 1761 and 1769 was a challenging task and was on the cutting edge of science. The author does a great job of presenting the adventure, the history, and the science. The book has an excellent notes section. The editing was rough in a few spots, particularly in some of the earlier chapters, but these glitches can be overlooked and the story carries the reader past the rough patches. There is a technical appendix that provides a more indepth understanding of the significance of the transit measurement and how it would determine the distance from the sun to the Earth.
I particularly enjoyed the section describing the voyage of Captain Cook to make astronomical measurements in Tahiti, while at the same time exploring the South Pacific. Thanks to the advanced state of astronomical navigation, Cook had the ability to measure longitude which resulted in an accurate map of New Zealand and other new worlds (including the great barrier reef).
Mention is made of the efforts to use accurate clocks to determine longitude (Harrison's chronometer as well as a French effort). With the focus of the book being on Astronomy, the reader is shown that Astronomical methods to determine longitude were effective, but required tools, skill, and time to compute the numbers. The British had made great strides to overcome the limitations of the method, but it is clear that the preferred solution will be a chronometer. But I digress, the main focus of the book is not to rehearse the John Harrison story that Dava Sobel did such an excellent job with in her book Longitude.
The book highlights the sacrifice and achievement of scientists pushing the limits of endurance to bring greater understanding into the world. The odyssey of Maximilian Hell is enlightening as well. With so many different characters dispatched to the four corners of the earth, the author has a great collection of story elements that he is able to pull together into an entertaining whole.
I particularly enjoyed the section describing the voyage of Captain Cook to make astronomical measurements in Tahiti, while at the same time exploring the South Pacific. Thanks to the advanced state of astronomical navigation, Cook had the ability to measure longitude which resulted in an accurate map of New Zealand and other new worlds (including the great barrier reef).
Mention is made of the efforts to use accurate clocks to determine longitude (Harrison's chronometer as well as a French effort). With the focus of the book being on Astronomy, the reader is shown that Astronomical methods to determine longitude were effective, but required tools, skill, and time to compute the numbers. The British had made great strides to overcome the limitations of the method, but it is clear that the preferred solution will be a chronometer. But I digress, the main focus of the book is not to rehearse the John Harrison story that Dava Sobel did such an excellent job with in her book Longitude.
The book highlights the sacrifice and achievement of scientists pushing the limits of endurance to bring greater understanding into the world. The odyssey of Maximilian Hell is enlightening as well. With so many different characters dispatched to the four corners of the earth, the author has a great collection of story elements that he is able to pull together into an entertaining whole.
January 11, 2015
I found the title intriguing but from the moment I opened the book and read the first few pages I knew that this book would not live up to the "hype" of the title. In other words, it's a rather horrible book. (That, of course, is my personal opinion.) In no particular order, here are the problems I have with this book. One, the language is far too fancy. It's as if Anderson had a thesaurus (virtual or hard copy) open next to him while writing the book because he felt compelled to never use the same word twice unless he absolutely had to. Two, the book lacks a clear thesis/organizing principle which makes every subsequent chapter self-defeating. The reader is left for the length of the entire book wondering what the author is trying to prove. Three, Anderson introduced far too many historical actors into the narrative. The list of names mentioned, however briefly, could form a full length chapter of its own. Anderson introduced most of these characters simply to give gratuitous background information for the main narrative before never mentioning these people again. Four, Anderson also felt the need to share every background detail no matter how extraneous. (Hence the vast number of "characters.") In a book supposedly about the attempt to track Venus' transit, one does not need to know about the marriage of some obscure researcher's sister whose new husband had some tangential relationship to science. (I am not making that one up. I simply cannot remember those rather meaningless details.) Five, Anderson named this book poorly. Although the sun was involved in this journey of scientific discovery somehow, the sun was not the object of study. The book's subject is Venus' transit and journey's to prime viewing locations to track said transit. Six, the conclusion is ultimately unsatisfying which considering the second point mentioned above could be predicted from the beginning.
I do not recommend this book at all. This is a book that would get less than one star if that could be given.
I do not recommend this book at all. This is a book that would get less than one star if that could be given.
December 6, 2012
In the early 18th century astronomer Edmond Halley determined that the Transit of Venus represented the best opportunity to calculate the distance from the Earth to the Sun... and from there the size of the entire known solar system.
There was just one problem. Venus crosses the Sun (as seen from the Earth) only twice every 125 years or so. Halley made his proposal in 1716, but the next Transit wouldn't be until 1761.
The Day the World Discovered the Sun traces the adventures of several teams of astronomers that fanned out across the globe to track the next two Transits in 1761 and 1769 in order to better understand our place in the Universe... quite literally.
But this was at a time when traveling across the oceans was a time-consuming, life-threatening endeavor at the best of times. The heroes of this story had to contend with everything from disease to politics to bad weather... which is a lot more dangerous than it sounds when you're stuck out at sea or trudging through Siberia. It also has a way of obstructing your view of the sky.
Anderson's book plays out like an adventure story with bits of math and science thrown in for good measure. But it's also a bit of a history lesson, describing the world as it stood in the mid and late 18th century regarding travel, medicine, science, and more.
But it's not a textbook. It's a light read about the adventures of several teams of explorers... and the results of their explorations. You just happen to learn a bit about astronomy, geography, and the discovery of New Zealand, Australia, and kangaroos along the way.
http://www.bradlinder.net/2012/12/the-day-world-discovered-sun.html
There was just one problem. Venus crosses the Sun (as seen from the Earth) only twice every 125 years or so. Halley made his proposal in 1716, but the next Transit wouldn't be until 1761.
The Day the World Discovered the Sun traces the adventures of several teams of astronomers that fanned out across the globe to track the next two Transits in 1761 and 1769 in order to better understand our place in the Universe... quite literally.
But this was at a time when traveling across the oceans was a time-consuming, life-threatening endeavor at the best of times. The heroes of this story had to contend with everything from disease to politics to bad weather... which is a lot more dangerous than it sounds when you're stuck out at sea or trudging through Siberia. It also has a way of obstructing your view of the sky.
Anderson's book plays out like an adventure story with bits of math and science thrown in for good measure. But it's also a bit of a history lesson, describing the world as it stood in the mid and late 18th century regarding travel, medicine, science, and more.
But it's not a textbook. It's a light read about the adventures of several teams of explorers... and the results of their explorations. You just happen to learn a bit about astronomy, geography, and the discovery of New Zealand, Australia, and kangaroos along the way.
http://www.bradlinder.net/2012/12/the-day-world-discovered-sun.html
March 3, 2014
In June 3, 1769, it was predicted that the planet Venus would transit across the face of the sun. This rare event would provide a chance to measure the physical dimensions of the solar system. It would also offer an opportunity for improving methods of measuring longitude at sea and was thus of great military significance. However, the most accurate results could only be obtained if data were collected from a variety of locations around the globe. Hence, a number of expeditions were mounted to places as far-flung as Tahiti, Baja California and the polar wastes. This is an extremely well-researched book and would definitely be of interest to someone fascinated by the history of scientific exploration. However, it might be a tad too detailed for someone not interested in the sometimes hour by hour account of what was often a rather tedious routine
January 16, 2016
This gives you the sense of just how small and unlearned our world was, and not too long ago, and yet how the minds who lived in that time understood, grappled with, and reached the very stars. Players from the above mentioned title take center-and-side stage in this, and it was a valuable--and neato--overlaying of vantages, research and information to have read both. There are multiple narratives in this book but it never loses the main or partial plot; everyone is given a full thru, then beyond to the worldly repercussions of what this data, and discovery, meant for the 'modern' age. Also held personal--and relatively current--significance, as just this year I enjoyed my own mission of making sure I made it somewhere, and in time, to witness a Transit of Venus.
April 10, 2013
I thoroughly enjoyed every bit of this book. It was fascinating to see the way the world came together to solve the mystery of the astronomical unit. I was
interested in this book before the last Venus transit. After witnessing this amazing phenomenon myself, I was even more interested in the history of its discovery. This book chronicled the multiple ventures that attempted to solve the actual length of an astronomical unit as predicted by the great astronomer Halley. There's even an optional chapter showing the math (high school level, nothing serious). It was incredibly interesting throughout.
interested in this book before the last Venus transit. After witnessing this amazing phenomenon myself, I was even more interested in the history of its discovery. This book chronicled the multiple ventures that attempted to solve the actual length of an astronomical unit as predicted by the great astronomer Halley. There's even an optional chapter showing the math (high school level, nothing serious). It was incredibly interesting throughout.
July 27, 2014
I really enjoyed this book although it got slow in a few places. The author did a pretty good job of bringing these historical figures to life, and describing the conditions on the transit of Venus expeditions, and the politics involved. The details about the observations themselves were interesting too--I could have used a little more scientific explanation, but then again there is a whole technical appendix I'm not going to read. Fascinating stuff in the appendix about how the calculations were done after the data was collected, and all the rivalries that clouded the science. I would recommend this both as an adventure story and history of science story.
August 23, 2022
I feel like a better person for having read this book. Such an interesting story.
Second reading, summer 2022. It's been ten years since the 2012 Venus transit & the last time I read this book. Still such an excellent telling of the monumental effort that went into observations of both the 1761 and 1769 transits. The epilogue discusses several advances that can be traced to the efforts by these teams who traveled across the world to transport themselves and delicate equipment, build observatories, and make/record the observations.
Second reading, summer 2022. It's been ten years since the 2012 Venus transit & the last time I read this book. Still such an excellent telling of the monumental effort that went into observations of both the 1761 and 1769 transits. The epilogue discusses several advances that can be traced to the efforts by these teams who traveled across the world to transport themselves and delicate equipment, build observatories, and make/record the observations.
August 7, 2012
A gift from my daughter, thanks Deb! A wonderful book about the amazing work of astronomers, mathematicians, scientists and Lt. James Cook in tracking and measuring the Venus Transit across the Sun to determine the dimensions of the Universe. Along the way they worked on and worked out the problem of calculating Longitude at Sea. Given that this was the late 1700's makes it even more amazing. Anderson made the book factual and engaging as he switched between the various teems tracking the Transit from different parts of the world.
February 16, 2013
An awesome book that spans continents and time. If you want to read about Mason/Dixon before their famous line or the hunt for longitude this book is for you. Tracking the Transit of Venus, Scientists around the globe pulled their information together in Paris to unlock mysteries that today we take for granted.
April 13, 2013
I wanted to like this book, but as a history of the various expeditions to track the transit of Venus in 1769 it was... OK. What bugged me the most were various small errors about naval history. Those I could pick up, but it lead me to wondering how many other mistakes there might be in the scientific history.
November 16, 2014
I ended up skimming parts of this book, but overall it was a good read. Lots of detailed information about the various missions sent out to observe the transit of Venus. It was such an important moment in our understanding of the universe that I would recommend learning more about it, either with this book or a documentary. Fascinating all around.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 42 reviews