Cook observes the transit of Venus In 1766, the British Admiralty engaged the explorer James Cook to command a scientific voyage to the Pacific Ocean to observe and record the transit of Venus across the sun. His observations were intended to be for the benefit of the Royal Society, for their use in determining longitude at sea. On 26 August 1768, the expedition sailed from England, rounded Cape Horn, and continued westwards across the Pacific. Upon arrival at Tahiti on 13 April 1769, the transit of Venus was observed. Unfortunately, the results of Cook’s observations were not as useful for determining longitude as had been hoped. Image Credits Captain James Cook (1728–1779), Nathaniel Dance, BHC2628 © National Maritime Museum, Greenwich, London, Greenwich. Hospital Collection, CC BY-NC-ND 3.0, https://www.rmg.co.uk/collections/objects/rmgc-object-14102 Baan van Venus voor de zon, 6 juni 1761, anoniem, naar Pieter Idserts,1761, (Orbit of Venus in front of the Sun) engraving on paper, 280 mm x 424 mm, Amsterdam, Rijksmuseum. Photo: Rijksmuseum CC0 Public domain, http://hdl.handle.net/10934/RM0001.COLLECT.702539
