From Nick Lomb:

The transit of Venus on 6 June 2012 will be the last opportunity for all of us to see this rare and significant astronomical event. It is of special importance to Australians as James Cook’s first voyage that led to the colonisation of the country by the British was to observe the 1769 transit from Tahiti. Australia will be one of the best places from which to view the 2012 transit for it will be visible from beginning to end from most of the country.

To give people an appreciation of the long history behind transits of Venus, I have written a book, ‘Transit of Venus: 1631 to the present’ that is published by NewSouth Publishing in association with Powerhouse Publishing and is available from 1 November 2011. The book relates some of the adventurous journeys undertaken by astronomers to view past transits and explains why the astronomers regarded the transits of such great importance that they were willing to risk their lives to observe them. The book has numerous illustrations including some beautiful original illustrations of the 1874 transit from the archives of Sydney Observatory.

More information at http://www.powerhousemuseum.com/publications/publications_item.php?id=254 and at https://www.unswpress.com.au/isbn/9781742232690.htm.

Dr Nick Lomb

Phone: 03 9570 8418
Mobile: 0403 892 778
Email: nrl@bigpond.com