Andrea Wulf

The award-winning author of The Brother Gardeners chronicles the 18th-century quest to observe the transit of Venus and measure the solar system, explaining the political strife and weather challenges that were overcome to enable an international team of astronomers to work together. 30,000 first printing.

The Race to Measure the Heavens

Chasing Venus

On two days in 1761 and 1769 hundreds of astronomers pointed their telescopes towards the skies to observe a rare astronomical event: the transit of Venus across the face of the sun. United by this momentous occasion, scientists from around the globe came together to answer the essential question: how can the universe be measured? In Chasing Venus Andrea Wulf paints a vivid portrait of the rivalries, triumphs and misfortunes that befell these men, along with their passion and determination to succeed. This extraordinary book tells their story and how one single event prompted the first international scientific collaboration.

Chasing Venus The Race to Measure the Heavens

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