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Lecture demonstration of the 1769 transit by Benjamin Martin

Benjamin Martin devised a large demonstration of the appearance of the 1769 transit. The device was 7 by 5? feet in size and mounted on a wall in his shop where he gave lectures. It showed the appeara...

Reflecting Telescope by James Short, London, c. 1761

This Gregorian reflecting telescope on an equatorial mounting was probably made especially for observing the 1761 transit. Its maker James Short specialised exclusively in the manufacture of reflector...

Diagram of the 1761 transit by James Ferguson

This is a detail from a large folding plate in James Ferguson's Astronomy explained upon Sir Isaac Newton?s Principles. First published in 1756, Ferguson subsequently added material on the 1761...

View of Matavai Bay, Tahiti from One Tree Hill

This engraving of Matavai Bay in Tahiti shows the bark Endeavour anchored in the bay close to Fort Venus, the site from which Captain Cook observed the transit of Venus in 1769.

The engravin...

Samuel Dunn's analysis of the 18th-century transits

In his "A Determination of the Exact Moments of Time" (London, 1770), Samuel Dunn provided this large folding plate to compare the appearances of Venus in transit in 1761 and 1769. He also tabulated t...

Samuel Dunn's drawing of Venus in contact with the sun in 1769

A detail from the large plate which appeared in Samuel Dunn's "A Determination of the Exact Moments of Time" (London, 1770). Dunn attempts to record exactly the appearance of Venus when in contact wit...

James Ferguson's diagram of the 1761 transit from various stations

James Ferguson was renowned for the clarity of his astronomical explanations, diagrams and models. This diagram shows the appearance of the 1761 transit as seen from several different sites: London, t...