The Transit of Venus Enterprise in Victorian Britain - Paperback

by Jessica Ratcliff (Author)

In the nineteenth century, the British Government spent money measuring the distance between the earth and the sun using observations of the transit of Venus. This book presents a narrative of the two Victorian transit programmes. It draws out their cultural significance and explores the nature of "big science" in late-Victorian Britain.

Author Biography

Jessica Ratcliff is assistant professor of science and technological studies at Cornell University.