Nautical Astronomy in New Zealand - The Voyages of James Cook

The main purposes of Cook's voyages were scientific, and a great many important measurements were made - largely concerned with the determination of latitudes and longitudes, but also some purely astronomical. It was Cook who took a team to the South Seas to observe the 1769 transit of Venus, which was of great significance in helping to establish the true distance between the Earth and the Sun. This monograph represents a very clear, informative and readable account of the New Zealand component of the Cook voyages and it presents facts which are not generally known and which have not previously been summarised...