Quote:
Originally Posted by mikerr
Does the book go into any detail about Sir Edmond Halley's observations of the transit of Mercury from St Helena in 1677?
Michael.
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It is mentioned on page 42 and according to the text was the impetus for suggesting that similar observations of the transit of venus would enable astronomers to calculate the distance to the Sun. Halley fully developed the idea with practical detail unlike Scottish mathematician James Gregory who hinted at the idea but didn't develop it further.