| ▲ | qntmfred 5 days ago | |
also reminds me of: in 1663 Scottish mathematician James Gregory figured out that you could calculate the distance between the Earth and the Sun by making measurements during the transit of Mercury or Venus across the Sun. You get much more accurate results with Venus, but the next transit of Venus wasn't predicted to be until 1761 and 1769. In 1760 French mathematician Guillaume Le Gentil sailed from France to India to make observations of the transit, but due to weather and delays, he was still on the ship when summer 1761 arrived and he missed his chance to make his measurements. So he stayed in India for another 8 years. And then on the day of the 1769 transit, it was cloudy and he missed it again. So he went back to France where he found out he had long ago been declared dead, his possessions had been seized and his wife had married somebody else. | ||
| ▲ | macintux 4 days ago | parent [-] | |
Fascinating story, thanks. How many astronomers have had a play and an opera written about them? | ||