By the time of the long predicted transits of Venus in 1761 and 1769, an international collaboration of observers had been set up under the direction of the French astronomer Delisle-although hostilities between France and England did little to assist matters. The frigate on which Charles Mason and George Dixon had been dispatched to observe the transit from South Africa was attacked by the French while en route to the Cape.
Guillaume le Gentil set out to observe the event from Pondicherry, in the south of India, but didnt arrive until after it had taken place. The luckless le Gentil stayed on in the area for eight more years, getting ready to observe the 1769 transit, which was completely obscured by cloud-the only bad morning in an otherwise clear month. When he eventually returned to France, he found that he had been given up for dead, and relatives had divided up his estate. So much for the rewards of science!
In 1761, the transit was observed from 62 sites around the world, with 120 observers-French, British, Danish, German, Italian, Dutch, Swedish, and Portuguese. The outcome was inconclusive, but waves of enthusiastic effort were renewed for 1769, when there were 63 sites and 138 observers. Although hostilities between the French and British had only recently diminished, the French were reported to have instructed their forces not to molest Cook, as he was on a mission of service to all mankind. When the calculations were later averaged, the distance estimated was within a million miles of the actual distance of 93 million-a laudable effort.
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