Ed Dartford
Well-Known Member
From time to time the planet Mercury passes between Earth and the sun, and this can be observed and is called a "Transit of Mercury". We just had one.
I learned about it when I was in New Zealand. We stayed at Mercury Bay, so called because, on 9 Nov 1769, Captain Cook made an observation of a transit at that place. Navigation, longitude, in those days depended on a very accurate clock. Ship's chronometers were state of the art, but not perfect. The precise time of a transit of Mercury was known, and could be used to reset the ship's chronometers.
https://nzhistory.govt.nz/captain-cook-observes-transit-of-mercury
I learned about it when I was in New Zealand. We stayed at Mercury Bay, so called because, on 9 Nov 1769, Captain Cook made an observation of a transit at that place. Navigation, longitude, in those days depended on a very accurate clock. Ship's chronometers were state of the art, but not perfect. The precise time of a transit of Mercury was known, and could be used to reset the ship's chronometers.
https://nzhistory.govt.nz/captain-cook-observes-transit-of-mercury
