Captain Cook and the transit of Venus

I'M YOUR VENUS: In 1768, Lieutenant James Cook set sail to observe a twice-in-a-lifetime astronomical event – the transit of Venus. Secretly, he had also been ordered to look for the "great Southern Continent" ( that's us! ) and claim it in the name of King George III. But what exactly is the transit of Venus, and what did it mean for 1700s astronomy? Tangents include: Fran Drescher, astrology, hula hoops, cryogenics, Guillaume le Gentil & Star Trek: The Original Series . ACKNOWLEDGEMENT OF COUNTRY: Mates in Space is made on Kaurna Country, never ceded. We pay respect to Elders past, present and emerging. We also pay respect to other First Nation peoples. ABOUT US: Mates in Space is a podcast about how we’re going to get to space without taking all of Earth’s bulls**t up with us! Each week, your hosts Jack and Justin will tell a different space story, in preparation for Australia’s exciting new future among the stars. It’s a bit nerdy, a bit sciency, and a lot of fun. Mates in Space is now an independent podcast! Produced by Jack Eaton and Justin McArthur; hosted at P. Zinner & Co. For more info, check out our website at

You can listen to Captain Cook and the transit of Venus online on Radio and Podcast. Open the player on this page to stream the available audio.

Captain Cook and the transit of Venus is an episode from Mates In Space by Justin.

This episode is 41:00 long.

This episode was published on Oct 5, 2023.

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