What's New
VIDEOS FROM THE TRANSIT OF VENUS UK EXPEDITION This website is offering site visitors a "virtual field trip" through the videos produced by each of the three winning teams (Nelson Boys College, Pakuranga College and Tolaga Bay Area School) reporting on their experiences travelling throughout the UK on their specially designed intineraries.
VIDEOS FROM THE TRANSIT TEAM TO TAHITI Team Tahiti produced two videos as they followed in Cook's footsteps around the main island of Tahiti, and reported back to New Zealand from Point Venus on the night of the Transit, 8 June.
RADIO NZ TRANSIT OF VENUS SERIES. The Royal Society of New Zealand, in association with Radio New Zealand, presents a series of six lectures covering the broad themes related to the Transit of Venus. Thanks to Radio New Zealand for making these audio files available.
THE VENUSVOORDEZON.NL DUTCH TRANSIT WEBSITE has archived some spectacular streaming videos and images from the June 8 Transit and offers a comprehensive list of international links to websites with videos and images of the Transit from observatories all around the globe.
Live Webcast Transit of Venus from Athens, Greece June 8, 2004 (PST)
The Live @ Exploratorium crew will travel to the National Observatory of Greece, outside Athens, for a clear view of this amazing and rare occurrence. Webcasts will begin with the point of first contact. As the transit unfolds over the hours, we will revisit the phenomenon through a series of shorter Webcasts, to capture the succession of Venus across the face of the Sun. Watch as we explore the role of past transits in the history of astronomy and how the Venus Transit was used to calculate the distance from the Earth to the Sun—called the Astronomical Unit. The program will present cutting-edge research on Sun-Venus and Sun-Earth interactions, and how NASA plans to use similar transits to discover planets circling stars in distant solar systems. Go to this page to see the Transit webcast LIVE. The Transit itself will begin at approx. 5:20PM NZ time.
RADIO NZ TRANSIT OF VENUS SERIES. The Royal Society of New Zealand, in association with Radio New Zealand, presents a series of six lectures covering the broad themes related to the Transit of Venus. Thanks to Radio New Zealand for making these audio files available.
1. How the land got here; the split from Gondwanaland and the development of our unique flora and fauna. Introduction by poet Chris Orsman of Wellington. Dr Hamish Campbell, Te Papa / GNS. Introduction by poet Chris Orsman of Wellington.
Recorded at Nelson, School of Music, Tuesday 4 May, courtesy Radio NZ.
2. Stonehenge: How the ancients, from Babylonians to Polynesians, interpreted and used the stars. Stonehenge in Britain and the construction of Stonehenge Aotearoa in the Wairarapa. Richard Hall, Carter Observatory / Phoenix Astronomical Society. Introduction by Dr. Grant Christie, Royal Society Cttee for Astronomical Sciences, Chairman of the Auckland Observatory and Planetarium Trust Board, Director of Research at the Observatory.
Recorded at Auckland, National Maritime Museum, Tuesday 11 May, courtesy Radio NZ.
3. Pacific voyaging and navigation. Dr Peter Adds, Maori Studies, Victoria University of Wellington. Introduction by science historian, Dr John Stenhouse, University of Otago. Recorded Dunedin, Otago Museum, Hutton Theatre, Tuesday, 18 May, courtesy Radio NZ.
4. The background to the Transit of Venus: science in the Age of Enlightenment, the quest to find the distance to the Sun, longitude. Dr Duncan Steel, science historian and authority on Cook’s voyage and the Transit, formerly at the University of Canterbury. Introduction by John Hisco, President of the Astronomical Society of South Australia.
Recorded at ABC studios in Adelaide, courtesy Radio NZ.
5. Cook's first voyage to record the Transit of Venus; first encounters between Maori and Europeans. Dame Anne Salmond, University of Auckland. Introduction by Professor David Mackay, Deputy Vice Chancellor, Victoria University of Wellington.
Recorded at Christchurch, Art Gallery Auditorium, Tuesday 1 June, 7 p.m, courtesy Radio NZ.
6. 2004 UNESCO New Zealand Science Lecture. Voyages of the future: What are the challenges now? The search for dark matter, other life and other universes. Professor Paul Callaghan, Distinguished Professor, Massey University, with Alan MacDiarmid, Professor of Physical Sciences, Victoria University of Wellington, and Director of the MacDiarmid Institute of Advanced Materials and Nanotechnology. Introduction by historian Dr Claudia Orange, Te Papa.
Recorded at Te Papa, Soundings Theatre, Tuesday 8 June, courtesy Radio NZ.
The Trial of the Cannibal Dog: Captain Cook in the South Seas.
written by Dame Anne Salmond of the University of Auckland, is a spectacular re-creation of three of the greatest and most startling of all human journeys.The Pacific voyages of James Cook sailed across perilous tropical seas, survived hurricanes, discovered unknown lands and peoples and made their Captain an icon of imperial history. Yet the story of these epic journeys is far more than one of conquest and control as Cook and his crew are changed as much by what happens as the islanders they meet. Filled with astonishing descriptions drawing on surviving accounts of New Zealand, Tahiti and more, this book reimagines two worlds that explosively collided in the 18th Century and explains the lasting impact of that collision.
A Conversation with Dame Anne Salmond.
These 16 short videos were recorded at the University of Auckland with host Bernice Mene. Dame Anne is asked a series of questions about her writing of the book and her views on Cook, Tupaia and the lasting impact of this extraordinary voyage of First Contact with NZ Maori. The students are Taiasha Opai, Debbie Savage and Brian Teremoana from Aorere College in Manurewa, Suds Singh and Nicola Best from Rangitoto College and the Genesis Summer Science School.
Excerpts from chapters 2-8 from The Trial of the Cannibal Dog.
Permission to post these excerpts on this website thanks to Dame Anne Salmond and publisher Penguin Books.
The Planet Venus.
The Planet Venus. Hear Richard Hall of the Carter Observatory in conversation with Michele Hollis of Radio New Zealand about the planet Venus. A version of this interview was originally broadcast on National Radio's Summer Report programme in January 2004 and has been provided courtesy of National Radio.
HOW COOK DID IT? CELESTIAL NAVIGATION AND THE TRANSIT OF VENUS
A series of four videos introducing maritime navigation that look at the challenge Captain Cook had in navigating the oceans. How the Transit observations contributed to navigation knowledge; the vital role of 'time' in determining longitude; how early navigators used "dead reckoning to fix their location on the surface of the earth, and how to use a sextant to determine latitude. Presented by Commander David Hedgley, FNI, Royal NZ Navy with the participation of Sea Cadets Kerry Halsey, Omar Hamel, Michael Hill, Jean-Louis Morrison, Jamie Shute, Hannah Williams. Filmed at the NZ National Maritime Museum and on board the historic ship 'Ted Ashby' with the support of the Royal NZ Navy.
Winners and finalists of the Transit of Venus Expedition competition, sponsored by the Freemasons of New Zealand.
Three schools have been selected from 72 entries to go on the 2004 Transit of Venus Expedition to the UK, leaving New Zealand on May 28th. Dame Anne Salmond (University of Auckland) and co-judges from the principal sponsor, Freemasons New Zealand (Dr Alex Davidson and Mr Noel Ryan), and the British High Commission (High Commissioner Richard Fell and first secretary Paul Noon) chose the following teams from 10 finalists put forward by a preliminary judging panel. Each school team had to produce a 5 minute approx. video and supporting material in website form which are available here
2004 TRANSIT OF VENUS LECTURE SERIES.
The Royal Society of New Zealand, in association with Radio New Zealand, is presenting a series of six lectures covering the broad themes related to the Transit of Venus. The lectures will be broadcast on the National Programme every Sunday following each lecture, at 2.00 p.m. and later made available on this website as audiostreams. This programme will also go out to the Pacific via Radio New Zealand International. The final lecture will be broadcast live at 7.05 p.m. on 8 June, while the Transit is in progress.
VIDEO
This Transit of Venus website is now offering an increasing number of excerpts from television programmes and specially produced videos. Quick access to a complete list of videos in the Astronomy, Cook, Waka and Expedition sections is now possible through clicking on the "Video" button on the top menu bar or look for the "video" icons throughout the site. Videos are provided in Windows Media 9 and the QuickTime streaming formats.
Free downloads are available from Microsoft.
- Windows Media Player 9 Series for Windows 98 Second Edition, Me, and 2000
- Windows Media Player 9 Series for Windows XP
- Windows Media Player 9 for Mac OS X