Rare documents from a British astronomy expedition in 1874 to observe the transit of Venus are available online for the first time, thanks to a digitisation project led by the University.
The University’s Dr Rebekah Higgitt, of its School of History, worked with the Cambridge Digital Library on the project, which was partly funded by the British Society for the History of Science. The project involved digitising material from the archive of the Royal Observatory, Greenwich, and a private collection.
Dr Higgitt focussed on the British expeditions organised to observe the 1874 transit of Venus, particularly one made to the Sandwich Islands (Hawai‘i). The collection includes: photographs of the observing instruments, huts and sites; details of the equipment and provisions taken overseas; official and private journals and a unique set of caricature drawings that follow the life and adventures of the Hawai‘i observers.
The archive, which is available free to researchers and the public, was officially launched at Royal Museums Greenwich on 29 October