"Transit of Venus was first published in Australia by NewSouth, an imprint of UNSW Press. The first North American edition is published in assosciation with the Powerhouse zmuseum, Sydney, Australia, and NewSouth."--T.p. verso

Transit fast facts -- Introduction -- A spot of unusual magnitude : 1639 -- Frozen plains and tropical seas : 1761 -- Venus of the South Seas : 1769 -- Capturing the transit : 1847 and 1882 -- Space-age transit : 2004 -- Observing the 2012 transit -- Glossary -- Bibliography -- Acknowledgments -- Index

"Every so often, the planet Venus does something remarkable. Iits orbit brings it to a point directly between the Sun and the Earth, where it appears to us as a black dot moving across the bright disc of the Sun. This transit of Venus is rare, occurring in pairs eight years apart and then not for more than a hundred years; it has fascinated astronomers for centuries."--Introduction