Tag Archives: St Helena

Nevil Maskelyne had left Britain in late January 1761 to sail to St Helena. The ocean crossing combined the things he loved: good wine, astronomical observations and plenty of time to fill his notebook with long lists of measurements, longitudinal … Continue reading →

Today, 251 years ago, on 17 January 1761, Nevil Maskelyne and his assistant sailed to St Helena to view the transit there – one of the few observation locations in the Southern hemisphere and therefore an important counterpart to those … Continue reading →