U.S. astronomyIn 1739, John Winthrop (12 Dec 1714-1779) of Cambridge, Mass., the first astronomer of note in the U.S. began sunspot observations and continued over the next two days. No observations were possible on 21 Apr due to cloudy weather. His observations exist as one-page reports in the University Archives of Harvard University, though they were never published. In 1761, he went on an expedition to St. John's, Newfoundland, to observe the transit of Venus across the sun on 6 Jun 1761, which measurements could be used to compute the distance between the sun and the Earth. He also observed the transit of 1769 from Cambridge.« |
