1769 Transit of Venus observed from Tahiti 1769 Transit of Venus observed from Tahiti On June 3, 1769, British navigator Captain James Cook, British naturalist Joseph Banks, British astronomer Charles Green and Swedish naturalist Daniel Solander recorded the transit of Venus on the island of Tahiti during Cook's first voyage around the world. During a transit, Venus appears as a small black disc travelling across the Sun. This unusual astronomical phenomenon takes place in a pattern that repeats itself every 243 years. It includes two transits that are eight years apart, separated by breaks of 121.5 and 105.5 years. These men, along with a crew of scientists,
RMS Tahiti at at 4:30 a.m. on 15 August 1930 when her starboard propeller shaft broke, opening a large hole in her stern and causing rapid flooding. Her crew sent out a distress call via wireless, began launching distress signal rockets, prepared the passengers for the possibility of abandoning ship, and fought the flooding in an effort to save the ship. At 10:10 p.m. on 16 August, the Norwegian steamer arrived on the scene to render assistance. "Penybryn" stood by "Tahiti" throughout the night of 16–17 August with her floodlights illuminating "Tahiti" and her boats ready to go to the assistance of