Rubbernecking Venus

Vocational astronomy and the establishment of La Plata Astronomical Observatory

Abstract

In this paper we explore the great popular interest – as one may notice due to its impact on the Argentinean press - caused by the transit of the planet Venus in 1882. The French mission devoted to the observation of this astronomical event was supported by the Argentinean government, whose aim was to establish a new observatory in the city of La Plata. Contested by the American director of the Córdoba Observatory, these initiatives reveal several aspects of astronomy politics: the international competence for resources in a local scale, the role of the press in lobbying for public support resources, and the search for vocational observers to be engaged in the practice of astronomy.