Editing 1778 in science (section)

==Earth sciences and exploration==
* January 18 – On his [[Third voyage of James Cook|third voyage]], [[Captain (nautical)|Captain]] [[James Cook]], with ships [[HMS Resolution (1771)|HMS ''Resolution'']] and [[HMS Discovery (1774)|HMS ''Discovery'']], becomes the first European to view the [[Hawaiian Islands]] in the [[Pacific Ocean]].<ref>{{cite book|last=Collingridge|first=Vanessa|authorlink=Vanessa Collingridge|title=Captain Cook: The Life, Death and Legacy of History's Greatest Explorer|location=London|year=2003|publisher=Ebury Press|isbn=0-09-188898-0}}</ref>
* March 6 – October 24 – Captain Cook explores and maps the [[Pacific Northwest]] coast of [[North America]] from [[Cape Foulweather]] ([[Oregon]]) to the [[Bering Strait]].
* [[James Rennell]] publishes a chart and memoir of the [[Agulhas Current]], one of the first contributions to scientific [[oceanography]].<ref>{{cite ODNB|first=Andrew S.|last=Cook|title=Rennell, James (1742–1830)|year=2004|url=http://www.oxforddnb.com/view/article/23369|accessdate=2011-04-05|doi=10.1093/ref:odnb/23369}}</ref>