Astronomie

Burckhardt Four Page Handwritten Manuscript with Calculations on the Comet of 1770

13574Johann Karl Burckhardt 1773-1825 German-born astronomer and mathematician. Burckhardt carried out extensive studies on the orbits of comets and his study of a comet of 1770 now known as Lexell's Comet or D/1770 L1 cemented his professional reputation. This comet is known for passing closer to earth than any other comet in recorded history when it reached only 0.0146 AU from Earth on July 1 1770. Offered here is a 4 page handwritten manuscript of his calculations for that comet of 1770 dated December 1804. Written in French. Burckhardt completed his research in 1807 finding that the comet had an elliptical orbit with a period of 5.57 years. Burckhardt has titled the Manuscript in his hand "Pull of the Comet of 1770 by the Earth from the Formula of the Spatial Mechanics Volume 4." A small sampling of Burckhardt's extensive calculations and proofs in this manuscript includes the following: "1 I would take for a constant plane that of the eleptic and for the x axis the vertical radius of Earth. At the moment of the entry of the comet in the field of gravity F; so we will have A1 = 0; B1 = 0; C1 = 0. 2 We will take a day as the limit of t. We will see later on if we could use a smaller interval. 3 I will suppose the point of entry in the field of activity at 273567 this is based on an observation of Mr. Messier The duration of 8 days with the exit on the 5th of July 0.5567. 4 We will therefore have for the Earth Z1 always equal to zero. 6 One sees for the earth generally with great exactitude x=0.000142t2 y=. For the gravitational center of earth. 7 For the Comete one employs the.elements of observation made after the perihelic part of the passage. N.B. I have neglected to express the precession of the equinoxes.and that the observation requires the movement of a contoured lens." Burckhardt proceeds to provide detailed calculations of the comets approach and recession from June 27 to July 6 taking extra care to mark the day of its closest approach to earth--July 1. The comet of 1770 never reappeared and is today considered a "lost comet" but it presented a fascination to astronomers for years afterward. Lexell for whom the comet is named initially calculated the orbit at around 5 and a half years. But the fact that a comet with so short a period had never been previously recorded and that it did not reappear in 1776 threw doubt on Lexell's calculations and induced the Institute of France to establish a prize for whomever could determine its orbit. Burckhardt became the winner when he was able to show through his calculations that the comet's had come within the sphere of Jupiter's attraction in 1767 which swung it into its close 1770 orbit. It did not reappear in 1776 because it was directly in line with the sun rendering it invisible. And why had it never reappeared since Burckhardt determined that in 1779 it had come again within the orbit of Jupiter and from there had been flung off into distant space. He thereby confirmed Lexell's initial calculation and provided a scientific explanation for the comet's very strange activity. Journal of the Franklin Institute Thomas P. Jones M.D. ed. pg. 319-320. Thompson & Homans: Washington D.C. 1832. Burckhardt's tracing of the orbit of the comet of 1770 cemented his reputation in the scientific community. Today he is remembered in particular for his work in fundamental astronomy and for his lunar theory which was in widespread use for the construction of navigational ephemerides of the Moon for much of the first half of the nineteenth century and for his studies on the orbits of comets. In 1812 he published an improved lunar theory after that of Pierre-Simon Laplace. Burckhardt's lunar tables appear to have been the first to be based on a least squares adjustment of the coefficients to selected lunar observations of which about 4000 were used. They were officially used for computing the lunar ephemerides in the Nautical Almanac from 1821 to 1861. unknown books

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ASTRONOMY. Hevelius Johannes 1611 1687ABAA

Johannis Hevelii Annus climactericus sive Rerum uranicarum observationum annus quadragesimus nonus; exhibens diversas occultationes tam planetarum quÃ m fixarum post editam machinam coelestem; nec non plurimas altitudines meridianas solis ac distantias planetarum fixarumqÌue eo anno quousque divinaconcessit benignitas impetratas: cum amicorum nonnullorum epistolis ad rem istam spectantibus: & continuatione historiae novÃ¦ stellÃ¦ in collo Ceti ut & annotationum rerum coelestium .

16853340Danzig:: Sumptibus auctoris typis D.F. Rhetii 1685. SOLE EDITION. Folio:. 34.8 x 22.5 cm. 6 lvs. 24 196 pp. Collation: 6 4 4 4 A-Z4 AA6. With engraved title page vignette and 7 1 double-page engraved plates. Bound in 18th c. half calf and marbled boards with very slight wear. Spine with citron morocco label gilt. A nice copy with a few early marginal paper repairs no loss. The final two leaves of the table with repaired tears the second of these with a small natural paper flaw costing a few letters. Complete with the seven plates engraved by Hevelius himself. "Annus Climactericus" was the last of Hevelius' works published in the author's lifetime. The book comprises observations of the planets sun moon and fixed stars many of which were made alongside the English astronomer Edmond Halley. The observations were made from 8 January until 25 September 1679 subsequent to the publication of the second volume of Hevelius' "Machina Coelestis" almost the entire press run of which was lost in the fire that destroyed Hevelius' observatory on 26 September 1679. Hevelius also included new observations of the binary star Omicron Ceti which Hevelius had been observing for 25 years and which he had named "Mira" and grappled with the problem of its changing size and color. In addition the book includes Hevelius' observations of the Great Comet of 1680 illustrated by a magnificent double-page plate engraved by Hevelius the total lunar eclipse of February 1682 the comet of 1682 the solar eclipse of July 1684 each also accompanied by a plate "Observator Sculpsit." observations of several Great Conjunctions etc.There are also numerous letters to and from members of the Royal Society of England: Henry Oldenburg John Wallis John Flamsteed Nehemiah Grew and Halley as well as several European astronomers among them IsmaÃ«l Boulliau. The letters deal primarily with Hevelius' feud with Robert Hooke over the merits of the use of telescopic sights for celestial observation vide infra.The "Climactic Year" to which the title of the book refers is 1679 the year in which Hevelius published his "Machinae Coelestis pars Posterior" which comprised 49 years worth of Hevelius' celestial observations; and the year in which his observatory burned to the ground. In the introduction Hevelius gives his own account of the fire that consumed not only the observatory building itself but also Hevelius' instruments "tam astronomicis quam opticis" his library his printing press and print making workshop and the irreplaceable stock of his self-published works. He also describes the psychological and emotional toll that the fire took on him and thanks God that at last his spirit "in cineribus hactenus fere supultum" was revived by the arrival of the Great Comet of 1680 and that he was able to make new observations.Hevelius Hooke and Halley: The Controversy over Open-Sight Instruments vs. Telescopic ObservationThe "Annus Climactericus" is of great importance in the history of science marking as it does the climax of a contentious debate between Hevelius who argued that his "open-sighted" instruments employing fore- and near-sights but no lenses or cross-hairs were more accurate than those fitted with telescopic sights micrometers with telescopic lenses and cross-hairs and Robert Hooke who argued against that position.Hooke and Hevelius had been arguing politely over the relative merits of both kinds of instruments since the 1660s but matters came to a head in 1673 with the publication of Hevelius' "Machinae Coelestis Pars Prior" in which Hevelius forcefully enumerated the limitations of telescopic sights and Hooke's critique of the book in which he wrote that readings taken with Hevelius' instruments could not be more accurate than Â½ minute of arc. Moreover he mocked Hevelius' instruments which Hooke asserted were no better than the antiquated ones used by Tycho almost a century earlier his observations and methods. Moreover he asserted that Hevelius was not only providing the scientific community with incorrect data but was impeding scientific progress itself.Hevelius responded with a letter to Henry Oldenburg in which he asserted that his observations were in fact accurate to within 5 seconds of arc that he had never seen data that proved Hooke's assertions and that he resented Hooke's ad hominem attacks. Inevitably the astronomer John Flamsteed was drawn into the controversy and though he had great respect for Hevelius and voiced his disapproval of Hooke's attacks felt compelled to note some of the errors in Hevelius' observations. Hevelius responded and the two men carried on a correspondence in which they argued over the data and during which Hevelius leveled charges of jealousy against Flamsteed and voiced his conviction that Flamsteed and Hooke were now conspiring against him. Fortunately the rift was eventually healed. Part of the correspondence is included in the "Annus Climactericus".1679: A Comparative Test:The arrival at Danzig of Edmond Halley who brought with him his portable 2 â€“foot quadrant fitted with telescopic sights presented an opportunity to compare results obtained with both types of instruments. The two men made observations side-by-side from 26 May to 18 July 1679 using Halley's instrument and Hevelius' own quadrant "with which he made regular observations of the Sun the large sextant for angular distances between stars planets and the limbs of the Moon and his 12-foot telescope for occultations." Hevelius' wife Elizabeth Hevelius' personal printer and two other observers also participated.Before Halley left Danzig he wrote at Hevelius' request what amounted to a testimonial to the accuracy of Hevelius' open-sighted instruments. Halley wrote that he could testify "to the certainty of the instruments against all who would cast doubt on Hevelius' observations. He had seen with his own eyes that not just occasional observations but many by different observers with the large sextant agreed incredibly well together and any discrepancies were very small which he greatly admired."Cook p. 100In the introduction to the "Annus Climactericus" Hevelius excoriated Hooke and boasted that his calculations demolished Hooke's assertions of the inferiority of Hevelius' methods. The book was reviewed in the Philosophical Transactions of September-October 1685 by Hooke's antagonist John Wallis who censured Hooke for his behavior toward Hevelius and took pains to rehearse each of Hevelius' criticism of Hooke and to summarize the 27 letters of support that Hevelius printed in the "Annus". Hooke responded to Hevelius in February 1686 in an effort to vindicate himself and Hevelius in turn wrote that he would publish his long-awaited star catalog "Uranographia" to furnish proof of the superiority of his methods but Hevelius' death the following year put an end to the dispute.Postscript: Hevelius and HalleyHevelius printed Halley's positive assessment of the Danzig astronomer's instruments and calculations in the "Annus Climactericus" p. 101-102 and thereby drew Halley into the controversy with Hooke. Moreover Hevelius misrepresented the reason for Halley's visit stating that he had invited Halley to Danzig the visit was Halley's own idea that he had asked him to bring the telescopic quadrant which Halley had actually brought with him to make observations of the southern constellations on St. Helena and that Halley came to Danzig as an official representative of the Royal Society of which Halley was not yet a member.This all irritated Halley who in order to extricate himself from the Hevelius-Hooke controversy downplayed his original estimation of the accuracy of Hevelius' calculations. Halley also realized that while attesting to the accuracy of Hevelius' instruments he seemed to side with Hevelius against Hooke whose belief in the superiority of telescopic sights was in fact Halley's own.While he never attacked Hevelius he put it forth that his earlier enthusiasm had been in part motivated by a desire to placate a "peevish old man." In the end there was a poetic resolution to the tension between the two men: When Elizabeth Hevelius had her husband's star catalogue printed in 1690 three years after Hevelius' death She included Halley's own catalogue of the stars of the southern hemisphere which was based on Halley's observations made on St. Helena with the 2-ft quadrant just before his visit to Hevelius in 1679. VD17 39:125045B; DSB 6 363; Honeyman 1675. For a thorough discussion of the Hevelius-Hooke controversy see Saridakis "Converging Elements in the Development of Late Seventeenth-Century Disciplinary Astronomy: Instrumentation Education and the Hevelius-Hooke Controversy" p. 129 ff.; For an assessment of the relative accuracy of Halley's and Hevelius' computations at Danzig see Cook "Edmond Halley: Charting the Heavens and the Seas" p. 93 ff.; For Hevelius' work on the binary star Mira Ceti see Hatch "Hevelius- History and Identity" in "Change and Continuity in Early Modern Cosmology" p 158 ff.; For D. Capellus' contemporary account of the fire and a detailed inventory of Hevelius' losses see MacPike "Hevelius Flamsteed Halley" Appendix I. London 1937 Sumptibus auctoris, typis D.F. Rhetii, books

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A Short Account of the Solar System and of Comets in General: Together with a particular account of the Comet that will appear in 1789

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A Short Account of the Solar System and of Comets in General: Together with a particular account of the Comet that will appear in 1789

Uranometria â€¦ Single star chart

Burckhardt Four Page Handwritten Manuscript with Calculations on the Comet of 1770

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