Abstract
The large dome of the Paris Observatory, built by Henri Alphonse de Gisors (1796–1861) and the engineer Louis Travers in 1847. From Arago’s Astronomie populaire, author’s collection
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Notes
- 1.
For a general history of the Paris Observatory from its beginning to present, see Bobis, L. & Lequeux, J., dir., (2012) L’Observatoire de Paris, 350 ans de science, Paris, Gallimard & Observatoire de Paris.
- 2.
Cassini (1810).
- 3.
Wolf (1902).
- 4.
Cassini (1810), p. 45, note 1.
- 5.
One can find many illustrations representing astronomical instruments from the beginning to 1900, with interesting information on their builders and their use, in Repsold (1908, 1914).
- 6.
Citing Arago (Œuvres complètes t. 12, p. 32) “the parallactic or parallatic machine of the modern observer is so called because it serves to follow the celestial bodies along their diurnal parallels.” The term parallactique is an unjustified attraction by the world parallax, which has no relation.
- 7.
For plans of these cabinets, see Cassini, op.cit., Plates VII and VIII after p. 62.
- 8.
Cassini (1810), p. 4.
- 9.
Plan in Cassini, op.cit., Plate IX.
- 10.
This instrument replaced probably an earlier one by Hautpois, purchased for 10,000 francs by the Observatory: see Lalande, in Connaissance des tems pour l’année sextile VII e de la République (22 Septembre 1798 au 22 Septembre 1799), p. 282–318, accessible via http://gallica.bnf.fr. see p. 299.
- 11.
Caroché dreamt of an enormous reflecting telescope with a length of 13 m, with a platinum mirror for which 103 kg of platinum were already reserved. But it would have required a full metric ton, and the project collapsed.
- 12.
For details, see Lalande, in Connaissance des tems pour l’an XIII (1805), p. 253–255, accessible via http://gallica.bnf.fr. Images of this telescope can be seen in *Dom Noël (s.d.) Instruments d’optique, Suitte de XXI planches gravées sous la direction de Dom Noël.
- 13.
Arago was never named director, but this title made him the director de facto.
- 14.
Anonyme (1848) Comptes rendus de l’Académie des sciences 27, p. 531.
- 15.
Yvon Villarceau, A. (1854) Comptes rendus de l’Académie des sciences 39, p. 949–961.
- 16.
Foucault, L. (1847) Comptes rendus de l’Académie des sciences 25, p. 154–160, see p. 155.
- 17.
See note 13 of this chapter.
- 18.
For a detailed history, see Véron, P. (2003) Revue d’histoire des sciences 56-1, p. 191–220, accessible via http://www.persee.fr/web/revues/home/prescript/article/rhs_0151-4105_2003_num_56_1_2179.
- 19.
It is preserved in Tartu: see pictures in http://www.obs.ee/obs/instrumendid/fr.htm.
- 20.
Cited by Véron (op. cit.).
- 21.
Indeed the observers have always complained about the difficulty in rotating the dome and the slowness of its rotation: one full turn would have taken 45 min at the beginning, and 10 min after a motor was installed.
- 22.
Later, Georges Bontemps corrected this problem in his glass factory of Choisy-le-Roi by changing the composition of the crown.
- 23.
From Jamin (1885).
- 24.
*Hamy (1907), see p. 359–360.
- 25.
Hugo, V. (1863) Promontorium Somnii, in Proses philosophiques de 1860–1865, accessible via http://fr.wikisource.org/wiki/Proses_philosophiques/Promontorium_somnii.
- 26.
- 27.
Annuaire du Bureau des Longitudes for 1842, p. 609–642, accessible via http://gallica.bnf.fr.
- 28.
*Œuvres complètes, t. 7, 136–290.
- 29.
See Lequeux, J. (2013) Le Verrier, magnificent and detestable astronomer, Springer, New York, p. 158–160.
- 30.
One finds, in the notice preceding the first volume containing the observations from 1837 to 1846 (Observations astronomiques faites à l’Observatoire de Paris, 1837–1846, 10 vol., Paris, Bachelier), the following sentence: “One would have to add two collaborators to the Observatory personnel, unless one had wanted to impose this new work to those people which, today, are in charge of the observations. In transforming these distinguished young men into computing machines, one would have completely changed their situation, forbidding them to do new researches.[…] All the same, the problem is reserved and will be solved when circumstances allow.” They never did during the life of Arago.
- 31.
See for more details Lequeux (2013).
- 32.
*Bouvard, E. (1845) Comptes rendus de l’Académie des sciences, 21, p. 524–525.
- 33.
Le Verrier, U.-J. Recherches sur les mouvements de la planète Herschel (dite Uranus), Connaissance des temps pour 1849, p. 3–254, accessible via http://gallica.bnf.fr.
- 34.
*Arago, F. (1846) Comptes rendus de l’Académie des sciences, 23, p. 659–662.
- 35.
This letter is reproduced in Annuaire du Bureau des longitudes for 1933, p. A.30–A.33, accessible via http://gallica.bnf.fr.
- 36.
*Babinet, J. (1848) Comptes rendus de l’Académie des sciences 27, p. 202–208. The answers of Le Verrier are p. 208–210 and 273–279.
- 37.
The mass obtained by Struve from the orbit of Neptune’s satellite Triton, discovered by William Lassell (1799–1880) soon after the planet, is 65/100 of the mass predicted by Le Verrier, which appeared to him within the errors.
- 38.
Although Le Verrier succeeded in separating the Observatory from the Board of Longitudes, the Board survived but with much reduced prerogatives. It still exists today.
- 39.
Le Verrier behave so badly with the Observatory personnel and the authorities that he was dismissed on 8 February 1870 by the Emperor, on the recommendation of the Minister of Public Instruction. He took over anew the direction of the Observatory after the accidental death in 1872 of his successor, Delaunay.
- 40.
Le Verrier, U.-J. (1855) Annales de l’Observatoire de Paris 1, p. 1–68, Mallet-Bachelier, Paris, accessible via http://adsabs.harvard.edu/historical.html.
- 41.
We have seen that the amphitheater was finally replaced by Le Verrier’s apartment (400 m2, or about 4320 ft2!).
- 42.
Interview of Gaillot --> by Bigourdan --> in 1888, Bibliothèque de l’Observatoire de Paris, 3567(3), folder AP.
References
*Hamy, E.-Th., ed. (1907) Correspondance d’Alexandre de Humboldt avec François Arago (1809-1853) R. Guilmoto, Paris.
Jamin, J.-C. (1885) Éloge historique de M. François Arago, Firmin-Didot, Paris.
*Bigourdan, G. (1928-1932) Le Bureau des longitudes: son histoire de l’origine à ce jour, in Annuaire du Bureau des longitudes pour 1928, p. A.1-A.72; 1929, p. C.1-C.92; 1930, p. A.1-A.110; 1931, p. A.1-A.151; 1932, p. A.1-A.91.
*Cassini, J.D. (1810) Mémoires pour servir à l’histoire des Sciences et à celle de l’Observatoire Royal de Paris, suivis de la vie de J. D. Cassini, écrite par lui-même, et des éloges de plusieurs académiciens morts pendant la Révolution, Bleuet, Paris.
Repsold J. A. (1908, 1914) Zur Geschichte der astronomischen Messverkzeuge; Vol. 1: von Purbach bis Reichenbach, 1450 bis 1830; Vol. 2: von 1830 bis um 1900, Reinicke, Leipzig.
Wolf C. (1902) Histoire de l’Observatoire de Paris de sa fondation à 1793, Gauthier-Villars, Paris, accessible via https://archive.org/details/histoiredelobse00wolfgoog.
Lequeux, J. (2013) Le Verrier – Magnificent and Detestable Astronomer, Springer, New York.
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Lequeux, J. (2016). Arago and the Paris Observatory. In: François Arago. Astrophysics and Space Science Library, vol 421. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-20723-0_7
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