An Account of the Revd. John Flamsteed, the First Astronomer-Royal: To Which Is Added, His British Catalogue of Stars, Corrected and Enlarged (Paperback) (ISBN-13: 9781108038003)

John Flamsteed (1646-1719) was the first Astronomer Royal, appointed to the newly founded Greenwich Observatory. Charged with improving navigation at sea, he used meticulous telescopic observations to compile a 'Catalogue of British Stars', radically updating Tycho Brahe's previous naked-eye calculations. However he delayed publishing, leading to a vituperative quarrel with contemporaries Newton and Halley, who published his results without his permission. Flamsteed managed to destroy most of that edition - his own was published posthumously - but his reputation was damaged. A century later, Francis Baily (1774-1844), a stockbroker who became President of the Royal Astronomical Society, rediscovered Flamsteed's papers, including autobiographical writings and extensive correspondence. Their publication in this volume, along with a revised version of the catalogue, rehabilitated Flamsteed's reputation and restated the importance of methodical observation in astronomy. Today, this book illuminates both the social context of Flamsteed's work and the intellectual climate of Baily's London.

Author: Francis Baily, John Flamsteed
ISBN-10: 110803800X
ISBN-13: 9781108038003
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Language: English
Published: 11/03/2011
Pages: 832
Format: Paperback
Weight: 4.31lbs
Size: 11.69h x 8.27w x 1.65d