Concerning the Latitude and Longitude of the Royal Observatory at Greenwich. With Remarks on a Memorial of the Late M. Cassini de Thury. Read at the Royal Society, Feb. 22, 1787.

Maskelyne (Nevil)

Published by Printed by J. Nichols, 1787

About this Item

with 6 tables, fore-margin faintly damp-stained, mark more pronounced on initial pages, pp. 39, 4to, disbound, good. The Rev. Dr. Nevil Maskelyne, Astronomer Royal during a rich period of discovery, was an accomplished observer, collaborator and advocate of practical applications, responsible for the improvement of key astronomical instruments and the indispensable Nautical Almanac. The present work relates to the first attempt to establish a geodetic link between the Greenwich and Paris observatories initiated in 1783 by Cassini. From the start, this proved to be a contentious project, each country's astronomers questioning the accuracy of the measurements of the other's. Here, Maskelyne, drawing on the work of his predeccesor James Bradley and highlighting the precision of the English-made instruments involved, describes the procedures used for their final calculations. Also appearing in the Philosophical Transactions of the same year, this off-print is uncommon: BL, UCL, Cambridge (Trinity) and Oxford (History of Science Museum). The National Maritime Museum and Oklahoma copies cited in ESTC appear to be the Philosophical Transaction articles rather than the Nichols' off-print, so no known copies in this form in the US. Seller Inventory # 68471

Bibliographic Details

Title: Concerning the Latitude and Longitude of the...

Publisher: Printed by J. Nichols

Publication Date: 1787