Nevil Maskelyne.

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Introductory material

Nevil Maskelyne (October 6, 1732 – February 9, 1811) was the fifth British Astronomer Royal. He held the office from 1765 to 1811. October 6 is the 279th day of the year (280th in Leap years). ... Events February 23 - First performance of Handels Orlando, in London June 9 - James Oglethorpe is granted a royal charter for the colony of Georgia. ... February 9 is the 40th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar. ... 1811 was a common year starting on Tuesday (see link for calendar). ... Astronomer Royal is a senior post in the Royal Household of the Sovereign of the United Kingdom. ... 1765 was a common year starting on Tuesday (see link for calendar). ... 1811 was a common year starting on Tuesday (see link for calendar). ...

Education and employment

The solar eclipse of 1748 made a deep impression upon him; and having graduated as seventh wrangler from Trinity College, Cambridge, in 1754, he determined to devote himself wholly to astronomy. He became intimate with James Bradley in 1755, and in 1761 was deputed by the Royal Society to make observations of the transit of Venus at Saint Helena. During the voyage he experimented upon the determination of longitude by lunar distances, and ultimately effected the introduction of the method into navigation. In 1765 he succeeded Nathaniel Bliss as Astronomer Royal. Having energetically discharged the duties of his office during forty-six years, he died on February 9, 1811. This article needs to be cleaned up to conform to a higher standard of quality. ... Events April 24 - A congress assembles at Aix-la-Chapelle with the intent to conclude the struggle known as the War of Austrian Succession - at October 18 - The Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle is signed to end the war Adam Smith begins to deliver public lectures in Edinburgh Building of... hello This page meets Wikipedias criteria for speedy deletion. ... Full name The College of the Holy and Undivided Trinity Motto Virtus vera nobilitas Virtue is true Nobility Named after The Holy Trinity Previous names Kings Hall and Michaelhouse (until merged in 1546) Established 1546 Sister College Christ Church Master Martin Rees, Baron Rees of Ludlow Location Trinity Street... 1754 was a common year starting on Tuesday (see link for calendar). ... Astrometry: the study of the position of objects in the sky and their changes of position. ... James Bradley (1693 – July 13, 1762) was an English astronomer, Astronomer Royal from 1742. ... 1755 was a common year starting on Wednesday (see link for calendar). ... 1761 was a common year starting on Thursday (see link for calendar). ... The Royal Society of London for the Improvement of Natural Knowledge, known simply as the Royal Society, is claimed to be the oldest learned society still in existence. ... The 2004 transit of Venus A transit of Venus across the Sun takes place when the planet Venus passes directly between the Sun and the Earth, obscuring a small portion of the Suns disc. ... Map of Earth showing lines of longitude, which appear curved and vertical in this projection, but are actually halves of great circles Longitude, sometimes denoted by the Greek letter λ, describes the location of a place on Earth east or west of a north-south line called the Prime Meridian. ... There are several traditions of navigation. ... 1765 was a common year starting on Tuesday (see link for calendar). ... The Reverend Nathaniel Bliss (28 November 1700-2 September 1764) was a noted English astronomer of the 18th century, serving as Astronomer Royal between 1762 and 1764. ... February 9 is the 40th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar. ... 1811 was a common year starting on Tuesday (see link for calendar). ...

Work

Maskelyne’s first contribution to astronomical literature was A Proposal for Discovering the Annual Parallax of Sirius, published in 1760 (Phil. Trans. ii. 889). Subsequent volumes of the same series contained his observations of the transits of Venus (1761 and 1769), on the tides at Saint Helena (1762), and on various astronomical phenomena at Saint Helena (1764) and at Barbados (1764). In 1763 he published the British Mariner’s Guide,which includes the suggestion that in order to facilitate the finding of longitude at sea lunar distances should be calculated beforehand for each year and published in a form accessible to navigators. This important proposal, the germ of the Nautical Almanac, was approved of by the government, and under the care of Maskelyne the Nautical Almanac for 1767 was published in 1766. He continued during the remainder of his life the superintendence of this invaluable annual. Parallax (Greek: παραλλαγή (parallagé) = alteration) is the change of angular position of two stationary points relative to each other as seen by an observer, due to the motion of said observer. ... The position of Sirius Sirius (α CMa / α Canis Majoris / Alpha Canis Majoris) is the brightest star in the nighttime sky, with a visual apparent magnitude of −1. ... 1760 was a leap year starting on Tuesday (see link for calendar). ... 1769 was a common year starting on Sunday (see link for calendar). ... 1762 was a common year starting on Friday (see link for calendar). ... 1764 was a leap year starting on Sunday (see link for calendar). ... 1763 was a common year starting on Saturday (see link for calendar). ... Map of Earth showing lines of longitude, which appear curved and vertical in this projection, but are actually halves of great circles Longitude, sometimes denoted by the Greek letter λ, describes the location of a place on Earth east or west of a north-south line called the Prime Meridian. ... In celestial navigation, lunar distance is in the angle of the Moons centre from the Sun or from the bright stars. ... A Nautical Almanac is a publication describing the positions and movements of celestial bodies, including the sun, moon, planets, and 57 stars chosen for their ease of identification and wide spacing. ... 1767 was a common year starting on Thursday (see link for calendar). ... 1766 was a common year starting on Wednesday (see link for calendar). ...

He further induced the government to print his observations annually, thereby securing the prompt dissemination of a large mass of data inestimable from their continuity and accuracy. Maskelyne had but one assistant, yet the work of the observatory was perfectly organized and methodically executed. He introduced several practical improvements, such as the measurement of time to tenths of a second; and he prevailed upon the government to replace Bird’s mural quadrant by a repeating circle 6 feet in diameter. The new instrument was constructed by Edward Troughton; but Maskelyne did not live to see it completed. John Bird (1709 – 1776) was an astronomer and scientific instrument maker who made important developments in astronomical instrument design. ... Look up Quadrant on Wiktionary, the free dictionary Quadrant can mean: HMS Quadrant (G11), a WW-II British/Australian warship. ... Edward Troughton (October 1753 – June 12, 1835) was a British instrument maker, who was notable for making telescopes and other astronomical instruments. ...

In 1772 he suggested to the Royal Society the famous Schiehallion experiment for the determination of the earth’s density and carried out his plan in 1774 (Phil. Trans. 1. 495), the apparent difference of latitude between two stations on opposite sides of the mountain being compared with the real difference of latitude obtained by triangulation. From Maskelyne’s observations Charles Hutton deduced a density for the earth 4.5 times that of water, the correct value being 5.515. 1772 was a leap year starting on Wednesday (see link for calendar). ... Schiehallion, a mountain (technically a Munro) in Perthshire, Scotland, is popular with walkers due to its accessibility, easy path up and spectacular views - in 2000 it was estimated that annually between 17500 and 20000 walkers made the ascent [1]. The origin of the name is unclear but Fairy Hill of... Earth, also known as the Earth, Terra, and (mostly in the 19th century) Tellus, is the third-closest planet to the Sun. ... 1774 was a common year starting on Saturday (see link for calendar). ... Latitude, sometimes denoted by the Greek letter φ, gives the location of a place on Earth north or south of the Equator. ... Triangulation can be used to find the distance from the shore to the ship. ... Charles Hutton (August 14, 1737 - January 27, 1823) was an English mathematician. ...

Maskelyne also took a great interest in various geodetical operations, notably the measurement of the length of a degree of latitude in Maryland and Pennsylvania (ibid. lviii. 323), executed by Mason and Dixon in 1766 - 1768, and later the determination of the relative longitude of Greenwich and Paris (ib. lxxvii. 151). On the French side the work was conducted by Count Cassini, Legendre, and Méchain; on the English side by General Roy. This triangulation was the beginning of the great trigonometrical survey which was subsequently extended all over Britain. His observations appeared in four large folio volumes (1776–1811). Some of them were reprinted in S. Vince’s Astronomy (vol. iii.). This article or section should include material from Erdmessung. ... State nickname: Old Line State; Free State Other U.S. States Capital Annapolis Largest city Baltimore Governor Robert L. Ehrlich (R) Senators Paul Sarbanes (D) Barbara Mikulski (D) Official languages English Area 32,160 km² (42nd)  - Land 25,338 km²  - Water 6,968 km² (21%) Population (2000)  - Population 5,296... State nickname: The Keystone State Other U.S. States Capital Harrisburg Largest city Philadelphia Governor Ed Rendell (D) Senators Arlen Specter (R) Rick Santorum (R) Official language(s) None Area 119,283 km² (33rd)  - Land 116,074 km²  - Water 3,208 km² (2. ... Charles Mason (1730–1787) was an English astronomer. ... Jeremiah Dixon (July 27, 1733 – January 22, 1779) was an English surveyor and astronomer who is perhaps best known for his work with Charles Mason, from 1763 to 1767, in determining what was later called the Mason-Dixon line. ... 1766 was a common year starting on Wednesday (see link for calendar). ... 1768 was a leap year starting on Friday (see link for calendar). ... Greenwich (pronounced gren-itch , or by the locals) is a town, now part of the south eastern urban sprawl of London, on the south bank of the river Thames in the London Borough of Greenwich. ... The Eiffel Tower has become a symbol of Paris throughout the world. ... Jacques Dominique, comte de Cassini (June 30, 1748 – October 18, 1845) was a French astronomer, son of César-François Cassini de Thury. ... Adrien-Marie Legendre ( September 18, 1752– January 10, 1833) was a French mathematician. ... Pierre François André Méchain (August 16, 1744 – September 20, 1804) was a French astronomer. ...

References

Maskelyne was portrayed negatively in Dava Sobel's 1995 book Longitude : The True Story of a Lone Genius Who Solved the Greatest Scientific Problem of His Time about John Harrison and the clock solution to the Longitude Prize. While Harrison's method was indeed more accurate, Maskelyne's lunar distances method was cheaper, and was the predominate method used for the next century. Since Maskelyne's observations and calculations were based on the Greenwich meridian, it became a common base for longitude worldwide and was adopted internationally as the Prime Meridian in 1884. Dava Sobel is a writer of popular expositions of scientific topics. ... 1995 (MCMXCV) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... For the recipients of the Victoria Cross, see either John Harrison (VC 1857) or John Harrison (VC 1917) See also the author M. John Harrison; John Harrison Mayor of North Tyneside John Harrison. ... The longitude prize was a prize offered by the British government in 1714 for the precise determination of a ships longitude. ... The Prime Meridian, Greenwich The Prime Meridian is the meridian (line of longitude) passing through the Royal Greenwich Observatory, Greenwich, England; it is the meridian at which longitude is 0 degrees. ... 1884 is a leap year starting on Tuesday (click on link to calendar). ...

In 1989, Derek Howse published a full-length biography of Maskelyne entitled Nevil Maskelyne: The Seaman's Astronomer. Maskelyne also appears as a supporting character in Thomas Pynchon's novel Mason & Dixon. Thomas Pynchon pictured in his high school yearbook. ... Mason & Dixon, a post-modern novel by Thomas Pynchon first published in 1997, centers on the collaboration of the historical Charles Mason and Jeremiah Dixon in their astronomical and surveying exploits in Cape Colony, Saint Helena, Great Britain and along the Mason-Dixon line in British North America on the...

This article incorporates text from the 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica, which is in the public domain. Supporters contend that the Eleventh Edition of the Encyclopædia Britannica (1910-1911) represents the sum of human knowledge at the beginning of the 20th century; indeed, it was advertised as such. ... The public domain comprises the body of all creative works and other knowledge—writing, artwork, music, science, inventions, and others—in which no person or organization has any proprietary interest. ...