Abbé Nicolas Louis de Lacaille (March 15, 1713 – March 21, 1762) was a French astronomer. March 15 is the 74th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (75th in Leap years). ... // Events April 11 - War of the Spanish Succession: Treaty of Utrecht June 23 - French residents of Acadia given one year to declare allegiance to Britain or leave Nova Scotia Canada first Orrery built by George Graham Ongoing events Great Northern War (1700-1721) War of the Spanish Succession (1702-1713... March 21 is the 80th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (81st in leap years). ... 1762 was a common year starting on Friday (see link for calendar). ... An astronomer or astrophysicist is a scientist whose area of research is astronomy or astrophysics. ...

He is noted for his catalogue of nearly 10,000 southern stars, including 42 nebulous objects. This catalogue, called Coelum Australe Stelliferum, was published posthumously in 1763. It introduced 14 new constellations which have since become standard. He also calculated a table of eclipses for 1800 years. The Pleiades star cluster A star is a massive body of plasma in outer space that is currently producing or has produced energy through nuclear fusion. ... Orion is a remarkable constellation, visible from most places on the globe (but not always the whole year long). ... Photo taken during the French 1999 eclipse An eclipse (Greek verb: ecleipo, to cease existing or calypse, to cover ) is an astronomical event that occurs when one celestial object moves into the shadow of another. ...

Born at Rumigny, in the Ardennes, left destitute by the death of his father, who held a post in the household of the duchess of Vendôme, his theological studies at the College de Lisieux in Paris were undertaken at the expense of the duke of Bourbon. The Ardennes is a region of extensive forests and rolling hill country, primarily in Belgium and Luxembourg, but stretching into France (lending its name to the Ardennes département and the Champagne-Ardenne région). ...

After he had taken deacon's orders, however, he concentrated on science, and, through the patronage of Jacques Cassini, obtained employment, first in surveying the coast from Nantes to Bayonne, then, in 1739, in remeasuring the French arc of the meridian, for which he is honored with a pyramid at Juvisy-sur-Orge. The success of this difficult operation, which occupied two years, and achieved the correction of the anomalous result published by J. Cassini in 1718, was mainly due to Lacaille's industry and skill. He was rewarded by admission to the Academy and the appointment of mathematical professor in Mazarin college, where he worked in a small observatory fitted for his use. Jacques Cassini (February 8, 1677 - April 18, 1756) was a French astronomer, son of Giovanni Domenico Cassini Cassini was born at the Paris Observatory. ... City motto: Favet Neptunus eunti. ... Bayonne. ... Events January 1 - Bouvet Island is discovered by French explorer Jean-Baptiste Charles Bouvet de Lozier. ... Juvisy-sur-Orge is a commune of the Essonne département in France. ... Cardinal Jules Mazarin, French diplomat and statesman Jules Mazarin, born Giulio Raimondo Mazzarino; but best known as Cardinal Mazarin (July 14, 1602 – March 9, 1661) served as the chief minister of France from 1642, until his death. ...

His desire to observe the southern heavens led him to propose, in 1750, an astronomical expedition to the Cape of Good Hope, which was officially sanctioned. Among its results were determinations of the lunar and of the solar parallax (Mars serving as an intermediary), the first measurement of a South African arc of the meridian, and the observation of 10,000 southern stars. On his return to Paris in 1754 Lacaille was distressed to find himself an object of public attention; he withdrew to Mazarin college, and there died of an attack of gout aggravated by over-work. The Cape of Good Hope; looking towards the west, from the coastal cliffs above Cape Point. ... 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 an observer. ... 1754 was a common year starting on Tuesday (see link for calendar). ...

Lalande said of him that, during a comparatively short life, he had made more observations and calculations than all the astronomers of his time put together. The quality of his work rivalled its quantity, while the disinterestedness and rectitude of his moral character earned him universal respect. Joseph Jérôme Lefrançais de Lalande (July 11, 1732 – April 4, 1807) was a French astronomer. ...

La Caille crater on the Moon was named after him in 1961. Asteroid 9135 Lacaille (AKA 7609 P-L and 1994 EK6), discovered on October 17, 1960 by Cornelis Johannes van Houten, Ingrid van Houten-Groeneveld, and Tom Gehrels at Palomar Observatory, was also named after him. La Caille is a lunar crater located in the rugged south-central highlands of the Moon. ... Crust composition Oxygen 43% Silicon 21% Aluminium 10% Calcium 9% Iron 9% Magnesium 5% Titanium 2% Nickel 0. ... 1961 (MCMLXI) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will take you to calendar). ... An asteroid is a small, solid object in our Solar System, orbiting the Sun. ... October 17 is the 290th (in leap years the 291st) day of the year according to the Gregorian calendar. ... 1960 (MCMLX) was a leap year starting on Friday (link will take you to calendar). ... Cornelis Johannes van Houten (1920 – August 24, 2002) was a Dutch astronomer. ... Ingrid van Houten-Groeneveld is a Dutch astronomer. ... Tom Gehrels is a Dutch-American astronomer. ... Palomar Observatory is a privately-owned observatory located in San Diego County, California, 90 miles (145 km) southeast of Mount Wilson Observatory, on Palomar Mountain. ...

Principal Works

• Astronomiae Fundamenta (1757), containing a standard catalogue of 398 stars, re-edited by F. Baily (Memoirs Roy. Astr. Society, v. 93)
• Tabulae Solares (1758)
• Coelum australe stelliferum (1763) (edited by J. D. Maraldi), giving zone observations of 10,000 stars, and describing fourteen new constellations
• Observations sur 515 étoiles du Zodiaque (published in t. vi. of his Ephémérides, 1763)
• Leçons élémentaires de Mathématiques (1741), frequently reprinted
• ditto de Mécanique (1743), &c.
• ditto d'Astronomie (1746), 4th edition augmented by Lalande (1779)
• ditto d'Optique (1750), &c.
• Calculations by him of eclipses for eighteen hundred years were inserted in L'Art de vérifier les dates by Benedictine historian Charles Clémencet (1750)
• he communicated to the Academy in 1755 a classed catalogue of forty two southern nebulae, and gave in t. ii. of his Ephémérides (1755) practical rules for the employment of the lunar method of longitudes, proposing in his additions to Pierre Bouguer's Traité de Navigation (1760) the model of a nautical almanac.

Francis Baily (April 28, 1774 – August 30, 1844), English astronomer, was born at Newbury, Berkshire. ... A Benedictine is a person who follows the Rule of St Benedict. ... Charles Clémencet (1703–August 5, 1778) was a French Benedictine. ... Pierre Bouguer (February 16, 1698 – August 15, 1758) was a French mathematician. ...

See also

• David S. Evans: Lacaille: astronomer, traveller; with a new translation of his journal. Tucson: Pachart, 1992 ISBN 0-881262-84-6
• N.L. de La Caille: Travels at the Cape, 1751-53: an annotated translation of Journal historique du voyage fait au Cap de Bonne-Espérance ...; transl. and ed. by R. Raven-Hart. Cape Town: A.A. Balkema for the Friends of the South African Library, 1976 ISBN 0-869610-68-6

The constellation Argo Navis drawn by Johannes Hevelius in 1690 Argo Navis (or simply Argo) was a large southern constellation representing the Argo, the ship used by Jason and the Argonauts in Greek mythology. ... Carina (Latin for keel) is a southern constellation which forms part of the old constellation of Argo Navis. ... Puppis (Latin for poop deck) is a southern constellation. ... Vela (Latin for sails) is a southern constellation, one of the four parts into which Argo Navis was split (the others being; Carina (constellation), Puppis and Pyxis. ... Eridanus is the sixth largest of the 88 modern constellations. ... Eridanus is the sixth largest of the 88 modern constellations. ... Fornax (Latin for furnace) is a southern constellation which was first introduced by Nicolas Louis de Lacaille under the name Fornax Chemica (Latin for chemical furnace). ... Sagittarius (Latin for Archer, symbol , Unicode ♐) is a constellation of the zodiac, commonly depicted as a centaur drawing a bow. ... Corona Australis or Corona Austrina (Latin for Southern Crown) was one of Ptolemys 48 constellations, and also counts among the 88 modern constellations. ... Telescopium (Latin for Telescope) is a minor southern constellation identified and named by Nicolas Louis de Lacaille, the 18th century French astronomer, a student of the southern skies. ... Centaurus (Latin for centaur) was one of the 48 constellations listed by Ptolemy, and counts also among the 88 modern constellations. ... For the autoimmune disorder see lupus erythematosus. ... Circinus, Latin for Compass, is one of the small southern (declination −50 to −60 degrees) constellations. ...

The constellation Antlia (Latin for pump) is a relatively new constellation as it was only created in the 18th century, being too faint to be acknowledged by the ancient Greeks. ... Caelum (Latin for chisel, and similar to Latin for of the Sky) is a minor southern constellation introduced by Nicolas Louis de Lacaille. ... Circinus, Latin for Compass, is one of the small southern (declination −50 to −60 degrees) constellations. ... Fornax (Latin for furnace) is a southern constellation which was first introduced by Nicolas Louis de Lacaille under the name Fornax Chemica (Latin for chemical furnace). ... Horologium (Latin for clock) is one of the lesser southern constellations (declination around -60 degrees). ... Mensa (Latin for Table) is a southern constellation which was first introduced by Nicolas Louis de Lacaille under the name Mons Mensae (Latin for table mountain). ... Categories: Astronomy stubs | Modern constellations | Constellations ... Norma (Latin for Normal, i. ... Octans (Latin for octant) is an inconspicuous constellation introduced by Nicolas Louis de Lacaille. ... Pictor, being Latin for easel, is one of the minor southern (declination -50 to -60) constellations. ... Categories: Astronomy stubs | Modern constellations | Constellations | Pyxis constellation | Argo Navis constellation ... Reticulum (Latin for reticle), is one of the minor southern (declination -60 degrees) constellations. ... Categories: Astronomy stubs | Modern constellations | Constellations | Sculptor constellation ... Telescopium (Latin for Telescope) is a minor southern constellation identified and named by Nicolas Louis de Lacaille, the 18th century French astronomer, a student of the southern skies. ...

References

• This article incorporates text from the 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica, a publication in the public domain.