Abstract
It is easy to determine the latitude of a location by observing the height above the horizon of the Sun or of a star whose position is known, as it passes the meridian, but the determination of longitude has for a long time given geographers and navigators headaches (see Box 8.1). It was the problem of longitudes which occasioned the foundation of the Greenwich Observatory in the seventeenth century, and in France that of the Bureau of longitudes during the Revolution.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Notes
- 1.
*CRAS 36 (1853) pp. 29–31.
- 2.
*CRAS 12 (1841) pp. 426–430.
- 3.
See Lequeux (2008) pp. 199–201 and 213–215.
- 4.
*CRAS 39 (1854) p. 562.
- 5.
Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London 116 (1826) pp. 77–126.
- 6.
*CRAS 30 (1850) pp. 437–440.
- 7.
*CRAS 39 (1854) pp. 553–566.
- 8.
*CRAS 35 (1852) pp. 820–821.
- 9.
° Ann. OP, Mémoires 8 pp. 1–36.
- 10.
This information, and much of the rest in this section, comes from a manuscript text of Yvon Villarceau dated December 1866, d Exposé sommaire des travaux géodésiques exécutés par les savants français et proposition d’une nouvelle mesure de la méridienne de Dunkerque, BOP, Documents divers sur l’Observatoire de Paris, cote 3567 (4), folder AS.
- 11.
*CRAS 56 (1863) pp. 164–170.
- 12.
For a description of these instruments, see °Ann. OP, Observations 18 (1864) pp. 43–63 and °Ann. OP, Mémoires, 9 (1868) pp. 1–25.
- 13.
See °Ann. OP, Mémoires, 8 (1866) pp. 1–36 (Bourges), 37–82 (Le Havre), 209–256 (Dunkirk), 257–308 (Brest, Biarritz, Madrid and Nantes), 309–390 (Strasbourg and Talmay), 392–398 (Marennes); 9 (1868) pp. 26–55 (Brest again), 56–88 (Rodez), 89–124 (Carcassonne), A.1–A.33 (Saligny-le-Vif), A.34–A.75 (Lyons), A.76–A.90 (Paris, station of the Observatory garden), A.91–A.130 (Saint-Martin-du-Tertre). The papers concerning Dunkirk, Strasbourg and Talmay, Brest (2d), Rodez and Carcassonne, Saligny-le-Vif, Lyon, Paris and Saint-Martin-du-Tertre are signed by Yvon Villarceau.
- 14.
See Levallois (1988) pp. 129–131.
- 15.
*CRAS 56 (1863) pp. 28–34.
- 16.
See e.g. *CRAS 56 (1863), pp. 105–118; this text gives a good summary of the geodetic work of Le Verrier before 1863.
- 17.
Levallois (1988) p. 131.
- 18.
Inexact: the marshal Vailland was indeed the president of Bureau of longitudes, but he was no longer minister of War, but minister of the Emperor’s house. However, he maintained a considerable influence in all domains.
- 19.
Minutes of the meeting of 19 Mai 1869 of Bureau des longitudes, cited by Levallois (1988) p. 132.
- 20.
*CRAS 63 (1866) pp. 776–785. The Paris Observatory, the origin of the longitudes at this time, was already lost in the thicket of other buildings, and not visible to long-range sights. It therefore had to be linked up geodetically with the Pantheon.
- 21.
Minutes of the installation meeting of the Observatory Council, 19 March 1873: BOP, Documents divers sur l’Observatoire de Paris, 1854–1872, cote 3567(4), folder AA. These minutes were very useful in writing this chapter.
References
Documents divers sur l’Observatoire de Paris, 1854–1872, réunis par G. Bigourdan, Bibliothèque de l’Observatoire de Paris, cote 3567 (3), (4) et (6)
Lequeux, J.: François Arago, un savant généreux; physique et astronomie au XIXe siècle. Les Ulis et Paris, EDP Sciences et Observatoire de Paris (2008)
Levallois, J.-J.: Mesurer la Terre – 300 ans de géodésie française. École des Ponts et Chaussées/Association Française de Topographie, Paris (1988)
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2013 Springer Science+Business Media New York
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Lequeux, J. (2013). Telegraphic Longitudes. In: Le Verrier—Magnificent and Detestable Astronomer. Astrophysics and Space Science Library, vol 397. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-5565-3_8
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-5565-3_8
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, New York, NY
Print ISBN: 978-1-4614-5564-6
Online ISBN: 978-1-4614-5565-3
eBook Packages: Physics and AstronomyPhysics and Astronomy (R0)