JOURNAL OF ASTRONOMICAL HISTORY AND HERITAGE

ISSN 1440-2807

EDITORS
Professor Wayne ORCHISTON (Thailand) – Managing Editor
Associate Professor Ruby-Ann DELA CRUZ (Philippines) – Papers Editor

ASSOCIATE EDITORS
Dr Clifford CUNNINGHAM (USA)
Professor Richard de Grijs (Australia)
Associate Professor Duane HAMACHER (Australia)
Dr James LEQUEUX (France)
Dr Peter ROBERTSON (Australia)

EDITORIAL BOARD
Dr Alan BATTEN (Canada) Professor NHA Il-Seong (South Korea)
Dr Suzanne DÉBARBAT (France) Professor Ray NORRIS (Australia)
Dr Steven DICK (USA) Professor F. Richard STEPHENSON (England)
Dr Priscila FAULHABER (Brazil) Professor Xiaochun SUN (China)
Dr Ian GLASS (South Africa) Professor Joseph S. TENN (USA)
Professor Bambang HIDAYAT (Indonesia) Professor Virginia TRIMBLE (USA)
Professor Ionnis LIRITZIS (Greece) Professor Mayank VAHIA (India)
Professor Nick LOMB (Australia Professor Brian WARNER (South Africa)
Professor Tsuko NAKAMURA (Japan) Professor Gudrun WOLFSCHMIDT (Germany)
The Journal of Astronomical History and Heritage (JAHH) was founded by John Perdrix and Wayne Orchiston in
1998, and since 2021 has been issued quarterly, in March, June, September and December. It features review
papers, research papers, archival papers, short communications, correspondence, IAU reports and book reviews.
Papers on all aspects of astronomical history are considered, including studies that place the evolution of
astronomy in political, economic and cultural contexts. Papers on astronomical heritage may deal with historic
telescopes and observatories, conservation projects (including the conversion of historic observatories into museums
of astronomy), and historical or industrial archaeological investigations of astronomical sites and buildings. All
papers are refereed prior to publication. There are no page charges, and in lieu of reprints authors are sent a pdf or
Word camera-ready version of their paper so that they can generate their own reprints on demand.
The JAHH has its own dedicated web site at: https://www.jahh.org. This includes guidelines for the preparation
and submission of papers, our ethics and malpractice statement, impact factors, and access to back issues.
Prospective contributors should read the ‘Guide for Authors’ on our web site and carefully follow these
guidelines when preparing manuscripts. Papers should be submitted online or, if you don't have access to email,
they should be saved as Word and pdf files on a memory stick and posted to:
Professor Wayne Orchiston
Managing Editor, Journal of Astronomical History and Heritage
523 Moo 1, Soi Ban Cholae, Mae Taeng,
Chiang Mai 50150, Thailand.
Book reviews should be sent to Dr Clifford Cunningham (Cliff.Cunningham@usq.edu.au).
The JAHH is an open access electronic journal, and is published by the National Astronomical Research
Institute of Thailand (NARIT). All content back to Vol. 1 (1998) may be downloaded free of charge from the Journal’s
web site (www.jahh.org), the NARIT web (http://www.narit.or.th/index.php/en/jahh) or the SAO/NASA Astrophysics
Data System site (http://bit.ly/1bMwxBr) and its 11 mirror sites around the world. The electronic version of the journal
will continue to be produced four times a year (normally at the end of March, June, September and December) and
posted on these web sites. Those who want a hard copy may print it out or have it done by their local printers. For
this reason, a single pdf of each entire issue (including the cover) is available on the NARIT site.
For all enquiries, email the Managing Editor (wayne.orchiston@gmail.com).
The views and opinions expressed in this Journal are not necessarily those of the Editors or the Editorial Board.

COVER IMAGE
In 1877 Giovanni Virginio Schiaparelli drew detailed maps of Mars that had strange lines that looked artificial criss-
crossing the Martian surface. He called these canali (channels), but the word was mistranslated in English as
‘canals’, which implied that they were made by intelligent beings. This view was explored further by Percival Lowell,
a wealthy Boston astronomer, who purchased a 24-inch Alvan Clark refractor and installed it in a private observatory
at Flagstaff, Arizona, primarily so that he could observe Mars. Lowell then mapped hundreds of these canals.
From 1896 until 1910, Lowell and Schiaparelli exchanged letters, mostly written in French and about Mars and
its canals, and these are discussed and translated into English in a paper by Jennifer Putnam and William Sheehan
on pages 170–227 in this issue of JAHH. This paper launches a new series in JAHH, titled ‘From the Archives’. The
images on the cover of this issue of JAHH were drawn from the aforementioned paper, and show Lowell (top) and
Schiaparelli (bottom), Lowell supposedly observing with his Clark telescope (though this may actually be a staged
photograph), and three of Lowell’s colourful disk drawings of the ‘Red planet’.
 JOURNAL OF ASTRONOMICAL HISTORY AND HERITAGE
ISSN 1440-2807

VOLUME 24 NUMBER 1 MARCH 2021

CONTENTS
Page
Editorial 2

Papers
Professor Govind Swarup’s contribution to Indian science: the recollections of a non-radio
astronomer 3
Arnab Rai Choudhuri
William Dawes: practical astronomy on the ‘First Fleet’ from England to Australia 7
Richard de Grijs and Andrew P. Jacob
Sydney’s scientific beginnings: William Dawes’ observatories in context 41
Richard de Grijs and Andrew P. Jacob
An analysis of the golden numbers on the calendar disk on the astronomical clock in Lund 77
Lars Gislén
The rise of ultraviolet astronomy in France 83
James Lequeux
Comet tales from India: Donati’s Comet of 1858 (C/1858 L1 Donati) 98
R.C. Kapoor
Observations of the total solar eclipse of 18 August 1868 carried out by Jules Janssen at
Guntoor, India 114
Françoise Launay
Two proto-science-fiction novels written in French by eighteenth century women 125
Yaël Nazé
On the alleged use of Keplerian telescopes in Naples in the 1610s 137
Paolo Del Santo
The history of early low frequency radio astronomy in Australia. 10: Shain, Gardner, and Jovian
observations made at Fleurs and Potts Hill field stations in Sydney during 1955 –1956 141
Wayne Orchiston, Martin George, Harry Wendt and Richard Wielebinski
Diameters (bimbas) of the Sun, Moon and Earth’s shadow-cone in Indian astronomical texts, with
special reference to the Makarandasāriṇī and the Ganakānanda 159
S.K. Uma, Padmaja Venugopal, K. Rupa and S. Balachandra Rao

From the Archives

A complicated relationship: an introduction to the correspondence between Percival Lowell and
Giovanni Virginio Schiaparelli 170
Jennifer Putnam and William Sheehan

Book Reviews
On Trial for Reason: Science, Religion & Culture in the Galileo Affair, by Maurice Finocchiaro 228
Clifford Cunningham
On the Life of Galileo: Viviani’s Historical Account and other Early Biographies, edited by
Stefano Gattei 228
Clifford Cunningham
Where Have all the Heavens Gone?: Galileo’s Letter to the Grand Duchess Christina,
edited by John P. McCarthy and Edmondo F. Lupieri 228
Clifford Cunningham
What Stars Are Made Of: The Life of Cecilia Payne-Gaposchkin, by Donovan Moore 230
David Whelan
Portrait of a Binary, by Sylvia L. Boyd 230
David Whelan
Astronomy of the Inca Empire: Use and Significance of the Sun and the Night Sky, by
Steven R. Gullberg 233
Bruce Love
1
 Contents

Keeping Watch in Babylon: The Astronomical Diaries in Context, edited by Johannes

Haubold, John Steele and Kathryn Stevens 234
Clifford Cunningham
Festschrift – Proceedings of the Christoph J. Scriba Memorial Meeting – History of
Mathematics (Nuncius Hamburgensis; Bd. 36), edited by Gudrun Wolfschmidt 236
Katharina Habermann
Early Greek Philosophies of Nature, by Andrew Gregory. 237
Clifford Cunningham
The Shogun’s Silver Telescope: God, Art, and Money in the English Quest for Japan,
1600 –1625, by Timon Screech. 239
Christopher M. Graney
Ptolemy’s Philosophy: Mathematics as a way of life, by Jacqueline Feke. 241
Clifford Cunningham

Letter to the Editor 243

EDITORIAL
Dear Readers,
Welcome to the new-look 2021 edition of the Journal of Astronomical History and Heritage. With this issue we
begin producing four issues of JAHH per year (instead of three, as previously), to accommodate the increasing
number of papers that we receive and to help reduce the time delay between submission of a manuscript and its
subsequent publication.
In order to help with this process, we have expanded the ‘Editorial Team’ by adding two new-comers,
Associate Professor Ruby-Ann Dela Cruz and Professor Richard de Grijs. Ruby-Ann is from the Department of
Earth and Space Sciences at Rizal Technological University in Manila (Philippines), and she researches various
aspects of SE Asian astronomical history. She will share the Editorial load, and as the Papers Editor of JAHH
will she work directly with me. Meanwhile, Richard, from the Department of Physics and Astronomy at Macquarie
University in Sydney (Australia), is an astrophysicist who has developed an interest in nautical astronomy, and
Australian astronomy (you will find two of his papers in this issue of JAHH, and several of his papers in last year’s
issues of JAHH). Richard is a new Associate Editor, joining the four existing Associate Editors, Dr Cliff
Cunningham, Associate Professor Duane Hamacher, Dr James Lequeux and Dr Peter Robertson. Like James
and Peter, Richard also spent many years editing astrophysical or physics journals before joining the JAHH
team. We especially appreciate his editorial expertise.
We are always looking for ways to improve JAHH, and with this issue you will find two significant in-
novations. Firstly, we have added a new Section, titled ‘From the Archives’, where we will publish astronomical
manuscripts or describe the contents and/or the development of individual astronomical archives. Launching this
Section is a 58-page paper by Jennifer Putnam and William Sheehan about Mars, canals (canali) and associated
correspondence between Percival Lowell and Giovanni Schiaparelli. Secondly, in an attempt to make JAHH
more attractive and optimize communication between authors and our readers we have introduced some new
graphic design features, including colour-coding for the different sections published in JAHH : regular Papers (i.e.
research papers and review papers); papers in the ‘From the Archives’ Section; Book Reviews; IAU Reports; as
well as Editorials and ‘Letters to the Editor’.
Despite these changes, our basic philosophy remains the same: (1) to encourage research on the history of
astronomy throughout the world and provide a vehicle for publication; and also (2) to focus on certain niche
areas, such as cometary astronomy, ethnoastronomy, historic solar and lunar eclipses, historic transits of Venus,
nautical astronomy, and the history of radio astronomy. As a reflection of this international coverage, we note
that the three 2020 issues of JAHH discussed aspects of astronomical history (including archaeoastronomy and
ethnoastronomy) from Algeria, Argentina, Australia, Babylon, Belarus, Brazil, Canada, Chile, China, El Salvador,
England, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Honduras, India, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Mauritius,
Mexico, ‘the Middle East (including Persia), Moldova, Myanmar (Burma), Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway,
Peru, Poland, South Africa, Spain, Sri Lanka (Ceylon), Sweden, Tonga, Russia, Ukraine, USA and Wales.
We hope that you like the new-look JAHH, and that you will enjoy reading the variety of papers, book
reviews and IAU Reports that we will bring to you this year.

Professor Wayne Orchiston

Managing Editor
(wayne.orchiston@gmail.com)

Published by the National Astronomical Research Institute of Thailand, 260 Moo 4,

T. Donkaew, A. Maerim, Chiang Mai 50180, Thailand.

2
 Journal of Astronomical History and Heritage, 24(1), 3 – 6 (2021).

PROFESSOR GOVIND SWARUP’S CONTRIBUTIONS TO

INDIAN SCIENCE: THE RECOLLECTIONS OF A
NON-RADIO ASTRONOMER

Arnab Rai Choudhuri

Department of Physics, Indian Institute of Science,
Bangalore 560 012, Karnataka, India.
E-mail: arnab@iisc.ernet.in
Abstract: Professor Govind Swarup FRS, the doyen of Indian astrophysics, passed away on 7 August 2020 at 9
pm. In this short tribute to ‘The Father of Indian Radio Astronomy’, I want to write about him from a personal
perspective, primarily in a non-radio astronomical context.
Keywords: Professor Govind Swarup FRS, Indian Science, Joint Astronomy Program, Indian Institutes of
Science Education and Research

1 INTRODUCTION was no astrophysicists at TIFR at that time.

Accounts of how Professor Govind Swarup Bhabha decided to offer jobs to these four
(1929–2020; Figure 1) established and devel- youngsters. Of the four, Govind Swarup was
oped a thriving school of radio astronomy in the only one to stay on at the TIFR. Others
India have already been published by various tested the waters and then returned to their
authors (e.g. see Orchiston and Phakatkar, greener pastures, presumably because they
2019; Srinivasan, 2015). In this short tribute I felt that the conditions in India would not en-
want to write about my close association with able them to do competitive research at an in-
Govind Swarup, which was mainly in a non- ternational standard in radio astronomy. But
radio astronomical context. An account of Govind would not give up. He went on to build
somebody’s scientific achievements often does two of the world’s finest and most innovative
not always make it clear how the next generat- radio telescopes—the Ooty Radio Telescope
ion will view them. Perhaps my personal ac- in the late 1960s, and the Giant Metrewave
count will bring out other aspects of Swarup’s Radio Telescope (GMRT) near Pune in the
character and make readers who had not early 1990s—completely indigenously, with the
known Swarup intimately realize why he holds help of engineering skills available in India.
such a place of affection in the hearts of many
He showed that India was capable of build-
of us. I am 27 years younger than Govind
ing world-class state-of-the-art radio tele-
Swarup. Within the general field of astrophys-
scopes. I was quite close to him when he was
ics, our research specializations were as diff-
planning GMRT and he excitedly told me a lot
erent as one could imagine. While Swarup was
an extragalactic radio astronomer, I am a theo-
retical solar physicist, and our research styles
also were totally different. After some very brief
comments on Swarup’s scientific achieve-
ments, I shall discuss how an unlikely personal
bond developed between the two of us.

2 GOVIND SWARUP’S RETURN TO INDIA,

AND THE DEVELOPMENT OF INDIAN
RADIO ASTRONOMY
Around 1960, when Govind Swarup was a
budding Assistant Professor at Stanford Uni-
versity, four young Indian radio astronomers
working in the USA sent a joint letter to the
heads of several Indian organizations stating
that they were willing to return to India and
build a radio astronomy group if any place of-
fered jobs to all of them. Only one head of an
organization could give a positive reply to such
an unusual request: Homi Bhabha, who had
established the Tata Institute of Fundamental Figure 1: Professor Govind Swarup FRS (courtesy: Tata
Research (TIFR) a few years earlier, but there Institute of Fundamental Research).

3
Arnab Rai Choudhuri Govind Swarup Contributions to Indian Science

about it, although I understand nothing about in astrophysics: the Joint Astronomy Program-
telescopes. I remember that there was wide- me (JAP). When Chanda Jog and I joined the
spread skepticism about it in India at that time. IISc in the late 1980s, we received tremen-
Many pundits declared that India did not have dous support and encouragement from Go-
the technological know-how to pull off such a vind. A disproportionately large number of to-
complex project and it would end up in a fail- day’s senior and middle-aged Indian astro-
ure. physicists (much more than 50%) were trained
though the JAP.
Additionally, Govind had a very limited bud-
get, a fraction of what everybody thought it Before writing a little bit about this Pro-
would cost to build such an ambitious radio gramme and how my association with Govind
telescope of such a size. All the time, Govind began, let me make a few remarks about the
had to continuously think of ingenious ways of second mission of Govind’s life besides build-
cutting down the cost. After the noted British ing radio telescopes. He always said that, if
astrophysicist Professor Roger Blandford heard good Indian scientists only did their research in
of the total cost of the GMRT he used to refer their isolated ivory towers, then Indian science
to it as ‘The Great Indian Rupee Trick’. had no future. We have to attract bright young
The other challenge for Govind was that students to basic science and then train them
he needed to hire good engineers for the pro- properly. It was in this second mission of his
ject. He told me that at the time when the life that Govind interacted with me perhaps
Ooty Radio Telescope (ORT) was being built more closely than with any other Indian astro-
the salary of an engineer in a private company physicist.
was about 1.3 times of what he could offer in a Before the JAP was started, there was no
Government organization, and by the time of place in India that offered academic courses in
the GMRT this ratio had become >2. When astrophysics. Consequently, any Indian stu-
building the ORT, Govind managed to get a lot dent wanting to do a PhD in astrophysics had
of engineering support from several talented to learn the subject on his/her own. As grad-
PhD students, some of whom had undergrad- uate programmes in astrophysics became the
uate engineering degrees (S. Ananthakrish- norm around the world, Govind felt that India
nan, pers. comm., December 2020). However, also must start her graduate programme. The
the GMRT was a more complex project and a model he came up with was that students
few engineers had to be appointed to work on would be taught by astrophysics faculty mem-
it. Obviously, some gifted young engineers bers of different institutes and, after course-
agreed to work with Govind at this hugely work, these students could work with any fac-
reduced pay only because of his charisma and ulty member in a participating institute. Since
personality, and their chance to get involved the IISc had an atmosphere closer to a uni-
personally in forefront science and technol- versity than other institutes with astrophysics
ogy. groups, Govind wanted the IISc to be the nod-
al point of the JAP, although there were no
3 GOVIND SWARUP’S CONTRIBUTION astrophysicists at the IISc at that time.
TO INDIAN SCIENCE: A PERSONAL
PRESPECTIVE When I joined the IISc at the age of 30, I
found quite a lot of work for the JAP dumped
The contributions that Govind Swarup made to on my shoulders. I do not know what Govind
Indian science (note that I write “Indian science” saw in me, but he almost gave me a blank
and not “Indian astrophysics” or “Indian radio check to implement anything in the JAP that I
astronomy”) are so vast that future generat- considered appropriate—from restructuring the
ions will surely marvel that such a person even course curriculum to formalizing inter-institut-
existed. ional arrangements. In many meetings to dis-
Apart from TIFR, the second Indian organ- cuss the JAP, Govind would come to my res-
ization with which Govind Swarup had a very cue when I would be attacked from all the
close link was my workplace, the Indian Instit- sides, and made sure that I would get my way.
ute of Science (IISc). He spent several years I am not suggesting that what Govind used to
on the IISc campus in the 1980s when the do was the best way for a senior person to
TIFR radio astronomy group was housed in a manage such a complex situation. But it
building not far from the present-day Physics shows what kind of person Govind was and, in
Department. It was at this time that he took this process, I developed a strong bonding
the initiative (with Professor V. Radhakrishnan with him. I used to spend a lot of time in the
of Raman Research Institute and Professor building of the TIFR Radio Astronomy group,
Vainu Bappu of Indian Institute of Astrophys- especially in their cozy library. I felt like an
ics) of establishing India’s first graduate school orphan when the group shifted base to Pune to

4
Arnab Rai Choudhuri Govind Swarup Contributions to Indian Science

build the GMRT! told me ruefully that it was the only time in his
career that he had to abandon a project after it
Govind was very worried in the 1990s that
came so close to realization.
many of the famous Indian universities had
declined (he always fondly recalled how he When I was in Kolkata with Govind for a 2-
had been taught by giants of Indian physics day meeting to discuss this centre, the second
like K.S. Krishnan when he was an MSc stu- day was declared a bandh (general strike) by
dent at Allahabad University). Govind felt con- the Left Front at very short notice. So we had
cerned that young Indian students did not to squeeze the whole meeting into one day.
have too many choices in those days for a Since it was not possible those days to change
good undergraduate training in basic science. flight bookings at such short notice, Govind
He (along with Professor V.G. Bhide of Pune had to spend the second day in the SN Bose
University) presented a detailed proposal to Centre guest house. As I knew that Govind
the Government of India that it should start had come to Kolkata solely for the sake of
institutes of science exactly like the IITs. At Kolkata, I did not want him to be left alone on
first there was considerable progress with the a day of bandh. I asked the SN Bose Centre
proposal, but then it got shelved. A few years to also give me a room in their guest house.
later, the idea was revived and the Indian In- When Govind came to hear of this, he protest-
stitutes of Science Education and Research
(IISERs) were established following the model
given in the Swarup-Bhide proposal. They,
therefore, should be regarded as the ‘spiritual
fathers’ of the IISERs. I know that Govind us-
ed to feel a little hurt that he was not given
enough credit for this, because this was a pro-
ject that was very close to his heart. Current-
ly there are seven different IISERs spread
throughout India (see Figure 2).
I was closely associated with Govind for
what he once described to me as the biggest
failure of his career. He had a soft spot for the
state of West Bengal in the eastern part of
India (from which I come), and in the 1990s
was very concerned that, even though some of
the best physics students were coming from
that State, there was no centre of astrophysics
there (this was before the astrophysics group
started at the Indian Institute of Technology in
Kharagpur). He was very eager that an astro-
Figure 2: A map showing the current location of Indian
physics centre should be set up in the campus Institutes of Science Education and Research (map:
of a university there, and Professor Chanchal Wayne Orchiston).
Majumdar was one person who was giving him
strong support from the Kolkata side. (Kolkata ed repeatedly: “You have your parents and in-
is the capital of West Bengal). laws in Kolkata. You should go and spend
time with them. Why do you want to waste a
Although I was about 40 at that time and
day with an old man? I shall be fine. Do not
with no standing in the Indian academic com-
worry about me.” But he obviously felt reliev-
munity, Govind sent me as his emissary to
ed that I decided to stay with him. Luckily, the
hold meetings with Vice-Chancellors and sen-
cooks at the guest house showed up and we
ior professors of Jadavpur and Visva Bharati
had good food. Since there was nothing else to
universities. There was quite a lot of enthus-
do in that day of bandh, Govind talked to me
iasm and Govind also managed to raise initial
for several hours, about his childhood and
funds to start such a centre. After coming very
youth, the dreams he had as a young man, his
close to being realized, this project shamefully
deep patriotism, his concerns about common
got derailed due to the political intrigues of
people of India, his achievements, and the
some Bengali academics (I do not want to
difficulties that he had faced in his career.
describe this matter in detail), who suspected
That day remains etched in my memory as
that Govind must have had some hidden ulter-
one of the most memorable days of my life.
ior motive! It was unbelievable to them that
somebody could selflessly devote so much time I now describe a rather personally humb-
to a project without any self-interest. Govind ling encounter that I had with Govind Swarup

5
Arnab Rai Choudhuri Govind Swarup Contributions to Indian Science

in Thiruvanthapuram about 3-4 years ago. T. hot summer day. Although Govind was then in
Padmanabhan and I had been invited to give his mid-70s, he was showing the visitor around.
two prestigious invited lectures on astrophys- When we were walking towards the cafeteria
ics at the National Space Science Symposium for lunch, Govind saw that the journalist’s car
held at the Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre. was parked under the shade of a tree at the
On arriving at the guest house, I found Govind farthest corner of the parking lot. Without tel-
there. He told me that he had come to give a ling anybody anything, he suddenly sprinted
regular talk in a regular session. I felt really 50 metres in the scorching Sun and told the
awkward that, while I was giving a prestigious driver “aap thoda khana ke liye idhar aiye” (i.e.
invited talk, such a legend of Indian science “Please come and join us for lunch”). That
had come to give only an ordinary talk. Go- was Govind Swarup. When he was head of a
vind sensed my discomfort and seemed to be group or a project, there would be no ‘hier-
quite amused by it. He gave his disarming archy’ of any kind. He would regularly sit down
and almost child-like smile and said: for lunch or tea with the junior-most engineer
You will surely describe the many important or the youngest PhD student. Everybody who
results that have come out of your research worked with him felt that they had to give their
group in the last few years. But I have not best for him.
come here to talk about my past achieve-
ments. I told the organizers that I wanted 4 CONCLUDING REMARKS
to give a regular talk on the new research I Those of us who had the opportunity of being
have started a year ago. I am very excited close to this gem of a human being will always
about it and want to tell others. The organ-
izers wanted to fix an invited talk but I did
remember him for his passion for science, for
not agree, because that would not be cor- his deep humanism, for his compassion for fel-
rect. I have not done anything important in low human beings and for his towering intel-
this new field yet. lect. There has not been another person like
Here was a man close to 90 did not want any him in Indian astrophysics and probably never
special arrangements. He had come from will be.
Pune alone, ate the regular food at the guest 5 ACKNOWLEDEMENTS
house with us and walked to the conference
I originally prepared this account for private
venue (about half a kilometre from the guest
circulation among friends upon hearing of
house). Apart from giving his talk on radio
Swarup’s death, and had no plan of publishing
observations of Venus in a session where all
it in an academic journal. I am grateful, there-
the other speakers were less than half his age,
fore, to Professor Wayne Orchiston for urging
he listened to the other talks attentively to find
me to publish it. I wish to thank Dr Anantha-
out what younger people were doing.
krishnan (Centre for Radioastrophysics, Pune,
I end this short paper by mentioning one India) for commenting on the MS, the Tata
other incident. Once when I was at the GMRT Institute of Fundamental Research for kindly
site (probably about 15 years ago), a British supplying Figure 1, and Professor Orchiston
journalist had come to see GMRT on that very for preparing Figure 2.

6 REFERENCES
Orchiston, W., and Phakatkar, S., 2019. A tribute to Professor Govind Swarup, FRS: The Father of Indian Radio
Astronomy. Journal of Astronomical History and Heritage, 22, 3 – 44.
Srinivasan, G., 2015. Govind Swarup: radio astronomer, innovator par excellence and a wonderfully inspiring
leader. Current Science, 109, 618 – 630.

Arnab Rai Choudhuri obtained his PhD from the University of Chicago in 1985. After a 2-year postdoctoral stint
at the High Altitude Observatory, Boulder, USA, he took up a faculty position at the Indian Institute of Science
(IISc), where he has remained since that time. During his tenure at the IISc, he had held visiting positions at
University of St. Andrews, Kiepenheuer-Institut für Sonnenphysik Freiburg, Montana State
University, Max-Planck Institut Lindau, Cambridge University, National Astronomical
Observatory of China and National Astronomical Observatories of Japan.
Choudhuri’s main research interest is to study magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) pro-
cesses in astrophysical systems, especially the Sun. He is one of the originators of the flux
transport dynamo model, the currently favoured theoretical model of the 11-year sunspot
cycle. His textbooks—The Physics of Fluids and Plasmas (1998, Cambridge University
Press) and Astrophysics for Physicists (2010, Cambridge University Press)—are used in
many universities around the world. He is also the author of the popular science book,
Nature’s Third Cycle: A Story of Sunspots (2015, Oxford University Press). Choudhuri has
been a recipient of the Alexander von Humoldt Fellowship and the JC Bose National Fellowship. He is an
elected Fellow of all the three science academies of India as well as The World Academy of Sciences (TWAS).

6
 Journal of Astronomical History and Heritage, 24(1), 7– 40 (2021).

WILLIAM DAWES: PRACTICAL ASTRONOMY

ON THE ‘FIRST FLEET’ FROM ENGLAND
TO AUSTRALIA

Richard de Grijs
Department of Physics and Astronomy, Macquarie University,
Balaclava Road, Sydney, NSW 2109, Australia
E-mail: richard.de-grijs@mq.edu.au
and
Andrew P. Jacob
Sydney Observatory, Museum of Applied Arts and Sciences,
1003 Upper Fort Street, Millers Point, Sydney, NSW 2000, Australia
E-mail: Andrew.Jacob@maas.museum

Abstract: On 13 May 1787, a convict fleet of 11 ships left Portsmouth, England, on a 24,000 km, 8-month-long
voyage to New South Wales. The voyage would take the ‘First Fleet’ under Captain Arthur Phillip via Tenerife
(Canary Islands), the port of Rio de Janeiro (Brazil), Table Bay at the southern extremity of the African continent
and the southernmost cape of present-day Tasmania to their destination of Botany Bay. Given the navigation
tools available at the time and the small size of the convoy’s ships, their safe arrival within a few days of each
other was a phenomenal achievement. This was particularly so, because they had not lost a single ship and only
a relatively small number of crew and convicts. Phillip and his crew had only been able to ensure their success
because of the presence of crew members who were highly proficient in practical astronomy, most notably
Lieutenant William Dawes. We explore in detail his educational background and the events leading up to Dawes’
appointment by the Board of Longitude as the convoy’s dedicated astronomer-cum-Marine. In addition to Dawes,
John Hunter, second captain of the convoy’s flagship H.M.S. Sirius, Lieutenant William Bradley and Lieutenant
Philip Gidley King were also experts in navigation and longitude determination, using both chronometers and
‘lunar distance’ measurements. The historical record of the First Fleet’s voyage is remarkably accurate, even by
today’s standards.
Keywords: William Dawes, longitude and latitude, First Fleet, K1 chronometer, tent observatories

1 A VOYAGE TO THE ANTIPODES Figure 3 shows the interior of the last Aus-
In a move reeking of desperation, at daybreak tralian prison ship, the prison hulk Success
on 13 May 1787 a convoy of 11 ships left (ca. 1926).
Portsmouth, England, on an 8-month, 24,000 The total number of people carried by the
km undertaking billed as a ‘voyage to Botany First Fleet—convicts, Marines, seamen, civil
Bay’ in New South Wales. Now known as the officers and free people, male and female—will
‘First Fleet’, it was a desperate attempt to rid likely remain unknown forever. In fact, it ap-
the overcrowded English jails and prison hulks pears from contemporary sources that the
of the ‘criminal classes’. As such, Captain convoy’s accounting for all of its crew was not
Arthur Phillip took charge from his flagship, done very carefully:
H.M.S. Sirius, accompanied by the H.M.A.T. On the 15th [May 1787] the signal was
Supply armed tender, the convict transports made for the transports to pass in suc-
Alexander, Charlotte, Friendship, Lady Pen- cession within hail under the stern of the
rhyn, Prince of Wales and Scarborough, and Sirius, when, on inquiry, it appeared, that
the food and supply transports1 Borrowdale, the provost-marshal [the head of the mil-
Fishb[o]urn and Golden Grove (for an in-depth itary police] of the settlement (who was to
account, see Pembroke, 2013). have taken his passage on board the
Prince of Wales) was left behind, together
Figures 1, 2 and 3 paint a vivid picture of with the third mate of the Charlotte trans-
the conditions in which the convicts lived. port, and five men from the Fishbourn
Figure 1 is a representative example of the store-ship: the loss of these [latter] five
numerous prison hulks the English Govern- persons was supplied by as many seamen
ment operated in the late eighteenth century. from on board the [escort ship] Hyæna.
(Collins, 1798: Section I).
Figure 2 shows (left) a chain gang being
moved to a new location in ca. 1782 and (right) Only for the Sirius and Supply, neither of
a longboat carrying convicts to their transport, which transported convicts, do we know the
bound for Botany Bay (early 1800s). Finally, names of all crew members. Gillen (1989)

7

Richard de Grijs and Andrew P. Jacob William Dawes and the ‘First Fleet’

Figure 1: Representative example of an English prison hulk at Deptford (1826). Artist: Samuel Prout; engraved by George
Cooke (London, Longman & Co.; National Library of Australia; PIC Drawer 3841 #U3905 NK6402).

Figure 2: (Left) “A fleet of convicts under convoy”, ca. 1782; “Printed for & Sold by Carington Bowles, at his Map & Print
Warehouse, No. 69 in St. Pauls Church Yard, London. Published as the Act directs” (Dixon Library, State Library of New South
Wales; a128083/DL Pd 789). (Right) Convicts embarking for Botany Bay, early 1800s. Artist: Thomas Rowlandson (National
Library of Australia; PIC Drawer 3842 #T2670 NK228).

identified 1420 people who embarked on the were born in transit 2 (White, 1790). John
First Fleet, with 1373 arriving in the colony White (1790), the First Fleet’s principal surg-
after a voyage of 250–252 days, depending eon (see Figure 4),3 painted a favourable pic-
on their vessel. The voyage took 48 lives (45 ture of conditions on board:
of convicts or their children), while 28 children The newspapers were daily filled with alarm-
8

Richard de Grijs and Andrew P. Jacob William Dawes and the ‘First Fleet’

Figure 3: Interior of the prison hulk Success (middle deck, looking forward), 1926 (State Library of Victoria; Ref. 3007866).

Figure 4: Portrait gallery of the main characters described in this paper (except for those individuals already included in de Grijs
and Jacob, 2021), ordered from left to right by date of birth. Individuals depicted include (i) Joseph Banks (1743–1820), (ii)
William Twiss (1745–1827), (iii) John White (1756–1832) and (iv) Philip Gidley King (1758–1808). Figure credits: Wikimedia
Commons (public domain).

ing accounts of the fatality that prevailed crowded state we were in.
among us; and the rumour became gener-
However, the historical record remains in-
al, notwithstanding every step was taken to
remove these fears, by assurances (which conclusive as to the total number of people on
were strictly true) that the whole fleet was board. Other accounts report as few as 1044
in as good a state of health, and as few in arrivals, while Governor Phillip’s first census of
it would be found to be ill, at that cold sea- 1788, reported to the Home Secretary, Thom-
son of the year, as even in the most as Townshend, First Viscount Sydney, return-
healthy situation on shore. The clearest ed a total white population of 1030 (Macquarie,
testimony that there was more malignity in 1988).4 Even the number of convicts on board
the report than in the disease, may be de- the ships is subject to confusion and debate.
duced from the very inconsiderable num-
Gillen (1989) identified 775 convicts (582 men
ber that have died since we left England;
which I may safely venture to say is much and 193 women) as having embarked, with
less than ever was known in so long a 732 eventually landing at Sydney Cove. How-
voyage (the numbers being proportionate), ever, Judge Advocate and chronicler of the
even though not labouring under the disad- colony David Collins (1798) counted 756 con-
advantages we were subject to, and the victs across the ships—564 males and 192 fe-
9

Richard de Grijs and Andrew P. Jacob William Dawes and the ‘First Fleet’

Figure 5: “A general chart of the passage from England to Botany Bay in New Holland”. Artist: John Andrews (London, John
Stockdale). The pale blue line represents the route taken by the First Fleet (Mitchell Library, State Library of New South Wales;
Ref. M2 118/1787/1).

males—as well as 13 of their children. took the fleet through the southern Indian
In addition to the convicts and crew, the Ocean to Van Diemen’s Land (present-day
First Fleet was home to a complement of 160 Tasmania) and the New South Wales coast
Marines (see also Laurie, 1988). The 11 ships (see Figure 5). Navigating long stretches of
also carried surgeon-general John White and open ocean, low-lying islands and reefs in
his servant, on Charlotte, as well as six coastal areas, extended periods of calm in the
assistant surgeons—two on the Lady Penrhyn tropics (the ‘doldrums’) where the ships would
and one each on Friendship, Scarborough, be subject to a variety of ocean currents, and
Sirius and Supply. Two surgeon’s mates were gale-force winds across the Indian Ocean’s
stationed on the Sirius, while the surveyor- ‘roaring forties’ meant that accurate position
general, Augustus Alt, was on board the determination was of the utmost importance at
Prince of Wales. A chaplain, the Reverend any time throughout the voyage.
Richard Johnson, his wife, and a servant and Although chronometers of sufficient oper-
his wife sailed on the Golden Grove, whereas ational accuracy to determine one’s longitude
the commissary of stores, Andrew Miller, and at sea had become available by the time of
his servant were on the Sirius. The Sirius also James Cook’s second and third voyages in
hosted three additional servants (to Captains 1772–1775 and 1776–1779, respectively, one
Phillip and Hunter). Moreover, a peace officer had to remember to wind them up periodically
had embarked on the Lady Penrhyn and a and to re-calibrate them occasionally given
civilian settler on the Alexander. Finally, 28 that their rates would decay over time. Recali-
soldiers’ wives and their 14 children were also bration relied upon accurate ‘lunar distance’
on board the convoy5 (Collins, 1798). measurements. This required observations of
The First Fleet’s voyage carried it from the apparent distances on the sky between
England past Madeira, Tenerife (Canary Is- well-known bright stars or the Sun and the lun-
lands) and the Cape Verde Islands in the ar limb. In turn, these had to be reconciled
North Atlantic Ocean. Then, following the pre- with tabulated values for those same distances
vailing trade winds and ocean currents, they as observed from Greenwich (for a recent re-
sailed to Rio de Janeiro and Table Bay at the view, see de Grijs, 2020). For these reasons,
Cape of Good Hope. Eventually, the voyage it was common for voyages of discovery to in-
10

Richard de Grijs and Andrew P. Jacob William Dawes and the ‘First Fleet’

clude competent astronomers among their ation about himself and his views as
crew (e.g., Macleod and Rehbock, 1988). The Lieutenant Dawes, and there is no man
First Fleet was no exception (e.g., Saunders, among them who has given so little. He
1990), and so William 6 Dawes (1762–1836) was the scholar of the expedition, man of
letters and man of science, explorer, map-
was appointed as the convoy’s official Astron- maker, student of language, of anthropol-
omer (for a recent review, see also de Grijs ogy, of astronomy, of botany, of surveying,
and Jacob, 2021). and of engineering, teacher and philan-
In the remainder of this paper, we will ex- thropist. The duty to posterity of such a
plore in some detail Dawes’ background as man, in such singular circumstances, was
that he should be always writing, and in
well as his achievements on board the Sirius fact he wrote nothing at all that can now be
and, subsequently, the Supply. An accessible, read. What we know about him we learn
relatively brief and popular account of Dawes’ wholly from the writings of others; and the
contributions and achievements is available at scantiness of our information is made the
http://www.visitsydneyaustralia.com.au/william- more exasperating by the fact that every-
dawes.html. A high-level academic account of thing they write about him—apart from two
the scientific and political context in which the differences of opinion with Governor Phil-
First Fleet’s voyage was prepared and subse- lip, in respect to which a sensible historian
quently undertaken can be found in Saunders will decline to arbitrate—is in tones of high
praise both of character and ability. (Wood,
(1990: 24–74). Here, however, we focus in 1924: 1).
significantly greater detail on Dawes’ contribut-
ions, while attempting to be as precise as Currer-Jones (1930), Dawes’ great-grand-
possible in our descriptions and offering quant- daughter, noted that the Dawes “Family pap-
itative assessments wherever feasible. This ers, many consisting of Dawes’ letters, etc., …
paper is therefore complementary to Saun- had been destroyed after the death of one of
ders’ (1990) more qualitative overview. his grandsons.” and that
Section 2 considers the young Dawes’ ori- I have heard from Antigua [where Dawes
resided from 1813 until his death in 1836]
gins, education and early career as a Marine
that many of Dawes’ papers were destroy-
officer. In Section 3, we will discuss his ap- ed by the terrible hurricane 7 of [21 August]
pointment as the First Fleet’s astronomer and 1871. The utmost was done to decipher
the scientific preparations undertaken for their the remains of these, but it was found im-
departure to the antipodes (see also Saun- possible.
ders, 1990). Section 4 deals with the astro- The only surviving correspondence by his
nomical aspects of the First Fleet’s voyage,
own hand is composed of his letters to Dr
where we will highlight that Dawes was not the
Nevil Maskelyne, Britain’s fifth Astronomer
only competent astronomer on board. Position
Royal. These are preserved among the pap-
determinations based on both chronometer
ers of the Board of Longitude, which are held
readings and lunar distances were also ob-
at the Cambridge University Library (UK) and
tained by Captain John Hunter (1793), second
freely available online8 at high resolution.
captain of the Sirius, and his Lieutenants Wil-
liam Bradley (1786–1792; Collins, 1798) and William Dawes was the first-born son of
Philip Gidley King (1787–1790). Finally, in Benjamin Dawes and Elizabeth Sinnatt of Ports-
Section 5 we consider the First Fleet’s detailed mouth, England. William had four siblings, in-
itinerary as recorded in contemporary journals. cluding his sisters Elizabeth (1764), Mary
We provide the most comprehensive compilat- (1768) and Ann (1769), and his younger
ion of First Fleet geographic position determin- brother John (1766). The earliest available re-
ations to date by means of an online database. cord of young William Dawes in the Church of
We conclude that the remarkable achievement England parish register of St. Thomas à Beck-
led by Captain Phillip would not have been et is that of his baptism on 17 March 1762
possible without a detailed grounding in prac- (Hampshire parish registers, 1653–1875). This
tical astronomy of key members of his entou- suggests that he was in all likelihood born in
rage. early 1762, although his exact date of birth has
not been recorded.9 By the late eighteenth
2 YOUNG WILLIAM DAWES century, the time between birth and baptism
had slipped from “… the Sunday, or other Holy
Perhaps surprisingly given the leading intellec- day next after the child be borne, unless upon
tual role he was to be cast into eventually, little a great and reasonable cause declared to the
first-hand information pertaining to William Curate.” (Anglican Church Prayer Books, 1549
Dawes survives: and 1552; cited by Basten, 2015), as com-
There is no man among the founders who monly practised in the sixteenth and seven-
ought to have given us so much inform- teenth centuries, to longer intervals. For in-
11

Richard de Grijs and Andrew P. Jacob William Dawes and the ‘First Fleet’

stance, one study indicates that in the period Although it is unknown where Dawes re-
1771–1789, 75% of newborns were baptised ceived his early professional education, hist-
within 38 days, while that time interval had orians tend to agree that Dawes most likely
increased to 64 days by 1791–1812 (Basten, attended the Royal Naval Academy in Ports-
2015; see also Berry and Schofield, 1971). mouth (e.g., Clarke, 2015; Crittenden, 2010;
Steele, 2005). His skills in maritime navigation
Elizabeth Dawes née Sinnatt had been a
exhibited at a later stage of his career attest to
widow until she remarried, to Benjamin Dawes,
a solid naval education. Nevertheless, Clarke
on 15 October 1761 in the same parish church
(2015) points out that he continued to perfect
(Blagg and Andrews, 1913: 128). Given that
those skills as late as 1786 when, prior to the
the couple married just five months prior to
First Fleet’s departure, he spent a few weeks
William’s birth suggests a degree of social
under the tutelage of Maskelyne at Greenwich
pressure. His father was employed as clerk-
Observatory (Maskelyne, 1786b). Crittenden
of-works (construction supervisor in charge of
(2010) verified that Dawes does not appear to
quality control) at the Ordnance Office of
have attended either the Naval College at
Portsmouth Naval dockyard (Mander-Jones,
Greenwich or that at Christ’s Hospital, the
1966).
other educational institutions where naval offi-
William would go far in life, despite his cers were taught the ropes.
fairly humble beginnings. During the early
The Portsmouth Naval Academy (see Fig-
years of the new settlement in New South
ure 6) had been established to educate “…
Wales (1788–1791), Dawes and his newly
forty young [13 to 16-year-old] gentlemen, sons
established observatory (de Grijs and Jacob,
of noblemen and gentlemen.” (by Order in
2021; Wood, 1924) were undeniably the intel-
Council, February 1729) for service in the Brit-
lectual focal point of the colony’s small pop-
ish Navy. After all, as proclaimed by King
ulation. His intellectual pursuits and interests
William IV, “… there was no place superior to
clearly showed that he had enjoyed an ex-
the quarterdeck of a British man of war for the
cellent and thorough education from an early
education of a gentleman.” (Dickinson, 2007:
age. If anything, as an adult Dawes developed
32). However, that scenario had not develop-
into a true polymath, proficient in a number of
ed as initially expected. The offspring of the
European languages, including French and La-
city’s better-off citizens disliked the institution
tin, as well as in botany, mineralogy, mathe-
since it reminded them too much of school,
matics and maritime navigation. He was also
with all its rules, responsibilities and restrict-
said to be “… a tolerably good Astronomer &
ions. Upon graduation, the ‘Academites’ or
draws very well.” (Bayly, 1786).
‘College Volunteers’ were equally disliked by
His grasp of Latin grammar is demonstrat- the Navy captains required to accept them for
ed in his notebooks on the Eora Aboriginal sea service, since they lacked the rigorous at-
language he would later compile at Sydney titudes of genuine naval officers trained on
Cove (Clarke, 2015). His Latin proficiency is board as Captain’s servants (e.g., Crittenden,
evidenced by his almost casual use of verb 2010; Lloyd, 1966). Moreover, in 1801 Ad-
paradigms and expressions such as ‘impera- miral of the Fleet John Jervis, First Earl of St.
tive mood’ and ‘the ablative case’ (Steele, Vincent, exclaimed that the Portsmouth Naval
2005). Moreover, Dawes communicated in Academy was “… a sink of vice and abomin-
Latin with the Portuguese astronomers based ation, which ought to be abolished.” (Lloyd,
at the observatory in Rio de Janeiro during the 1952: 472). Given the Academy’s bad reputa-
First Fleet’s month-long respite there (Dawes, tion—“Are you so partial to that seminary as to
1787l). In addition, shortly after the First hazard a son there?” (Jervis, 1801)—by 1773
Fleet’s arrival in New South Wales, Dawes only half of the approximately 40 places were
made the acquaintance of the French Astron- filled by sons of the city’s gentry and aristo-
omer Joseph Lepaute Dagelet. The latter was crats. Therefore, the Admiralty extended entry
a scientific member of the Lapérouse expedit- to 15 sons of non-commissioned officers, aged
ion, which was anchored in Botany Bay be- 11–17, and waived their fees (Lloyd, 1966:
tween 26 January and 10 March 1788. On 3 145).
March, Dagelet sent Dawes a letter offering
him advice on how to set up his observatory Under those conditions, and probably aid-
(Dagelet, 1788). The letter was written entirely ed by his father’s position at the Naval dock-
in French. At a later date, Dawes showed yard, young William may have been admitted
further proficiency in French in his notebooks, to the Royal Naval Academy. Subjects taught
for instance by referencing “To make or do at the time included French, drawing, fencing,
(faire in French).” (Dawes, 1791: Notebook 3, use of the firelock and Latin. If indeed the
29). young Dawes was educated there, this would

12

Richard de Grijs and Andrew P. Jacob William Dawes and the ‘First Fleet’

Figure 6: The Royal Naval Academy, Portsmouth (1806). Artist: Hall, after I.T. Lee (Wellcome Library no. 22276i; Creative
Commons Attribution 4.0 International license).

also account for his competence in mathemat- appearance of formal sanctity. He is kind
ics, navigation and astronomy. Immersion in to everyone; but I am speaking of his many
the latter subject would serve him well as the affabilities to myself, which are such that
official astronomer on the First Fleet. It is in- more could not be looked for from a
relation. He has a great share of general
deed highly likely that he received instruction knowledge, studious, yet ever cheerful,
in practical astronomy from William Bayly, who and the goodness of his disposition rend-
had made a name for himself as astronomer ers him esteemed and respected by all
on Captain Cook’s second voyage of discov- who know him. (Southwell, 1790).
ery. Bayly became the Royal Naval Acad-
However, as in the Navy, clergy in the
emy’s headmaster by February 1785, two
Church were also vying for positions and pro-
years before the First Fleet’s departure. As
motions. Thus, qualifications came second to
such, he may have been involved in Dawes’
the old boys’ network (e.g., Crittenden, 2010),
advanced training in preparation for his duties
where the local nobility dominated. Crittenden
during the voyage and, subsequently, in the
(2010) muses that Dawes may have heard
new colony.
John Wesley (the founder of the Anglican
However, despite Dawes’ likely education Church’s Methodist movement) preach at one
at the Royal Naval Academy, a career in the of his prayer meetings in the open air, at-
Navy from an entry-level position as midship- tempting to bring religion back to the masses.
man10 or Captain’s servant was not open to This would have appealed to young William.
him, given his common, non-aristocratic back- Instead, however, he opted for the advantage
ground. Instead, he enrolled as junior officer of the home court (after all, he grew up on the
in the Marines. Crittenden (2010) suggests Navy dockyard) and joined the Marines.
that, at one point, he may have considered a Upon graduation from the Royal Naval Ac-
career in the Church, which would have been ademy in 1779, aged 17, Dawes was gazetted
in line with his strong religious leanings and (commissioned) as a second Lieutenant in the
high morals (e.g., Clarke, 2015; Crittenden, British Marine Corps.11 He joined the 32nd
2010; James, 2012). For instance, following Company of the Portsmouth Division (Steele,
the First Fleet’s arrival in New South Wales, 2005; Wright, 1927). Great Britain was at war.
Lieutenant Daniel Southwell, Master’s mate on The American War of Independence (1775–
the Sirius, wrote to his mother, 1783), also known as the American Revolut-
[Dawes] is a most amiable man, and ionary War, had been triggered by the British
though young, truly religious, without any Government’s plans to tax the colonies. This
13

Richard de Grijs and Andrew P. Jacob William Dawes and the ‘First Fleet’

led to a general revolt, united in their opposit- 3 OFFICIAL ‘FIRST FLEET’ ASTRONOMER
ion—“no taxation without representation” (in Most accounts of Dawes’ involvement in the
Parliament). What had started as an uprising, First Fleet’s voyage simply refer to him having
with expedient attempts of suppression by the volunteered for service as a Marine officer,
British Army and Navy, turned into a full-scale without further consideration. This cavalier ap-
war by 1779. The French sailed in support of proach to referencing probably dates back as
the American colonies, with Spain and the far as Watkin Tench’s 1827 appeal to Earl
Dutch Republic following suit. Bathurst, Secretary of State for the Colonies.
William Dawes was posted to H.M.S. Res- Tench requested that Dawes be awarded ad-
olution on 5 April 1780 (Ship’s muster, H.M.S. ditional financial compensation13 for his work in
Resolution, The National Archives, Admiralty the new settlement: “… Your Lordship’s Mem-
36/8709), propelling him into the rough and orialist [Dawes] was among the Officers who
tumble world of the warring nations. The volunteered their services to go to Botany Bay,
Resolution was a third-rate12 ‘ship of the line’ in the Year 1786, and the only one from the
equipped with 74 guns. After Dawes had been Portsmouth Division.” (Wright, 1926).
posted, the company sailed promptly to the However, the sequence of events that
Americas, and so Dawes saw action perhaps eventually led to Dawes’ appointment as sec-
sooner than he had expected. The Resolution ond Lieutenant of the Marines on the Sirius
was part of the British fleet commanded by was complex, with multiple obstacles that had
Rear Admiral Sir Thomas Graves. They en- to be overcome. Dawes’ good fortune seems
gaged the French fleet under Rear Admiral to have hinged in large part on an early inter-
François Joseph Paul, Comte de Grasse, in vention by Bayly, already in his role as Master
battle off Chesapeake Bay (Maryland) in early of the Portsmouth Royal Naval Academy. On
September 1781. Dawes was wounded during 8 August 1786, Bayly wrote to Joseph Banks,
the main battle of 2 September, although prob- then-President of the Royal Society of London,
ably not very seriously given that he continued to recommend Dawes’ “… great desire to go
to serve on the Resolution (Nicolas, 1845: …” with the First Fleet, extolling the Marine’s
116–117). numerous useful technical and linguistic skills
Next, despite the Resolution‘s new deploy- (Clarke, 2015). He assured Banks that all of
ment as part of Admiral George Rodney’s his lavish praise of Dawes was “… strictly
British fleet, she saw renewed hostile engage- true”.
ment with de Grasse’s fleet in the Battle of the Bayly soon developed into Dawes’ main
Saintes (9–12 April 1782), off the coast of early patron. Since he had served as assistant
Dominica (West Indies). Whereas the Battle of to Maskelyne (Howse, n.d.), Bayly had a direct
Chesapeake had been a strategic victory for line to the nation’s top scientist. He exploited
the French, the Battle of the Saintes (also his direct access to lobby the Astronomer
known as the Battle of Dominica) was a clear Royal on Dawes’ behalf.14 In turn, Maskelyne
British victory. It offered a significant morale wrote to Banks on 17 October 1786 that Dawes
boost for the British troops at home and over- was “… well versed in most kinds of astro-
seas. Upon arrival back at their home port on nomical observations …” (Maskelyne, 1786a),
23 October 1782, Dawes left the Resolution thus supporting the Board of Longitude’s re-
(Ship’s muster, H.M.S. Resolution, The Nation- commendation of Dawes’ candidacy as astron-
al Archives, Admiralty 36/8713). He next en- omer on the voyage. He followed up on 8
listed in the 11th Company at Sheerness. His November (for a transcript, see de Grijs and
subsequent service returned him to American Jacob, 2021), further emphasising Dawes’ suit-
waters, while he was also engaged in patrol- ability for the appointment.
ling the southern North Sea on the sloop
H.M.S. Merlin (Ship’s muster, H.M.S. Merlin, Dawes received additional support from
The National Archives, Admiralty 36/10463; another local Portsmouth contact, Captain Wil-
Gillen, 1989: 101) between 1783 and 1784. liam Twiss of the Royal Engineers. The latter
On the Merlin, he was put in charge of a small was in charge of construction at the Naval
Marine contingent, which continued until he left dockyard and port. On 24 October 1786, Twiss
service on the Merlin on 15 May 1784. He sent a letter to Brook Watson, then a Member
was subsequently assigned to the Marine bar- of Parliament and a Director of the Bank of
racks in Portsmouth. There, he pursued im- England, recommending Dawes’ services for
provements of his surveying and engineering the voyage to Botany Bay. Watson forwarded
skills while also establishing himself as a com- Twiss’s letter to Evan Nepean, Under-Secret-
petent astronomer. ary of State for the Home Office with respons-
ibility for naval and political intelligence (Twiss,
1786).
14

Richard de Grijs and Andrew P. Jacob William Dawes and the ‘First Fleet’

Here the timeline becomes confusing. We age and the new colony, An astronomical
learn from a letter of 25 October 1786 from Quadrant of one foot radius, A 3½ feet
Phillip Stephens, Secretary to the Admiralty, to treble object glass achromatic telescope
Lieutenant-General Smith, Commandant of the by Dollond, with a wire Micrometer for
measuring diff.ce of right ascension & dec-
Marines, Portsmouth Division, that Dawes was lination, also a Micrometer with oblique
granted leave to sort out his ‘private affairs’ wires and a Quadrant fixed to it with a
(Stephens, 1786). This included further instruct- moveable short Telescope to take the dist-
ion in and development of his technical skills ance of any object (nearly) from bright
as a practical astronomer at the Royal Green- fixed stars. A night glass. An Astronomi-
wich Observatory (Clarke, 2015; Maskelyne, cal clock. A Journeyman clock. An Alar-
1786b). This timing of Dawes’ leave for pur- um clock. An old sextant by Ramsden. A
poses of reviewing his technical astronomy portable Barometer & two thermometers.
skills appears odd, given that Maskelyne’s pro- These instruments Captain Phillip gave a
receipt for [see Figure 7], promising to
posal to the Board of Longitude to appoint return them to the Board (the dangers of
Dawes as the First Fleet’s astronomer was not the sea and other unavoidable accidents
discussed until 14 November that year. The excepted) at his return on a receipt from
Board of Longitude’s minutes of 14 November such Officer as may supercede [sic] him in
1786 record that Maskelyne, ex officio Board the command. Lieut. Dawes of the Mar-
member, ines a volunteer for the Botany Bay De-
tachment having been introduced to Dr
... represented to the Board that Mr Dawes
Maskelyne the Astronomer Royale [sic], he
Lieutenant of Marines on board His Maj-
was acknowledged a proper person to
esty’s Ship the Sirius which is going with
make such observations on shore as might
the Convicts to Botany Bay on the Coast of
be judged of use. (Bradley, 1786 –1792: 3).
New Holland, is desirous of making useful
Nautical & Astronomical observations in Dawes only owned two instruments him-
his passage thither … (Board of Longitude, self (Clarke, 2015). Therefore, Maskelyne’s
1786). intervention with Banks on the Marine’s behalf
This is also the first time that the establish- (Maskelyne, 1786a) secured the success of
ment of an observatory in the new colony is the astronomical mission. In addition to the in-
addressed (see de Grijs and Jacob, 2021): struments lent by the Board of Longitude,
Maskelyne was also instructed to supply Phillip
… and during his stay there, if he could be with Larcum Kendall’s ‘K1’ chronometer, an
allowed to use some Instruments belong-
ing to the Commissioners of the Longitude,
exact copy of John Harrison’s Longitude Prize-
to enable him to do so; And the Astron- winning watch ‘H4’, which had served Captain
omer Royal having at the same time laid Cook so well on his second and third voyages
before the Board a List of Instruments and to the Pacific. It is clear, however, that the
Books proper to lend Mr Dawes to enable Board valued the hierarchy on board the fleet.
him to make the said Observations, and at It was thus decided to lend the scientific in-
the same time [Maskelyne] informed the struments in the care of Captain Phillip, de-
Board that Mr Dawes was capable of mak- spite Maskelyne’s assurance that Dawes was
ing proper use of them. The Board took “… capable of making proper use of them.”
the same into Consideration and came to a
Resolution to lend the Instruments and
This decision was most likely driven by Phil-
Books undermentioned for the purposes lip’s more spacious and secure accommo-
aforesaid, but being of the Opinion that if dation on board the Sirius. Nevertheless, al-
they were put into the Charge of Captain though Dawes was initially pleased that the
Philip [sic], the Commander of the Sirius, instruments were Phillip’s responsibility, he ex-
greater care would be taken of them, than pressed some concern about the inconven-
could be done by Mr Dawes, they directed ience of the distance from his berth to Phillip’s
that the said Instruments and Books should cabin:
be accordingly delivered into the Charge of
Captain Philip, and that he should be re- In your letter of the 15 Inst.t you inform[ed]
quested to give his Attention to the care me that Capt.n Phillip will give you a Re-
and preservation of them. ceipt for all the Instruments and Books
belonging to the Board, which I received
An entry in William Bradley’s journal of 5 from you, and will return me my Receipt,
December 1786 provides details about the &c; on the first perusal of the foregoing it
suite of instruments that would be available to did not occur to me that any Inconveniency
Dawes on the voyage (see also de Grijs and could arise from such a Circumstance, but
Jacob 2021; Laurie, 1988; Saunders, 1990: was rather pleased at the Idea of the
whole Charge of valuable Books and In-
41–44, 49–51):
struments being taken off my Shoulders;
The Board of Longitude furnished the fol- but on revolving it in my Mind, I cannot but
lowing instruments for the use of the voy- imagine that unless the Nautical Almanacs
15

Richard de Grijs and Andrew P. Jacob William Dawes and the ‘First Fleet’

Figure 7: Captain Arthur Phillip’s signed receipt for the Board of Longitude’s instrumentation and books
on loan (Board of Longitude papers, Cambridge University).

and Requisite Tables be entirely at my

own disposal and for my own peculiar Use,
Dawes’ concern about access to the astro-
numberless Inconveniences and Delays nomical instruments during the voyage, Phillip
will arise: my Cabin is at a considerable did not readily inform the astronomer when
Distance from Capt.n Phillip’s and to be developments occurred. For instance, five
obliged on every Occasion to send to him cases containing the scientific instruments
for a Nautical Almanac, at which Time Dawes had requested were delivered to the
perhaps he may be using it and not able to Sirius on 5 December 1786 (Bradley, 1786–
spare it, must be exceedingly troublesome 1792: 3), but in his letter of 8 February 1787,
and disagreeable to both of us. (Dawes, Dawes (1787d) informed Maskelyne that he
1786).
still had not been advised as to the crates’
Since access to the Requisite Tables was contents. His patience was put to the test until
deemed essential, in the same letter Dawes 20 March of that year before he was able to
requested an additional copy from Maskelyne, inspect Phillip’s receipt, dated 16 February
who agreed to supply one. In addition to 1787 (Dawes, 1787e).
16

Richard de Grijs and Andrew P. Jacob William Dawes and the ‘First Fleet’

When he eventually managed to inspect deployed at any time:

Phillip’s receipt, Dawes (1787e) noticed that The Officers of the Detachment are to
Maskelyne’s “… small telescope with oblique remain on Garrison Service for the Term
wires in the focus …” was not among the listed already communicated to them. – The
instruments. He was, however, rather keen to party embarked in the Sirius, on the con-
acquire that telescope, since trary, is liable to be ordered home with the
… it [is] very probable that I may be fre- Ship at the expiration of 12, 18 or any
quently detached some little Distance from greater Number of Months as the Exig-
the fix’d Observatory, when with such a encies of the Service may require: and
Telescope as that, and a proper Stand to it both is, & could only be considered in all
I should be able to make the necessary cases, as similar in Circumstances with
Observations in any place with the help of every other marine Detachment ordered
a good Watch, of which I believe there will for foreign Stations. (Howe, 1787).
be several in [sic] the Ship, one of which I This advice concerned Dawes greatly: as
could borrow, should the Board of Longit- a ship’s officer he was subject to the whims of
ude’s prove insufficient; however if the his commanding officer and as such he could
night Telescope be furnished with oblique
Wires; that will answer the Purpose effect-
be sent anywhere the ship would need to go,
ually I should suppose. (Dawes, 1787e). at any time. In the late eighteenth century,
British Marines were soldiers enlisted as part
Meanwhile, Dawes’ personal circumstan- of the Naval establishment, and so they were
ces, where he had to satisfy multiple pay- expected to live and remain on board the ship
masters simultaneously, had the potential to that served as their duty station. Moreover,
derail the entire astronomical project. Indeed, while attached to the ship’s contingent, Dawes
despite the strong support from Maskelyne, was not automatically granted leave to go
Banks and the Board of Longitude, Dawes’ ashore to construct the observatory he had
anticipated roles as Marine, the First Fleet’s been tasked to establish. Both conditions could
astronomer-designate and the new colony’s potentially jeopardise the fledgling astronomi-
scientist in charge of establishing a permanent cal endeavour in the new settlement. How-
observatory were at risk. Whereas the home ever, Lord Howe continued that he did not con-
nation’s scientific establishment might have sider Dawes’ orders to construct an observa-
found their man, the military hierarchy did not tory of paramount importance:
necessarily agree. Dawes’ appointment was
in some jeopardy. Although it is often sug- The Astronomical Observations there might
gested that he had volunteered for the mission be opportunity to take are of very inferior
moment and may be totally omitted, with-
too late to be appointed as member of the out prejudice to the intention of the Arma-
squadron’s four shore-based companies of ment. Wherefore, if you are desirous of
Marines (Eldershaw, 1972: 40; Tench, 1979: being relieved in the Sirius, and the time
77), Saunders (1990: 48) suggests that he was will admit of it with reasonable attention to
assigned by the Admiralty to the Marine com- the convenience of the Officer next in tour
plement aboard the Sirius in good faith, with of Duty at the Division, I don’t at present
the expectation that he “… might have leis- see any Objection to the concurrence of
ure independent of other avocations …” (Howe, the Board in such request as you may see
1787) to pursue his scientific tasks. However, fit to make on that occasion.
his shipboard allocation came with inherent Indeed, Lord Howe, not known as a pushover
disadvantages compared with membership of under any circumstances, called the young
the general Marine contingent—in terms of his Marine’s bluff.
wages, opportunities and even career advance-
Nevertheless, Dawes persisted in his ef-
ment.
forts to enact a change in his circumstances,
Whereas members of the main, shore- hoping for Maskelyne to exert his influence:
based Marine contingent were offered a year’s “I think it will be allowed that my Situation
advance subsistence pay, the shipboard com- is truely [sic] hard and distressing.” (Dawes,
plement did not qualify for these benefits. 1787b). Dawes argued that he was in danger
Clearly unhappy, Dawes (1787a) appealed to of losing his seniority in his shipboard role, to
Admiral Richard Howe, First Earl Howe, First which he forcefully objected in a letter to Mask-
Lord of the Admiralty and Chair of the Com- elyne of 25 January 1787:
missioners of the Longitude, arguing that he
I wrote to Capt.n Phillip Yesterday inform-
had been unfairly excluded. Lord Howe did ing him of what had passed relative to my
not indulge the young Lieutenant; he respond- appointment to the Sirius &c. & requesting
ed tersely that the Marine complement had he would endeavour to get me removed
signed on for a fixed term in New South from her to the shore on the first Vacancy
Wales, while the Sirius contingent might be re- which may happen in the Detachment; this
17

Richard de Grijs and Andrew P. Jacob William Dawes and the ‘First Fleet’

would not prevent my going out in the ruary 1787. The new sextant, supplied by the
Ship. — I am very little solicitous about leading instrument maker Jesse Ramsden, cost
getting or saving Money, my greatest Fear £13 7s. 0d.; the cost of repairs to the other
is that my being on board the Sirius will instruments came to £44 13s. 0d. (Board of
prevent my promotion Case [illegible] Va-
cancies should happen above me, as I
Longitude, 1787).
cannot possibly succeed to a superior Shortly before their departure, Dawes told
Rank without being absolutely in the De- Maskelyne that Captain Phillip had arrived on
tachment where the Vacancies (if any) will board the Sirius and, more importantly, that he
happen; I would not lose one Day’s Rank was favourably disposed towards Dawes’ ast-
for Tons of Gold & Diamonds & this may
probably be the Case unless I get ap-
ronomical endeavours (Dawes, 1787f). Brad-
pointed to the Shore Detachment. I should ley (1786–1792: 11) highlighted Phillip’s ap-
think the loss of Rank the greatest Mis- parent interest in the scientific aspects of the
fortune that could possibly befal[l] me; in voyage at that time and their final preparat-
short I would much sooner lose a Limb & ions:
would almost as soon lose my Life. May 7.th Captain Phillip arrived at Ports-
(Dawes, 1787c). mouth. He brought with him a timekeeper
Therefore, Dawes promptly requested, al- made by Mr. Kendal[l] and a sextant, both
though unsuccessfully, that he be reassigned furnished by the Board of Longitude for the
use of the voyage. The timekeeper was
to the shore-based contingent at Botany Bay.
sent by an officer to the Royal Academy at
Dawes’ insistence that he did not care much Portsmouth, and left in charge of Mr. Bay-
about being compensated financially does not ley [sic] the head master … The 11.th
fully ring true, however. This issue touches on Waiting only for a wind to carry the ships to
the ultimate motivation for the men to vo- sea, an officer was sent to bring on board
lunteer for the Botany Bay expedition. Where- the timekeeper, the rate of its going deter-
as courage, a sense of adventure, an inquis- mined by Mr. Bayley. The 3 days which he
itive mind and an interest in exploration were had it, it lost 1"38 per day.
undoubtedly important attributes of the volun- It later transpired that this period of ap-
teers’ characters (e.g., Clarke, 2015; Wood, peasement between Dawes and Phillip, which
1924), their realistic alternative looked rather appears to have lasted until Dawes allowed K1
bleak, with limited opportunities for career pro- to run down following their departure from the
gression and retention on half pay only (e.g., Cape (see Section 4),17 was the only time that
Clarke, 2015; Wright, 1926). It is, therefore, the men were on cordial terms.18 Dawes had
not surprising that Dawes did not raise the apparently been warned about Phillip’s alleg-
issue of his shipboard assignment again in his edly difficult personality:
subsequent correspondence with Maskelyne.
I am well convinced of the Propriety of
He appears to have accepted his appointment paying every proper respect and Attention
on the Sirius without further complaints,15 al- to Capt.n Phillip, and shall on all Occasions
though he requested to be considered for the endeavour to make my self as serviceable
first available shore-based vacancy (Dawes, to him as possible, and am well aware that
1787b). in Case of difference of Opinions on any
subject: if cool reasoning and fair Argu-
Dawes spent his remaining time prior to ment have not the desired Effect, a more
their departure from England on calibrating his harsh Method of proceeding whether with
instruments, preparing an observing plan for Superiors or Inferiors cannot by any Means
their sojourn at the Cape of Good Hope and do Good but may do much Harm. (Dawes,
determining the accuracy of the chronometer’s 1787g).
clock rate. The latter aspect caused him great
concern. In collaboration with Bayly, he care- 4 EN ROUTE TO BOTANY BAY
fully compared the chronometer’s rate with the Upon the First Fleet’s departure from English
clocks at the Portsmouth Royal Naval Acad- shores (see Figure 8), Dawes’ most important
emy and found worrying irregularities. These daily task consisted of maintaining the flag-
appeared to depend on the extent to which the ship’s main chronometer, K1, given its import-
timekeeper’s spring was wound. In addition, ance for the convoy’s navigation to Botany
the sextant he had been issued with devel- Bay. Phillip had issued a set of meticulous
oped a fault (see also Saunders, 1990: 50), orders detailing the protocol that was to be
possibly because of an accidental drop, and adhered to. Bradley’s (1786–1792: 11) notes
so he requested a replacement instrument specify that the ‘timekeeper’ had to be re-
through Maskelyne’s assistant,16 George Gil- wound every day at noon in the presence of
pin. This expenditure was authorised by the Phillip with either Hunter or Dawes (it required
Board of Longitude at its meeting of 3 Feb- two keys), as well as the guard on duty outside
18

Richard de Grijs and Andrew P. Jacob William Dawes and the ‘First Fleet’

Figure 8: Departure of the First Fleet, passing the Isle of Wight’s ‘Needles’, 13 May 1787. Artist: William Bradley, A Voyage to
New South Wales (ca. 1802) (Mitchell Library, State Library of New South Wales; Ref. 412997).

Phillip’s cabin. Subsequently, the day’s read- cording daily observations of the weather, in-
ings had to be confirmed by the officer of the cluding the temperature and air pressure (e.g.,
watch: Ashcroft, 2016; McAfee, 1981). He also rou-
tinely recorded the Earth’s gravity on the basis
The precautions necessary to prevent the
timekeeper from being let down were of pendulum timings (e.g., Forbes, 1975: 172),
ordered by Captain Phillip who, with Cap- compass deviations as the voyage progress-
tain Hunter or Mr. Dawes, were always to ed (e.g., Hunter, 1793: 23) and their position at
be present at the winding it at noon. And it sea using either the timepiece or lunar dist-
was ordered to be the duty of the lieu- ance measurements, or ideally both, to derive
tenant who brought 12 o’clock to see it their actual longitude. Collins (1798: Section
done and the officer who relieved him was II) explains,
not to take charge of the deck until he was
informed that it was done. The sentinel at The longitude, when calculated by either
the cabin door was also ordered to plant altitudes of the sun, for the time-piece, (of
himself inside the cabin, on hearing the Kendal[l]’s constructing, which was sent
bell ring at noon, and not to go out to be out by the Board of Longitude,) or by the
relieved until he was told, or saw, that the means of several sets of lunar observat-
timekeeper was wound up by one of the ions, which were taken by Captain Hunter,
officers. (Bradley, 1786 –1792: 11). Lieutenant Bradley, and Lieutenant Dawes,
was constantly shewn to the convoy, for
However, K1 was not the only portable which purpose the signal was made for the
timepiece on board the Sirius. Dawes had whole to pass under the stern of the Sirius,
been lent an Ellicott watch19 by Maskelyne when a board was set up in some con-
(Board of Longitude, 1786; Laurie, 1988), spicuous part of the ship with the longitude
marked on it to that day at noon.
whereas Hunter owned a ‘reliable chronomet-
er’ made by John Brockbank; we will discuss Hunter further clarified that their longitude
Hunter’s use of his own chronometer in navi- determination
gating the southern Indian Ocean in more de- … was [routinely] marked with chalk in
tail below. large characters on a black painted board,
and shewn over the stern to the convoy.
Dawes’ other scientific duties involved re- (Hunter, 1793: 36).
19

Richard de Grijs and Andrew P. Jacob William Dawes and the ‘First Fleet’

Figure 9: “Santa Cruz on the SE side of Teneriffe; Sirius & Convoy in the Roads. June 1787. The Peak Shewing in a Gap
between two other Mountains”. Artist: William Bradley, A Voyage to New South Wales (ca. 1802) (Mitchell Library, State Library
of New South Wales; Ref. 412997).

As a matter of protocol, Dawes compared compass, distant seven or eight leagues:

his results with those of Hunter and Bradley, at noon on this day (which finishes the
and he sent his observations back to Maske- nautical and begins the astronomical day)
lyne at every possible opportunity (e.g., Dawes, the longitude, by account [based on dead
reckoning], was 5° 01′ west of the meridian
1787h). The first such opportunity occurred on of Greenwich, and by a time-piece made
20 May 1787 by means of the homeward- by Mr. Kendal[l], with which the Board of
bound frigate H.M.S. Hyæna under Captain Longitude had supplied us, it was 4° 59′
Michael de Courcy (Coursey). The Hyæna west ... our lunar observations, which we
had escorted the convoy from Spithead roads never failed to make at every opportunity,
(anchorage) off Portsmouth to a point some constantly confirmed the truth of the watch.
300 miles west of the island of Ushant (Oues- (Hunter, 1793: 5, 15).
sant, France), at “Latitude 47° 57½ N, Long- After passing close to Madeira and the Sav-
itude 12° 14½ W by Timekeeper this Day at age Islands (Salvage Islands, Ilhas Selvagens),
Noon.” (Dawes, 1787g). the convoy reached Santa Cruz Bay, Tenerife
Hunter, clearly impressed by Dawes’ care- (Canary Islands) on 3 June 1787 (Figure 9),
ful work, referred to Dawes as … after a Passage, for the most Part
… a young gentleman very well qualified pleasant and agreeable … we made as
for such a business, and who promises much use of the Time Keeper & our
fair, if he pursues his studies, to make a Sextants as the Weather would permit us,
respectable figure in the science of Astron- we only miss’d getting the Longitude by
omy. (Bach, 1968: 13). the T.K.r [Time Keeper] two Days during
Hunter was a proficient astronomer and navi- the whole Passage. (Dawes, 1787h).
gator in his own right, as we will see below. Although Dawes was keen to make observat-
As a case in point, consider the following pas- ions from Santa Cruz during their week-long
sage from his journal shortly after their de- stay there, Phillip refused permission to unload
parture: the pendulum clock and the quadrant, since
On the 15th [May 1787], at sun-set, the they were stored deep in the hold, below the
Start Point bore north-east half east by convoy’s stores of bread:20
20

Richard de Grijs and Andrew P. Jacob William Dawes and the ‘First Fleet’

Figure 10: Chart of the South Atlantic showing the route of the Sirius, 1787–1788 (George Raper;
National Library of Australia; Ref. nla.map-rm3453).

Immediately on our Arrival at the Place I hope with the Sextant to be able to attain
applied to Capt.n Phillip to get the Clock to almost as much accuracy as if I had the
and Quadrant on Shore; but he informed Astronomical Quadrant on Shore. (Dawes,
me that it was absolutely impossible to 1787h).
make any satisfactory Use of them at this The ships’ sojourn at Tenerife was pred-
Place, as he is determined to get away on ominantly meant to restock their wine, water
Thursday [7 June 1787] if possible ...
besides which, the Motion of the Ship has
and other provisions for the next leg of the
caused the Bread to cover the Cases so voyage down to the South Atlantic. Dawes
entirely that they could not be got at wrote two letters to Maskelyne from the Santa
without much difficulty & the Risk of getting Cruz roads, both dated 5 June 1787, which
a good deal of the Bread damaged; but on included a range of longitude and latitude
our Arrival at Rio [de] Janeiro, we shall not measurements (Dawes, 1787h; 1787i).
only have more Time, but the Bread will
then be so much reduced as to obviate It would take another eight weeks follow-
any difficulty in that Respect ... I shall ing the convoy’s departure from Tenerife on 10
attend most assiduously to the T.K.r [Time June before they arrived at St. Sebastian (Rio
Keeper] while we remain at this Place & de Janeiro) by 5 August 1787 (see Figure 10).
21

Richard de Grijs and Andrew P. Jacob William Dawes and the ‘First Fleet’

Figure 11: “City of St. Sebastian, Rio Janeiro: Sirius & Convoy at Anchor. 1787” Artist: William Bradley, A Voyage to New South
Wales (ca. 1802) (Mitchell Library, State Library of New South Wales; Ref. 412997).

They had been forced to abandon their plans Don Louis Vasconcellos, the viceroy of the
for a brief stop in the Cape Verde archipelago Brazils, at his excellency’s palace, who re-
because of adverse wind conditions at the St. ceived them with much politeness, readily
Jago (Santiago) roads. Since a number of of- assenting to a tent being pitched on shore
for the purpose of an observatory ... (Col-
ficers on the First Fleet kept detailed accounts lins, 1798: Section II).
of the voyage in their personal journals, we will
reproduce some of the most pertinent pass- The day after their arrival at St. Sebastian
ages related to the convoy’s navigation and (see Figure 11), Dawes was indeed busy. He
the astronomical endeavours here: wrote an urgent letter to Maskelyne requesting
On Thursday the 2d of August we had the that some of his spoilt books be replaced at
coast of South America in sight; and the the first opportunity. The letter was taken back
head-land, named Cape [Cabo] Frio, was to Europe by a passing Portuguese ship bound
distinctly seen before the evening closed for Lisbon:
in. Our timepiece had given us notice
when to look out for it, and the land was My Cabbin [sic] being under Water (the
made precisely to the hour in which it had greater part of it) I have frequent Seas
taught us to expect it.21 It was not, how- coming into the Scuttle in consequence of
ever, until the evening of the 4th that we which & the constant Use I have made of
anchored within the islands at the entrance them, the Requisite Tables are much the
of the harbour of Rio de Janeiro ... Worse ... (Dawes, 1787i; see also Dawes,
1787k for a repeat request).
On the morning after our arrival the
intendant of the port, with the usual offi- On account of his earlier service in the
cers, repaired on board the Sirius, requir- Portuguese navy (e.g., Pembroke, 2013), Cap-
ing the customary certificates to be given, tain Phillip was received and treated with the
as to what nation she belonged to, whither highest regard, and so his officers were given
bound, the name of her commander, and
unprecedented freedom to move around the
his reason for coming into that port; to all
which satisfactory answers were given; and city. This preferential treatment also included
at eleven o’clock the day following Captain permission to establish a temporary tent ob-
Phillip, accompanied by the officers of the servatory (for a typical example, see Figure
settlement, civil and military, waited upon 12). Dawes (1787l: 269r) requested it to be
22

Richard de Grijs and Andrew P. Jacob William Dawes and the ‘First Fleet’

Figure 12: Typical example of the type of tent observatory Dawes would have pitched on Enchados island in the harbour of Rio
de Janeiro (Artist unknown: Aftekening van een observatoriums tent in navolging en verbetering van die, dewelke in Captain
Cook’s reisen afgebeeld is. Plate 1, ca. 1780? Ref.: B-091-007. Alexander Turnbull Library, Wellington, New Zealand. Ref.
/records/22320145).

pitched on the harbour island of Enchados be 2"-27 which is near a second more than
(Ilha das Enxadas), close to the city: was its rate at Portsmouth. (Hunter, 1793:
21).
9.th [August 1787] Captain Phillip and Mr.
Dawes went to look at a room which had Despite the inclement weather (see also
been granted for the purpose of making King, 1787–1790), for the next month Dawes,
the necessary observations for the time- assisted by two young sailors from the Sirius
keeper etc., but it not being thought proper (Collins, 1798: Section II), proceeded apace
for the purpose, Captain Phillip obtained with his observational programme. His obser-
leave from the Viceroy to make use of an vations included measurements of the ephem-
Island (Enxadas) lying to the NE of the
erides of Jupiter’s satellites, and particularly of
town, which spot being approved, a tent
was erected on the 11th and on the 12th, the eclipses of the planet’s third largest moon,
the instruments landed and fixed under the Ganymede (Dawes, 1787l: 271v). He made
direction of Mr. Dawes. (Bradley, 1786 – sure to express his appreciation of Phillip’s
1892: 36). encouragement and support, particularly of the
During our stay here, we were per- fact that Phillip himself had covered the costs
mitted to erect a tent on the island of En- associated with establishing the temporary
chados, (a small island about a mile and a observatory. The Portuguese authorities pro-
half farther up the harbour than where we vided guards to ensure that no one would
lay with the ships,) for the purpose of disturb the observatory’s business (Dawes,
landing a few of the astronomical instru- 1787l) —or perhaps to keep an eye on their
ments which were necessary for ascertain- progress: “The 13.th [August 1787] The Time-
ing the rate of the time-keeper; they were keeper was sent to the tent and all boats be-
put under the charge and management of
longing to the transports strictly forbidden land-
Lieutenant William Dawes of the marines
... (Hunter, 1793: 20 – 21). ing on that island.” (Bradley, 1786–1792: 36).
The weather was rather unfavourable, Dawes had meanwhile also ascertained
during the time the instruments were on the rates of his clocks and felt confident of
shore for ascertaining the rate of the time- their performance. In his letter of 3 September
keeper, but as constant attention was paid, 1787 (Dawes, 1787i), he sketched the set-up
every opportunity that offered was made of his astronomical and journeyman clocks
use of, and the watch [rate] was found to (see Figure 13), placed back-to-back, explain-
23

Richard de Grijs and Andrew P. Jacob William Dawes and the ‘First Fleet’

Figure 13: Dawes’ sketches of the setup of his astronomical and journeyman clocks, placed back-to-back and
supported by large struts, in his temporary observatory at Enchados island in Rio de Janeiro (Dawes, 1787g).

ing the need for his rather intricate support nearly as possible by Distances, Occult-
system: ations &c.a (Dawes, 1787i).
The Earth being very hard it was not in my As a case in point, he determined the long-
Power to get the Clock Frame set up ’till itude of Cape Frio to within a third of a degree
Wednesday Morning, when the Earth was of its actual longitude (equivalent to approx-
rammed exceedingly well all round it, so mately 19 nautical miles at the latitude of Rio
that the Frame was as firm & steady as de Janeiro; Laurie, 1988). Rio de Janeiro serv-
possible at and near the Surface of the
ed as a very useful calibration benchmark for
Earth, but on trying it at the Top, I found it
required but little Force to shake it con- the convoy’s position determinations: see Fig-
siderably, so that I thought necessary to ure 14. To his credit, Dawes diligently com-
get four large Pickets & as many Shoars pared the performance of his own instruments
made … the Pickets being driven into the with those at the local observatory, and he
Earth very firmly at about three Feet dist- would do the same upon their arrival at the
ance from the Angles of the Frame & the Cape of Good Hope. On 3 September, he
Shoars placed as represented in the Plan wrote to Maskelyne,
sketched below …
... on Saturday the 11.th [August 1787] ... I
Indeed, Dawes appears to have been a went on board to inform C.P. [Captain
careful and thorough observer (Bradley, 1786– Phillip] that the instrument might be sent
1792; Tench, 1979: Introduction; White, 1790): on shore that afternoon, which he immed-
If Circumstances permit I always take 6 at iately gave directions for, and I accordingly
least Observations at one Time, whether took them on shore with me the same
Altitudes for the Longitude by Time Keeper afternoon. On Monday Morning I set up
or Distances for the Lon[gitude] by the the Quadrant, and in the evening, the clock
Lunar Method. I divide them into two Setts being set up ...
[sic] of three each and work the Mean of On the 17.th [August 1787] in the fore-
each three separately & then take a mean noon I was invited by two astronomers em-
of the Result of each Sett; by this Means I ployed here by the Court of Portugal to
think Mistakes may almost always be de- settle the limits between the Portuguese &
tected. The Means of each Sett have in Spanish Settlements in this Country. They
general agreed exceedingly well. The great- were brought to the Tent by Capt.n Phillip
est Difference has only amounted to about & I immediately foresaw that I might pos-
4'' of Time, but they have almost always sibly get some observations from them
agreed within 2'' of each other. – I shall not which would be acceptable to you, & there-
remit in the least from endeavouring by a fore determined if possible to return their
great Number of Observations to get the Visit before our quitting this Place: they
true Rate of the Time Keeper as well as admired the Quadrant & took notice how
the Longitude of this or any other Place as equal the Beats of the Clock were. – On the
24

Richard de Grijs and Andrew P. Jacob William Dawes and the ‘First Fleet’

Figure 14: Comparison of the First Fleet’s longitude determinations of the city of St. Sebastian
(Rio de Janeiro) as recorded by Hunter (1793: 50).

the 1.st of Sept.r [1787] I went on shore to keep in touch with the local astronomers:
return their Visit and found one of them at
home who very willingly allowed me to ... he [Senhor Bento Sanchez d’Orta]
copy the Observations contained in the would with pleasure communicate to you if
two Sheets accompanying this ... The you should think proper to enter into a
Gentleman told me he had made many correspondence with him ... I also informed
meteorological observations ... him of the comet expected in 1789 [see
below] which he promised to pay as much
The Portuguese astronomers Dawes refer- attention to as he could. (Dawes, 1787l:
red to in his letter to Maskelyne were based at 273v).
the city’s observatory. Watkin Tench provides Almost a month after their arrival in Rio de
a little more detail about the key issue of con- Janeiro, the convoy left, on 4 September 1787,
tention in Brazil at the time: on their way to the Cape of Good Hope. They
Among other public buildings, I had almost arrived in Table Bay on 13 October that year
forgot[ten] to mention an observatory, (see Figure 15):
which stands near the middle of the town,
and is tolerably well furnished with astro- This run, from about lat[itude] 22° south,
nomical instruments. During our stay here, long[itude] 43° west of London, to lat[itude]
some Spanish and Portuguese mathemat- 34° south, long[itude] 18° east of London,
icians were endeavouring to determine the a distance of about four thousand miles,
boundaries of the territories belonging to was performed in thirty-nine days: for hav-
their respective Crowns. Unhappily, how- ing left Rio on the 4th of September, 1787,
ever, for the cause of science, these gentle- on the 13th of October the ships came to
gentlemen have not hitherto been able to anchor in Table Bay. (Phillip, 1790a: 43).
coincide in their accounts, so that very little
Dawes informed Maskelyne that “… the
information on this head, to be depended
upon, could be gained. How far political whole Fleet is in perfect good Order & every
motives may have caused this disagree- body exceedingly healthy; only abt [sic] 15
ment, I do not presume to decide; though it Deaths have happened since our departure ...”
deserves notice, that the Portuguese ac- (Dawes, 1787m). Although Captain Phillip had
cuse the Abbee de la Caille, who observed initially planned to stay at the Cape for just a
here by order of the King of France, of week, the convoy did not depart until a month
having laid down the longitude of this place had passed, on 12 November 1787. Yet, and
forty-five miles too much to the eastward. to Dawes’ great disappointment, Phillip once
(Tench, 1979: Chapter V).
again did not permit him to disembark his
From both Rio de Janeiro and the Cape of instruments, this time citing safety concerns and
Good Hope, Dawes encouraged Maskelyne to fearing that the instruments might sustain dam-
25

Richard de Grijs and Andrew P. Jacob William Dawes and the ‘First Fleet’

Figure 15: “Cape Town, Table Mountain &c; Sirius & Convoy in Table Bay, November. 1787” Artist: William Bradley, A Voyage
to New South Wales (ca. 1802) (Mitchell Library, State Library of New South Wales; Ref. 412997).

age in the rush of loading cattle and provisions er, 1793: 30).
(e.g., Clarke, 2015; Dawes, 1787m; Laurie, Meanwhile, as the ships were being stock-
1988). And so Dawes’ carefully prepared ob- ed one final time with provisions, stores and
serving programme for the Cape came to no- livestock for the new colony, Dawes was intro-
thing. duced to Colonel Robert Jacob Gordon, com-
Shortly after the convoy’s arrival in Table mander of the Dutch troops at the Cape, and a
Bay, Hunter questioned the accuracy of the great host to the visiting convoy:
timepiece: … a gentleman whose thirst for natural
By altitude taken this morning [15 October knowledge amply qualified him to be of
1787] for the time-keeper, it appear’d that service to us, not only in procuring a great
we had not had sufficient time at Rio de variety of the best seeds and plants, but in
Janeiro for ascertaining the true rate of the pointing out the culture, the soil, and the
watch’s going, having determined what we proper time of introducing them into the
have allowed this passage, viz. 2"-33 from ground. (Collins, 1798: Section II).
a very few observations, and those not to Gordon owned a Ramsden quadrant, an
be relied on, the weather having been very Arnold watch “… in gold, price 60£ spared to
unfavourable; for, by the difference of time him by Capt.n Cummings in the East India Ser-
between the meridian of Rio de Janeiro
and the Cape, both which places are well
vice. (Dawes, 1787m), various telescopes, al-
determined, the watch has lost at the rate manacs and astronomical tables. However, he
of 3"-17, which we shall hereafter allow to remained a novice in terms of having done any
be the true rate; and as a proof of that observing other than taking latitudes (Laurie,
having been really its rate all along, by 1988). Dawes convinced him to help with their
allowing it from the time of our leaving efforts to observe the comet that Maskelyne
Portsmouth, until our arrival at Rio de had predicted would reocurr in the southern
Janeiro, we shall have the longitude of that hemisphere in 1788, possibly as early as 1
place 43° 33′ 30′′ west of the meridian of January of that year (Maskelyne, 1786c; Saun-
Greenwich, which is 45′ 45′′ to the west-
ward of that laid down in the new Requisite
ders, 1990; for a recent discussion, see de
Tables, and which agrees very nearly with Grijs and Jacob, 2021):
the observations made on the spot. (Hunt- We have ever since [having been invited to
26

Richard de Grijs and Andrew P. Jacob William Dawes and the ‘First Fleet’

stay with Gordon] been fully employed in of adverse winds. Dawes excitedly told Mask-
putting things in a train for observing the elyne in his letter of 9 November 1787 (Dawes,
comet which is expected about this time 1787m) that Gordon had supplied him with “…
next year … (Dawes, 1787m). several books & instruments which will be of
Enthusiastically, Gordon ordered a telescope service ... among which are several spare bar-
from Dollond through Maskelyne, which Gor- ometer tubes.” Meanwhile, Hunter had deter-
don arranged to be paid for by the Dutch con- mined the longitude of Cape Town on a num-
sul in London. He also initiated a subscription ber of occasions during their visit, which both
to Taylor’s Logarithms, and asked Maskelyne Hunter and Collins recorded in their respective
to provide him with the necessary instructions journals (although the actual values differ slight-
to embark on an observational programme aim- ly):
ed at finding Maskelyne’s comet. During the time we lay in this bay [Table
Dawes was clearly enamoured with the Bay], I took a considerable number of lunar
man and saw his potential as an ally in the observations, by a mean of which I make
southern hemisphere: Cape Town, in longitude 18° 24′ 30′′ east
of the meridian of Greenwich: latitude
This gentleman is rema[rk]able for his great observed in the bay, 33° 55′ south ... (Hunt-
love of science and Attention to persons er, 1793: 32); and
e[m]ployed in promoting it ... he has some
Before we quitted the Cape Captain Hunt-
knowledge of astronomy and is more de-
er determined the longitude of the Cape-
termined to employ the greatest part of his
town in Table-bay to be, by the mean of
leisure time to the study of it ... it occurred
several sets of lunar observations taken on
to me, that it would be doing you the great-
board the Sirius, 18° 23′ 55′′ east from
est pleasure possible, to embrace so fair
Greenwich. (Collins, 1798: Section II).
an opportunity of adding one to the small
number of observers in the southern hemi- Less than a fortnight after their departure,
sphere ... (Dawes, 1787m). on 25 November “… being then only 80 leagues
Dawes’ next letter to Maskelyne was sent from eastward of the Cape …” (Phillip, 1790a: 49),
New South Wales. Captain Phillip, Lieutenant Gidley King and
Dawes22 transferred from the Sirius to the fast-
At this point, we should probably pause for er Supply, aiming to reach Botany Bay sooner
a moment and consider what the next and final than the main convoy (see also Hunter, 1793:
leg of the voyage meant to the settlers. The 32):
mixed emotions that may have been felt by a
number of the men are perhaps best reflected For several days after we had sailed, the
wind was unfavourable, and blowing fresh,
by David Collins’ eloquent reminiscence upon with much sea, some time elapsed before
their departure from Table Bay: we had reached to the eastward of the
It was natural to indulge at this moment a Cape of Good Hope. On the 16th, Captain
melancholy reflection which obtruded itself Phillip signified his intention of proceeding
upon the mind. The land behind us was forward in the Supply, with the view of ar-
the abode of a civilized people; that before riving in New South Wales so long before
us was the residence of savages. When, if the principal part of the fleet, as to be able
ever, we might again enjoy the commerce to fix on a clear and proper place for the
of the world, was doubtful and uncertain. settlement. Lieutenant Shortland was at
The refreshments and the pleasures of the same time informed, that he was to
which we had so liberally partaken at the quit the fleet with the Alexander, taking on
Cape, were to be exchanged for coarse with him the Scarborough and Friendship
fare and hard labour at New South Wales. transports. These three ships had on
All communication with families and friends board the greater part of the male convicts,
now cut off, we were leaving the world whom Captain Phillip had sanguine hopes
behind us, to enter on a state unknown; of employing to much advantage, before
and, as if it had been necessary to imprint the Sirius, with that part of the fleet which
this idea more strongly on our minds, and was to remain under Captain Hunter’s di-
to render the sensation still more poignant, rection, should arrive upon the coast. This
at the close of the evening we spoke a separation, the first that had occurred, did
ship from London. The metropolis of our not take place until the 25th, on which day
native country, its pleasures, its wealth, Captain Phillip went on board the Supply,
and its consequence, thus accidentally pre- taking with him, from the Sirius, Lieuten-
sented to the mind, failed not to afford a ants King and Dawes, with the time-keep-
most striking contrast with the object now er. (Collins, 1798: Section II).
principally in our view. (Collins, 1798: Sect- In Hunter’s account of the event, we learn
ion II).
that Phillip also took along with him “… several
The First Fleet left the Cape on 12 Novem- sawyers, carpenters, blacksmiths and other
ber 1787, a day later than anticipated because mechanics …” (see also Tench, 1979: Chapter
27

Richard de Grijs and Andrew P. Jacob William Dawes and the ‘First Fleet’

VII). In addition, he specifically addresses the Whenever there is any thing to be got out
fate of Kendall’s timepiece: of the hold, it is a very awkward rather
dangerous thing to go from the quarter
On the 25th [November 1787], being in
deck to the cabbin [sic] it was owing to this
latitude 38° 40′ south, and longitude 25°
that on the 18th Dec.r [1787] the time-
05′ east, Captain Phillip embarked on board
keeper was let down, as Capt.n Phillip
the Supply, in order to proceed singly in could not get down at noon to wind it up &
that vessel to the coast of New South Wales, it was not thought of afterwards by anyone
where he made sure of arriving a fortnight till near six o’clock at which time it had
or three weeks before us, as some of the been down above an hour; however the
convoy sailed very heavy; he took with him next day I got some exceeding[ly] good
from the Sirius, Mr. Philip Gidley King, sec- altitudes, from which the longitude was
ond lieutenant, and Lieutenant Dawes, of carried on, so that we were only liable to
the marines, who had hitherto kept an ac-
the inaccuracy of the log for two days.
count of the time-keeper, which he also (Dawes, 1788).
took with him ... (Hunter, 1793: 32).
Phillip’s transfer to the Supply and his de- However, when K1 stopped, rewinding it
cision to take the K1 chronometer with him on did not fully return it to its former operation; re-
the faster vessel caused significant constern- winding it caused the timekeeper’s rate to
ation among the officers remaining behind change as well. Dawes’ careful observations
(e.g., Saunders, 1990: 62, 64). Bowes-Smyth, led him to conclude that the watch had been
the convoy’s Surgeon-General, referred to that idle for a total of 1 hour 9 min 44 sec (Morrison
decision as “… a mere abortion of the brain, a and Barko, 2009; see also King, 1787–1790).
whim which struck him at the time as the se- It took until September 1788, well after their
quel will evince.” (Choat, 2020: 61). Mean- arrival in Sydney Cove, before Dawes was
while, King assessed the Supply able to fully recalibrate K1 (Morrison and Ba-
rko, 2009).
… much too small for so long a voyage,
which, added to her not being able to carry Meanwhile, with K1 on the Supply and the
any quantity of provisions, and her sailing rest of the convoy split into two smaller squad-
very ill, renders her a very improper ves- rons, the ship’s captains were left to their own
sell [sic] for this service. (King, 1787–1790: devices. Captain Hunter of the Sirius was the
513),
most qualified astronomer remaining with the
and thus he thought that Phillip “… flattered main fleet. Both Hunter and Collins provide
himself …” (King, 1787–1790: 531) in believing detailed accounts of their progress across the
that he would be able to make up a fortnight southern Indian Ocean.
with respect to the remainder of the fleet.
After the time-keeper was taken from the
Captain James Campbell of the Lady Penrhyn
Sirius, I kept an account of the ship’s way
was incensed and expressed his dismay that by my own watch, which I had found for a
Phillip was “… indifferent about everything but considerable time, to go very well with
his own safety.” (Campbell, 1788: 98) in de- Kendal[l]’s; I knew it could be depended on
ciding to proceed with sufficiently to carry on from one lunar ob-
… the Don Quixote scheme of separating servation to another, without any material
our little Fleet – leaving them to work their error; for although its rate of going was not
way through an immense sea but little so regular as I could have wished, yet its
known, and to which all were strangers. variation would not in a week or ten days
(Campbell, 1788: 96). have amounted to any thing of conse-
quence; it was made for me by Mr. John
And alas, the transfer of K1 from the Sirius Brockbank, of Cornhill, London, upon an
to the Supply indirectly led to accidental neg- improved principle of his own. The lunar
ligence when, on 18 December 1787, the time- observation, which I never failed to take
piece was not rewound at noon and instead [at] every opportunity, and which Lieuten-
ran down as it was forgotten: ant Bradley also paid constant attention to,
gave me reason to think, by their near
[On 25 January 1788] We received the
agreement with the watch, that it continued
Timekeeper from the Supply where it had
to go well. (Hunter, 1793: 33).
unfortunately been let down on the pas-
sage to this place. (Bradley, 1786 –1792: For three successive days [from 1 De-
64). cember 1787] both Mr. Bradley and myself
It took a significant number of lunar distance had a variety of distances, by which our
account seemed to be very correct. I now
measurements and lengthy calculations before
determined (if I could avoid it) never to get
Dawes was able to reset and recalibrate the to the northward of latitude 40° 00′ south,
clock (Bradley, 1786–1792: 6; King, 1787). and to keep between that parallel and 43°
Dawes later explained to Maskelyne the circum- or 44° south. After the 3d [December
stances leading to the accidental stoppage. 1787], I found, by altitudes taken for the
28

Richard de Grijs and Andrew P. Jacob William Dawes and the ‘First Fleet’

Figure 16: Arrival of the Supply at Botany Bay, 1788. Artist: Charles Gore (Mitchell Library, State Library of New South Wales;
Ref. DG VIA/8).

watch, that we went farther to the eastward 1786–1792: 51; Tench, 1979: Chapter VII):
than the log gave us, and no opportunity
This night the aurora austreales were very
offered for getting a lunar observation to
bright, of a beautiful crimson colour, streak-
compare with it until the 13th, when both
ed with orange, yellow, and white, and
Mr. Bradley and I got several good dist-
these colours were constantly changing
ances of the ¤ [Sun] and ‚, by which our
their places: the highest part was about
longitude was 70° 22′ east, by the watch
45° above the horizon, and it spread from
70° 07′ east, and by account [dead reckon-
south by east to south-south-west. (Hunt-
ing] 67° 37′ east. On the 14th, the weather
er, 1793: 37).
being very clear, we had another set of
distances, which gave our longitude 73° We learn from Collins (1798: Section III;
06′ east, by the watch 73° 09′ east, and by see, also, Southwell, 1788) that by …
account 70° 34′ east. Again, on the 15th, I
… a lunar observation taken at ten o’clock
observed with two different instruments,
of the forenoon of Monday the 7th, the
one by Ramsden, and the other by Dol-
fleet was then distant seventeen leagues
lond, and the results agreed within ten
from the South Cape of New Holland; and
miles of longitude; the mean was 75° 18′
at five minutes past two in the afternoon
east, by the watch 75° 16′ east, and by
the signal was made for seeing the land.
account 72° 49′ east. Mr. Bradley’s mean
was also 75° 18′ east: so that, as I have Nothing could more strongly prove the
already observed, the ship seemed [to be] excellence and utility of lunar observations,
gaining on the account; but there was no than the accuracy with which we made the
reason to believe, that in the middle of this land in this long voyage from the Cape of
very extensive ocean we were ever subject Good Hope, there not being a league dif-
to much current: I therefore attribute this ference between our expectation of seeing
set to the eastward, to the large following it, and the real appearance of it. (Collins,
sea, which constantly attended us, since 1798: Section III).
we had taken a more southerly parallel.
The Supply reached Botany Bay on 18 Jan-
(Hunter, 1793: 33 – 34).
uary 1788 (see Figure 16), followed by the
In early January 1788, the astronomers on Alexander, Friendship and Scarborough on the
the Supply and the Sirius both sighted New 19th, while the remainder of the convoy, in-
Holland. Dawes, on the Supply, determined cluding the Sirius, arrived at their destination
the longitude of Tasmania’s South Cape on 3 on 20 January 1788 (see Figure 17). So much
January. It compared favourably with Cook’s for Phillip’s optimistic assumption that the ‘fast-
surprisingly accurate 1777 measurement of sailing’ Supply would reach New South Wales
146° 07′ 00′′ East (i.e., within 10 km of the pre- two—or even three—weeks before the remain-
sent-day value; Hunter, 1793: 39; Morrison der of the fleet!
and Barko, 2009), which had also been ob-
tained by reference to Kendall’s K1 chrono- 5 CONCLUDING THOUGHTS
meter.23 This allowed Dawes to refine the During the 250–252 day voyage of the First
recalibration of K1 by adjusting the timepiece
Fleet, latitudes and longitudes were determin-
negatively by 3 min 21.7 sec (King, 1788).
ed as often as possible, subject to the prevail-
There was a beautiful display of the aurora ing weather. Latitudes were most easily mea-
australis on 6 January 1788 (see also Bradley, sured, sometimes even in slightly overcast con-
29

Richard de Grijs and Andrew P. Jacob William Dawes and the ‘First Fleet’

Figure 17: “Botany Bay. Sirius & Convoy going in: Supply & Agents Division in the Bay, 21 Janry 1788”. Artist: William Bradley,
A Voyage to New South Wales (ca. 1802) (Mitchell Library, State Library of New South Wales; Ref. 412997).

ditions. Determination of the Sun’s altitude at William Dawes’ correspondence contained in

its meridian passage would often suffice. the Board of Longitude papers. We thus col-
Longitude determination based on reading off lected a total of 287 unique geographic locat-
the time on either K1 or Hunter’s personal ion references, which we have made publicly
time-piece was intrinsically more complicated. available.24
It required altitude determinations of celestial Bradley included a number of charts of the
objects—the Sun, the Moon or bright stars— Sirius’ detailed itinerary in his journal based on
combined with their predicted locations tabu- longitude and latitude measurements. Here,
lated in the relevant Nautical Almanac and the we have reproduced his charts of the first leg
Requisite Tables. of the voyage from England across the Equa-
As far as we are aware, a full and com- tor in the eastern Atlantic Ocean (see Figure
prehensive account of the First Fleet’s posit- 18) and an overview chart of the southern
ions as the voyage progressed is not generally hemisphere section, from a location just north
available (but see Gergis et al., 2010). Dawes of the Equator to Rio de Janeiro, Table Bay
included a table of the Sirius’ longitudes and and New South Wales (see Figure 19). Com-
latitudes between 14 May and 2 June 1787 in bined with Figure 10, this selection of charts
his letter to Maskelyne of 9 June 1787 (Dawes, offers detailed insights into the movements of
1787j: 268r). Meanwhile, Hunter (1793: 26– the Sirius during her long voyage to the new
28) included a table of their geographic lo- settlement (for a modern representation, see
cations, as well as the prevailing weather con- Gergis et al., 2010, their Figure 3). Note, in
ditions, on the leg from Tenerife to Rio de Jan- particular, the short-term deviations from the
eiro. Since most journals of First Fleet officers expected direct routes, which were due to ad-
are now readily accessible online (Project Gut- verse winds (indicated by wind arrows) or their
enberg Australia, 2019), we consulted the jour- absence, in the doldrums. In addition, some
nals of John Hunter (1793), William Bradley deviations were owing to currents, mostly in
(1786–1792), David Collins (1798), Arthur the Atlantic Ocean where the convoy was sub-
Phillip (1790a; 1790b), Arthur Bowes Smyth ject to strong WestàEast currents south of the
(Choat, 2020), John White (1790) and Daniel Equator (e.g., Hunter, 1793).
Southwell (Bladen, 1893). We also perused
30

Richard de Grijs and Andrew P. Jacob William Dawes and the ‘First Fleet’

Figure 18: “Sirius track from England to the Equator, & of the Waakzaamheydt with the crew of the Sirius from the Equator to
England”. The Sirius’ itinerary is indicated by the dotted line. Chart from William Bradley’s journal, A Voyage to New South
Wales, ca. 1802 (Mitchell Library, State Library of New South Wales; Ref. 404927).

It is interesting to note the discrepancies (or nautical) versus the civil day, with the ast-
among the different observers, particularly as ronomical day starting at 12 noon rather than
regards their crossing of the Equator and the at 12 midnight. However, that explanation
Tropic of Cancer (in the northern hemisphere). seems unlikely. Among those who cited their
While Collins, Tench, Hunter and White noted crossing of the Equator, Hunter and Bradley
that they crossed the Equator on 14 July 1787, were the most experienced observers, and it is
Bradley and King refer to the 15th and Phillip likely that the others followed their lead.25 Yet,
cites 5 July 1787 (this may be a transcription Hunter indicates that the Equator was crossed
error). One may think that this discrepancy during the evening of 14 July, while Bradley
could be related to the use of the astronomical and King recorded specific times of, respect-
31

Richard de Grijs and Andrew P. Jacob William Dawes and the ‘First Fleet’

Figure 19: “Tracks of the Sirius & Waakzaamheydt in the Southern Hemisphere, 1787–1792”. The Sirius’ itinerary is
indicated by the thin dotted line. Note the distinction between ‘New Holland’ and ‘New South Wales’ (including its size
compared with today’s state by the same name) on the map of Australia. Chart from William Bradley’s journal, A Voyage to
New South Wales, ca. 1802 (Mitchell Library, State Library of New South Wales; Ref. 404927). [For a high-resolution
version, see http://archival.sl.nsw.gov.au/Details/archive/110314967.]

ively, 5 pm and 8 pm, but on the 15th. These terminations of well-defined geographic locat-
timings are well matched, and so perhaps the ions from First Fleet journals. To these, we
discrepancy is due to the officers having com- added two of Cook’s position determinations of
pleted their journal entries from memory at a features on the Tasmanian coast (Bradley,
later date. Similarly, both Collins and Bradley 1787–1792), given that they were referenced
note that the Tropic of Cancer was crossed on by the First Fleet’s chroniclers. Here, we will
15 June 1787, but White’s record refers to 10 make an attempt at comparing the accuracy
June. We suspect that this latter record is a and precision of the contemporary measure-
mistake given the accuracy of Bradley’s astro- ments with modern values. Our complete data
nomical observations and of Collins’ careful set, as well as a direct comparison with mod-
chronicling of the convoy’s itinerary. ern (2020) Google Maps® locations, is pro-
Our complete data set of 287 entries in- vided below; ‘Time-keeper’ refers to K1 mea-
cludes a total of 37 longitude and latitude de- surements.
32

Richard de Grijs and Andrew P. Jacob William Dawes and the ‘First Fleet’

1. Deserter Islands (Ilhas Desertas, Desertas Islands)

a. Northernmost Deserter Island
Latitude Longitude Means Observer Modern Latitude Modern Longitude
32º 27′ N 16º 35′ W Time-keeper Bradley 32º 35′ N 16º 33′ W
b. Southeasternmost Deserter Island
Latitude Longitude Means Observer Modern Latitude Modern Longitude
32º 29′ N 16º 38′ W Time-keeper Hunter 32º 25′ N 16º 28′ W
32º 28′ N Tench

2. Salvage Islands
a. Mean
Latitude Longitude Means Observer Modern Latitude Modern Longitude
30º 12′ N 15º 56′ W Time-keeper Bradley 30º 08′ N 15º 52′ W
30º 13′ N 15º 56′ W Time-keeper King
30º 12′ N 15º 53′ W Time-keeper Hunter
b. Great Salvage, eastern side
Latitude Longitude Means Observer Modern Latitude Modern Longitude
30º 12′ N 15º 39′ W Tench 30º 08′ N 15º 52′ W

3. Tenerife (Canary Islands)

a. Santa Cruz Bay
Latitude Longitude Means Observer Modern Latitude Modern Longitude
28º 30′ N 16º 16′ W Time-keeper Bradley 28º 29′ N 16º 14′ W
28º 29′ N 16º 18′ W Time-keeper Hunter
16º 18′ W Time-keeper King
16º 18′ W Dawes
b. Santa Cruz (old town)
Latitude Longitude Means Observer Modern Latitude Modern Longitude
28º 28′ N 16º 18′ W Tench 28º 28′ N 16º 15′ W
c. Teide Volcano (peak)
Latitude Longitude Means Observer Modern Latitude Modern Longitude
28º 18′ N 16º 31′ W Bradley 28º 16′ N 16º 39′ W

4. Cape Verde Islands

a. Sal, northern end
Latitude Longitude Means Observer Modern Latitude Modern Longitude
16º 48′ N 23º 03′ W Time-keeper Hunter 16º 51′ N 22º 55′ W
16º 50′ N 23º 02′ W Time-keeper Bradley
b. Sal, southern end
Latitude Longitude Means Observer Modern Latitude Modern Longitude
16º 40′ N 23º 02′ W Time-keeper Bradley 16º 35′ N 22º 55′ W
16º 40′ N 23º 05′ W Tench
16º 15′ N 22º 51′ W Time-keeper King
c. Bona Vista (Boa Vista), northern end
Latitude Longitude Means Observer Modern Latitude Modern Longitude
16º 13′ N 22º 51′ W Time-keeper Hunter 16º 14′ N 22º 47′ W
d. Bona Vista (Boa Vista), northern end
Latitude Longitude Means Observer Modern Latitude Modern Longitude
15º 59′ N 23º 02′ W Time-keeper Bradley 15º 58′ N 22º 48′ W
15º 52′ N 23º 08′ W Tench
16º 00′ N 22º 51′ W Time-keeper Hunter
e. Isle of May (Maio), southern end
Latitude Longitude Means Observer Modern Latitude Modern Longitude
15º 11′ N 23º 26′ W Tench 15º 07′ N 23º 10′ W

33

Richard de Grijs and Andrew P. Jacob William Dawes and the ‘First Fleet’

f. St. Jago, Port Praya Fort

Latitude Longitude Means Observer Modern Latitude Modern Longitude
23º 37′ W Tench 14º 44′ N 23º 31′ W

5. Brazil
a. Cape Frio (Cabo Frio)
Latitude Longitude Means Observer Modern Latitude Modern Longitude
23º 05′ S 41º 40′ W Tench, 22º 47′ S 41º 56′ W
Dawes
23º 00′ S 41º 44′ W Time-keeper Bradley
22º 58′ S 41º 40′ W Time-keeper Hunter (*)
(*) “It will appear hereafter that we had not the true rate of the watch, and consequently that [this] longitude is not
correct” (Hunter, 1793: 17).
b. Rio de Janeiro
Latitude Longitude Means Observer Modern Latitude Modern Longitude
22º 54′ S 42º 40′ W Bowes Smyth 22º 54′ S 43º 11′ W
22º 54′ S 42º 44′ W Time-keeper Hunter (*)
22º 54' S 43º 19′ W White
22º 54′ S 43º 11′ W Lunar distances Hunter
22º 54′ S 43º 33′ W Lunar distances Bradley
22º 54′ S 43º 19′ W Jupiter’s 3rd Dawes,
moon Portuguese
astronomers
(*) See the note to Table 5a.
c. Enchados (Enxadas) Island, Rio de Janeiro
Latitude Longitude Means Observer Modern Latitude Modern Longitude
43º 21′ W Time-keeper King 22º 53′ S 43º 11′ W

6. Final leg: from Table Bay to Botany Bay

a. Table Bay
Latitude Longitude Means Observer Modern Latitude Modern Longitude
34º 22′ S 18º 45′ E Bowes Smyth 33º 53′ S 18º 27′ E
b. Cape Town (old town)
Latitude Longitude Means Observer Modern Latitude Modern Longitude
33º 55′ S 18º 24′ 30′′ E Lunar distances Hunter 33º 54′ S 18º 25′ E
18º 23′ 55′′ E Lunar distances Collins
c. Mewstone
Latitude Longitude Means Observer Modern Latitude Modern Longitude
43º 48′ S 146º 25′ E Tench, Cook 43º 44′ S 146º 22′ E
d. Eddystone and Swilly Rock26
Latitude Longitude Feature Observer Modern Latitude Modern Longitude
43º 54′ S 147º 09′ E Eddystone Tench 43º 47′ S 147º 01′ E
43º 53′ S 147º 09′ E Eddystone Cook
43º 54′ S 147º 03′ E Swilly Rock Tench 43º 47′ S 147º 01′ E

It is interesting to compare the accuracy of recorded by Dawes, Hunter and Bradley for
the contemporary longitude and latitude deter- the geographic location of Dawes’ observatory
minations with current-best estimates. On the in the new colony compared with modern mea-
whole, it transpires that the First Fleet’s mea- surements (de Grijs and Jacob, 2021; and ref-
surements were systematically offset by 2.4′ to- erences therein). A similar discrepancy was
wards larger longitude differences with respect found for the location of the observatory on the
to the Greenwich meridian and by 3.6′ in lat- shores of Botany Bay established by the La-
itude (offset towards northern latitudes), re- pérouse expedition. In de Grijs and Jacob
spectively, but with large standard deviations (2021) we concluded that these systematic off-
of 11.5′ and 7.0′, respectively. The systematic sets are most likely owing to problems related
offset in longitude is reminiscent of a similar to the accuracy of the contemporary almanac
(but larger) systematic offset in the same sense tables.
34

Richard de Grijs and Andrew P. Jacob William Dawes and the ‘First Fleet’

We can directly convert the systematic an- ing from, respectively, Bradley’s and Tench’s
gular differences just cited to time differences. observations. The corresponding standard
In this context, we are particularly interested in deviations for all three observers span a nar-
the longitude difference: the systematic offset row range from 9.7′ to 11.4′. Latitude deter-
of 2.4′ corresponds to a time discrepancy of minations have always been easier and were
9.6 seconds of time. The longitude offset for (usually) more accurate and precise (corre-
Dawes’ observatory amounted to almost 29 sponding to smaller standard deviations) than
seconds of time (de Grijs and Jacob, 2021). longitude determinations. On average, with
Therefore, at the latitude of Sydney, 33° 52′ respect to modern measurements, our three
08′′ South, the corresponding average offset in most prolific observers determined their lati-
longitude achieved during the First Fleet’s tudes to within 1.9′ (Hunter), 2.0′ (Bradley) and
voyage would be less than 4 km. Considerat- 2.7′ (Tench), with all observers reporting lati-
ion of this accuracy, achieved during the First tudes offset from modern values to the north.
Fleet’s voyage at sea and on shore, then begs Hunter’s precision exceeded that of his col-
the question as to why the longitude determin- leagues, with a standard deviation of 3.9′ for
ation of Dawes’ observatory on shore only was his set of latitude determinations, compared
off by as much as 11 km. with 5.1′ and 6.8′ for Bradley and Tench, re-
Whereas some contemporary position de- spectively.
terminations rivalled the accuracy and precis- Whereas Dawes was known to be a care-
ion of modern measurements, particularly those ful astronomer, his measurements were good
obtained in well-known locations such as San- but not better than those of Hunter. It is per-
ta Cruz de Tenerife, Rio de Janeiro and Cape haps surprising that Dawes only recorded a
Town, shipboard measurements of distant land- small number of longitude determinations.
marks often incurred significant uncertainties. Nevertheless, it is clear from our careful per-
The most significant differences are found for usal of his letters to Maskelyne that he ob-
some of the Cape Verde islands, for Cape Frio tained numerous lunar distance measure-
on the Brazilian coast and, surprisingly, for the ments. However, it appears that he did not
geographic location of Table Bay. In fact, the regularly convert those observations into the
Table Bay measurement recorded by Bowes convoy’s longitude at the time of observation.
Smyth is one of the most discrepant determin- This would have required lengthy calculations.
ations in our database: “13 October 1787 …
Anchored at Cape of Good Hope. Lat[itude] With Dawes occupied on the First Fleet’s
34° 22′ S, long[itude] 18° 45′ E.” (Choat, 2020: vanguard ship, Supply, the remainder of the
53). This location corresponds to the south- convoy under Hunter’s command was clearly
eastern entrance to False Bay, south of Cape in safe hands. From our modern perspective,
Town and just off the coast of present-day it is challenging to adequately visualise Cap-
Pringle Bay village in the Western Cape. It is tain Phillip’s remarkable leadership. Given the
clear from Bradley’s maps (available online navigational means available at the time, it
from the State Library of New South Wales; was indeed a major achievement to direct an
see the caption of Figure 19), however, that entire convoy of 11 ships on a 24,000 km, 8-
the convoy anchored in Table Bay (Bradley, month voyage half-way around the world with-
1786–1792). Bowes Smyth’s contemporary out the loss of a single ship, and to ensure that
record may have been incorrectly copied, giv- all ships arrived safely within a few days of one
en that he was assigned to the Lady Penrhyn another with minimum loss of life despite the
and thus without a direct means of geographic cramped living quarters. They could not have
position determination himself. We suspect done it without a firm grasp of the principles of
that some of the offshore measurements of practical astronomy.
island features may reflect the ships’ locations
rather than the island features themselves, but 6 NOTES
this cannot be verified based on the contemp- 1. All ships, not only the food and supply
orary record. store-ships, were stocked to the brim with
Among the more experienced observers provisions, agricultural and camp equip-
for whom we have sufficient numbers of mea- ment, clothing for the convicts, baggage
surements (Hunter: 9; Bradley: 9; and Tench: and numerous other items (Collins, 1798).
10), Hunter’s longitude determinations were 2. A normal human pregnancy, from ovulation
most accurate (with a mean difference com- to natural childbirth, lasts 268 ± 9 days
pared with modern measurements closest to (standard deviation; Jukic et al., 2013:
zero). Hunter’s nine longitude measurements Table 1), which implies that all children
deviate, on average, by –1.4′, compared with born in transit were most likely conceived
longitude differences of +4.2′ and +4.1′ result- prior to the First Fleet’s departure. Statist-
35

Richard de Grijs and Andrew P. Jacob William Dawes and the ‘First Fleet’

ics of births in the colony are sparse for 217).

the first few years. In a letter of 12 Feb- 11. Wright (1927) reported that, on 27 Sep-
ruary 1790 to Lord Sydney, Phillip (1790b: tember 1926, the Adjutant-General of the
144) states, “As near two years have now Royal Marines at the Admiralty in London
passed since we first landed in this country responded to a request from the Royal
... Fifty-nine children have been born in the Australian Historical Society about Dawes’
above time.” Given this time-frame this career, confirming that the “… only partic-
number does not tell us whether any child- ulars shown in official records are as fol-
ren were conceived during the voyage. lows: Granted Commission as 2nd Lieu-
Anecdotal evidence suggests that a num- tenant, Royal Marines, 2nd September,
ber of births occurred in the first few months 1779 …” This is an odd response from the
after the convoy’s arrival, however (e.g., official body, given that the Marines did not
National Library of Australia, n.d.; Austral- become Royal until 1802.
ian Town and Country Journal, 1883; Ne- 12. In the British Royal Navy’s rating system,
pean Times, 1883; Daily Telegraph, 1888). from the 1720s a third-rate warship carried
3. In de Grijs and Jacob (2021), which is the 64 to 80 guns, typically on two gun-decks.
following paper in this issue of JAHH, we 13. Maskelyne had convinced Dawes that tak-
include the portraits of William Dawes, ing on the role of the voyage’s astronomer
Arthur Phillip, John Hunter, David Collins might lead to further career opportunities,
and Watkin Tench. Here, we show the and therefore Dawes did not seek financial
portraits of the remaining individuals of compensation for the appointment (Clarke,
note discussed in this paper, if available in 2015).
the public domain. 14. Laurie (1988) suggests that Dawes may
4. The small town of Wallabadah in the New have approached Maskelyne directly, giv-
England area of present-day New South en his father’s standing in the Portsmouth
Wales is home to the First Fleet memorial Ordnance Office and the elder Dawes’
garden. The local Visitors’ Centre main- acquaintance with the Royal Naval Acad-
tains a list of those known to have sailed emy staff and with the family of Lord Hood,
on the First Fleet, which currently contains previously Commissioner at the dockyard
1186 names. However, the list does not and then-Commander-in-Chief at Ports-
fully tally with the names engraved on mouth. This seems less likely than Bayly’s
stone tablets scattered around the garden approach, however.
(Liverpool Plains Shire Council, 2020; N. 15. Dawes’ relatively quick acceptance of his
Robertson, pers. comm., October, 2020). assignment on the Sirius was likely driven,
5. See also at least in part, by the fact that he was
https://history.cass.anu.edu.au/centres/nc near the top of the Marines’ rotation roster,
b/first-fleet-ships-and-passengers which implies that he would have soon
6. References to ‘Nicolas’ as William Dawes’ been allocated to another vessel if he had
middle name are found only at remained in Portsmouth (Bayly, 1786).
Wikipedia/WikiTree— 16. Dawes was required to seek Maskelyne’s
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Dawe approval for any adjustments to the instru-
s_(British_Marines_officer), ments. At times, this caused strained re-
https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Dawes- lations between the men, since Dawes
1222—but not anywhere else. (based at Portsmouth) was left feeling as if
7. This was the Atlantic season’s fourth hur- he was being micromanaged from afar
ricane, known as the 1871 Santa Juana (Saunders, 1990: 46, 52).
hurricane 17. http://www.visitsydneyaustralia.com.au/
(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1871_Atlantic william-dawes.html
_hurricane_season). 18. Dawes’ name and achievements are con-
8. https://cudl.lib.cam.ac.uk/view/MS-RGO- spicuously absent from Phillip’s (1790a)
00014-00048/509 account of the voyage to New South
9. English parish registers usually only re- Wales.
corded baptisms rather than births. In 19. This watch had been taken on Cook’s sec-
England, civil registration started in 1837. ond and third voyages of discovery to the
10. Graduates from the Royal Naval Academy Pacific in the care of his astronomer, Wil-
were often appointed as midshipman-by- liam Wales (Howse and Hutchinson, 1969:
order or ‘midshipman ordinary’ to make a 139–140). For a biography of Wales, in-
clear distinction from the midshipmen who cluding his Cook-voyage associations, see
had been trained on board. The latter Orchiston and Howse (2000).
were paid higher wages (Lewis, 1939: 20. In good Admiralty tradition, scientific in-
36

Richard de Grijs and Andrew P. Jacob William Dawes and the ‘First Fleet’

struments were usually stored near a ship’s without access to a chronometer or ast-
supply of bread, since bread was kept in ronomical equipment—indicated time and
the driest place on the ship (King, 1779; time again that his geographic locations
Saunders, 1990: 67). were obtained from measurements dis-
21. However, Hunter (1793: 17) cast doubt on played by the Sirius.
the party’s longitude determinations: “It will 26. The modern coordinates provided for ‘Swil-
appear hereafter that we had not the true ly Rock’ are only approximate. Matthew
rate of the watch, and consequently that Flinders (1814: Section IV, part I) identified
the above longitude is not correct”. Swilly Rock as the westernmost of a pair
22. Note that Phillip only mentions King as of islets:
having transferred with him to the Supply They had, a little before, passed two cliffy
(Phillip, 1790a: 50); he does not mention islets lying to seaward; of which the west-
Dawes. ernmost (Swilly of Furneaux) is like Pedra
23. Hunter (1793: 38–39) noted that Blanca near the coast of China; the east-
The latitudes and longitudes of the differ- ernmost (Eddystone of Cook) resembles
ent points or capes, seem to have been an awkward tower, and is about sixteen
miles from the mainland.
very correctly determined by Captains Cook
and [Tobias] Furneaux, when they were
here … Such observations as we had an
7 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
opportunity of making near this coast, We are grateful to the library staff at the
agree very well ... Special Collections desk of the Mitchell Lib-
24. See rary, State Library of New South Wales (Syd-
http://astro.expat.info/Data/First_Fleet_pos ney, Australia), and the National Library of Au-
itions.html. This webpage has been saved stralia (Canberra). We also thank Nikki Rob-
for posterity at ertson of the Liverpool Plains Shire Council
http://web.archive.org/web/202011160855 Visitor Information Centre for providing back-
41/http://astro- ground information about (and a personal guid-
expat.info/Data/First_Fleet_positions.html ed tour of) the First Fleet memorial garden in
by the Wayback Machine. Wallabadah. We also acknowledge a number
25. As noted in our online database (Note 24), of valuable suggestions by the reviewers that
White—who was based on the Charlotte made this paper more interesting.

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South Wales, including an Accurate Description of the Situation of the Colony; of the Natives; and of its Natural
Productions’. Sydney, Library of Australian History/Royal Australian Historical Society.
http://gutenberg.net.au/ebooks/e00083.html; accessed 12 November 2020.
Twiss, W., 1786. Letter to Brook Watson, dated 24 October; forwarded to Evan Nepean, 2 November 1786. The
National Archives, Home Office 42/10, folio 393.
White, J., 1790. Journal of a Voyage to New South Wales with Sixty-five Plates of Nondescript Animals, Birds,
Lizards, Serpents, Curious Cones of Trees and Other Natural Productions.
http://gutenberg.net.au/ebooks03/0301531.txt; accessed 5 November 2020.
Wood, G.A.,1924. Lieutenant William Dawes and Captain Watkin Tench. Journal of the Royal Australian
Historical Society, 10, 1– 24.
Wright, H., 1926. The memorial of Lieutenant William Dawes, 1826. Journal of the Royal Australian Historical
Society, 12, 227– 230.
Wright, H., 1927. Further note on Lieutenant William Dawes. Journal of the Royal Australian Historical Society,
13, 63 – 64.

39

Richard de Grijs and Andrew P. Jacob William Dawes and the ‘First Fleet’

Professor Richard de Grijs obtained his PhD in Astrophysics from the University of
Groningen (Netherlands) in 1997. He subsequently held postdoctoral research positions at
the University of Virginia (USA) and the University of Cambridge (UK), before being
appointed to a permanent post at the University of Sheffield (UK) in 2003. He joined the
Kavli Institute for Astronomy and Astrophysics at Peking University (China) in September
2009 as a full Professor. In March 2018, Richard moved to Macquarie University in Sydney
(Australia) as Associate Dean (Global Engagement).
Richard has been a Scientific Editor of The Astrophysical Journal since 2006 and took
on the role of Deputy Editor of The Astrophysical Journal Letters in September 2012. He
held this latter role until mid-2018. Richard received the 2012 Selby Award for excellence in
science from the Australian Academy of Science, a 2013 Visiting Academy Professorship at Leiden University
from the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences, a 2017 Erskine Award from the University of
Canterbury (New Zealand) and a Jan Michalski Award from the Michalski Foundation (Switzerland) in 2017.
His research focuses on the astronomical distance scale as well as on many aspects of star cluster physics,
from their stellar populations to their dynamics and their use as star-formation tracers in distant galaxies. He is
also engaged in a number of research projects related to the history of astronomy, with particular emphasis on
the seventeenth century. In 2017, he published his latest mon-graph, Time and Time Again: Determination of
Longitude at Sea in the 17th Century (IOP Publishing).
Richard has just joined the ‘Editorial Team’ of JAHH as an Associate Editor.

Dr Andrew Jacob was born in England and shortly after taken to Australia by ship. He
has lived in Sydney ever since, never far from Sydney Harbour. During his under-
graduate student years he began work at Sydney Observatory (part of the Museum of
Applied Arts & Sciences) as an Astronomy Guide. In 2008 he gained his PhD for
determining distances to several Cepheid stars using the Sydney University Stellar
Interferometer.
Since 2015 Andrew has been Curator of Astronomy at Sydney Observatory and is
working on expanding the Museum’s collection in contemporary astronomy. Occasionally
he is called on by the media for comment when astronomical events catch the public’s
attention.

40

 Journal of Astronomical History and Heritage, 24(1), 41–76 (2021).

SYDNEY’S SCIENTIFIC BEGINNINGS:

WILLIAM DAWES’ OBSERVATORIES IN CONTEXT
Richard de Grijs
Department of Physics and Astronomy, Macquarie University,
Balaclava Road, Sydney, NSW 2109, Australia
E-mail: richard.de-grijs@mq.edu.au
and
Andrew P. Jacob
Sydney Observatory, Museum of Applied Arts and Sciences,
1003 Upper Fort Street, Millers Point, Sydney, NSW 2000, Australia
E-mail: Andrew.Jacob@maas.museum

Abstract: The voyage of the ‘First Fleet’ from Britain to the new colony of New South Wales was not only a military
enterprise, it also had a distinct scientific purpose. Britain’s fifth Astronomer Royal, Nevil Maskelyne, had selected
William Dawes, a promising young Marine with a propensity for astronomical observations, as his protégé.
Maskelyne convinced the British Board of Longitude to supply Dawes with a suite of state-of-the-art instruments
and allow the young Marine to establish an observatory in the new settlement. The Astronomer Royal may have
had a dual motivation, one driven by strategic national interests combined with a personal investment linked to the
suggested re-appearance of a comet in the southern sky. With the unexpected assistance of the French Lapérouse
expedition, between 1788 and 1791 Dawes established not one but two observatories within a kilometre of
Sydney’s present-day city centre. Motivated by persisting confusion in the literature, we explore the historical
record to narrow down the precise location of Dawes’ observatories. We conclude that the memorial plaque
attached to Sydney Harbour Bridge indicates an incorrect location. Overwhelming evidence in the form of
contemporary maps, charts and pictorial representations implies that Dawes’ observatory was located on the
northeastern tip of the promontory presently known as The Rocks (formerly Dawes’ Point), with any remains having
vanished during the construction of the Harbour Bridge in the 1920s and 1930s.
Keywords: William Dawes, longitude and latitude, ‘First Fleet’, Nevil Maskelyne, Royal Society of London

1 ENTANGLED PERSONAL AND mer Royal (Howse, 1989). Maskelyne proceed-

NATIONAL INTERESTS ed to train the young man at Greenwich Ob-
1.1 Lieutenant William Dawes, astronomer servatory in the practicalities of astronomical
on the First Fleet observations. Dawes, already a proficient and
competent ‘astronomical observer’ (Mander-
On 13 May 1787, the ‘First Fleet’1 set sail to Jones, 1966), had volunteered for service with
Botany Bay (New South Wales, New Holland) the First Fleet. He is thought to have received
from Spithead roads off Portsmouth, England. his clearly excellent education in astronomy at
On 24 October 1786, H.M.S. Sirius, a sixth- the Royal Naval Academy at Portsmouth under
rate 2 former merchantman equipped with 10 headmaster William Bayly (1737–1810; Orchis-
guns—four 6-pounder guns and six 18-pounder ton, 2016: 152–153), formerly Captain Cook’s
carronades—and crewed by a complement of astronomer (Gibson, 2012). Bayly wrote direct-
160, had been commissioned as the convoy’s ly to Joseph Banks (1743–1820; Beaglehole,
flagship. Under the command of Captain Arthur 1963; Gascoigne, 1994), then-President of the
Phillip (1738–1814; see Figure 1),3 Governor- Royal Society of London, to recommend Dawes,
designate of the new British colony, the Sirius, “… citing his knowledge of languages, bot-
was accompanied by a faster vessel, H.M.A.T. any, mineralogy and also astronomy.” (Howse,
Supply—an armed tender equipped with eight 2004). Separately, Captain William Twiss
guns (four 3-pounders and four 12-pounder (1745–1827), Royal Engineer in the British
carronades) and a complement of 55 men. In Army, also recommended the young intellectual
addition, the convoy included three store-ships to Maskelyne (Gillen, 1989). In turn, Maske-
and six convict transports. lyne, who was keen that a capable astronomer
Among the convoy’s total complement of 16 be sent to the new colony, highly recommended
officers, 24 non-commissioned officers and 160 the young Marine to Banks:
privates from the British Marine Corps (Laurie,
The bearer Mr. Dawes is the person whom
1988),4 as well as 40 women (both convicts and I mentioned to you by a letter as desirous to
wives of convicts, Marines or crew), Second make any observations that might be thought
Lieutenant William Dawes (1762–1836; see useful at Botany Bay, & whom you approved
Figure 2) had caught the interest of Dr Nevil of in the answer you favored with. He has
Maskelyne (1732–1811), Britain’s fifth Astrono- been a good deal here [at Greenwich Obs-
41

Richard de Grijs and Andrew P. Jacob William Dawes’ Observatories in Sydney

Figure 1: Portrait gallery of the main characters described in this paper (except for William Dawes), ordered from left to right and
from top to bottom by date of birth. Individuals depicted include (i) John Hunter (1737–1821; courtesy: National Library of
Australia), (ii) Arthur Phillip (1738 –1814; courtesy: Mitchell Library, State Library of New South Wales), (iii) Jean-François de
Galaup, comte de Lapérouse (1741–1788; Copyright Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco, www.famsf.org, reproduced with
permission), (iv) Joseph Lepaute Dagelet (1751–1788; courtesy: Mme Josiane Dennaud), (v) David Collins (1756 –1810; courtesy:
National Archives of Australia) and (vi) Watkin Tench (1758 –1833; courtesy: Mitchell Library, State Library of New South Wales).

servatory] perfecting himself in the use of

astronomical instruments & receiving in-
structions for discovering and observing the
comet of 1532 & 1661 at its first approach
to the sun & earth in the summer or autumn
of 1788. He is very ready and will do the
observing very well. He is desirous of pay-
ing his respect, to you, & I desire you will be
pleased to allow this letter to be his intro-
duction to you. He will bring you from me a
copy of my paper on the return of this com-
et, which I desire your acceptance of. I saw
the comet and got some good observations
of it, on the 26th of last month [October
1786]. I have some faint hopes of being
able to get a last observation of it tomorrow
or some other night soon if very fine before
the moon rises. Having parted with [my
assistant] Mr. Linley, I at present make all
the observations myself, & therefore cannot Figure 2: Miniature oil painting, 1830s, of
attend the first meeting of the Royal So- Lieutenant William Dawes, artist unknown
ciety. (Maskelyne,1786b). (courtesy: Tasmanian Museum and Art
Gallery, Hobart; ref. AG6048).

42

Richard de Grijs and Andrew P. Jacob William Dawes’ Observatories in Sydney

While Dawes was clearly a bright and in- distant destinations, yet a reliable means of
telligent young man, Maskelyne’s choice of him geographical position determination at sea re-
as his emissary nevertheless seems odd, given mained elusive. Determination of one’s latitude
his working-class background. As the nation’s was relatively straightforward: one simply need-
pre-eminent astronomer, Maskelyne was not ed to measure the height of the Sun or those of
short of well-qualified, university-educated vol- one or more bright stars at their meridian pas-
unteers, so Dawes must indeed have come with sage, corrected for seasonal variations, and a
the highest praise. Dawes’ successful appoint- latitude measurement would follow naturally.
ment by the Home Secretary, Thomas Town-
Determination of one’s longitude at sea was
shend, First Viscount Sydney, and the Board of
significantly more complicated (for a recent re-
Longitude is even more surprising given the
view, see de Grijs, 2017; see also Andrewes,
enormous importance afforded to establishing
1996). Longitude determination relies on know-
the new colony. Other luminaries, including ing one’s local time with respect to that at a
Banks and Sir Evan Nepean (1752–1822), Per- reference location (such as the Greenwich mer-
manent Undersecretary of State for the Home idian). Solving the longitude problem occupied
Department, also vied for patronage. Indeed, generations of scientist-scholars and navigat-
Maskelyne seems to have outwitted his nem- ors. It took until the second half of the eight-
esis Banks in securing Dawes’ loyalty (e.g.,
eenth century before John Harrison (1693–
Gibson, 2012).
1776) had perfected his maritime timepiece to
From our current perspective, it may seem work sufficiently accurately that he was award-
odd that sending an astronomer to the yet-to- ed a significant fraction of the British Longitude
be-established colony—even if he was also a Prize of 1714. Harrison’s payment was de-
Marine, a competent engineer, surveyor and layed, however, until the British watchmaker
explorer—was considered a high priority. Short- Larcum Kendall (1719–1790) had managed to
ages of labour, materials and food would ham- successfully copy Harrison’s H4 in 1769. Ken-
per the colony’s early development and keep dall’s copy is now referred to as his No. 1
Governor Phillip occupied, yet Dawes was Marine Timekeeper, ‘K1’. James Cook (1728–
meanwhile commissioned to establish an as- 1779) took K1 on his second and third voyages
tronomical observatory. of discovery to the South Pacific, calling it “…
our trusty friend the Watch …” and “… our never
The focus of this paper is on Dawes’ ob-
failing guide the Watch …” (Andrewes, 1996:
servatory in New South Wales,5 the develop-
226, 252). Indeed, after more than three years
ments leading up to its foundation (Section 2),
at sea, in 1775 it was determined that the
the instruments it was equipped with and the
timepiece had gained just 13 seconds a day on
role it played in the social fabric of the new
Cook’s second voyage (e.g., Hawkins, 1979;
colony (Section 3). While some of this story is
Howse and Hutchinson, 1969).
reasonably well known, our aim here is to pro-
vide a comprehensive account of the history Chronometers were few and far between,
and operations of the first permanent6 British however, and they were expensive to obtain.
astronomical observatory in the southern hemi- Alternative means of longitude determination
sphere. We have uncovered a number of new had been developed, most involving angular
insights, and we have also established the ob- distance measurements between the lunar limb
servatory’s site beyond any reasonable doubt and the positions of bright stars in the sky, an
based on a careful assessment of the historical approach known as the ‘lunar distance’ method
record (Section 4). Our historical research is (for a review, see de Grijs, 2020). Starting in
based on a wide range of records. Among the 1767, Maskelyne had been instrumental in pub-
online documents we consulted were the full set lishing his Nautical Almanacs, which included
of papers of the Board of Longitude and eye- lengthy tables of lunar distances in time in-
witness accounts of the First Fleet’s voyage. In tervals of three hours for Greenwich time.
addition, we explored the online and physical Shipboard lunar distance measurements, usu-
holdings of the State Library and State Archives ally based on observations with a sextant,
of New South Wales, the library of the Royal would allow accurate determination of the time
Australian Historical Society (RAHS), all in in Greenwich. This could then be compared
Sydney, and the National Library of Australia in with the observer’s local time to yield a long-
Canberra. itude. The calculations required to carry this
process through to completion were highly com-
1.2 An Astronomer on the ‘First Fleet’ plicated and tedious, however.
In the late eighteenth century, the dominant For these and other reasons, voyages of
sea-faring European nations continued to open discovery usually accommodated one or more
up commercial shipping routes to ever more competent astronomers among their crews.
42

Richard de Grijs and Andrew P. Jacob William Dawes’ Observatories in Sydney

Figure 3: Typical tent observatory used by shipboard astronomers in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries (after Wales and
Bayly, 1777: Plate II).

These itinerant astronomers were often equip- positive outcome of the astronomical enter-
ped with portable ‘tent’ observatories (see Fig- prise. Maskelyne had convinced the Board of
ure 3). In the seventeenth and eighteenth cen- Longitude to send Dawes to New South Wales
turies, increasingly accurate astronomical ob- so as to test the Astronomer Royal’s prediction
servations from across the globe were urgently of the return of the comet of 1532 and 1661 to
needed to improve shipping practices. In fact, the southern sky. The comet’s earlier recorded
Maskelyne complained in the 1788 Nautical appearances had led Edmond Halley, Britain’s
Almanac that … second Astronomer Royal, to predict that it
It is indeed to be lamented that Persons, would reappear in 1790. However, in a paper
who visit distant countries, are not more read to the Royal Society of London on 29 June
diligent to multiply Observations of this kind; 1786, Maskelyne suggested that the comet
for want of which, the Observations made might reappear as early as 1788 or 1789, with
by Astronomers in established Observator- a perihelion (its closest approach to the Sun)
ies lose half their Use and the improvement potentially as early as 1 January 1789:
of Geography is retarded. (Maskelyne,
1787). It will approach us from the southern parts
of its orbit, and therefore will first appear
Maskelyne thus convinced Lord Sydney with considerable south latitude and south
and the Board of Longitude to support an as- declination; so that persons residing nearer
tronomical component for the First Fleet, in- to the equator than we do, or in south lat-
cluding the provision of a range of instruments itude, will have an opportunity of discov-
and books on loan for the colony’s new ob- ering it before us. It is to be wished that it
servatory. These would ostensibly be used for first be seen by some astronomer in such a
determination of the settlement’s precise pos- situation, and furnished with proper instru-
ition, to accurately determine the colony’s local ments for settling its place in the heavens,
the earliest good observations being most
time, to provide an accurate time reference for
valuable for determining its elliptic orbit …
the chronometers of visiting ships and to assist The Cape of Good Hope would be an
with surveying duties. However, from Maske- excellent situation for this purpose. (Maske-
lyne’s personal letters we also get the distinct lyne, 1786a).
impression that he was personally invested in a
43

Richard de Grijs and Andrew P. Jacob William Dawes’ Observatories in Sydney

If Maskelyne’s prediction were correct, this 1.3 Instrumentation for the New
would be the second comet to be predicted Observatory in New South Wales
correctly. The return of Halley’s comet had Maskelyne convinced the Board of Longitude to
been confirmed in 1759 following the astrono- lend the expedition a set of astronomical and
mer’s published prediction of 1705 (Halley, meteorological books and equipment, selected
1705), and so Maskelyne was particularly keen by the Astronomer Royal to closely resemble
to make his mark alongside Halley. Therefore, the instrumentation carried on Cook’s already
he recommended that Dawes be appointed as legendary voyages of the late 1760s and 1770s
the official astronomer on board the Sirius, with (Howse, 1979; Howse and Hutchinson, 1969).
an expanded brief to ‘recover’ Maskelyne’s Dawes’ initial request, submitted in early Nov-
comet and establish an observatory in the new ember 1786 and contained in the ‘List of Instru-
colony. He persuaded the Board of Longitude ments proper for making astronomical Obser-
to also provide Dawes with a suitable comple- vations at Botany Bay’ (Figure 4, left; Dawes,
ment of instruments to allow him to do his job 1786), included a large number of instruments.
successfully. Astronomy—whether a personal However, the Royal Society was unable to
pursuit or of national strategic importance— source all instruments requested prior to the
thus became a foundational component of the First Fleet’s departure, so that a significant
new colony in New South Wales. As we will see number were crossed out. Eventually, the
shortly, despite concerted efforts, Dawes did expedition was provided with a set of instru-
not find the comet. Astronomers in Europe did ments and books, under the care of Captain
not find it either, thus suggesting that Maske- Phillip, contained in the much shorter ‘List of
lyne’s predictions were wrong. instruments to be lent by the Board of Longitude
for making astronomical Observations at
Botany Bay’ (Figure 4, right).

- A [12 inch] Astronomical Quadrant [by John Bird, for longitude determination on land]
- A 3½ Feet [~1 m] treble Object Glass Achromatic Telescope by Dollond with a micrometer with oblique wires,
to be further provided with sliding tubes to steady the Telescope, and a common wire Micrometer for
measuring Differences of Right Ascension and Declination [presumably a compact, portable ‘comet sweeper’,
owned by Maskelyne]
- One Night Glass
- An Astronomical Clock [by John Shelton]
- A Journeyman Clock [probably also by Shelton]
- An Alarm Clock [maker unknown]
- A Pocket Watch, with a second hand & Ruby Pallets [possibly by Ellicott, No. 4659]
- An old [Hadley’s] sextant by Ramsden
- A portable Barometer [by Burton]
- Two Thermometers
- A circular Protractor with a Glass having lines on it intersecting each other in the center [sic]
Books
- [William] Gardiner’s Logarithms [Tables of Logarithms, 1742]
- Copy of [Henry] Sherwin’s Logarithms [Sherwin's Mathematical Tables ... Table of Logarithms of Numbers
from 1 to 101]
- Copy of [Maskelyne’s] Requisite Tables
- Copy [sic] of the Nautical Almanacs from 1787 to 1792

Although Dawes was initially comfortable Among the instruments taken to the new
with Phillip’s guardianship of the instruments, colony (for a detailed discussion, see Laurie,
he expressed some concern to Maskelyne that 1988: 470– 471), the clocks merit further dis-
his need of access to the Nautical Almanac cussion. The Board of Longitude had provided
might interfere with the Captain’s requirements. the expedition with both an astronomical pen-
In response, Maskelyne provided him with a dulum clock and a journeyman or assistant
second set of books. Dawes may have taken clock. The latter was equipped with a gong that
some of his own equipment on the voyage as sounded every minute, while the seconds could
well, and he was given some additional in- be counted based on its ticking sound (James,
struments by Colonel Robert Jacob Gordon 2012). The astronomical clock is thought to
(1743–1795), commander of the Dutch troops have been made by the specialist English reg-
in Cape Town, for use upon arrival at Botany ulator maker John Shelton (1712–1777). It was
Bay (James, 2012). There are no surviving purchased in 1768 for £40 sterling and served
records of any such equipment, however. as main reference of either sidereal or local time
42

Richard de Grijs and Andrew P. Jacob William Dawes’ Observatories in Sydney

Figure 4: (Left) Dawes’ ‘List of Instruments proper for making astronomical Observations at Botany Bay’. (Right) ‘List of
Instruments to be lent by the Board of Longitude for making Astronomical Observations at Botany Bay’ (courtesy: National
Museum of Australia).

on Cook’s second and third voyages to the Sirius, Lieutenants [Philip Gidley] King and
South Pacific (see also Orchiston, 2016). This Dawes, with the [K1] time-keeper. (Collins,
clock, most likely Royal Society Regulator No. 1798: xxxv).
35 and now a treasured item in the Brit- Once Dawes had established an observatory
ish National Maritime Museum’s collection in in New South Wales, he would have routinely
Greenwich (Hawkins, 1979), showed hours, checked and recalibrated K1’s time measure-
minutes and seconds to high accuracy. ment against that shown by his Shelton clock
On board the Sirius, Captain Phillip was (e.g., Hawkins, 1979).
also entrusted with the special care of Kendall’s
K1 chronometer. Prior to the First Fleet’s de- 2 AN OBSERVATORY AT PORT
parture from England, special instructions were JACKSON, NEW SOUTH WALES
provided, specifying that K1 had to be wound 2.1 An Encounter with the French
every day at noon. Despite the importance of
H.M.A.T. Supply, carrying Captain Phillip and
retaining Greenwich time to high accuracy dur-
Dawes, arrived in Botany Bay7 on 18 January
ing the entire voyage, shortly after the convoy’s
1788, the following day followed by the fastest
departure from Cape Town, when Phillip and
convict transports—Alexander, Friendship and
Dawes transferred from the Sirius to the Supply
Scarborough. The remainder of the First Fleet,
to expedite their arrival in Botany Bay, K1 was
including H.M.S. Sirius, arrived on the 20th.
left to wind down. Dawes was forced to regain
The settlers soon realised, however, that Bot-
the Greenwich time reference based on lunar
any Bay was not their hoped-for site to establish
distance measurements (James, 2012):
a permanent settlement.
This separation, the first that had occurred,
did not take place until the 25th [November An exploration party led by Phillip, also
1787], on which day Captain Phillip went on including John Hunter (1737–1821), Second
board the Supply taking with him, from the Captain of the Sirius, sailed from Botany Bay on
43

Richard de Grijs and Andrew P. Jacob William Dawes’ Observatories in Sydney

21 January and discovered that Port Jackson,8 inclination of the dipping needle [a freely
some 12 km further north, provided adequate suspended magnetic needle used to deter-
shelter, deep water for the ships’ anchorage, mine the local magnetic inclination], he will
ensure that any celestial phenomenon which
fresh water and ideal conditions for agriculture
may be visible be observed; and on every
(e.g., Parker, 2009). In Phillip’s words, Port occasion he will give the astronomers all the
Jackson represented “… the finest harbour in help and facilities necessary for the success
the world, in which a thousand sail of the line of their work. (Dunmore, 1994: cxlii–cxliii).
may ride in the most perfect security.” (Phillip,
1790: 55). Surgeon Arthur Bowes-Smyth— Despite gale conditions, the First Fleet
known simply as ‘Bowes’ in the colony—said: weighed anchor on 25 January 1788, en route
to Port Jackson. The site the exploration party
The finest terras’s [sic], lawns and grottos,
had selected for settlement, some 10 km into
with distinct plantations of the tallest and
most stately trees I ever saw in any noble-
the natural harbour, was known as War-ran
man’s ground in England, cannot excel in (Warrane) by the Indigenous Gadigal clan.
beauty those wh. Nature now presented to Today, the inlet adjacent to Sydney’s central
our view. The singing of the various birds business district is known as Sydney Cove.
among the trees, and the flight of the num- The cove featured sheltered deep water close
erous parraquets, lorrequets, cockatoos, to the shore and a fresh-water tributary (now
and macaws [note that macaw habitats do known as the Tank Stream), where “… ships
not exist in Australia], made all around can anchor so close to the shore that, at small
appear like an enchantment; the stupen- expense, quays may be built at which the
dous rocks from the summit of the hills and
down to the very water’s edge hang’g [sic]
largest ships can unload.” (Phillip, 1790: 55).
over in a most awful way from above, and Indeed, today the Overseas Passenger Termin-
form’g [sic] the most commodious quays by al at Sydney’s Circular Quay routinely hosts
the water, beggard [sic] all description. some of the world’s largest cruise ships.
(Fidlon and Ryan, 1979; Hill, 2015: 107).
Dawes was keen to start construction of the
Following the party’s return to Botany Bay settlement’s observatory. However, from his
on 23 January 1788, the convoy prepared to letters to Maskelyne we learn that his duties as
depart for Port Jackson. However, “… to the Marine officer on the Sirius interfered (Dawes,
infinite surprise of everybody, we saw two large 1788a). His application for a shore assignment
ships in the offing.” (Bowes-Smyth, 1790: 87). was initially refused, although he was promised
Unbeknownst to the British, a French scientific that he would be considered for the first land-
expedition led by Jean-François de Galaup, based vacancy to arise (Mander-Jones, 1966).
comte de Lapérouse (1741–1788; Marchant, Meanwhile, the French had built a stock-
1967), had arrived just outside Botany Bay. ade, an observatory and a garden for fresh
The French were equally surprised, as we learn produce on the headland now known as La
from Lapérouse’s journal: Perouse, on Botany Bay’s northern shore.9 On
We spent the whole of the 24th [January behalf of Governor Phillip, Dawes and Lieu-
1788] plying in sight of Botany Bay, but that tenant Philip Gidley King (1758–1808) paid
day we had a spectacle; this was the British their French counterparts a visit on 2 February
Squadron at anchor with their pennants and
ensigns which we could plainly distinguish.
1788, offering them any assistance they might
(Dunmore, 1995). need. They left Sydney Cove at 02:00 that
morning for an eight-hour sailing (and rowing)
The French expedition counted 10 scien- voyage (Clarke, 2015: 33; Fidlon and Ryan,
tists among its complement of 114, including 1980: 37–40), battling strong southerly winds
the astronomer Joseph Lepaute Dagelet (1751 on their way to Botany Bay. We learn from
–1788), whom we will meet again shortly. In King’s private journal that the temporary French
fact, the arrival of the French frigates, Astrolabe settlement was already set up for astronomical
and Boussole (‘Compass’), added urgency to observations to be taken:
Dawes’ and Captain Phillips’ orders to establish
After dinner I attended ye Commodore &
an observatory in the new colony. Lapérouse’s
other Officers onshore where I found
Royal instructions of 15 February 1785 included him [Lapérouse] quite established, having
such orders explicitly: thrown round his Tents a Stoccade, guard-
Immediately upon arriving in a harbour, he ed by two small guns in which he is setting
will select an appropriate site on which to up two Long boats which he had in frames,
erect the tents and the observatory, and will an observatory tent was also fixed here, in
set up a guard … Separately from observat- which were an Astronomical Quadrant,
ions relating to the determination of latit- Clocks &c under the Management of Mon-
udes and longitudes, for which every known sieur Dagelet Astronomer, & one of ye
and practicable method will be used, and Académie des Sciences at Paris. (King,
those needed to assess the declination and 1788).10
44

Richard de Grijs and Andrew P. Jacob William Dawes’ Observatories in Sydney

The quadrant, one of five made by Claude instruments and ideas for future instruments—
Langlois (ca. 1700–1756; the most highly re- including, ambitiously, “… a sector [transit circle]
garded scientific instrument maker in France with a radius of 6 to 8 feet.” (1.8–2.4 m). He
between about 1730 and 1756), was the most also provided ideas as to the types of obser-
important of Dagelet’s instruments. It was on vations Dawes might pursue, particularly en-
loan from Paris Observatory. In addition, the couraging him to attempt “… the measurement
French observatory at Botany Bay was equip- of a degree of the meridian in this hemisphere.”
ped with a meridian telescope of a design de- (Barko, 2007). Despite their brief acquaint-
veloped by Alexis-Marie Abbé de Rochon ance, both men clearly got along well (ibid.). In
(1741–1817), an invariable pendulum for grav- a letter from Dagelet to his mentor, the eminent
ity measurements of the type Charles-Marie de Parisian astronomer Joseph Jérôme Lefrançois
La Condamine (1701–1774) had used in the de Lalande (1732–1807), which he asked
Americas—which was ‘invariable’ since it had Dawes to send via Maskelyne, Dagelet sound-
a fixed pendulum length—three astronomical ed hopeful, advising that
pendulum clocks made by the celebrated … at Botany Bay he had come across an
clock-maker Jean-André Lepaute (1720–1789), English astronomer furnished with instru-
Borda reflecting circles (see, e.g., de Grijs, ments who was preparing to carry out num-
2020) and English-manufactured sextants (see, erous observations and we may have the
e.g., Barko, 2007). However, the observing satisfaction of correspondence with our
conditions at Botany Bay were far from ideal. Antipodes. (Barko, 2007: 21).
On 6 February 1788, Dagelet wrote to Marie It took until March 1788 before Dawes
Jean Antoine Nicolas de Caritat (1743–1794), would be assigned to a substantial shore-based
Marquis de Condorcet and Permanent Secret- role in Governor Phillip’s quest to secure the
ary of the Académie Royale des Sciences, “I am territory for the British Crown. He was ap-
blinded by the bites of flies which weigh me pointed as the settlement’s engineer,12 artillery
down in my wretched observatory.” (Morrison officer13 and surveyor, roles that allowed him
and Barko, 2009: 3). shore access, although he remained part of the
Dawes and Dagelet, the more senior scho- Sirius’ complement of Marines until early July of
lar, thus met in person for the first—and only— that year. Nevertheless, already in February
time on 2 February 1788. As men of science, 1788 do we learn of Dawes’ efforts to com-
their conversation naturally turned to Dawes’ mence construction of an observatory:
assignment to establish an observatory in the Among the buildings that were undertaken
new settlement and to Cook’s nautical and shortly after our arrival must be mentioned
astronomical observations. The French unre- an observatory, which was marked out on
servedly praised the accuracy of Cook’s mea- the western point of the cove, to which the
surements, with Lapérouse adding magnani- astronomical instruments, which had been
sent out by the Board of Longitude for the
mously: “Mr. Cook did so much that he left me purpose of observing the comet which was
nothing to do but to admire his work.” (Barton, expected to be seen about the end of this
1889). year. The construction of this building was
The French and English contingents main- placed under the direction of Lieut. Dawes,
of the Marines, who, having made this
tained cordial relations during Lapérouse’s six-
branch of science his peculiar study, was
week sojourn on the shores of Botany Bay. Al- appointed by the Board of Longitude to make
though Dagelet never visited Dawes at his Port astronomical observations in this country.
Jackson base, Lieutenant Charles-Marie Fantin (Collins, 1798: 50).
de Boutin (born ca. 1760) visited Sydney Cove
and reported back to Dagelet. De Boutin had Hunter’s first map of Sydney Cove (see
inspected the foundations of Dawes’ obser- Figure 5), dated 1 March 1788, already shows
vatory, most likely around 21 February, on a the observatory’s site and an anticipated outline
of a two-building structure. The observatory
visit with Father Jean-André Mongez (1750–
building appears large compared with other
1788), the French expedition’s chaplain (for the
contemporary buildings. In comparison with
relevant journal entries, see Protos, 1988).
modern maps, the location of the Governor’s
residence is shown close to its actual position,
2.2 An Observatory for the Colony
whereas the topography of Sydney Cove maps
On 3 March 1788, Dagelet sent Dawes a letter11 well onto the modern shoreline (see below).
that offered advice on how to set up his ob- Meanwhile, land-based astronomical observat-
servatory, which was partly based on de ions were obtained from a portable tent ob-
Boutin’s description of the most likely site. servatory similar to that carried by Cook and his
Dagelet’s letter included suggestions about the astronomer, Charles Green (1734–1771), on
observatory’s layout, the placement of Dawes’ the H.M.B. Endeavour’s round-the-world voy-
45

Richard de Grijs and Andrew P. Jacob William Dawes’ Observatories in Sydney

Figure 5: “Sydney Cove, Port Jackson, surveyed by Captain Hunter, 1 March 1788.” For a high-resolution image, see
https://nla.gov.au/nla.obj-230724226/ (courtesy: National Library of Australia).

46

Richard de Grijs and Andrew P. Jacob William Dawes’ Observatories in Sydney

Figure 6: Notebook sketches by William Dawes of his cottage and observatory on Point Maskelyne (courtesy: Cambridge
University Library; Board of Longitude Papers, RGO 14/48 f. 281rv).

age of 1768–1771 (e.g., Haynes et al., 1996: separated from the main settlement by a track
31–32). Assisted by four marines and a few along the waterfront. At Dawes’ request, Hunt-
convicts, construction of a wooden observatory er “… was pleased to honour this Point [Tar-ra]
had well and truly commenced by 20 April 1788: by calling it Point Maskelyne.” (Dawes, 1788e).
I have notwithstanding with the assistance
However, the area was colloquially referred to
of four marines of my own party and three as Dawes’ Point, which remains in use today.
or four convicts when the Governor has (We will discuss the observatory’s location in
allowed me, cleared a point of land of trees, more detail in Section 4.) The Gadigal people
and am now getting on as fast as possible considered the headland on the western side of
with an observatory which I hope will be Sydney Cove a safe and welcoming location to
completed and the instruments in it by July share friendship and knowledge (Moran and
sometime. This has not however been McAllister, 2020).
done without a good deal of my own and my
servants’ bodily labour which shall when Construction of the observatory proceeded
necessary be cheerfully employed in the well those first few months, despite a chronic
same cause. The situation struck me at first shortage of materials. In fact, Phillip confided
sight to be so eligible and all the necessary in Dawes that if he had known the difficulties
materials so conveniently at hand, that I did they would face in sourcing building materials,
not hesitate a moment to determine on
he would have opted to bring an expensive, pre-
setting about a permanent one at once a
sketch will say more than many words. (our fabricated observatory building along on the
emphasis: see Figure 6; Dawes, 1788a). voyage from England (Dawes, 1788b). Dawes
managed to motivate his construction crew
Dawes had been given permission to build by providing his Marines with shoes and rum
the structure on the thickly wooded, rocky prom- and water during the worst of the summer
ontory less than a kilometre from the settlement heat. By July 1788, fellow Marine Watkin
on the western side of Sydney Cove. It was Tench (1758–1833) reported that the observa-
known to the Gadigal people as Tar-ra or Tjara tory was
(Dara).14 The site of Dawes’ Observatory was
47

Richard de Grijs and Andrew P. Jacob William Dawes’ Observatories in Sydney

… nearly completed, and when fitted up much as he could: “… no application shall be

with the telescopes and other astronomical wanting in me …” (Dawes, 1788e). He hoped
instruments sent out by the Board of Long- that a properly qualified successor could be
itude, will afford a desirable retreat from the found by the time his six years of service were
listlessness of a camp evening at Port Jack-
son. (Tench, 1789).
up. Clearly, he had meanwhile decided to sign
on for a second three-year term. In fact, the
Despite the delay incurred by a lack of suit- historical record offers us a useful insight into
able materials and qualified tradesmen in the his thinking: in a letter to his father, he admitted
colony, Dawes moved into the new observa- that the “… principal reason …” to sign on for a
tory’s living quarters in the first week of July. second term was
Governor Phillip provided an update on the … the uncertainty of any other person being
observatory’s construction in his letter to Lord appointed to succeed him in the astrono-
Sydney of 9 July 1788: mical way, and the great loss, in his opinion,
On the point of land which forms the west it would be to the science were the op-
side of the cove an Observatory is building, portunity to be missed of making proper use
under the direction of Lieutenant Dawes, of those valuable instruments. (Bladen and
who is charged by the Board of Longitude Britton, 1893: 423).
with observing the expected comet. (Phillip, Given the observatory’s almost-operational
1788).
state by mid-July 1788, Dawes arranged for his
In his letter to Maskelyne of 10 July 1788, instruments to be transferred to shore, unpack-
Dawes (1788b) is clearly excited about the ed and ready for use by the first week of August.
progress he has made. He told Maskelyne that He was keen to start his search for Maskelyne’s
he was considering extending his time in the comet (Dawes, 1788a). Routine scientific op-
colony by signing on for another three years. erations commenced on 14 September 1788.
However, having said so, just two days later he
placed a number of conditions on his request 3 COMPLETION OF THE OBSERVATORY
for an extension. Most importantly, he declared AND ROUTINE OPERATIONS
that he would need to be given a more perm-
3.1 Building Specifications
anent appointment at the observatory to sup-
plement his Marine income: Dawes’ timber and canvas observatory was, as
With respect to remaining in this Country I expected for a building constructed during the
have to observe that I shall, during the three colony’s first year of settlement, small and far
Years for which I offer’d my Services, pay from impressive. Nevertheless, its completion
all possible attention to the observatory; & represented a milestone for the young colony,
that, from a wish to make every return in my given that it was the first building dedicated to
power, for the very polite and friendly man- astronomy and meteorology in New South
ner in which you have been pleased to treat Wales.
me; but, as staying here without any cer-
tainty of some addition to my income would Dawes’ observatory consisted of two build-
be doing myself and Family a material in- ings made of timber, one of which was octag-
jury; I propose, unless I receive some as- onal, nine feet (2.7 m) in diameter, with a white
surance of such addition, to return at the conical canvas roof and built on a “… very large
end of that term. It is not that I wish an and firm …” rock (James, 2012):
allowance from the B.d of Longitude in part-
icular, but if any appointment can be I have got an exceeding good stone cut into
thought of in any department, which may tie the form of a frustum of an octagonal
me to this Country, I shall with the greatest pyramid whose base is 2 ft 5 in [~74 cm]
pleasure attend to the observatory to the and top 1 ft 5 in [~ 43 cm] this to be placed
utmost of my power without thinking of any on the centre of the octagonal room & the
stipulation with the board of Longitude in quadrant on the top of it. The roof is to turn
particular. Nevertheless, as I have had the round on three or more rollers. e, A stair
happiness of being in some measure the case of communication between the upper
means of establishing a permanent obser- & lower room. f, the proposed place for the
vatory in this country, I should, if a fix’d astron[omical] clock. The roof of the lower
observer be thought necessary be equally room is to be so constructed and to make
happy to fill that place. If not, I will (while I good against the side of the upper room and
can with common justice remain in this the ridge of it is to be several inches below
country) attend to the observatory as strictly the top of the quadrant. (Dawes, 1788a).
as if I were paid a salary for that business The revolving canvas roof on the octagonal
… (Dawes, 1788c). building included a retractable shutter. The
Although Dawes did not state it directly at roof’s apex was located approximately a foot
this time, later that year he expressed his con- (~30 cm) from the vertical position, so that
viction that he had given the observatory as astronomical observations could also be made
48

Richard de Grijs and Andrew P. Jacob William Dawes’ Observatories in Sydney

Figure 7: (Top) Sketch of Dawes’ observatory at Sydney Cove (courtesy: Rod Bashford; after McAfee,
1981). (Bottom) Reconstruction of Dawes’ observatory at Old Sydney Town (after: Jackson, 2018a).

at the zenith (James, 2012). The canvas roof servatory (Saunders, 1990) at the northeastern
was nailed to vertical wooden poles that rested end of the Tar-ra headland, northwest of what
on cannon balls in a gouged wooden track to is now Campbells Cove.
allow for rotation (Haynes et al., 1996: 31–32). A second, rectangular building measuring
It is possible that the tent observatory used 12 by 16 feet (3.7×4.9 m2) resembled a lean-to
during the voyage and upon their arrival in Port shed and was constructed against that rock
Jackson was repurposed to provide the canvas (Dawes, 1788a; see also Figure 7, top). It
roofing material (Kerr, 1986). served as Dawes’ study and living quarters. A
Dawes selected a large outcrop of either staircase connected both buildings. Although
bedrock or a large ‘floater’ as the solid found- the only historical drawing of Dawes’ observ-
ation for his quadrant room. The quadrant atory is a sketch included in his 30 April 1788
required a foundation that was stable against letter to Maskelyne, the building was careful-
vibrations, “… on a good stone ... an octagonal ly reconstructed in the now-defunct historical
pyramid …”, so as to work effectively. This thus theme park, ‘Old Sydney Town’, near Gosford
determined the final site selection for the ob- (New South Wales)—see Figure 7 (bottom).
49

Richard de Grijs and Andrew P. Jacob William Dawes’ Observatories in Sydney

Dawes used the larger building to store his He took detailed astronomical readings and
portable instruments, except for his thermo- recorded temperature and weather observat-
meters, which were most likely stored in the ions—air pressure, wind strength and direct-
well-ventilated observatory building (McAfee, ion—between three and eight times a day until
1981). The larger and more sensitive instru- 6 December 1791 (Dawes, 1788–1791; Gergis
ments, including his quadrant and the Shelton et al., 2009). However, he only started record-
pendulum clock, were fixed in place. The hist- ing daily rainfall measures, which he expressed
orical record indicates that the quadrant was in numbers of ‘grains’, in September 1791,
already put to practical use well before the using a rain gauge constructed from a funnel
observatory had been completed. It was clearly and a “… common quart bottle.” (Ashcroft,
the most important instrument among the fledg- 2016). Until 1 July 1791, Dawes also used a
ling observatory’s equipment, since it was used (faulty) barometer, whose readings were ren-
to accurately determine local time, longitude dered inaccurate because of a crack in the
and latitude, and to calibrate the colony’s cistern that allowed some of the mercury to
clocks. escape:
Dagelet referred to Dawes’ quadrant in his It was my intention to have it examined on
letter of 3 March 1788, knowledge he most its return to England, as, owing to the mark-
er having depended upon glue to keep the
likely obtained following de Boutin’s visit on 21
cistern tight where it had been crack’d, it
February: “I find that your q.c. [quart de cercle, had but a small quantity of quicksilver [mer-
quadrant] is perfectly well placed and leaves cury], which I had discovered by observing
nothing to be desired from any point of view.” a number of very small globules immedi-
(Morrison and Barko, 2009). The earliest ob- ately under it on the floor of the observatory.
servations with the quadrant at Sydney Cove In packing it up, however, I found a large
may have been carried out by Lieutenant Wil- crack in the cistern, thro’ which perhaps all
liam Bradley (1757–1833) of the Sirius, rather the quicksilver would have escaped in the
than by Dawes (e.g., Johnson, 1998; Morrison course of the passage [to England] and
have endangered breaking the tube; I there-
and Barko, 2009): see Section 4 for details.
fore emptied it entirely and then packed it
In his letter of 17 November 1788, Dawes up. (McAfee, 1981: 21).
informed Maskelyne about the arrangements Dawes sent Maskelyne regular updates
he had made for the Shelton clock, about his observational progress, although the
On the 6th Sept.r, I got the clock scrwed [sic] variable weather presented a serious chal-
to the frame which is let into the niche in a lenge: “… there cannot be a more unfavourable
very large solid stone and there wedged country for observation.” (Dawes, 1788e). In
exceedingly firm and propped in front by a addition, Governor Phillip continued to order
short, stout piece of plank to another very Dawes to take on ever more tasks in support of
large stone so that I believe it is impossible
the fledgling colony, which eventually led to his
to fix a clock up much better. (Dawes,
1788e). frustrations getting the better of him. In a
strongly worded letter written in July 1790, he
Dawes expressed his satisfaction with the told Maskelyne that “… the very few men of
clock’s firm foundation once again in a letter of business in this country have always each of
16 April 1790. He told Maskelyne that the clock them more to do than he can by any efforts
had been positioned in a niche in a rock “… perform properly …”, adding that “I do more real
which has never moved since the foundation of business than any besides [the chaplain] in the
the world.” (Dawes, 1790a). country.” (Dawes, 1790b). Yet, as Governor,
Phillip was ultimately in charge of the colony’s
3.2 Routine Operations day-to-day operations, and so Dawes had no
Dawes devoted himself to “Observation”, which choice but to act upon Phillip’s practical orders
encompassed taking standard astronomical, —to the detriment of his scientific interests and
meteorological, magnetic and tidal measure- achievements. This internal conflict may have
ments, drawing maps and recording the Eora exacerbated the men’s apparently newly devel-
language in collaboration with his Gadigal lan- oped mutual antipathy, eventually leading to a
guage partner, a young girl called Patyegarang complete breakdown of their personal relation-
(e.g., Gibson, 2010; Nathan, 2009; Pybus, 2009; ship.
Thomas, 2013). On 14 September 1788, he In addition to his duties as officer of the
commenced routine astronomical and weather Marines and his roles as artillery officer and the
observations at his observatory, thereby taking colony’s engineer, Dawes was tasked with de-
on the role of the colony’s unofficial meteorolo- signing the batteries for the colony’s defence.
gist as well (Derrick, 2019; McAfee, 1981; Or- Moreover, the alleged ineffectiveness of the
chiston, 1989; Russell, 1877: 2).15 settlement’s Surveyor-General, August(us) Alt
50

Richard de Grijs and Andrew P. Jacob William Dawes’ Observatories in Sydney

Figure 8: “A Survey of The Settlement in New South Wales, New Holland, by Lt. William Dawes, engraved by A. Dulon & L.
Poates (Sydney, ca. 1886).” Dawes’ observatory is building ‘B’. For a high-resolution image, see https://nla.gov.au/nla.obj-
229944353/ (courtesy: National Library of Australia).

(1731–1815), significantly added to Dawes’

settlement and presently a major Sydney sub-
workload since he was expected to come
urb (e.g., Haynes et al., 1996: 31–32). Figure
through as the settlement’s de facto surveyor.
8, A Survey of The Settlement in New South
His main and lasting achievements in this latter
Wales, New Holland, by Lt. William Dawes,
area—most likely undertaken with the astro-
nomical quadrant as his principal tool—encom- engraved by A. Dulon & L. Poates, is the only
passed his surveying and planning of the Gov- remaining Crown plan (survey chart) of Sydney
ernment farm. In addition, he surveyed and by Dawes himself (reproduced in 1886).
planned the first streets and allotments in Most damningly, however, as well as unex-
Sydney, and in Parramatta, the colony’s second pectedly indiscreetly, he complained to Mask-
51

Richard de Grijs and Andrew P. Jacob William Dawes’ Observatories in Sydney

elyne about Governor Phillip’s apparent disin- but this Rate seems to be increasing as it
terest in the observatory’s operations (e.g., did at Rio de Janeiro [where the First Fleet
Clarke, 2015). Nevertheless, he spent as much called into port on their voyage to New
of his limited time as possible at the obser- South Wales] for in these last 11 Days the
Clock has lost after the Rate of 37,''25 on
vatory, working late into the night, intent on find- sidereal time in one sidereal day. (Dawes,
ing Maskelyne’s comet. As we learn from his 1788d).
letter of 17 November 1788,
Nevertheless, using the invariable, temper-
… the 7th of August I looked out all night for
ature-compensated grid-iron pendulum with a
the comet ... and from that time to the
present have not omitted looking for it at precisely determined pendulum length, he man-
every available opportunity, but have not aged to compile a significant body of gravity
yet seen anything of it. (Dawes, 1788e). measurements. These survive in his corre-
spondence with Maskelyne (for details, see
Despite his failure to observe the comet, he
Bosloper, 2010). Gravity measurements involv-
discovered a number of new nebulae, observed
ed a series of daily clock-rate readings, often
a solar eclipse and took observations of the
aggregated over an entire month, which would
Moon’s parallax and Jupiter’s satellites (James,
be compared with astronomical time measure-
2012). Indeed, from Mrs Elizabeth Macarthur
ments, usually using the Sun’s meridian pas-
(1766–1850), the wife of John Macarthur
sage.
(1767–1834), Lieutenant on the Second Fleet,
we learn that Dawes was “… so much engaged 3.3 Change is Afoot
with the stars that to mortal eyes he [was] not
always visible.” (Macarthur-Onslow, 1973: 28) Meanwhile, Dawes continued his planning for
—this despite having agreed to act as her ast- the observatory’s future. In the same letter of
ronomy and botany instructor. Unfortunately, 10 November 1788, he advised Maskelyne that
however, Dawes’ observation records have he hoped to find a suitable successor before his
been lost or misplaced. His letters to Mask- term in the colony came to an end. He even
elyne, although detailed and carefully docu- planned for the eventuality that he would fall
mented, provide a mere summary of the full seriously ill or die, in which case his close friend
observation logs. Dawes’ field journals were in and the colony’s chronicler, Watkin Tench, was
the possession of the astronomer William Wales on standby support:
(1734–1798), Commissioner of the Board of I have reason to believe that Captain Tench
Longitude, at the time of the latter’s death in of the Marines, will in a moderate time be-
1798. They have not been seen since (e.g., come sufficiently acquainted with the prac-
tice of astronomy to be capable of supplying
Bosloper, 2010).
my place. (Dawes, 1788e).
Dawes made his observatory into a wel- Yet, by July 1789, only a year after Dawes’
coming place for everyone, and it soon became observatory had been established, it appears
the settlement’s intellectual and cultural centre. that the building had already become too small.
Lieutenant Daniel Southwell (ca. 1764–1797), Lieutenant Governor David Collins (1756–
an officer from the Sirius, was clearly impres- 1810), Secretary to the Governor and Judge
sed: Advocate of the colony, wrote in his diary,
He has a great share of genuine know- The observatory building which was erected
ledge, studious yet ever cheerful and the on our first landing being found small and
goodness of his disposition renders him inconvenient, as well as for the purpose of
esteemed and respected by all who know observing as for the residence of Lieutenant
him. (James, 2012). Dawes and the reception of the astronom-
Dawes realised, to his dismay, that the pen- ical instruments, the stone-cutters began
dulum clock lost time during cold weather but preparing stone to construct another, the
gained time on hot days, while cloudy nights materials for which were found in abun-
appeared to be the norm rather than the ex- dance upon the spot, the west point of the
Cove. (Collins, 1798: 61).
ception. In fact, in addition to his ‘standard’
astronomical duties, we learn from his corre- A second, larger and possibly more durable
spondence with Maskelyne that he also intend- observatory building was apparently under con-
ed to take gravity measurements using the pen- struction to replace the original timber and can-
dulum clock (e.g., Bosloper, 2010; Morrison vas structure. By April 1790, Dawes (1790a)
and Barko, 2009): proudly declared to Maskelyne that he had
I fix’d very firmly the Clock in a niche of a moved into a more comfortable house, while
solid Rock, on Sat.y the 6th of Sept.r and by the Board of Longitude’s instruments had been
Altitudes taken at two or three days interval mounted securely, particularly the clock and the
found it to be losing at the rate of about quadrant: “… if could you see it... [you would
36,''00 on sidereal time in one sidereal day agree that] it could not be better fixed.” John-
52

Richard de Grijs and Andrew P. Jacob William Dawes’ Observatories in Sydney

son (1998) has pointed out that during con- The last record of Dawes’ observatory is
struction of the new stone observatory, its found in the diary of John Crossley (1762–
wooden precursor most likely continued to see 1817), the astronomer on board H.M.S. Prov-
frequent use. Meanwhile, a small fortified bat- idence, which called into Sydney on 28 August
tery and gun powder magazine were also under 1795 during her four-and-a-half-year round-the-
construction under Dawes’ oversight, so that in world voyage known as the ‘Vancouver Expedit-
mid-1789 there may have been a small cluster tion’:
of buildings on Dawes Point. I went on shore and examined the place
As we have seen already, Dawes and Gov- where Mr. Dawes’ observatory was built but
ernor Phillip did not get along. Dawes felt that found nothing standing but the uprights
which supported the roof and the pillar on
he was unreasonably held back in his astro-
which he placed his quadrants. (James,
nomical aspirations, while for Phillip juggling the 2012).
young settlement’s safety, security and practi-
cal day-to-day operations were at the forefront Nevertheless, detailed European maps and
of his mind. Their mutual dislike and disagree- charts of Sydney Cove continued to include
ment came to a head by the end of 1790, when Dawes’ observatory until at least 1798: see
Phillip ordered Dawes and Tench to lead a Figure 9 for a high-resolution example.
punitive raid into the local Aboriginal commun-
ity. Although Dawes eventually but reluctantly 4 A MEMORIAL AT ODDS WITH THE
agreed to undertake the mission, he made it HISTORICAL RECORD
abundantly clear that he would not obey similar The precise location of Dawes’ observatory is
orders again. This was a clear breach of de- still a matter of some debate. Here, we will
corum, rightly interpreted as insubordination. A shed further light on that debate. We aim to
second infraction related to an illegal purchase provide a comprehensive assessment of the
of flour from a convict only made the situation most likely site.
worse.
Nevertheless, Dawes was keen to remain 4.1 The Observatory’s Longitude and
in the colony for an additional three-year term. Latitude
However, even before Phillip formally notified Let us start by offering an assessment of the
him of his decision, Dawes expressed his doubts various geographic longitude and latitude deter-
as to the potential success of his application: “I minations for the observatory available in the
think it at least ten to one that I shall return with historical record. McGuffie and Henderson-
the Marine detachment.” (Dawes, 1790b). And Sellers (2012) noted that all accounts, except
indeed, Phillip did not accept Dawes’ reasons for Dawes’ (1788e) own determination, cite a
for his offending behaviour, advising him that latitude of 33° 52′ 30′′ South, a location that is
the only way for him to remain in the colony was some 2.2 km south of the actual location.
by unreservedly apologising for his misde- Dawes’ own latitude determination is, however,
meanours while pledging to refrain from com- quite precise; his geographic position determin-
mitting further infractions of a similar nature. ation is included as a mere postscript, an after-
Dawes refused. In December 1791, he left for thought, in his letter to Maskelyne of 10 Nov-
England on the H.M.S. Gorgon, a 44-gun fifth- ember 1788:
rate Royal Navy vessel in the Third Fleet. P.S. I have assumed the Longitude of the
Upon his departure from New South Wales, Observatory at 10h. 05 E. The Latitude I
Dawes took with him the instruments, including found roughly by the astronomical quadrant
the astronomical clocks, he had borrowed from mounted on the stump of a tree saw’d off, in
the open air to be 33.° 52′ 20′′; but by the
the Board of Longitude. K1 returned to England
zenith distances accompanying this I take it
in 1792 on the Supply (Hawkins, 1979). to be about 33.° 51′ 10′′ … The longitude I
Apparently, Dawes’ back-up plan to have have assumed is what Capt.n Hunter & M.r
Tench step into the role of the colony’s astron- Bradley made it by a mean of upwards of
omer had not been activated. The building 300 Distances. (Dawes, 1788e).
structure fell into disuse and disrepair; the ob- Morrison and Barko (2009) suggest that
servatory building collapsed. However, Collins Dawes’ measurements were obtained as early
(1798) reports that by the end of 1791 the rect- as February or March 1788; they certainly pre-
angular wooden building had been appropriat- date the establishment of Dawes’ observatory
ed as a guard room, a platform for a flagstaff, given that the quadrant was positioned on what
and that a cannon had been installed just be- is likely to have been a substantial “… stump of
hind it (Kerr, 1986). Sydney’s scientific begin- a tree saw’d off …” that could support the in-
nings had come to a halt to give way to Britain’s strument’s solid cast-iron base—and not on the
military might. bedrock where Dawes would eventually fix it
53

Richard de Grijs and Andrew P. Jacob William Dawes’ Observatories in Sydney

Figure 9: “A New Chart of the Eastern Coast of New Holland from South Cape to Cape York, Comprehending Anthony van
Diemen’s Land, Furneaux’s Land, and New South Wales, discovered by Tasman, Furneaux and Cook &ca. in the Years 1642,
1770 and 1773. London, Published by Laurie & Whittle, 53 Fleet Street, 17th July 1798.” For a high-resolution image, see
https://nla.gov.au/nla.obj-368781110/ (page 105; courtesy: National Library of Australia).

54

Richard de Grijs and Andrew P. Jacob William Dawes’ Observatories in Sydney

Figure 10: “Sketch of Sydney Cove, Port Jackson, in the County of Cumberland, New South Wales, July 1788. Captain John
Hunter, William Dawes.” (courtesy: William Dawes, 1880; State Library of Victoria: ref. H24525). For a high-resolution black-and-
white copy, see https://search.sl.nsw.gov.au/permalink/f/lg5tom/SLNSW_ALMA21145687720002626.

firmly in place. The historical record includes a determined their geographic positions indepen-
second measurement by Dawes, in the form of dently.
a carefully drawn sketch map of Sydney Cove As indicated, Dawes had adopted the longi-
published in July 1788, with Hunter, as part of tude determinations of Bradley and Hunter. By
A Voyage of Governor Phillip to Botany Bay the end of April 1788, Bradley had independ-
(London, 1789; see Figure 10). The latitude ently determined the observatory’s latitude at
included on this map, 33° 52′ 30′′ South, is 33° 52′ 30′′ South based on “… 3 meridian
slightly less accurate, although the longitude altitudes of the Sun with the astronomical Quad-
cited is somewhat more accurate (see below). rant.”; his longitude measurement, based on
It is, therefore, likely that Dawes and Hunter 176 lunar distances, resulted in 151° 20′ East
55

Richard de Grijs and Andrew P. Jacob William Dawes’ Observatories in Sydney

Figure 11: “Chart of the Coasts and Harbours of Botany-Bay, Port Jackson and Broken Bay on the coast of New South Wales as
Survey'd by Capt.n John Hunter of H.M.S. Sirius (1789?).” For a high-resolution image, see
https://search.sl.nsw.gov.au/permalink/f/lg5tom/SLNSW_ALMA21147000280002626 (courtesy: Mitchell Library, State Library of
New South Wales).

(Bradley, 1969; Dawes, 1788e). Bradley’s Meanwhile, Phillip’s journal includes a po-
Chart of the Coasts and Harbours of Botany- sition determination for the observatory that is
Bay, Port Jackson and Broken Bay on the coast almost certainly a transcription error: “The long-
of New South Wales as Survey’d by Capt.n itude of this observatory is ascertained to be
John Hunter of H.M.S. Sirius (1789?)16 includes 159° 19′ 30′′ east from Greenwich.” (Phillip,
a single meridian, the first Australian meridian 1790). This is most likely meant to be 151° 19′
published, determined at Dawes’ observatory 30′′ East, since Collins’ (1798: 15) published
(see Figure 11, inset). Hunter took 130 lunar longitude for the observatory, included as a
distances and obtained a longitude within a mile journal entry for February 1788, is 151° 19′ 30′′
of Bradley’s result (Dawes, 1788e). East, as is the longitude cited on the Dawes and
It is unknown what type of observations Hunter map of July 1788. Dawes’ own mea-
Dawes obtained himself at this time (see also surement, 10 hours and 5 minutes East of
Dawes, 1788a). Dawes’ own map of March Greenwich, translates to a longitude of 151° 21′
1791, A map of all those parts of the territory of East. Table 1 includes an overview of all con-
New South Wales which have been seen by temporary geographic position determinations
any person belonging to the settlement est- of Dawes’ Observatory, approximately in order
ablished at Port Jackson ... / faithfully construct- of publication.
ed ... and respectfully inscribed to Capt Twiss The most popular contemporary geograph-
... By ... William Dawes, is the only other con- ic position determination, that of Dawes and
temporary map that includes a meridian: see Hunter (1788; shown by the darker blue
Figure 12. Dawes included an explicit note re- highlighting in Table 1), places the observatory
garding his meridian, whose extension also some 11 km east of the actual position on
appears to go through the location of Dawes’ Dawes Point/The Rocks and around 3.8 km off
observatory: “N.B. The longitude of the obser- the coast of New South Wales (McGuffie and
vatory is determined from the observations of Henderson-Sellers, 2012). At the latitude of
Capt. Hunter and Lieu.t Bradley.” Sydney, 33° 52′ 08′′ South, an East–West dis-
56

Richard de Grijs and Andrew P. Jacob William Dawes’ Observatories in Sydney

Figure 12: “A map of all those parts of the territory of New South Wales which have been seen by any person belonging to the
settlement established at Port Jackson... / faithfully constructed ... and respectfully inscribed to Capt. Twiss... by ... William Dawes,
March 1791.” For a high-resolution image, see https://nla.gov.au/nla.obj-230635598/ (courtesy: National Library of Australia).

Table 1: Contemporary geographic position determinations of Dawes’ Observatory.

Source Latitude (South) Longitude (East) Notes
Bradley (1969) 33° 52′ 30′′ 151° 20′ (a)
Dawes (1788e) 33° 52′ 20′′ 151° 21′ (b)
33° 51′ 10′′ (c)
Dawes and Hunter (1788) 33° 52′ 30′′ 151° 19′ 30′′
Phillip (1790) 159° 19′ 30′′ (d)
Collins (1798) 151° 19′ 30′′
Google (2020) 33° 51′ 18′′ 151° 12′ 35′′
Notes: (a) Most accounts (McGuffie and Henderson-Sellers, 2012); (b) Based on measurements with the quadrant; (c) Based on
zenith distance measurements; (d) ‘159’ is likely an erroneous transcription (see text).

crepancy of 11 km corresponds to 7.1 minutes nometer since it had been allowed to run down
of arc in longitude (the actual longitude dif- during the Indian Ocean crossing. However,
ference between the Dawes and Hunter deter- the geographic location of the French tent ob-
mination and the modern value is 6′ 55′′), or a servatory’s site on the shores of Botany Bay
timing error of 29 seconds. Contemporary time determined by Dagelet is similarly displaced
measurements, including time differentials with from its modern position (ibid.). This suggests
respect to a reference meridian, were much that the positional mismatch was less affected
more accurate than this, however (e.g., de by the (in)accuracy of K1 and more so by the
Grijs, 2017). Morrison and Barko (2009) sug- problems related to the accuracy of the con-
gest that this positional mismatch may have temporary almanac tables. Both Dagelet and
been a systematic offset caused either by in- Dawes would most likely have been aware of
correct lunar-distance and astronomical ephem- these issues.
eris tables or by problems with the K1 chro-
57

Richard de Grijs and Andrew P. Jacob William Dawes’ Observatories in Sydney

Figure 13: French map of Sydney, 1802. For a high-resolution image, see https://nla.gov.au/nla.obj-
229944462/ (courtesy: National Library of Australia).

4.2 Present-day Context ra) Park, part of the Hickson Road/Dawes Point
At the present time, the headland to the west of Reserve, is located northwest of a small inlet
Sydney Cove includes the Sydney suburbs of known as Campbells Cove, near the present-
The Rocks on the eastern side and Dawes day Park Hyatt Hotel.
Point on the western side of the promontory’s Nevertheless, a number of contradictory
ridge. The area of historical interest is no longer identifications of the observatory’s location
contained by the current boundary of the appear in the literature. Johnson (1994), arch-
Dawes Point suburb, which was formally est- aeologist with the Sydney Cove Authority
ablished in 1993 (Jackson, 2018b). Since (New South Wales Government), declared that
Dawes’ return to London in 1791, the area Dawes’ observatory would have been located
known as Dawes Point gradually moved north- on the promontory’s highest point, a conclus-
westwards from the original ‘Point Maskelyne’ ion echoed by Jackson (2018a) and Johnson
to the present-day location of the Pier One (2003). The latter publication implies that a
Hotel and Ives Steps at Walsh Bay. Except for single building located on the promontory’s
Dawes’ and Hunter’s July 1788 map showing ridge and shown in a drawing from the early
the entire headland, there are no historical re- 1790s (Johnson, 2003: Figure 2) may have
cords of the astronomer having been active on been Dawes’ observatory. However, this view
the western side of the area. is at odds with Dawes’ own description of the
The shifting boundaries of the Dawes Point observatory and its site, including the dual-level
area coincided with the developing fortifications configuration of the structure. Wood’s (1924)
at the site (Jackson, 2018a), viz. Dawes’ battery suggestion that the Sirius’ guns may have been
(closed in 1916) and Fort Phillip (present-day located in front of the observatory (see Note 9),
Sydney Observatory, established in 1858). The with respect to the waterline, may also have
southern pylon of the Sydney Harbour Bridge is contributed to the confusion. Contemporary
located at the northern extremity of the prom- maps of Dawes Battery (for a typical example,
ontory. The area coincident with the location of see Figure 13) show the gun placements close
Dawes’ observatory, today’s Dawes Point (Tar- to the waterline, in front of a steep incline.

58

Richard de Grijs and Andrew P. Jacob William Dawes’ Observatories in Sydney

Figure 14: (Left) Dawes’ memorial plaque attached to the Sydney Harbour Bridge (photograph: Richard de Grijs). (Right) Blue
dot: location of Dawes’ observatory implied by the text on the plaque.

Johnson (1994) refers specifically to a 1886 (Figure 8). This latter map is a tracing
bronze plaque, located on Pier No. 6, the first based on Crown Plan CP1-172. It shows the
pier 150 feet (46 m) southwest of the southern observatory (‘B’) and the signal battery (‘A’).
pylon of the Sydney Harbour Bridge (Daily Tel- The observatory is sited on the western side of
egraph, 1926; Sydney Morning Herald, 1932), Dawes Point. This is in conflict with all other
as his position reference. As we will see below, early and contemporary maps, unless A and B
this South-facing tablet implies that the original have been transposed, which we suspect may
observatory was located some 90 feet (27 m) to have happened. We inspected the original
the west of the pillar of interest: see Figure 14 Crown Plan at the State Archives of New South
(left). Between February and September 1995, Wales, where we noticed that this particular
the Sydney Cove Authority undertook archaeo- map is severely damaged at the location where
logical excavations near the area suggested by its key would have been located (the key is no
Johnson’s (1994) report, although without locat- longer present). The sketch map of Figure 10
ing any remains of the observatory. Johnson is the most carefully drawn contemporary map,
(2003) suggested that this failure could be re- although it does not scale to modern shorelines.
lated to the site’s subsequent use as a stone The observatory is marked ‘p’: ‘proposed or
quarry around 1819. However, as we will show now building’.
below, the memorial plaque’s indicative position We have uncovered two additional con-
of Dawes’ observatory (see Figure 14, right) is temporary maps and charts that also show the
most likely incorrect. In addition, Collins (1798: location of Dawes’ observatory, a survey map
61) implies that Dawes and his men were by Hunter from 1788 (see Figure 15: note the
quarrying stone for the second incarnation of dual-building structure shown for the observa-
the observatory, suggesting that the observa- tory; this is likely an intended plan rather than a
tory’s site was not coincident with but some- record, also because the Governor’s residence
what removed from the main quarry location. appears out of place) and a convict’s drawing of
To uncover the full extent of the historical the Sydney Cove area dated 16 April 1788
record, let us first briefly summarise what (Figure 16). This latter map is usually attributed
we have learnt from contemporary maps and to Francis Fowkes (fl. ca. 1788–1800), who is
Crown plans. The majority of contemporary possibly identified with the ‘Port Jackson Paint-
maps showing Dawes’ observatory were drawn er’ whose sketches of the early colony continue
by either Hunter or Dawes himself, including to provide valuable insights into the pre-colonial
Hunter’s first map of the settlement dated 1 era. The latter drawing, although more concept-
March 1788 (Figure 5), a joint map by Hunter ual than geographically correct, is important,
and Dawes from July 1788 (Figure 10), Hunter since it represents independent evidence.
and Bradley’s chart of the three harbours in All contemporary maps and charts show
New South Wales (Figure 11), Dawes’ chart of the site of Dawes’ observatory on the eastern
the greater Port Jackson area of March 1791 side of the headland, where indicated situated
(Figure 12) and Dawes’ contemporary Crown against a rocky bluff. Figure 17 provides an
plan, which was however only published by overview of the locations implied by the histori-
59

Richard de Grijs and Andrew P. Jacob William Dawes’ Observatories in Sydney

Figure 15: Plan of Sydney-Cove, Port-Jackson survey’d in 1788 by Capn. John Hunter. For a high-resolution image,
see https://search.sl.nsw.gov.au/permalink/f/lg5tom/SLNSW_ALMA21138514930002626 (courtesy: Mitchell Lib-
rary, State Library of New South Wales).

Figure 16: Sketch & description of the settlement at Sydney Cove, Port Jackson, in the County of Cumberland
taken by a transported convict on the 16th of April 1788, which was not quite 3 months after Commodore Phillips’s
landing there. For a high-resolution image, see
https://search.sl.nsw.gov.au/permalink/f/s8mhc3/SLNSW_ALMA21126408850002626 (courtesy: Mitchell Library,
State Library of New South Wales).

60

Richard de Grijs and Andrew P. Jacob William Dawes’ Observatories in Sydney

Figure 17: (a), (b) and (c) Examples of matching the contemporary record (Figures 5, 15 and 10, respectively) with a modern map
(© Google, 2020; permissible use; each panel is 1,900 × 1,400 m2). (d) Locations of Dawes’ observatory implied by the records
discussed in this article. Black ¤: Hunter’s map of 1 March 1788 (Figure 5); red ✚: Hunter’s 1788 planned survey map (Figure
15); blue ✖: Hunter and Dawes’ 1788 map of Sydney Cove (Figure 10); dark green: Locations of the observatory (‘B’; ★) and
Dawes’ Battery (‘A’; ¡) according to Dawes’ Crown Plan (Figure 8); orange ✜: Location indicated on the Sydney Harbour Bridge’s
memorial plaque; pink ✪: Approximate location of the archaeological excavations described by Johnson (2003). The black dash-
dotted line corresponds to the best match to the meridian line shown in Figure 11. Panel (d) covers an area of approximately 850
× 650 m2. The convict’s sketch shown in Figure 16 is not directly transposable.

cal maps and charts discussed in this paper. by means of a light green outline, a location
Panels (a) through (c) show representative ex- supported by both archaeological records and
amples of contemporary maps overlaid on a today’s restored battery. Beyond the battery,
modern outline of Sydney Cove, including (a) the yellow arc traces the edge of the bedrock;
Hunter’s first survey map of Sydney Cove of 1 the yellow arrow indicates a solitary cannon at
March 1788 (Figure 5), (b) his planned survey that position. As we have seen, Dawes’ letters
of 1788 (Figure 15) and (c) Hunter and Dawes’ to Maskelyne imply that he built his observatory
careful sketch from July 1788 (Figure 10). Fig- against the edge of the bedrock. Projection
ure 17d shows the positions of Dawes’ observ- effects (foreshortening) render a proper assess-
atory (and the meridian based on the observ- ment of the distance (~20–30 m) between
atory’s fixed quadrant) according to the maps Dawes’ Battery and the edge of the bedrock
and charts discussed in this paper. Note that difficult, however. Therefore, Figure 18b shows
while we have attempted to reconcile Dawes’ an enlarged image of the same area but from a
survey map, Figure 8, with the modern map, the different vantage point, clearly showing this
match is tentative at best since the contempor- distance.
ary survey’s scaling of identifying features var- We are fairly confident in our determination
ies across the original map. of the most likely observatory site, because (i) it
To further support our conclusion of the would not be prudent to build an observatory by
observatory’s location on the eastern side of the the shoreline; (ii) Dawes’ (1788a) letter to
promontory, in Figure 18a we provide a wide- Maskelyne implies that he constructed the rect-
angle view of the site’s present-day appear- angular building against a large block of rock
ance. The memorial plaque is visible on the and the octagonal building on top of it; (iii) we
pier on the left of the photograph. We have have established that the facility was built on
indicated the area covered by Dawes’ Battery the eastern side of the headland; and (iv) it was
61

Richard de Grijs and Andrew P. Jacob William Dawes’ Observatories in Sydney

Figure 18: (a) Today’s appearance of Dawes’ Battery under the southern approach to the Sydney Harbour Bridge. The memorial
plaque is visible on the pier on the left of the photograph. The pale green outline reflects the location of the original battery, while
the yellow arc traces the edge of the bedrock. The yellow arrow indicates a solitary cannon at the edge of the bedrock (photograph:
Richard de Grijs). (b) Overview of the area of interest, highlighting the non-negligible distance between the location of Dawes’
Battery, from which this photo was taken, and the edge of the bedrock (at the location of the cannon at top right), where the
astronomer established his observatory (Collywolly, Wikimedia Commons; Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0
International license).

likely built close to the stone quarry later ident- physical evidence has been erased by the later
ified by Johnson (2003). However, we caution fortification work (which likely remodelled the
the reader that we do not have enough physical hillside) and the construction of the Harbour
or documentary evidence to state categorically Bridge (see below).
exactly where the building was located. Any
62

Richard de Grijs and Andrew P. Jacob William Dawes’ Observatories in Sydney

Yet, the evidence of a site on the eastern ial tablet contained in the RAHS Library (D.
side of the promontory appears overwhelming, Newton, pers. comm., September, 2020).
and so we were rather perplexed by the indicat- Note that Bradfield’s letter to the RAHS
ion of a western site on the memorial plaque states that “during the construction of the Ap-
attached to the Sydney Harbour Bridge. There- proach Spans [now known as Bradfield High-
fore, we decided to explore the origin of the way] of the Sydney Harbour Bridge it was
citation on that tablet. necessary to demolish the old battery at Dawes
The memorial plaque was formally unveiled Point …” Indeed, Figure 20 shows one of two
on 16 June 1932 (Sydney Morning Herald, enormous pits—40 feet (12.2 m) wide, 90 feet
1932), but the idea to establish a plaque as a (27.4 m) long and up to 30 feet (9.1 m) deep—
memorial of the local history goes back to a known as ‘skewbacks’ at the southern end of
letter from John Job Crew Bradfield (1867– the Sydney Harbour Bridge span (NSW Educat-
1943), Chief Engineer of the Sydney Harbour ion Standards Authority, 2014). Their excav-
Bridge, to the Secretary of the RAHS, Karl Reg- ation, in preparation for the Harbour Bridge’s
inald Cramp (1878–1956), of 23 March 1926: pylon construction, may have contributed to the
see Figure 19. Bradfield advised the RAHS that removal of any remains of Dawes’ Battery and
… the Minister of Public Works17 wishes to
commemorate this historical battery [Dawes’
Battery] and desires a brass plaque suitably
inscribed to be erected. (Bradfield, 1926).
He proceeded to ask the Society to provide a
suitable inscription. In the RAHS Annual Re-
port of 1926 (RAHS, 1927), we learn that the
President and Secretary of the Society, Captain
James Henry Watson (1841–1934) and Cramp,
reached agreement on the proposed wording
(see also Daily Telegraph, 1926; RAHS, 1928;
1931; Sydney Morning Herald, 1927):
At Dr. Bradfield’s request, a suitable inscript-
ion for a brass tablet to be affixed to one of
the granite-faced piers of the North Shore
Bridge [the Sydney Harbour Bridge], was
suggested by your President and Secretary.
The proposed inscription is worded as fol-
lows:–
On this site
Lieutenant William Dawes (Artillery Officer)
erected a breastwork in 1788,
replaced by a stone battery in 1791,
known as Dawes Battery, Figure 19: Letter from Chief Engineer Bradfield to the RAHS
the whole being remodelled and enlarged Secretary, 23 March 1926 (courtesy: RAHS Library;
by reproduced with permission).
Governor Denison, 1856.
— feet18 west of this tablet, his observatory. Although the skewbacks did
the first Observatory in Australia not extend as far from the southern end of
was erected the headland as the likely location of Dawes’
under the direction of Lieutenant Dawes, Observatory, other contemporary photographs
1788
in the Mitchell Library’s collection clearly show
It is thus clear that the original wording that the entire area under the southern ap-
proposed by Watson and Cramp (the bold print proach to the Harbour Bridge was deeply ex-
is ours) was already problematic. Unfortun- cavated and thoroughly disturbed during the
ately, we have not been able to find further Bridge’s construction. Moreover, one should
details as to the origin of the mistake. The keep in mind that Dawes’ observatory, a
Mitchell Library, part of the State Library of New feeble wooden structure constructed during
South Wales, contains some of Watson’s per- the first year of British settlement, was unlike-
sonal correspondence covering this period. ly built on deep and solid foundations. With-
However, none of those letters shed any light out access to proper tools and professional
on the origin of the citation on the memorial construction expertise, even the stone building
plaque. Similarly, Figure 19 represents the only that was under construction just a year later
correspondence regarding the Dawes’ memor- was likely still a simple structure without deep
63

Richard de Grijs and Andrew P. Jacob William Dawes’ Observatories in Sydney

Figure 20: (Left) Sydney Harbour Bridge, excavation of the South pylon’s southeast ‘skewback’ (after Department of Public Works,
1927: 57); (Right) Harbour Bridge Chief Engineer John Bradfield, construction supervisor Lawrence Ennis, structural engineer
Ralph Freeman and Kathleen Butler, technical expert representing the State Government, in the excavation for the southwest
skewback, 22 April 1926 (after: Sydney Harbour Bridge Photographic Albums, 1923 –1933, Volume 2; State Records of New
South Wales).

foundations, given the thin layer of top soil on of low, stepped headlands, with a short shore-
bedrock that was so prevalent around Sydney line cliff backed by an approximately horizon-
Cove (e.g., Hughes, 1987: 107). It is therefore tal—sometimes gently sloping—terrace follow-
not surprising that the 1995 archaeological ed by one or more additional vertical terraces
excavation (Johnson, 2003) was not successful and steps. Higher headlands rise in a steeper
in its quest to locate any remains of Dawes’ set of terraces and steps up to a plateau. In
observatory. reality, this terrace and step topography tends
to be more chaotic and broken. From a dist-
5 SYDNEY’S SCIENTIFIC BEGINNINGS: ance, the features can be disguised and ‘round-
CONCLUSION ed’ by vegetation. At the shoreline, a broad tidal
One aspect we have not yet considered is the terrace is common. Today, most shorelines
evidence provided by the morphology of the have been modified by quarrying or infill behind
landscape. Let us therefore explore this latter rock retaining walls, although the natural form
aspect as additional, although perhaps less can still be seen at Ball’s Head and in large
conclusive, evidence. While landscape artists parts of Cremorne Point and Bradley’s Head.
usually tried to reproduce an area’s main feat- Figure 21 shows the original morphology of
ures accurately, some measure of creative li- the harbour shore at Lavender Bay (the image
cense often crept in. In this context, we are is reversed with respect to the original land-
most interested in exploring the shape of the scape), near the start of the Sydney Harbour
original headland, and particularly the location Bridge but prior to the start of construction. As
of any obvious vertical rock faces. We have to the author intimates, the site of the ‘fuzzy’ tree
cast our net more widely than simply focusing on the hill at the left of the image is where the
on the period from 1788 to 1791, however. first sod was turned on 28 July 1923, marking
Sydney’s harbourside topography is shap- the start of construction a few days later (Cash,
ed by the nature of the so-called Sydney Basin 1930: 7–8). The age of the picture is uncertain,
Hawkesbury Sandstone of which it is compos- other than that the author wistfully refers to the
ed. The rock strata is horizontal in the harbour “… old-time picturesqueness …” of 60 years
region, and weathering causes horizontal and ago, that is, around 1870. He proceeds (our
vertical fractures. This results in the topography emphasis),
64

Richard de Grijs and Andrew P. Jacob William Dawes’ Observatories in Sydney

Figure 21: View of Lavender Bay in North Sydney (reversed) prior to the construction of the Sydney Harbour Bridge. The ‘fuzzy’
tree on the hill at the image’s top left marks the site where the Bridge’s first sod was turned on 28 July 1923 (after Cash, 1930:
1).

Figure 22: A view of Dawes Battery at the entrance of Sydney Cove, New South Wales, 1820 (courtesy: National Library of
Australia).

ago, a photograph, yellow with age, but

One afternoon, some years ago, I met my alive in historic interest. (Cash, 1930: 9).
friend, Mr. James Blue, of honourable mem-
ory. He said, “Come inside and I will show Our first, more or less contemporary, sketch
you something that will interest you” … of interest is titled A View of Dawes Battery at
There came into his possession some time the Entrance of Sydney Cove (see Figure 22).
65

Richard de Grijs and Andrew P. Jacob William Dawes’ Observatories in Sydney

Figure 23: “Sydney Cove, east side, by John Eyre, ca. 1809.” For a high-resolution image, see https://nla.gov.au/nla.obj-
135179486/ (courtesy: National Library of Australia).

Figure 24: Sydney Cove looking to the west, ca. 1800; artist unknown (courtesy: Mitchell Library, State Library of New South
Wales).

This sketch was published in 1820 by Walter building. This same morphology of the bedrock
Preston (ca. 1787–after 1821), a convict en- is confirmed in a detailed sketch by the artist
graver (Willetts, 2010–2020). It was based on and former convict John Eyre (1771–1812; Fig-
an original drawing by Captain James Wallis ure 23), which is thought to have been created
(1785?–1858), commander of the convict set- around 1809. Eyre’s sketch is particularly valu-
tlement in Newcastle (New South Wales). Wal- able, because he carefully sketched the shapes
lis was based in Sydney between February of the buildings individually rather than using
1814 and June 1816. The drawing clearly generic shapes. In addition, the contemporary
shows a low-lying extension to the headland, oil painting from ca. 1800 (artist unknown) shown
which rises steeply to a higher-level, isolated in Figure 24 also implies a similar form of the
66

Richard de Grijs and Andrew P. Jacob William Dawes’ Observatories in Sydney

Figure 25: (Top) “North view of Sidney, New South Wales”, ca. 1825; Joseph Lycett (Mitchell Library, State Library of New South
Wales). (Bottom) “Two Forts and a Battery, 1822”; Joseph Lycett (courtesy: Mitchell Library, State Library of New South Wales).

headland. light two additional paintings, both shown above

All of these early representations viewed in Figure 25. Both view Dawes Point from due
Dawes Point from either the East or the North North, and both suggest that the area initially
East. Before concluding this section, we high- designated as Point Maskelyne was a slightly
67

Richard de Grijs and Andrew P. Jacob William Dawes’ Observatories in Sydney

elevated area. It is tempting to suggest that the time of the First Fleet’s departure, a
Dawes’ observatory was built on its high point. sixth-rate warship carried 20 to 28 carriage-
However, we recommend due caution in inter- mounted ‘9-pounder’ guns on a single deck.
preting these drawings, given the absence of Sixth-rate ships carrying fewer than 28 guns
such an elevated area in the side views. In were categorised as ‘post ships’, so that
addition, such a location cannot be reconciled they could still sail under a full captain
with Dawes’ (1788a) own description of the ob- rather than a commander. The Sirius was
servatory’s siting against the bedrock. an exception, in the sense that she only
carried 10 guns yet was still classified as a
The overall picture we have gained of
sixth-rate vessel.
Dawes’ efforts in establishing an observatory in
3. Figure 1 is a portrait gallery of the main
the new colony of New South Wales is one that
characters described in this paper (except
is more intricate than most popular and many
for William Dawes: see Figure 2), if and
scholarly studies suggest. Dawes was not the
when their images were available in the
first European astronomer to work his craft in
public domain.
the territory of New Holland. As we saw al-
ready, prior to his first tent-based observations, 4. In the late eighteenth century, the British
Lapérouse’s astronomer, Dagelet, had already Marine Corps were soldiers associated with
established the French expedition’s portable the Royal Navy, not with military forces.
observatory on the northern shores of Botany They became Royal Marines in 1802.
Bay. And, of course, Cook and Green had also 5. The British penal colony of New South Wales
carried out astronomical observations while at at the time of the First Fleet’s voyage en-
Botany Bay in 1770 (e.g., David, 1984). Even compassed the area of present-day Austra-
the concept of “Dawes’ observatory”, that is, the lia east of the 135° East meridian, a North–
first British permanent astronomical building in South line bisecting present-day Australia
New South Wales, is simplistic. As we have about 20 km east of the South Australian
seen, after having established a timber and town of Coober Pedy and ~115 km east
canvas structure consisting of two buildings by of Alice Springs in the Northern Territory.
July 1788, there is evidence suggesting that the Phillip’s instructions of 25 April 1787 to
initial structure proved too confined and a sec- proclaim the colony for Great Britain also
ond observatory, presumably made of stone, included “… all the islands adjacent in the
appears to have been under construction a mere Pacific Ocean …” (King, 1998; cf. Coltheart
year after observations began from the original and the Museum of Australian Democracy,
building. 2011) between latitude 10° 37′ South—
Cape York in far north Queensland—and
Dawes was clearly an interesting, highly 43° 39′ South, the latitude of South East
intellectual and cultured person. Of all issues Cape, the southernmost point of the Tas-
he wrote about during his lifetime, he was least manian mainland. Incidentally, this area in-
inclined to write about himself. His serious al- cludes most of New Zealand.
tercation with Governor Phillip halted what might 6. The adjective ‘permanent’ is appropriate in
have been a bright path forward as one of the this context, for two reasons: (i) references
fledgling colony’s intellectual leaders. In any to Dawes’ observatory commonly identify
case, Dawes apparently buried his astronomi- the structure as ‘permanent’; and (ii) al-
cal interests with his departure from the colony though the actual building fell into disre-
(although his son, William Rutter Dawes, devel- pair only a few years after its construct-
oped into a formidable astronomer in his own ion, here the contrast of note is between
right; e.g., Denning, 1913). He moved on in his tent observatories and facilities made of
career, finding new pursuits in working to abol- wood, stone or bricks and mortar. The
ish slavery in his role as Governor of Sierra latter are longer-lived, and hence ‘perman-
Leone as well as in Antigua, West Indies, in ent’ is a more pertinent description. There
later life. Yet, despite all of his achievements, is also the matter of intent: whereas Dag-
William Dawes remains largely a ‘mystery man’. elet’s observatory at Botany Bay was never
seen as anything more than a temporary
6 NOTES makeshift facility, Dawes’ second observ-
1. The term ‘First Fleet’ is a retrospective atory—at least—was intended as a per-
designation; at the time the fleet was made manent (long-term) astronomical research
ready for departure, there were no plans for station.
any subsequent fleets to be sent to the new 7. When Cook first arrived in the body of water
colony of New South Wales (e.g., Atkinson, now known as Botany Bay—called Yarra by
1997: 59–61; Hughes, 1987). the resident Bidjigal, Gweagal and Kamey-
2. In the British Royal Navy’s rating system at gal clans of the Eora Aboriginal language
68

Richard de Grijs and Andrew P. Jacob William Dawes’ Observatories in Sydney

group (Attenbrow, 2009; West, ca. 1882)— 12. Dawes (1788e) admitted to Maskelyne that
he initially named it ‘Stingrays Harbour’: when he was asked to take on the roles of
“The great quantity of these sort of fish engineer and artillery officer, he complain-
found in this place occasioned my giving it ed to Governor Phillip of the excessive
the name of Stingrays Harbour” (Cook’s workload compared with his Marine duties.
log, 6 May 1770). Some time after his de- Phillip was “… very highly offended and
parture, however, he changed his mind: several letters past [sic] between us”.
The great quantity of plants [the expedit- Although the disagreement dissolved of its
ion’s botanists] Mr. [Joseph] Banks and Dr. own accord, it set the tone of the men’s
[Daniel] Solander found in this place occas- tense relationship during Dawes’ tenure in
ioned my giving it the name of Botanist New South Wales.
Botany Bay. (Cook’s correction; Beaglehole, 13. One of Dawes’ first tasks was to transfer the
1968: ccix).
new settlement’s ordnance from the Sirius
8. Port Jackson encompasses Sydney Har- to the shore, including the Sirius’ guns.
bour, Middle Harbour, North Harbour and Wood (1924) explained:
the Lane Cove and Parramatta Rivers. It ... so eight of them were landed on the west
was named by Cook as the H.M.B. Endeav- point before the Observatory, and Lieuten-
our sailed by its entrance: “… at noon we ant Dawes threw up a small breastwork in
were ... about 2 or 3 miles from the land and front of them, and afterwards built a plat-
abrest [sic] of a bay or harbour within there form for them.” (see, also, Collins, 1798: 41,
appeared to be a safe anchorage which I 166, 173 and 189).
called Port Jackson.” Cook named the har- 14. Steele (2005: 83) and Gibson (2012: 24)
bour system after Sir George Jackson, Lord point out that ‘dara’ in the Eora language
Commissioner of the British Admiralty and may simply be a suffix meaning ‘here’. In
Judge Advocate of the Fleet. his Notebooks on the Eora language, Dawes
9. Dagelet’s letter of 3 March 1788 (see be- writes:
low) contains the geographic coordinates of They were not speaking of Dara, for since,
the French observatory (see also Barko, I have heard them repeat dara in the same
2007; Morrison and Barko, 2009), which word when I think they could not refer to that
Dagelet obtained using the lunar distance place. It seems to me to be peculiarly used
method and de Lalande’s astronomical when it is spoken as of rowing to a certain
tables (see, e.g., de Grijs, 2020). In doing place to bring another back with you. But
this is mere conjecture. (Dawes, 1787–
so, he was assisted by De Roux d’Arbaud,
1788: Notebook A, 17; Dawes’ underlining).
his former student at the Royal Military
Academy in Paris, whom he had selected 15. Dawes’ carefully maintained meteorological
in preference to another student, one Na- journal was rediscovered among the Board
poléon Bonaparte (see, e.g., Bartel, 1954: of Longitude papers in 1977 (Morrison and
133–134). In addition, King has recorded Barko, 2009). His meticulous meteorologi-
in his Journal that the expedition’s priest, cal work set the standard for the implement-
Claude-François Joseph Louis Receveur ation of meteorological duties at later state
(1757–1788), “… was buried near where observatories, which provided a straightfor-
the French had their observatory.” (Morrison ward public justification for the associated
and Barko, 2009: 27–28, note 13). This costs (Haynes et al., 1996).
gravesite is located a short walk east– 16. The record accompanying this map in the
northeastwards from the entrance of to- collection of the Mitchell Library (State Lib-
day’s La Perouse Museum. rary of New South Wales) states:
10. Dagelet had been a member of the French Hunter and Bradley made many charts and
Académie des Sciences since 1785 and a surveys during [their] eleven months’
Professor of Mathematics at the Royal Mili- enforced stay on Norfolk Island [2 October
tary Academy in Paris since 1777. 1788 – 8 May 1789]; this chart may have
been amongst the number … The data
11. Although Dagelet’s letter implies that it was gathering for [this] chart may have taken
delivered by an English seaman (“I profit place during five months of 1788, eight in
from the presence of your seamen to send 1789, and two in 1790.
you my farewells”), there are no records of https://search.sl.nsw.gov.au/permalink/f/lg
any English visit to Botany Bay at this time. 5tom/SLNSW_ALMA21147000280002626
Instead, in an excerpt from the logbook of 17. In 1926, the New South Wales Secretary
the Alexander, we read “4 March 1788 – (Minister) for Public Works and Minister for
Several French officers came from Botany Railways was The Hon. Mr Martin Matthew
Bay” (Morrison and Barko, 2009: 27, note Flannery, M.L.A. (M.L.A.: Member of the
7). Legislative Assembly of New South Wales).
69

Richard de Grijs and Andrew P. Jacob William Dawes’ Observatories in Sydney

18. The distance of 90 feet indicated on the and the curator of The Rocks Museum. We are
tablet already appeared in the Daily Tele- particularly grateful for support received from
graph of 29 May 1926. (in alphabetical order) Ben Arnsfield, Archivist,
Data and Information Management, City of Syd-
7 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ney; Donna Newton, Librarian, Royal Australian
We are indebted to the library staff at the Historical Society; Matthew Stuckings, Refer-
Special Collections desk of the Mitchell Library, ence Librarian, Pictures and Manuscripts Sect-
State Library of New South Wales (Sydney, ion, National Library of Australia (Canberra);
Australia), the archivists at the State Archives and Julie Sweeten (State Library of New South
of New South Wales (Kingswood, Australia) Wales, Special Collections Desk).

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Richard de Grijs and Andrew P. Jacob William Dawes’ Observatories in Sydney

Wood, G.A.,1924. Lieutenant William Dawes and Captain Watkin Tench. Journal of the Royal Australian Historical
Society, 10, 1– 24.

Professor Richard de Grijs obtained his PhD in Astrophysics from the University of
Groningen (Netherlands) in 1997. He subsequently held postdoctoral research positions at
the University of Virginia (USA) and the University of Cambridge (UK), before being appointed
to a permanent post at the University of Sheffield (UK) in 2003. He joined the Kavli Institute
for Astronomy and Astrophysics at Peking University (China) in September 2009 as a full
Professor. In March 2018, Richard moved to Macquarie University in Sydney (Australia) as
Associate Dean (Global Engagement).
Richard has been a Scientific Editor of The Astrophysical Journal since 2006 and took on
the role of Deputy Editor of The Astrophysical Journal Letters in September 2012, a term-
limited three-year secondment. He held this latter role until mid-2018. He has just joined the
‘Editorial Team’ of JAHH as an Associate Editor. Richard received the 2012 Selby Award for excellence in science
from the Australian Academy of Science, a 2013 Visiting Academy Professorship at Leiden University from the
Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences, a 2017 Erskine Award from the University of Canterbury (New
Zealand) and a Jan Michalski Award from the Michalski Foundation (Switzerland) in 2017.
His research focuses on the astronomical distance scale as well as on many aspects of star cluster physics,
from their stellar populations to their dynamics and their use as star-formation tracers in distant galaxies. He is
also engaged in a number of research projects related to the history of astronomy, with particular emphasis on the
seventeenth century. In 2017, he published his latest monograph, Time and Time Again: Determination of
Longitude at Sea in the 17th Century (IOP Publishing).

Dr Andrew Jacob was born in England and shortly after taken to Australia by ship. He
has lived in Sydney ever since, never far from Sydney Harbour. During his under-
graduate student years he began work at Sydney Observatory (part of the Museum of
Applied Arts & Sciences) as an Astronomy Guide. In 2008 he gained his PhD for
determining distances to several Cepheid stars using the Sydney University Stellar
Interferometer.
Since 2015 Andrew has been Curator of Astronomy at Sydney Observatory and is
working on expanding the Museum’s collection in contemporary astronomy. Occasionally
he is called on by the media for comment when astronomical events catch the public’s
attention.

73

 Journal of Astronomical History and Heritage, 24(1), 77– 82 (2021).

AN ANALYSIS OF THE GOLDEN NUMBERS ON

THE CALENDAR DISK OF THE ASTRONOMICAL CLOCK
IN LUND

Lars Gislén
Dala 7163, 24297 Hörby, Sweden.
E-mail: LarsG@vasterstad.se
Abstract: We investigate the golden numbers on the calendar disk of the astronomical clock in Lund, Sweden.
Using methods of internal consistency we find printing errors and locate several golden numbers misplaced by one
day. However, from the available data it is not possible to determine the principles that were used for calculation
of the location of these golden numbers when the calendar disk was restored in 1923.
Keywords: Astronomical clock, Lund, golden numbers.

1 INTRODUCTION of Easter Sunday.

The astronomical clock in the cathedral in Lund
was originally constructed about CE 1420 as 3 THE GOLDEN NUMBERS
one of the several magnificent Hanseatic clocks Golden numbers are used to predict New
in the Baltic region (Gislén, 2020a; Mogensen, Moons. Nineteen tropical solar years are
2008; Schukowski, 2006). Around the seven- almost precisely equal to 235 synodic months,
teenth century it had stopped working and in the which means that New Moons on average
subsequent centuries it was neglected and fin- repeat on the same date with an interval of
ally most parts of it ended up being stored in the nineteen years. This is the Metonic Cycle, after
attic of the cathedral; only the clock dial was Meton, a Greek astronomer who lived in the
preserved and displayed on the southeast wall fourth century before the Christian Era. Thus,
of the church. In the beginning of 1900, there we can assign a number, the golden number,
was a decision to restore the clock initiated by from one to nineteen to every year that will
the Swedish architect Theodor Wåhlin (1923). characterise the New Moon dates of that year.
The missing calendar disk of the old clock had The golden number of a particular year is easy
to be completely reconstructed using ideas of to calculate: you divide the year by nineteen,
layout from other preserved Hanseatic clocks keep the remainder, and add one. For ex-
from the same time in Europe. The renovated ample, the golden number of 2020 is 7.
clock was inaugurated in 1923. The calendar disk of the astronomical clock
in Lund has a set of such golden numbers
2 THE CALENDAR DISK written with red Roman letters, see Figure 1.
The calendar disk of the clock (Figure 1) has a New Moons are expected to occur, on average,
diameter of 2.36 meters. The periphery of the on the dates that are marked with the golden
disk is divided into the twelve months of the number of the specific year. The golden num-
year. The next section is divided into 366 days bers on the dates follow a certain sequence.
of the year, including the leap day that is skip- Starting in January the series is 1, 9, 17, 6, 14,
ped by the clock mechanism in common years. 3, 11, 19, 8, 16, 5, 13, 2, 10, 18, 7, 15, 4, and
Then follows the Sunday letter sequence A, B, 12 and it is then repeated throughout the year.
C, D, E, F, G, starting with A on 1 January and Mathematically the series can be generated by
repeating through the year and ending with A adding 8, modulo 19 to the previous number.
on 31 December. If you know the Sunday letter
of the year, every date marked with that letter 4 THE ANALYSIS
will be a Sunday. The Sunday letter is used to
What started my interest in the golden numbers
determine the date of Easter Sunday. The next
on the calendar disk was the discovery that
section of the calendar disk gives the Swedish
there were a number of errors in the sequence
name attached to that date. Then follows a
given above. Some of the golden numbers
section with the golden numbers that are used were wrongly printed at the restoration of the
to determine the date of New Moons of a part- clock in 1923, obviously by some Roman letters
icular year. Inside this section are the dates being missed. Thus, we have
expressed in the complicated old Roman cal-
endar. The central part of the calendar disk • 10 February, X, should be XIX
displays, for each year from 1923 to 2123, the • 26 April, V, should be IV
Sunday letter, the golden number, the epact • 29 July, XII, should be XVII
(the age of the Moon on 1 January) and the date • 15 October, XVII, should be XVIII
77
Lars Gislén Golden Numbers on the Lund Astronomical Clock

Figure 1: Part of the calendar disk showing the month of November (photograph: Lars Gislén).

• 6 November, VI, should be XVI uments that show how these calculations were
• 23 November, X, should be IX made. The astronomical clock in Gdansk is the
• 24 November, VII, should be XVII only other Hanseatic clock remaining that has a
calendar disk with a set of golden numbers
At the restoration, the golden numbers
attached to the dates. However, that clock
were painted on the calendar disk using sten-
gives dates and times for the mean New Moons
cils, presumably one at the time, first of all the
during four consecutive periods of 19 years: CE
‘I’s, then the ‘V’s and finally the ‘X’s. It would 1463–1538 (Gislén, 2020a).
then have been possible to miss one or more of
the Roman letters out of 235 golden numbers A possible method for the reconstruction
on the disk. would have been the ecclesial computational
method (Computus) that is used, combined with
Assuming that we have corrected these
the Sunday letter, to calculate the date of the
obvious errors the next question is: What prin-
Easter Sunday. The methods in Computus as-
ciple was used for locating the golden numbers
sign golden numbers to the days of the year. A
at specific dates on the calendar disk? The
comparison between the Lund clock and Com-
calendar disk was designed to cover the years
putus is shown in Table 1 below for the months
CE 1923–2123 and a method was needed that
March and April. Column G shows the golden
would give usable golden numbers in order to
numbers from Computus, G1 those of the clock.
predict the New Moons for this period.
It is obvious that there is no match. The dev-
According to the preface of Theodor Wå- iations are substantial and in general the golden
hlin’s Horologium Mirabile Lundensis (Wåhlin, numbers on the disk are located earlier than
1923), the calendrical computations were made those of Computus. This can be explained by
by the son of the clockmaker Julius Bertram- that the astronomical New Moon occurs when
Larsen who led the practical reconstruction of the Moon and the Sun have the same ecliptic
the clock. The calculations were checked by longitude while the first emerging crescent of
C.V.L. Charlier, then Professor at the Astro- the New Moon, by tradition used to determine
nomical Department at the University of Lund. the first day in the ecclesial lunar calendar in
As far as I know there are no remaining doc- Computus, cannot be seen until one or two days
78
Lars Gislén Golden Numbers on the Lund Astronomical Clock

Table 1: Comparison between Computus and clock golden numbers for March and April.

after the astronomical New Moon. It is very pute averages using the 2 486 mean New
probable that the golden numbers of the calen- Moons dates and times in for the entire period
dar disk are meant to show the average astro- of the calendar disk, CE 1923 to CE 2123.
nomical New Moon. This would also make it Times in the data base were corrected for the
agree with the Moon phase and Moon pointer Central European Time (CET) used in Lund.
on the clock dial which displays the relative This solution is shown in Table 2. The com-
position of the Moon and the Sun. puter gives the average date and time of day for
It is unlikely that the golden numbers would each of each the 235 New Moons in a 19-year
mark the day of the true New Moon. The true cycle. There is a question of how to round that
time to a determine a definite date. I chose the
Moon does not move with constant speed
previous day if the time was before noon, as this
around the Earth, primarily because its orbit is
gives a rather satisfactory and in fact quite
not circular, partly because it has an inclination
optimal fit to the actual location of the golden
relative to the ecliptic, and also because the
numbers on the calendar disk. This does not
Moon is disturbed by gravitational forces from
mean that the reconstruction used this averag-
the Sun. This determines that the true New
ing method but gives a way to compare the
Moons can deviate substantially from the mean
golden numbers on the calendar disk with a
New Moons in a rather irregular way. There-
kind of standard. Also, from a practical point of
fore, we can assume that the golden numbers
view such a calculation by hand would not have
of the clock were based on mean New Moons.
been feasible at the time of the reconstruction
The dates of the mean New Moons can be
considering the volume of computations involv-
calculated given a start date and time for a New
ed, some kind of shortcut must have been
Moon by successively adding a synodic month
made. However, in about 14% of the New
of 29.530588 days, to give the precise times
Moons there is an annoying major deviation of
and dates for the subsequent New Moons. At
one day.
the time of the reconstruction of the calendar
disk astronomers in Lund also had access for It is possible to check the internal consist-
instance to the calendrical tables by Schram ency of the golden numbers of the calendar disk
(1908) which could be used to calculate mean in several ways without reference to the stan-
New Moons. These tables can be checked by dard. The mean New Moons of a year should
modern astronomical algorithms (Meeus, 1998) progress by on average about 29.5 days from
and shown to give essentially the same result, lunation to lunation. In practice, we would ex-
the difference being only about ten minutes. pect steps of either 29 or 30 days. Placing the
golden numbers of the disk in a matrix of 30·12
One problem in assigning a golden number
to a date is that a 19-year cycle of Julian or + 5 days, it is possible to follow this progression,
Gregorian years can contain either four or five Table 3. The months are indicated by the
leap days. This means that the assigned cal- alternating colours. If the progression is 30
endar date can vary with plus or minus one day days the golden numbers will stay on the same
between different 19-year cycles. A possibility row, with 29 days they will move up one row. In
general this is what we see but there is at least
is then to use a cycle of four 19-year cycles (76
one glaring anomaly: golden number 12 at 28
years) that will contain a fixed number of leap
February is located an impossible 28 days from
days and calculate the average date. However,
the corresponding new month in March, indicat-
there is also another problem. Neglecting the
ing an error in the location of this golden num-
year CE 2100 we can count using Julian solar
ber on the disk.
years with on average 365.25 days. A 76-year
period then contains 27 759 days precisely. A second way to check the internal consist-
The number of synodic months in such a cycle ency is to use the difference between a lunar
is 4·235 = 940. As each synodic month has year of twelve synodic months and a solar year.
29.530588 days the period contains in total Twelve synodic months of 29.53059 days give
940·29.530588 = 27 758.75 days. The date of a lunar year of 354.37 days. A solar year has
the New Moon thus moves about 0.25 days on average about 365.25 days. The difference
back in time in 76 years. A possible solution is is 10.88 days which means that a New Moon
to use a data base (Gislén, 2020b) and com- each year on average steps back this number
79
Lars Gislén Golden Numbers on the Lund Astronomical Clock

Table 2: The columns marked with ‘G’ show the golden numbers. For each month the mean
computed date is given, in the next column rounded to an integer day and then compared with
the disk number.

80
Lars Gislén Golden Numbers on the Lund Astronomical Clock

of days in the calendar. Counting with integer Table 3: 30-day progression

days it will be 11 days most of the time and 10
days now and then. Thus, if we insert the gold-
en numbers of the year from the disk in a matrix
with 11 rows, we expect that the golden num-
bers in a row would decrease by one unit as we
move to the right. Now and then we expect that
the golden number step up a row.
This is also what we see if we insert the
computer-generated golden numbers (Table
4a). Table 4b shows the matrix with the golden
numbers from the disk. Many of the golden
numbers there behave as expected but there
are several anomalies always also associated
with deviations from the standard and indicate
an error.
One example is on row 4 with the sequence
of golden numbers 17, 16 14, 14, 12, 11, 10.
The golden number 13 (15 May) would fit nicely
into the sequence and fill the gap if it was mov-
ed one day forward. A problem with many of
the golden numbers in the matrix is that they
imply a difference 12 days to the next number.
This is not totally impossible but should be ex-
tremely rare though it is quite common in the
matrix. An obvious example is golden number number 12 up or move both. But no matter
13 in column 13 that begs to be moved down what method has been used for the golden
one day. In some of the cases there are several numbers, the conclusion must be that many of
possibilities to eliminate 12-day steps. In row 3, them are located one day wrong, most of them
column 5 and row 4, column 6 you can either one day too early.
move golden number 13 down or move golden

Table 4a: Matrix with 11 rows of the golden numbers of the standard.

Table 4b: Matrix with 11 rows of the golden numbers on the disk. Red numbers denote major deviations from the standard.

81
Lars Gislén Golden Numbers on the Lund Astronomical Clock

5 CONCLUSION • March: Golden number 3 and 12

It seems probable that some kind of averaging • May: Golden number 8 and 13
method was used for the calculation of the • June: Golden number 5
location of the golden numbers on the calendar • July: Golden number 13 and 16
present it is not possible to determine precisely • August: Golden number 5 and 7
which method. However, by looking into the • September: Golden number 9, 10, and 18
internal consistency of the data available it is or 19
possible to localise a number of very likely one- As the true Moon can deviate from the mean
day errors. Here we give a tentative list of such Moon by about one day, the impact of these
errors: errors for the average person using the cal-
• January: Golden number 18 and 1 (31 endar disk as a means to predict the New Moon
January) would, with exception of the printing errors,
• February: Golden number 12 hardly be noticed.

6 REFERENCES
Computus. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Computus
Gislén, L., 2020a. Medieval astronomical clocks in the Baltic region and the mysterious Golden Numbers in Gdansk.
Journal of Astronomical History and Heritage, 23, 257– 266.
Gislén, L., 2020b. Database of Mean Moons for CE 1923 to 2123. http://home.thep.lu.se/~larsg/DatabaseMoon.txt
Meeus, J., 1998. Astronomical Algorithms. Richmond, Willman-Bell.
Mogensen, L., (ed.), 2008. Det Underbara uret i Lund. Historiska media, ISBN 9789185507931.
Schram, R., 1908. Kalendariographische und Chronologische Tafeln. Leipzig, J.C. Hindrichs’sche Buchand-
lung.
Schukowski, M., 2006. Wunderuhren – Astronomische Uhren in der Hansezeit. Helms Thomas Verlag. ISNB
3935749031.
Wåhlin, T., 1923. Horologium Mirabile Lundense. Det Astronomiska uret i Lunds Domkyrka. Lund, C.W.K. Gleerup.

Professor Lars Gislén was born in Lund (Sweden) in 1938, and received a PhD in high energy particle physics
from the University of Lund in 1972. He worked in 1970/1971 as a re-searcher at the Laboratoire de physique
théorique in Orsay (France) with models of high energy particle scattering. He has also done research on
atmospheric optics and with physical modelling of biological systems and evolution.
He has worked as an Assistant Professor (University Lector) at the Department of
Theoretical Physics at the University of Lund, where he gave courses on classical mechanics,
electrodynamics, statistical mechanics, relativity theory, particle physics, cosmology, solid
state physics and system theory.
For more than twenty years he was a delegation leader and mentor for the Swedish team
in the International Physics Olympiad and the International Young Physicists’ Tournament.
Lars retired in 2003, and since then his interests have focused on medieval European
astronomy and on the astronomy and calendars of India and South-east Asia. He has
published more than 20 research papers in this field. He has also made public several spreadsheet tools
implementing a number of astronomical models from Ptolemy to Kepler as well as computer tools for the calendars
of India and South-east Asia. He is a member of the IAU.

82
 Journal of Astronomical History and Heritage, 24(1), 83 ‒ 97 (2021).

THE RISE OF ULTRAVIOLET ASTRONOMY IN FRANCE

James Lequeux
Observatoire de Paris-PSL-Sorbonne Université,
61 Avenue de l’Observatoire, 75014 Paris, France
E-mail: james.lequeux@obspm.fr

Abstract: France was one of the few countries able to launch rockets soon after the end of WWII. Some of
these rockets were used to observe the Sun and other astronomical targets in the ultraviolet in the early 1960s.
This program continued with the placement of French UV cameras and spectrographs in the French satellite
D2B-Aura (1975), in two Soviet satellites and in NASA’s Skylab (1973) and Spacelab (1983 and 1985). In
parallel, a stratospheric balloon program was initiated around 1978, which has been considerably more
successful than the rocket and satellite programs. We describe these activities and their scientific results, which
culminated in an important French participation in the focal instrumentation of the Hubble Space Telescope and
of several NASA and ESA ultraviolet satellites.
Keywords: ultraviolet astronomy, rockets, stratospheric balloons, artificial satellites, Skylab, Spacelab, HST-
FOC, M 31, Magellanic Clouds.
Like the companion paper “Interferometry and monochromatic imaging at the Marseilles Observatory” (Georgelin
and Lequeux, 2021), this paper is dedicated to the memory of Georges Courtès, who died on 30 October 2019 at
the age of 94.
1 THE VÉRONIQUE ROCKETS AND THE the Faculty of Sciences of Paris, then by the
BEGINNING OF THE FRENCH SOLAR Service d’Aéronomie headed by Jacques Bla-
SPACE PROGRAM mont (1926–2020), were devoted to the study
of the upper atmosphere and the ionosphere.
In 1955, some French scientists learned that
Seven launches also lofted rats or cats to
the United States was preparing the launch of
study their behavior in the absence of gravity.
an artificial satellite. It is well known that the
The first AGI Véronique, launched on 10
USA was overtaken by the USSR, which put
March 1959, delivered at night a cloud of sod-
Sputnik into orbit on 4 October 1957. But the
ium vapor in the upper atmosphere (Blamont,
attention of astronomers was drawn to the
possibility of making observations above the
atmosphere and thus reaching wavelength
ranges inaccessible from the ground: gamma
rays, X-rays, ultraviolet, and the mid- and far-
infra-red.
There was no possibility that France could
build satellites immediately after WWII, but
scientists were soon able to observe from
stratospheric balloons and rockets. The ‘Vér-
onique’ rockets (name from VERnon électr-
ONIQUE, Vernon being the name of the city
where they were built), derived from the fam-
ous V2 German rocket, were developed from
1948 by the French militaries. After a series
of tests in France, begun in 1950, their first
regular launches took place in 1952 from the
base of Hammaguir, south of the Algerian
Sahara. At that time, France, the USA and
the USSR were the only countries in the world
to possess such devices. The 1954 version of
these rockets (NA Véronique) reached an alti-
tude of 135 km; the improved AGI Véronique
version of 1959 (Figure 1), developed for the
International Geophysical Year, could reach
210 km. Its flight time was very short, about
two minutes above 80 km.
This allowed the birth of a scientific pro-
gram. The first scientific flights of these rock- Figure 1: An AGI Véronique rocket on the launch pad in
ets, led by Étienne Vassy (1905–1969) from Hammaguir in 1962 (Wikimedia Commons, CNES).

83
James Lequeux The Rise of Ultraviolet Astronomy in France

scopy with a Pérot-Fabry interferometer (Fig-

ure 3). Figure 4 is a photograph of the scien-
tific team gathered for the first flight, which
contained several young scientists about to
embark on great careers, for example Georges
Courtès, and the 1997 Nobel Prize physicist
Claude Cohen-Tannoudji.
After these AGI launches, the rockets car-
ried instruments. These instruments fell to the
ground first without a parachute, then with
parachutes that did not always open. How-
ever, the results, usually photographs, could
be recovered thanks to armored cassettes and
rocket tips specially designed to absorb the
shock when crashing (Figure 5). But one had
to find the place of fall: when the search by
helicopter failed, soldiers were sent to comb
the desert in the presumed zone.
In order to obtain images for astronomy, it
Figure 2: The sodium cloud delivered in the upper was necessary to use stabilized platforms in-
atmosphere on 10 March 1959 (photograph courtesy:
Marie-Lise Chanin).
stalled in the head of the rocket, to compen-
sate for its erratic movements. The first plat-
1959; Figure 2). Other flights delivered potas- forms, built by the University of Colorado, al-
sium and lithium vapor clouds. Parallax obser- lowed pointing the Sun to ±1°, then stabil-
vations from three ground stations allowed to ization to ± 2 arc minutes. Two were bought
know the altitudes and horizontal positions of by the Service d’Aéronomie through a contract
the different parts of the cloud, with reference with US Air Force. The first one was used in a
to stars in the field. The wind velocity, temp- launch to image the Sun in the ultraviolet.
erature and turbulence in the different layers Indeed, on the injunctions of the ‘Pope’ of
were measured from the ground by spectro- French astronomy, André Danjon (1890–
1967), Jean-Claude Pecker (1923–2020) had
in 1957 devised a program of observation of
the Sun in the ultraviolet. At the Service
d’Aéronomie, Roger Bonnet was the principal
person responsible. A UV coronagraph includ-
ing a spectrograph was built in a collaboration
between Bonnet at the Service d'Aéronomie
and Courtès at the Marseilles Observatory
(Bonnet, 1966a). The main difficulty encount-
ered was parasitic light. A part was due to
dust on the mirrors, eliminated by cleaning
them thoroughly and putting them in a sealed
container that opened during the flight. An-
other part was due to defects in the diffraction
grating, giving visible parasitic light eliminated
by covering the last mirror by multilayers of
zinc sulfide and cryolite. The flight took place
on 10 May 1963, but was a failure due to a
problem at launch: the rocket landed in Mor-
occo, the recovery system did not work, and
the instrument and the photographs of the Sun
were destroyed.
On 8 November 1964, a very innovative
instrument designed by Bonnet and Courtès
(Figure 6) was launched, allowing simultan-
eous photography of the Sun at several wave-
Figure 3. Pérot-Fabry interference rings on the light from a
lengths, with a view to studying the limb dark-
lithium cloud delivered in the upper atmosphere (after ening. The flight used the second Colorado
Courtès et al., 2001: 110). stabilized platform and was a success. Details
84
James Lequeux The Rise of Ultraviolet Astronomy in France

Figure 4: The scientific team gathered for the 10 March 1959 rocket launch, photographed at Colomb-Béchar, near the
launching pad of Hammaguir (Algeria). Standing, from left to right: Jacques Blamont, Claude Cohen-Tannoudji, Jean-Paul
Schneider, Georges Courtès, Marie-Lise Lory-Chanin, Pierre Léna, Philippe Delache. Seated, from left to right: Maguery,
François Roddier, Pierre-Yvan Gal (photograph courtesy: Marie-Lise Chanin).

(in French) on this rather heroic observation

are given by Bonnet (1966b); finding the rock-
et tip in the desert was a nightmare. Another
flight, on 13 January 1967, with a SPC 300
Ball Brothers solar pointing system giving a
±15 arc second stability, confirmed the results
and provided in addition an excellent ultravio-
let spectrum of the Sun. A similar instrument,
this time with a home-made pointing system,
was also flown with success by a stratospheric
balloon on 3 October 1966 and 22 March 1967
(Bonnet and Blamont, 1968). A flight of a Vér-
onique 61 rocket in Kourou, French Guyana in
1973 (the center at Hammaguir had been clos-
ed in 1968 in favor of that of Kourou) ended
the series; the rocket reached an altitude of
200 km and a spectrum of the Sun from center
Figure 5 (right): Recovery in the Sahara of a rocket tip, in
1967. The thin fuselage was designed to absorb the land-
ing shock. The camera was located inside an armored
container, similar to an airplane black box. From left to
right: Maurice Viton, Georges Courtès and André Roussin
(photograph courtesy: J.P. Goudal, Laboratoire d’Astron-
omie Spatiale, Marseilles).

85
James Lequeux The Rise of Ultraviolet Astronomy in France

Figure 6: The multiple bandpass filter designed by Bonnet and Courtès for imaging the Sun in the UV. An off-axis Cassegrain
telescope gave the image of the Sun on a concave grating, which reflected the beam into several spectral regions chosen at
will (three regions here, but there could be as many as required). Lithium fluoride lenses gave filtered images of the Sun on the
cameras. Broad-band interference filters were used to eliminate the parasitic light diffused by the grating (after Bonnet and
Courtès, 1962: Figure 7).

Figure 7: Ultraviolet spectrum of the Sun obtained on 17 April 1973 during a Véronique 61 rocket flight, at a mean altitude of
166 km, exposure time 14 s. The slit covers the entire diameter of the Sun. The photospheric lines are in absorption and the
chromospheric ones in emission. The discontinuity in the tracing at 1760 Å is a zero change (after Samain et al., 1975: Figure
5).

to the limb was obtained between 120 and 210 2 THE BEGINNING OF THE FRENCH
nm with a new, improved spectrograph (Sam- GALACTIC AND EXTRAGALACTIC
ain et al., 1975; Figure 7). This observation, UV PROGRAM
which was the first to give the UV spectrum of For its part, the Marseilles Observatory wanted
the Sun across the whole disk, led to important to study the hot stars that produce the ion-
revisions of solar atmospheric models. The ization of interstellar gas, thus forming gas-
American advance in the field had now been eous nebulae: a subject well developed at the
caught up (for reports on early American Observatory, which had already made a lot of
space UV solar observations, see Tousey, observations from the ground under the direct-
1963, and Widing, 1970). ion of Courtès (see the companion paper:
Following these successes, the solar ast- Georgelin and Lequeux, 2021). As these stars
ronomers of the Laboratoire de Physique Sol- emit mostly in the ultraviolet, Courtès and his
aire et Planétaire (LPSP), led by Roger Bon- collaborators built cameras made entirely of
net, were able to place their instruments on mirrors (Figure 8); open at up to f/1.2, they
the small French satellite D2B-AURA launched had a field of 66° to 140° depending on the
in 1975 (see later), and on two specialized specifics. Several of these instruments were
satellites: the American OSO-8, also launched launched by Véronique rockets, fitted with
in 1975, then the European SOHO in 1995, ACS Space General or Cassiopée-CNES plat-
which is still operating. orms stabilized to ± 10 to 15 arc minutes. This
allowed large-field, low-resolution observations
86
James Lequeux The Rise of Ultraviolet Astronomy in France

Figure 8: Principle of the wide-field, short focus UV Camera (after Courtès et al., 1983: 7).

Figure 9: Ultraviolet photograph, at a wavelength of 265 nanometers, of the regions of Orion and Gemini obtained by Courtès
and his collaborators during the flight of a Véronique rocket on 11 January 1967. Exposure time on film: 145 seconds. We
recognize at the bottom Sirius and the Orion constellation, where only the hot stars are visible (Betelgeuse does not show up).
Various artifacts are present (photograph courtesy: Laboratoire d’Astronomie Spatiale).

and thus determined the scientific program. were able to recruit eighty experienced en-
Figure 9 shows an image obtained in 1967, gineers and technicians, almost all coming
which is certainly one of the first images of the from the aeronautical industry, and a dozen
sky in ultraviolet light, perhaps even the very young researchers, several of whom moved
first. from the neighbouring observatory. Substant-
ial testing facilities were installed in this labor-
All this had attracted the attention of the
atory, which was able to conceive and build a
French space organization, the Centre Nation-
large number of instruments for space obser-
al d’Études Spatiales (CNES), which had been
vation in the ultraviolet. In 2000, the LAS
created in 1961. CNES and the Centre Nat-
merged with the Observatory in a new building
ional de Recherches Scientifiques (CNRS)
to form the Laboratoire d’Astrophysique de
jointly founded in 1965 the Laboratoire d’Astr-
Marseille (LAM).
onomie Spatiale (LAS) in Marseilles. Its Dir-
ectorship was entrusted to Courtès, with Paul The rocket program continued until 1974
Cruvellier as Assistant Director. In those happy (for a list of flights, see Courtès, 2001: 115). A
times for scientific research in France, they flight from Hammaguir on 4 April 1967 with a
87
James Lequeux The Rise of Ultraviolet Astronomy in France

large-field instrument similar to that of Figure

8, but with a lens corrector instead of a
deformed flat mirror, allowed to measure UV
magnitudes at 260 nm for 201 stars (Sivan
and Viton, 1969; see also Courtès et al., 1975
and Courtès, 2001: 114). In December 1968,
a rocket flight from Kourou (Guyana) carried
the Persée instrument, a mutiple bandpass
filter inspired by that in Figure 6. The Andro-
meda galaxy M31 was observed with a step-
by-step scanning mirror, visiting 16 fields of 1
square degrees. This scan was necessary
because acquisition was only accurate to
±1.5° (Courtès, 1971). The signal was satu-
rated in the 122 and 200 nm passbands, so
that only the 275 and 345 nm ones were
usable; this was sufficient, however, to confirm
the relatively strong UV emission from the
center of M31 already detected by OAO-2, re-
vealing the presence of hot, young stars (Cru-
vellier et al., 1969).
Several rocket flights followed, in the con-
text of the FAUST program of repeated flights
from Kourou, open to guest investigators. The
flight of November 1974, aimed at observing
M31 in the far-UV, used an Eridan rocket built
by Sud-Aviation. It was technically successful,
Figure 10: Launch of a balloon whose gondola contained but the data reduction was compromised by a
the LAS-Geneva stabilized platform, equipped with a degradation of the Lyman alpha coating in the
FOCA 1000 UV camera (photograph courtesy: Alain
Pauget and Philippe Balard, LAM).
region where the center of M31 was imaged
(Courtès et al., 1976). Two unsuccessful flights
in 1975 ended the series.
Indeed, rocket launches were costly and
failed too often, so that astronomers preferred
to place their instruments on board the much
more economical balloons developed by the
CNES in the early 1960s (Figure 10). It is
certain that the difficulties encountered with
the rocket observations were a strong incen-
tive for the development of the balloon pro-
gram. Initially, the balloon flights used a stab-
ilized platform built in 1966 by the Service
d'Aéronomie, then later a more efficient poin-
ting system developed by the LAS in colla-
boration with Geneva Observatory. For its
part, the CNES had developed its own stab-
ilized platforms with varying success, but only
a few were used for the UV observations.1
Despite some failures, the UV program was a
success, especially because it became pos-
sible to recover, often in good condition, the
gondola dropped by parachute at the end of
the flight (Figure 11). Some 40 balloon flights
were conducted by the LAS. Although the
altitude reached by these balloons, of the or-
der of 40 km, was insufficient for the entire
Figure 11: Landing and recovery near Pézenas (Hérault) ultraviolet range to be accessible, there is a
of the gondola of the balloon of Figure 10 (photograph good-transparency window around 200 nano-
courtesy: Alain Pauget, LAM). meters.

88
James Lequeux The Rise of Ultraviolet Astronomy in France

Figure 12: M31 photographed in the ultraviolet at 200 nanometers during a balloon flight on 30 October 1978 (bottom). An
image in visible light is presented above for comparison. Only hot stars appear in the UV, the elliptical satellite galaxy M32
(bottom right) is invisible. The other elliptical satellite galaxy NGC 205 (top) appears faintly in the UV image, revealing for the
first time the unexpected presence of hot, young stars in this object. The nucleus of M31 gives a strong UV emission (see the
text). This is the first image of a galaxy in the ultraviolet (photograph courtesy: Laboratoire d’Astronomie Spatiale).

After a series of technological balloon

tween the faces of the array, it worked as a
fights, a 13-cm diameter telescope was flown,
photomultiplier, but with space resolution, and
nicknamed SCAP 2000 for Schmidt-Casse-
was considerably more sensitive than UV pho-
grain Anastigmat à champ Plan. With its fused
tographic emulsions.
silica correcting plate, it was open at f/d = 1.78
and had a 5° useful field (Courtès, 1983: 31). About 500 images covering 15% of the sky
Like for the FAUST instrument mentioned earl- were obtained with SCAP 2000. One of the
ier, the detector was an ITT multichannel array very first was of the Andromeda Galaxy; it is
feeding Kodak IIaO film. It consisted of a pho- reproduced in Figure 12 as a positive image
tocathode followed by an array of microtubes, (Deharveng et al., 1980). Images of the gal-
each approximately 10 micrometers in diamet- axies M33, M81, M82 and M101 also were
er and coated inside with an electron-multiply- obtained (Courtès et al., 1983: 33). Galaxies
ing material. An electric field being applied be- in the cluster A1314 and the Cygnus Loop were
89
James Lequeux The Rise of Ultraviolet Astronomy in France

October 1985 (Pagani et al., 1999; see Figure

16).
Three clusters of galaxies have been ob-
served with FOCA 1000: A 1367 (Donas et al.,
1990), the Coma Cluster, in which 254 galax-
ies have been detected (Donas et al., 1991;
1995), and the distant cluster A2111 (z =
0.229) (Donas et al., 1997), whose galaxies
are twice as bright in the UV as the Coma
ones.

Figure 13: The UV telescope FOCA 1000. It is a Casse-

grain telescope 40 cm in diameter, with a focal length of
1 m. A two-glasses fused silica corrector gives a 2.5° field.
The detector is a multichannel array (after Courtès et al.,
1983: 37).

also imaged (Courtès et al., 1981). In flights

#08 (June 1979) and #11 (June 1980), the flux
of 149 galaxies at 200 nm was measured
(Donas et al., 1987).
A second-generation instrument, the 1-m
focal length FOCA 1000 UV telescope, re-
placed SCAP 2000 from 1983 (Figure 13). A
variant, FOCA 1500, had a 1.5-m, longer focal
length and was mainly used for observing
stars. This program was fruitful, as about 30
square degrees were covered in total. The
Galactic globular clusters M3, M5, M13 and
M92 were imaged at 200 nm, revealing hori-
zontal-branch stars and blue stragglers (Laget
et al., 1991; 1994; see Figure 14). Amongst
the galaxies imaged, we find M51 (Vuillemin et
al., 1991; Petit et al., 1996), M101 (Vuillemin
et al., 1991), NGC4258 (Courtès et al. 1993;
Figure 15), and M31, observed once more in
Figure 15: UV isophotes at 200 nm of the Seyfert galaxy
NGC 4258, superimposed on HII regions (dots). The
crosses are reference stars. Note the general correlation
between the two tracers of young stellar population.
However, they are systematically displaced from each
other in several regions, due either to interstellar extinction
or to motion of the spiral density wave, the A stars that
dominate the UV flux living longer than the OB stars that
produce the ionization of the HII regions; but see the
caption of Figure 16 (after Courtès et al., 1993: Figure 7).

3 OBSERVATIONS FROM SATELLITES

While UV observations from balloons are limit-
ed to the 200 nm window, the altitude of or-
biting vehicles allows observations down to the
Lyman continuum at 91.2 nm. For this reason
a number of satellites have been devoted to
observations in the UV. The first one, launch-
ed in 1968 and operational until 1973, was
NASA’s OAO-2 (Orbiting Astronomical Obser-
vatory), doing spectroscopy with some imag-
Figure 14: UV color-magnitude diagram of stars in the ing capacities. Then came the European sat-
globular cluster M 3. BHB is the blue horizontal branch, ellite TD1, launched on 12 May 1972, too com-
RHB the red one and BSS the blue stragglers, which are
very well separated in this diagram. The blue stragglers
plex for the time with its 7 instruments. Soon
are presumably former binary stars (after Laget et al., after came NASA’s OAO-3, launched on 21
1994: Figure 3). August 1972 and renamed Copernicus, which
90
James Lequeux The Rise of Ultraviolet Astronomy in France

Figure 16: Left, a part of M31 observed in the UV at 200 nm in a balloon flight of October 1985 (false colors, angular resolution
20”); note the strong emission of the major sites of star formation. Right, a map of the relatively quiet S-E region of the map at
left, in the UV (contours) and in the mid-infrared between 5.0 and 8.0 micrometers, obtained by the camera ISOCAM of the ISO
satellite (false colors). Coordinates are for J2000. The mid-IR emission comes mainly from small carbonaceous particles, a
component of interstellar grains. It can be strong in regions of star formation but is generally dominated by the emission of
diffuse dust well mixed with interstellar gas, as can be checked by comparing this map to maps of the atomic and molecular
gases and of dust extinction (not shown). Extinction affects strongly the detection of the UV emission; what is seen in the map
at right seems principally to originate from diffusion by interstellar grains. This gives a warning concerning the interpretation of
UV observations of more distant galaxies with a lower linear resolution, like that of Figure 15 (after Pagani et al., 1999: Figures
3 and 8).

carried a high-resolution spectrograph and was these observations. Fortunately, the Magellan-
extremely successful. On 30 August 1974 the ic Clouds were conspicuous in the UV maps,
Netherlands launched its first satellite, ANS which made it possible to measure their total
(Astronomical Netherlands Satellite) for UV flux at 169, 220 and 310 nm (Maucherat-Jou-
and X-rays. Like the previous two, it observ- bert et al., 1980b). This was the most solid,
ed individual stars with no imaging. although unexpected, result obtained by the
France was not involved in any of these ELZ photometer. In galaxies, the ultraviolet
satellites and was lagging behind until on 27 emission comes from hot and young stars,
September 1975 the CNES put the small sat- while their visible light comes from stars of all
ellite D2B-Aura into orbit, using the French- ages. In the case of the Magellanic Clouds,
built rocket DIAMANT BP-4. Its axis was point- extinction is not large and can be approximate-
ed at the Sun and stabilized by rotation. It ly determined, hence the intrinsic fluxes (Fig-
contained solar UV spectrometers built by the ure 17). We also know the total mass, the
Laboratoire de Physique Solaire et Planétaire. mass of interstellar matter and the abundance
On its side, the LAS placed in this satellite the of heavy elements in this matter. Combining
ultraviolet photometer ELZ, observing in four these elements with a model of stellar evolu-
broad bands centered at 125, 169, 220 and tion and nucleosynthesis, it became possible
310 nanometers. The entire sky was covered to study the time evolution of the Magellanic
with an angular resolution of 2.75° x 1° during Clouds: the star formation rate was found to
the 15-months lifetime of the satellite. The main have been constant or slightly decreasing with
purpose was to observe the sky background time, without evidence for a recent burst (Roc-
and the zodiacal light in the ultraviolet. The ca-Volmerange et al., 1981; Vangioni-Flam et
zodiacal light was indeed detected at 169, 220 al., 1980). This was the start point of a series
and 310 nm, but there were discrepancies be- of collaborative studies on the evolution of gal-
tween the measurements of the sky background axies, of which the author was one of the pro-
by different authors (Maucherat-Joubert et al., tagonists.
1979). The D2B observations confirmed the In the 1960s and 1970s, CNES, the French
OAO-2 result that a large part of the ultraviolet space organization, had excellent relations with
sky background is light scattered by Galactic the Soviet IKI (Institute for Space Research of
interstellar dust, which makes it difficult to de- the Academy of Sciences), and collaborative
termine the extragalactic contribution (Mau- programs flourished, especially for UV obser-
cherat-Joubert et al., 1980a). No progress on vations that were not strongly developed else-
the properties of interstellar dust came from where in Europe. In this context, the LAS

91
James Lequeux The Rise of Ultraviolet Astronomy in France

on 22 September 1977 on a highly eccentric

orbit, with apogee at 200 000 km and perigee
at 495 km. The purpose was similar to that of
the ELZ spectrometer on board D2B: to meas-
ure the UV sky emission, this time between
110 and 185 nanometers, with 20 nm spectral
resolution (Zvereva et al., 1982). The satellite
was pointed to the Sun, and the spectrograph
looked at the anti-solar direction, thus scann-
ing slowly the ecliptic during the year.
Attempts were made to subtract the stellar
contribution, and it was noted that the results
below 140 nm might be spoiled by the Lyman
alpha emission. The observations have been
rather difficult to interpret, but it was again
clear that, like for the zodiacal light, most of
the UV flux comes from scattering by inter-
stellar dust.
The LAS also designed the UV telescope
and built the concave grating spectrometer
for the Soviet ‘automated space station’ As-
tron, in fact a satellite with apogee at 200 000
km and perigee at 2000 km (Boyarchuk et al.,
1984). Launched on 23 March 1983, it oper-
ated during 6 years. This ambitious project
Figure 17: Observed integrated fluxes of the Magellanic
Clouds (empty circles, with error bars for the UV fluxes) featured a X-ray spectroscope and a 80-cm
and fluxes corrected for foreground and external ex- diameter Ritchey-Chrétien UV telescope foll-
tinction. The UV fluxes are from Maucherat-Joubert et al., owed by a spectrometer with high or mod-
(1980) and the visible ones from de Vaucouleurs (1960: erate wavelength resolution (0.25 Å effective,
574). Two different values are given for the corrected
fluxes of the Large Magellanic Cloud, corresponding to the or 14-28 Å). The receivers were scanning
minimum and maximum possible extinctions. The jump photon-counting photomultipliers. Observat-
between UV and visible fluxes is due to the Balmer ions have been obtained of mass loss by hot
discontinuity of hot stars. The far-UV spectrum of the solar stars, heavy elements in Ap stars, dwarf nov-
neighborhood (Gondhalekar et al. 1980: 272) is shown for
comparison and labeled SN (arbitrary units) (after Vangi- ae; a few galaxies have been detected. Lat-
oni-Flam et al., 1980: Figure 1). er, there were also observations of SN 1987A
and of the Halley comet (Boyarchuk et al.,
could place a UV spectrograph (Figure 18) on 2014).
board the Soviet satellite Prognoz-6, launched

Figure 18: The UV spectrometer on board the Prognoz-6 satellite. X is the line of view of the spectrograph. The received
wavelength band could be slightly changed by rotating the disk D, which has an Archimedes spiral aperture. As a consequence,
the position of the observed field was displaced by up to ±1.5° when changing wavelength, but this was rather unimportant
given the extent of the field (5°) and the uncertainty in the pointing (2°). G was the concave grating, 30 mm in diameter, B and b
were baffles and PM a photomultiplier in photon-counting mode (after Zvereva et al., 1982: Figure 1).

92
James Lequeux The Rise of Ultraviolet Astronomy in France

4 FROM SKYLAB TO THE HUBBLE

SPACE TELESCOPE
The LAS astronomers, strongly and perman-
ently associated with researchers from the
University of California at Berkeley, also bene-
fited from the possibility of placing instruments
for the ultraviolet on several NASA manned
flights. Initially, LAS was the only non-Ameri-
can astronomical laboratory allowed to use
these facilities. The instruments had to be
automatic enough to be handled by astronauts
who were not always technicians, while leav-
ing them some limited initiative. Interface re-
quirements with the spacecraft and with other
experiments and safety regulations for these
manned missions led to complex design and
operation problems. The observations encount-
ered many difficulties, in particular solar light
scattered by the atmosphere and by the ve-
hicle itself and its environment (Courtès et al.,
1987). Moreover, the astronauts had many
things to do, including fighting sometimes for
their own survival, and the astronomical obser-
Figure 19: The 5.2-cm aperture Cassegrain Schmidt
vations were clearly not amongst their first pri- telescope S 183 for Skylab. Top: optical design. Bottom:
orities. photograph (after Courtès et al., 1983: 20).
The first attempt was on the SL-3 flight of
Skylab (the precursor of the International Space
Station), a space laboratory launched on 16
November 1973 and operated until 8 February
1974. The S 183 instrument of the LAS, a com-
pact Cassegrain Schmidt telescope (Figure
19), was the only non-American instrument on
board. It was bolted by the astronauts on the
anti-solar airlock. A number of 7° × 9° fields
were observed at 250 nm, featuring some
4000 stars in total (Courtès et al. 1975).
Comet Kohoutek was also observed, as well
as the Large Magellanic Cloud (Figure 20).
Later, two instruments of the LAS were put
abord Spacelab, the successor to Skylab,
developed under the responsibility of ESA. It
was attached to the Space Shuttle with
external pallets to hold some instruments:
• The Very Wide Field Camera (VWFC),
with a 66° field (Figure 21);
• The FAr Ultraviolet Space Telescope
(FAUST), a Wynne telescope with a 7.5°
field initially conceived to be placed
aboard rockets, and tested for space by
three rocket flights (Figure 22).
FAUST and the VWFC were both placed
on Spacelab I, launched on 28 November
1983. 48 astronomical frames were taken by
the VWFC, half of which were hopelessly af-
fected by background radiation of some sort. Figure 20: The Large Magellanic Cloud in visible light (top)
and in the UV at 250 nm as observed by the S 183
The whole region of the Magellanic clouds was instrument on board Skylab 3 (bottom). The strong visible
observed, revealing many hot stars, in partic- bar made only of old, red stars has completely dis-
ular in an extension of the SMC in the direction appeared in the UV (after Courtès et al., 1975: Figure 6).

93
James Lequeux The Rise of Ultraviolet Astronomy in France

Figure 21: The Very Wide Field Camera (VWFC) of the LAS for Spacelab flights. The optical design is directly inspired from that
of Figure 8. The image intensifier was a microchannel array; the images were recorded on a film pressed against the fiber
optics output (after Courtès et al., 1983: 8).

of the LMC (Pierre et al., 1986, Figure 23).

Other frames showed a large number of hot
objects at 195 and 160 nm, many of them
identified with cold stars with a subdwarf O
companion (Courtès, 2001: 120). No usable
result was obtained with FAUST during this
flight because of a too bright shuttle environ-
ment, a recurrent problem for astronomical ob-
servations.
Subsequently, LAS instruments were plac-
ed on Skylab III on board the Challenger Space
Shuttle, launched on 29 April 1985. The VWFC
gave no result because the upper lid did not
open. Instruments were also placed on the
fatal Challenger flight of 28 January 1986 and
were of course destroyed. The ATLAS-1 mis-
sion of the Atlantis Shuttle, launched on 24
March 1992, carried the FAUST instrument
again. This time, the observations were succ-
essful and produced in particular a deep, high-
resolution image of the extension of the SMC
(Courtès et al., 1995; and Figure 24). This
flight ended the use of manned space vehicles
by the LAS: the balloon program was much
more profitable.
Figure 22: The FAUST instrument for Spacelab. As for the The experience gained by the LAS through
VWFC of Figure 21, the image intensifier was a micro- these flights allowed it to answer the call
channel array (after Courtès et al., 1983: 23). launched by the European Space Agency
94
James Lequeux The Rise of Ultraviolet Astronomy in France

concerning its participation to the initial instru- points in this history, and Marie-Lise Chanin
mentation of the Hubble Space Telescope: it for providing several photographs.
was the Faint Object Camera (FOC), one of
the four focal instruments. LAS was in com-
petition with an English laboratory, which was
more experienced about the detectors while
the strength of the LAS was in optics. After
some discussions, the two laboratories agreed
to collaborate on the project, which was accept-
ed by ESA. The rather complex optical design
(Courtès, 1983: 53–56) was the result of the
conclusions of the NASA and ESA committees
and of the cooperation between the LAS group
and the Principal Investigator of the FOC, Fer-
dinando Duccio Macchetto.

5 CONCLUDING REMARKS
This success, crowning nearly 40 years of ex-
perience in ultraviolet space astronomy, ends
the present history of the early days of this
specialty in France. The design of many ultra-
Figure 23: Deep UV image of the two Magellanic Clouds
violet astronomical satellites has been influ- at 195 nm, obtained in 1983 with the Very Wide Field
enced by the realizations of the Laboratoire Camera of LAS and University of California at Berkeley,
d’Astronomie Spatiale and the Laboratoire de on board the Skylab. Only hot stars are visible. In this
Physique Stellaire et Planétaire. The French image spanning 66° in the sky, the Large Cloud is at the
middle, and the Small Cloud at the right. Notice a small
astronomical community has extensively used ensemble of young stars in the extension of the Small
the Hubble Space Telescope and major UV Cloud towards the Large Cloud, better visible in Figure 24.
space facilities: the spectroscopic satellites This star formation takes place in the bridge of interstellar
Copernicus (1972-1981), International Ultra- matter connecting the Clouds (photograph courtesy:
Laboratoire d’Astronomie Spatiale).
violet Explorer (IUE, 1978–1996, an except-
ional longevity) and Far-Ultraviolet Space Ex-
plorer (FUSE, 1999–2007), as well as the imag-
ing Galaxy Evolution Explorer (GALEX, 2003–
2013). The LAS has been responsible for the
diffraction gratings of FUSE and GALEX. In
parallel, the French solar astronomers have
benefited and still benefit from a considerable
share in the construction and scientific use of
the solar space UV facilities.

6 NOTES
1. The infrared group of the Paris Observatory
Figure 24: A composite of FAUST images of the Small
founded by the author in 1966 used such a Magellanic Cloud at 160 nm wavelength, obtained during
CNES stabilized platform for a balloon NASA’s ATLAS-1 mission in 1992. It shows the very bright
flight on 16 January 1968, in which we and compact body of OB associations, surrounded by
obtained the first far-infrared spectrum of diffuse, nearly unresolved stellar clouds at the periphery.
The extension visible on Figure 22 is resolved into stars or
the Sun: see Gay et al. (1968). compact associations. Integral values of B1950 equatorial
coordinates are displayed by small black squares in steps
7 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS of 5° for right ascension (from 5° to the right of the image
to 35° to the left) and 1° in declination (from –71° at the
I thank Jean-Michel Deharveng and Patrick top of the image to –76° at the bottom) (after Courtès et
Figon for having specified some uncertain al., 1995).

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Samain, D., Bonnet, R.M., Gayet, R., and Lizambert, C., 1975. Stigmatic spectra of the Sun between 1200 Å and
2100 Å. Astronomy & Astro-physics, 39, 71 – 81.
Sivan, J.-P., and Viton, M., 1969. Photometric magnitudes of 201 stars at 2600 Å. In Houziaux, L. and Butler,
120 –129.
Tousey, R., 1963. The extreme ultraviolet spectrum of the Sun. Space Science Reviews, 2, 3 – 69.
Vangioni-Flam, E., Lequeux, J., Maucherat-Joubert, M., and Rocca-Volmerange, B., 1980. Ultraviolet studies of
the Magellanic Clouds. II. Internal extinction, formation of massive stars, comparison with other galaxies.
Astronomy & Astrophysics, 90, 73 – 82.
Widing, K.G., Purcell, J.D., and Sandlin, G.D., 1970. The UV continuum 1450 – 3100 Å and the problem of the
solar temperature minimum. Solar Physics, 12, 52 – 62.
Zvereva, A.M., Severny, A.B., Granitzkii, L.V., Hua, C.T., Cruvellier, P., and Courtès, G., 1982. Ultra-violet
spectrum of the sky background at different galactic latitudes. Astronomy & Astrophysics, 116, 312 – 322.

Dr James Lequeux, born in 1934, started a second career in the history of science when
he retired in 1999. Before that, he was an astronomer at Paris Observatory, specializing in
interstellar matter and the evolution of galaxies. He has been Director of the Nançay Radio-
astronomy Station and of Marseilles Observatory. While living in Marseilles he encount-
ered most of the scientists mentioned in this paper, and collaborated with several of them.
For 15 years James was one of the two Editors-in-Chief of the European journal
Astronomy & Astrophysics. Currently, he is an Associate Editor of the Journal of Astro-
nomical History and Heritage (JAHH). He has published several textbooks and many
books on the history of physics and astronomy, and has written nine papers for the JAHH.

97
 Journal of Astronomical History and Heritage, 24(1), 98 – 113 (2021).

COMET TALES FROM INDIA: DONATI’S COMET

OF 1858 (C/1858 L1 DONATI)

R.C. Kapoor
Indian Institute of Astrophysics, Koramangala, Bengaluru-560034, India.
E-mails: rckapoor@outlook.com, rck@iiap.res.in
Abstract: On 02 June 1858 at the Observatory of Florence, Giambattista Donati (1826–1873) discovered a faint
nebulous patch what was destined to become one of the most brilliant comets in history. Named after him,
Donati’s Comet (1858 VI; C/1858 L1 (Donati)) enthralled sky watchers in Europe and elsewhere like never
before. This paper brings together tales of the observations of this comet made in India. Ironically, the celestial
visitor happened to rise in India’s most turbulent times. It was seen by many as a baleful sign out to ruin and
observed by some for science.
Keywords: Great Comets; Donati’s Comet, Comet C/1858 L1 (Donati), John Henry Pratt; Eyre Powell; J.F.
Tennant; William S. Mackay; Madras Observatory

THE COMET.
TO THE EDITOR OF THE TIMES.
Sir, - Will Mr. Hind, or any Galileo of the present day, tell us what this comet of Donati is? Is it an old
friend, or a brand new one, and why is it called Donati’s comet? ... Mr. Hind’s letter of this day makes it
clear that this is not Halley’s comet, nor that of 1811. Is it that of 1264 and 1556 which Dr. Halley
reckoned would return in 1860, but which Mr. Hind thought would revisit us in 1858? Is it Biela’s? Is it
Faye’s? Is it De Vice’s? Is it Brorsen’s? Is it the one that appeared B.C. 43, and was regarded by the
Romans as the soul of Julius Caesar, recently murdered … I trust Mr. Hind, or someone, will take
compassion and write something adapted to my – the meanest capacity – some Little Laplace, or Lucid
Lessons for Lisping Learners.
Above all, will he throw some light on Donati, and come to the rescue of
Your obedient servant,
Acton, Sept 20. IGNORAMUS? (The Times, 1858)

1 INTRODUCTION VI, now C/1858 L1 Donati. In no time, it turned

out to be none of the comets mentioned in the
On the evening of 2 June 1858 at Florence
aforementioned letter of 20 September to The
Observatory Giambattista Donati (1826–1873;
Times newspaper.
Figure 1) noticed between the constellations of
Leo and Cancer a faint nebulosity the size of Donati’s Comet was a naked eye object
about one-tenth of the angular span of the for 112 days. It was noticed to have develop-
Moon, which would evolve to be one of the ed a tail by 14 August. In September, the tail
most spectacular comets of the nineteenth grew very quickly and brightened so that it was
century and come to bear his name (Donati, visible to the naked eye. On 5 October, the tail
1858: 271). The comet was designated 1858 was estimated ~40º, or 80 million km in space,
and it grew to 60º by 10 October. The Amer-
ican astronomer George P. Bond (1825–1865)
prepared a monograph titled An Account of
Donati’s Comet of 1858 that appeared in The
Mathematical Monthly and thereafter as a big-
ger monograph (Bond, 1862). Aimed at a wide
audience, it described the apparition in detail.
It presented 51 engravings of the telescopic
and the unaided-eye view of the comet. The
comet began to trail the Sun on 22 September
and passed perihelion on 30 September. Ever
since its discovery, the comet was approach-
ing the Earth. It arrived in the plane of the
Earth’s orbit about vertically and appeared in
the sky moving south-east. On 10.875 Octo-
ber it made its closest approach to the Earth,
at a distance of 0.537877 au when it was a
Figure 1: Giambattista Donati (1826 –1873) magnificent object. In fact, the first ten even-
(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Giovanni_Battist ings of October presented the most impressive
a_Donati#/media/File:GB_Donati.jpg). view of the main tail, which measured in length

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R.C. Kapoor Comet Tales from India: Donati’s Comet of 1858

between 28º and 35º on 4 October, 30º and has remarkable astronomical detail. Weiss
41º on 9 October, 40º and 43º on 11 October had been actively observing Donati’s Comet,
(when it was 10º–16º in width), before dimin- as evidenced by many of his communications
ishing to 33º on 15 October, 20º on 16 October cited in Bond (1862).
and only 5º on 17 October. On 21 October, Between them, the various depictions of
the Comet was at apparent visual magnitude the head of the comet placed it a little south-
3.7 and only displayed a 5º tail. By 4 Decem- east of Arcturus, and the date implied was 05
ber, the comet had faded to between visual October—even when not specified. However,
magnitude 5 and 6 (Kronk, 2003). for many observers in Europe, as the occult-
Donati’s Comet was the first comet to be ation progressed, the head of the comet was
photographed, on 27 September 1858 by W. already quite near the horizon or had even set.
Usherwood in England on a collodion-coated In fact, on 05 October 1858 those in Europe
glass plate (prints untraceable) and by George did not see the head of the comet past
Bond on 28 September at Harvard using a 15- Arcturus as shown in the many of the book
inch refractor (Pasachoff et al., 1996). A pio- illustrations. Some of the artworks drew on
neer of stellar spectroscopy, Donati (Figure 1) images in Bond’s (1862) report, where his
was the first to photograph the spectrum of a drawings also included thin lineal plasma tails
comet, Comet Tempel (C/1864 N1) in 1864, (e.g. see Figure 2) that often were not visible
and this opened the floodgates in researching or obvious at many locations due to local sky
the physics and chemistry of comets—and conditions.
hence the Solar System. Earlier, J.R. Hind Meanwhile, in his book Le Ciel, Guillemin
(1823–1895) had speculated that if the comets (1877) includes an impressive view of the
of 1264 and 1556 were one and the same, comet seen over Paris and near to Arcturus
then it must return in 1848 (Hind, 1848). This (Figure 3). This view, including Notre Dame
led some people to believe that when the Don- Cathedral reputedly dates to 4 October and
ati’s Comet appeared in 1858 it was possibly may appear in order, but Crovisier (2019: 31)
a delayed apparition of the comet of Charles recently determined the vantage point of ob-
V. servation by triangulation and found that azi-
Donati’s Comet also created excitement muthally, the comet actually was further west,
among people working in the arts and the print outside the field of the picture.
media (see Olson and Pasachoff, 1998: 227– Among the celebrated watchers of the
244 and associated plates), and it featured in Donati’s Comet were Abraham Lincoln (1809–
engravings, paintings and poetry and was wide- 1865) and Stephen Douglas (1813 –1861).
ly portrayed in the pages of The Times, The Lincoln “… greatly admired this strange visitor
Illustrated London News, Le Monde Illustré, …” and on 14 September, while in Jonesboro,
The New York Times, The Punch, etc. Illinois, he “… stayed up to look at it for a solid
The evening of 05 October in 1858 was hour one night.” (Finacom, 2008). At the time,
one like never before. John Hind had pointed Lincoln and Douglas were in the middle of the
out that the comet was to make a tête-à-tête famous ‘Lincoln-Douglas Debates of 1858’ that
with Arcturus (–0m.05), the fourth brightest star went from 21 August to 15 October prior to
in the night sky. The encounter, apparent of Lincoln’s election as the President of the Unit-
course, turned out to be a rare event, and un- ed States. As Finacom (2008) notes,
precedented in living memory. As the Sun set Comets then were still, even in the United
over Europe, the sight of the comet close to States, seen with suspicious awe and fear.
Arcturus began to so mesmerize viewers that it The Great Comet of 1811—the most vivid-
became the subject of many paintings. Those ly visible until Donati’s appeared in 1858—
interested had a rare view of a star brighter was regarded by some as the precursor of
than the first magnitude being gradually occult- the War of 1812.
ed by the comet from a little above its nucleus, Bond (1862), Clerke (1908: II: Ch. X),
with Arcturus shining through the densest part Vsekhsvyatskii (1964), Olson and Pasachoff
of the tail. (1998) and Kronk (2003) all give detailed ac-
There are several beautiful depictions of counts of how the comet C/1958 L1 (Donati)
Donati’s Comet on 05 October 1858 by artists, grew to become an unforgettable spectacle,
including William Turner of Oxford (1789 – while Gasperini et al. (2011) and Sterken
1862), who was well-known for his watercolor (2018) discuss its cultural impact.
landscapes. In fact, one such artwork in the Table 1 gives the orbital parameters as
Austrian astronomer Edmund Weiss’ 1888 ed- computed by G.W. Hill in 1865 and listed in its
ition of his famed Bilderatlas der Sternenwelt, database by JPL (2017).

99
R.C. Kapoor Comet Tales from India: Donati’s Comet of 1858

Figure 2: A screen shot of Plate XIII in Bond (1862: 42), titled ‘1858 October 5. Photograph taken from a sketch of the Comet
and neighboring stars.’

2 DONATI’S COMET: THE SCENE IN INDIA

Early nineteenth century India saw the advent
of the Indian Renaissance that brought Eur-
opean science in Indian languages to the
interested through the efforts of several prom-
inent figures (Ansari, 2002). English education
had already struck roots, and so too did the
shaping of the school curricula, and the publi-
cation of low-priced school books in English
and Indian languages.
On the political front, the East India Com-
pany had in the last hundred years brought a
major part of India under its control, and British
dominance had begun to overwhelm India’s
political, cultural and economic life. Born of an
accumulated discontent over their long suffer-
ing and driven by religious feelings, the revolt
against the British that broke out among the
ranks in the cantonment at Meerut on 10 May
1857 soon turned into the Great Uprising that
shook the foundations of colonial power in India.
By July 1857, it had swept the country. There
Table 1: The elements of Donati’s Comet (after JPL 2017).
Eccentricity e 0.996295
Perihelion distance q 0.578469 au
Angle of Inclination I 116º.9512
Longitude of Ascending Node Ω 167.3044 (2000.0)
Figure 3: Donati’s Comet over Notre Dame de Paris on 04 Argument of Perihelion ω 129.114;
October 1858 (after Guillemin, 1877: Frontispiece). Time of Perihelion Passage tp 1858 September 30.4645

100
R.C. Kapoor Comet Tales from India: Donati’s Comet of 1858

are excellent works of history on India’s Great

Uprising of 1857 and the British response to it,
in English, Urdu and Persian that draw on or-
iginal archival material, administrative records,
contemporary newspapers, personal diaries
and oral history accounts. Too numerous to
mention, they make it increasingly clear that it
was India’s War of Independence, pan–Indian
and across castes and communities.
By chance, Donati’s Comet appeared and
reached its full glory during the most tumultu-
ous times in India. The Great Uprising against
the British had failed, the Mughal Empire had
fallen, and most male members of the Royal
family had been slaughtered (Dalrymple, 2006:
423; Dehlvi, 2017: 138).
Here we recount tales of Donati’s Comet
from India.1 These are from observers with
different backgrounds and in various situat-
ions. There were many who saw in the appar-
ition a fiend out to unleash terror with its fiery
tail. Distant from the turbulence, a few inter-
ested individuals made observations of the Figure 4: A map of mainland India showing localities
comet for science. Some of them had the nec- mentioned in this paper (map: Wayne Orchiston).
essary wherewithal and technical expertise.
Although resident in different parts of the the 17th or 18th October. The motion of
country, their roots lay overseas and worked to the comet is retrograde; for Venus is come
their advantage. to this side of the sun from the opposite
side by the left, whereas the comet is come
The outline map of mainland India in the round by the right. The motion round the
Figure 4 shows the locations mentioned in the sun is consequently opposite to that of
text, including those where the comet was Venus and the other planets. This is fatal
observed. To retain the historical flavour, I to its being Charles V’s comet, if, as I be-
have used old spellings of the place-names. lieve is the case, that comet’s motion was
direct. No perturbations from the Planets
3 DONATI’S COMET: THE MODERN could account for such a change.
OBSERVATIONS The newspaper then commented that “We
3.1 Archdeacon Pratt’s Note suppose that is final, at least we shall get no
better opinion than the Archdeacon’s in India”.
The Calcutta newspaper Friend of India dated
11 November 1858 carried on page 1064 a
copy of a note by the Venerable John Henry
Pratt (1809–1871; Figure 5), Archdeacon of
Calcutta (now Kolkata), on the sighting of a
comet that he had submitted to the Asiatic So-
ciety (Pratt, 1858: 373–374):
This comet is the same as that seen by Dr.
Donati at Florence in June last. Mr. Hind
has published one or two letters in the
Times giving the results of his observat-
ions upon it. It is not, as was at first hop-
ed, the 1556 or Charles Vth comet, which
may yet come. From 1858 to 1861 is the
range which Mr. Hind has given it.
Regarding this, or Donati’s comet Mr.
Hind shows, in his letter dated September
13th, that on the 5th and 6th of October it
would be near Arcturus – which you may
remember we observed – and that it would Figure 5: John Henry Pratt (1809 –1871), Arch-
pass its descending node near Venus – deacon of Calcutta from 1850 until his death (after
which also we saw here plainly enough on O’Connor and Robertson, 2005).

101
R.C. Kapoor Comet Tales from India: Donati’s Comet of 1858

“India is to be the battlefield on which the

figure of the earth is to be finally determined.”
Henry Pratt was elected Fellow of the Royal
Society in 1866.
Note that the paper Friend of India was
brought out by the Serampore Mission Press,
in Serampore near Calcutta. The well-known
Kolkata daily The Statesman dates back to the
year 1875, and actually descended from two
Calcutta newspapers, Friend of India and The
Englishman, founded early in the nineteenth
century.

3.2 Observations by Eyre Powell

Donati’s Comet also was observed from Mad-
ras (now Chennai) by Eyre B. Powell (1819–
Figure 6: Eyre B. Powell (1819 –1904) 1904; Figure 6), a Cambridge Wrangler in
(http://www.presidencycollegechennai.ac.
in/UI/CollegeHistory.aspx).
Mathematics who in 1841 became the first
Principal of the High School at Egmore. This
On 5 October, the Comet’s head was close school evolved into the Presidency College in
to Arcturus, a little north-west of it. As for the 1855, and from this the University of Madras
reference to Charles V in his communication, was founded in 1857. Powell rose to become
initially it had been suggested that Donati’s the first Principal of the Presidency College
Comet was the long-expected comet of 1556 serving until 1862, and thereafter he was the
or Charles Vth Comet that Pratt now dismissed. Director of Public Instruction in the Madras
The comet of 1556 (now C/1556 D1) had ap- Presidency until 1875.
peared in the same year that Emperor Charles Eventually, Powell had an refractor, and
V (1500–1558) abdicated the Spanish throne. he often observed astronomical objects and
Pingré (1783(1): 506) has written about this events, sometimes in collaboration with Cap-
apparition: tain W.S. Jacob, the Astronomer at Madras
The appearance of this Comet produced a Observatory. Powell published several papers
very singular effect, according to several in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical
writers. It frightened the Emperor Charles- Society on a range of topics, including double
V: this Prince had no doubt that his death stars, comets and the enigmatic variable star
was near. He exclaimed … ‘in this bright Eta Argus. In 1866, he was made a Com-
sign I read my imminent end’ … If we are panion of the Order of the Star of India.
to believe the historians I have cited, this
panic contributed a lot, and induced Charles At Madras, Donati’s Comet was first seen
V to cede a few months later the Imperial on 30 September soon after sunset, through
crown … (my English translation). gaps in the clouds (Powell, 1858: 62). On fol-
Pratt was a mathematician and astrono- lowing evenings, the comet was noted to be
mer, and author of Mathematical Principles of brightening rapidly, and became “… a truly
Mechanical Philosophy; Scripture and Science magnificent object.” Powell’s telescope had
not at Variance, and of On Attractions, La- yet to arrive from England, so from 3 October
place's Functions and the Figure of the Earth until 4 November he used a sextant to care-
(1860) where “… he gave 26.9 miles as the fully measure the comet’s position. He took
difference between the equatorial and polar the difference in longitude between Madras
axes, quite a good result …” (O'Connor and and Greenwich as 5h 21m, and then proceeded
Robertson 2005). He also published several to calculate the comet’s orbital elements
papers in scientific journals. The Allen’s Indian (which are shown in Table 2).2
Mail (1858: 943) article on Science in Asia Powell (1858) noted that on 2 October the
accords due regard to his work observing that nucleus of the comet appeared large and
bright but was more ragged and fainter than
Table 2: Powell’s values for the orbital elements.
Arcturus, and the tail was about 16º long. On
Perihelion distance 0.577974 au 3 October, the tail was brighter and longer.
Inclination of the orbit 63º 5′ 58′′
Longitude of the Ascending Node 165º 17′ 52′′
Powell saw a ‘cuspidated feature’ around the
Longitude of perihelion 14º 26′ 23′′ nucleus, its semi-circular edge being in the
Perihelion passage 1858 September 29.9908 G.M.T. direction of the Sun. By 4 October, the nuc-
Motion Retrograde leus had brightened to match Arcturus, and the

102
R.C. Kapoor Comet Tales from India: Donati’s Comet of 1858

cuspidated appearance became more evident

although the outline of the envelope still was
not distinct. Powell also noticed for the first
time a dark axial space down the envelope,
and that the tail had grown to about 24º in
extent. Just to check, the apparent position of
the comet was calculated with JPL’s (2017)
Horizons System for 4 October at around the
time of Powell’s observations and it matched
very well his measured values. No observat-
ions were made on 5 October, possibly be-
cause of clouds. On 8 October, the nucleus
looked as bright as Mars or α Lyrae with the
envelope resembling a pen, narrow at the
head and then spreading like the feathers of a
quill. For observations on 12 October, Powell
mentions of the moonlight and that he found
that the nucleus of the comet was a bit dimmer
than on 8 October, and with a fainter but long-
er tail. On 16 October, the nucleus appeared
Figure 7: J.F. Tennant (courtesy: Indian
large and diffused, and the convex side of the Institute of Astrophysics Archives).
envelope looked brighter than the other side.
Full Moon was on 22 October. By 27 October, tween β Herculis and η Coronae; distance
the comet had become very faint and the tail from β one-third of distance of η Coronae.
had diminished to between just 4º and 5º.
Powell (1858) mentions that the observations His results appeared in brief in the Journal
were made with a 3.5-ft long refractor having of the Asiatic Society of Bengal (Tennant,
an aperture of 2.75 inches. 1858: 373) where the elements also were
given as in Table 3 but with the perihelion
3.3 Observations by Captain J.F. Tennant distance listed as 0.5752358. Tennant (ibid.)
observed that the comet followed the course
Captain James Francis Tennant (1829–1915; predicted by Mr Hind, passing Arcturus on 5
Hollis, 1915; Figure 7), who later would head and 6 October, with its descending node near
the Madras Observatory from October 1859 un- Venus on 17 and 18 October. To this he add-
til October 1860 (when Norman Pogson was ed that the elements “… differ totally from
appointed the Astronomer), observed comet those of Mr. Hind’s expected Comet, that of
C/1858 L1 (Donati) from Mussooree at an alt- 1556.” Although Tennant was not able to make
itude of about 2005 m in the foothills of the any observations until 5 October, he still be-
Garhwal Himalayas in Uttarakhand. Mussoorie lieved that the elements he derived would be
was already very popular among the British as fairly accurate, adding that “I have seen no
a leisure destination, and for the magnificent English orbit and I doubt if any has yet reach-
views it offered of the Doon Valley and the ed India”. The apparent positions of the comet
Himalayas. as calculated with the Horizons System for 5, 7
Tennant’s observations span the brief per- and 12 October corresponding to the times of
iod 5–12 October. He communicated his re- Tennant’s observations match very well with
sults to the Astronomer Royal for Scotland, his measured values. On 5 October, at the
Italian-born Charles Piazzi Smyth (1819–1900), time of his observation (≡ 14h 03m 16s Green-
where he gave positions of the comet and also wich time), according to our computations the
the comparison stars he used (Tennant, 1859). head of the comet would have been just 0.88º
Using the method that Sir John Herschel northwest of Arcturus.
outlined in his contribution on Astronomy in the Where exactly in Mussoorie was Tennant
Encyclopaedia Metropolitana, Tennant comput- stationed? He gave his location as “Lat. 30º
ed the parabolic elements of Donati’s Comet
from the observations he made on 5, 7 and 12 Table 3: Tennant’s values for the elements.
October. These are given in Table 3.
Perihelion distance 0.575236 au
Tennant (1859: 186) ended his communi- Inclination of the orbit 66º 20′ 35′′
Longitude of Ascending Node 168º 25′ 11′′
cation by reporting that Longitude of perihelion 16º 36′ 4′′
On the 10th of October the tail of the com- Perihelion passage 1858 28 September 16h 16.5m G.M.T.
et extended to a point in the line be- Motion Retrograde

103
R.C. Kapoor Comet Tales from India: Donati’s Comet of 1858

17′ 19′′ N., Long. 5h 12m 17s.7 E.”. The meridian Piazzi Smyth (Mackay, 1862: 161).
of the longitude lies near Gun Hill in Mussoorie Mackay’s elements compared well with the
but according to the latitude, the point of obser- European determinations that he said were
vation was down on the plains in the present- received about one month later. He empha-
day Jogiwala area in Dehra Dun (at an altitude sized that his observations were well spaced in
of around 450 m), a city in the foothills and
time and so corresponded to a longer arc for
where the Survey of India has its headquart-
the purpose of orbit calculation. His results
ers. By the hill road, Mussoorie is 35 km from
later appeared in the Serampore paper Friend
Dehra Dun. An error of 10′ implies being off
of India as a part of his account of the obser-
the location by more than 18 km on ground.
vations of the Great Comet of 1861 (C/1861
Such an error is unlikely, and I believe that the
J1, discovered by Tebbutt—Orchiston, 2017).
17′ in the quoted latitude is a mis-print and the
Dr Mackay’s 1858 values are similar to Hill’s
intended value was 27′ (see Note 2). orbital elements, as listed by JPL (2017). Sex-
Dehra Dun was part of the Garhwal King- tant measurements are not considered very
dom and following a treaty between the King- accurate, for, at the very least, the instrument
dom of Nepal and the East India Company it used for the observations should be securely
was annexed by the British Empire in 1816. mounted. Accurate time-keeping was equally
Meanwhile, in 1832 Mussoorie was to be the important. Nonetheless, he was able to com-
last point in The Great Trigonometric Survey of pute realistic orbital elements, a testimony,
India (see Phillimore, 1945–1968).2 surely, to his experience and passion for ob-
Born in Calcutta, James Francis Tennant serving. Compare, for example, the longitude
joined the Bengal Engineers in 1849 as a Sec- of perihelion that he computed with those
ond Lieutenant, and was then attached to The derived by Powell (Table 2) and Tennant (Table
Great Trigonometrical Survey of India (ibid.). 3) whose values differ from the standard value
substantially. Powell’s observations extended
Table 4: Mackay’s elements vs. European elements. over a month, whereas Tennant only made ob-
Mackay European
servations from 5 to 12 October.
Perihelion dist. 0.5753 0.579 au There is not much biographical information
Inclination 63º 39′ 63º 2′ available about the Reverend Dr William S.
Long. ascending node 165º 15′ 165º 19′
Perihelion long. 37º 4′ 36º 13′ Mackay except for his missionary involvement
Perihelion passage Sept. 29d 18h 21m Sept 29d 23h in India, as given in Hunter (1873). The
Motion Retrograde Retrograde Reverend was associated with the Bengal
Mission of the Free Church of Scotland that
He also participated in the 1868 and 1871 was established in 1830. Calcutta was then
solar eclipse expeditions (Orchiston et al., the colonial capital of India, and the Reverend
2017) and observed the 1874 transit of Venus Dr Alexander Duff (1806–1878) arrived in the
from India (Kapoor, 2014: 121–123). city in May 1830 as the first overseas
In 1910, Tennant also appears to have ob- missionary of the Church of Scotland in India.
served Halley’s Comet (1P/Halley) from Mus- On 13 July 1830, he founded the General
soorie. He mentions that the observations Assembly’s Institution on Chitpur Road with
were made on 16 May from “… somewhere in just five boys. In 1908 the Institution evolved
the Himalayas …” (Tennant, 1910: 297), and into the present Scottish Church College
gives the latitude and longitude as 30º 27′ 40″ (SCC, 2020). The Free Church Institution and
N and 78º 6′ 30″ E, at an altitude of 7500 feet. the General Assembly’s Institution continued
For these coordinates, the observations most side by side. As Hunter (1873: 84) wrote:
likely were made from Lal Tibba, the highest On Monday, the 4th March 1844, the in-
scenic point in Mussoorie. stitution opened with teachers, monitors,
and 791 pupils present on a roll of up-
3.4 Observations by the Reverend wards of 1000, only it was now in Nimtol-
Dr W.S. Mackay lah Street, and not, as previously, in Corn-
wallis Square. Nor was the library entirely
The Reverend Dr William Sinclair Mackay destitute of books. Friends, European and
(1807–1865), a missionary at Chinsurah in the native, had made donations collectively
Hooghly district used a sextant and an old amounting to about 1100 volumes, whilst a
ship’s chronometer to observe Donati’s Comet Herschell’s ten-foot telescope, also pre-
on 6, 18 and 30 October 1858. From these sented to the mission by Mr Stewart, son
of Dr Stewart, formerly of Moulin, Dingwall,
observations he computed the orbital elements
and the Canongate, Edinburgh, became
(see Table 4), and he communicated these to the nucleus of a fresh set of apparatus.
the Astronomer Royal for Scotland, Charles

104
R.C. Kapoor Comet Tales from India: Donati’s Comet of 1858

Figure 8: The Madras Observatory, Nungambakkam, 1880; the building is no longer in existence (courtesy: Indian Institute of
Astrophysics Archives.

To this, Smith (1899: 209) also added a and no observations were reported or publish-
reference to Dr Mackay’s observatory: ed by the Observatory, except those made by
Dr Mackay, who had built his usual obser- Major Worster. For details of Madras Obser-
vatory on the roof, was gladdened by the vatory and its role in the development of mod-
donation of a Herschel ten-foot telescope ern astronomy in India, see Kochhar and Or-
from the son of Dr Stewart … chiston (2017).
I plan to provide further information about Importantly, Markham noted in 1878 that
the Reverend Dr Mackay’s astronomical activ- there were 25 observations of Donati’s Comet
ities in a later paper. and a multitude of other observations that
remained unpublished. These arrears were to
4 MADRAS OBSERVATORY AND pose a mammoth task for Norman Pogson
DONATI’S COMET after he arrived at the Observatory (Markham,
Madras Observatory (Figure 8), in existence 1878: 332):
since 1786/1792 (Kochhar and Orchiston, When Mr Pogson took charge of the ob-
2017), has no published account on Donati’s servatory in February 1861 there was a
Comet. However, the comet was observed by catalogue of about 2,200 stars, chiefly
Major W.K. Worster (1811–1882) of the Mad- selected from Taylor’s Madras catalogue,
ras Artillery when he substituted at the Obser- and that of the British Association, observ-
vatory for the Director, Captain W.S. Jacob ed between 1853 and 1858, awaiting com-
(1813–1862), who had to leave his post in pletion. The observations to be incorpor-
April 1858 on health grounds and return to ated in this catalogue will be little under
10,000, and much had already been done
England (RAS Council 1859). Subsequently
towards preparing it for the press. There
Major J.F. Tennant from The Great Trigono- are 1,331 observations of the sun, 345 of
metrical Survey, took over the Observatory, the moon, 1,680 of the principal planets,
from 13 October 1859 to October 1860 when 333 of the minor planets, and 25 of Don-
Norman R. Pogson was appointed Astrono- ati’s comet of 1868, besides the mean
mer. So, Madras Observatory was between places of the 144 Nautical Almanack stars
Directors when Donati’s Comet was visible, from 1853 to 1858, observations of Mars at

105
R.C. Kapoor Comet Tales from India: Donati’s Comet of 1858

the oppositions of 1854 and 1856, of moon support soon came from several states. The
culminations for determination of longitude, revolt then spread to many parts of northern
and a long list of occultations of planets and central India. By July 1857, it engulfed the
and fixed stars, and of the phenomena of whole country. India’s War of Independence
Jupiter's satellites …
culminated in the final assault of the British
Note the typographical error in the above over the Mughal Empire.
quotation, where one must substitute the year
Late in September, the British began to re-
1868 for 1858.
establish their hold. Delhi was taken by the
British on 20 September 1857 and Ẓafar was
5 A TALE OF TWO EMPIRES
incarcerated the following morning by Captain
The revolt against the British dominion begun William Hodson (Dalrymple, 2006: 394; Hus-
on 10 May 1857 by the soldiers of the East ain, 1958: 280–281). The following day Charles
Saunders, the Commissioner of Delhi
… arrested thirty Timurid princes, including
the Badshah’s sons, grandsons and sons-
in-law, and murdered them outside the
walls of Delhi. He sent their heads to the
emperor. (Dehlvi 2017: 138).
The octogenarian Emperor ended up a state
prisoner. Beginning on 27 January 1858, he
was made to face trial on charges of revolt,
treason and murder and was convicted and
sentenced to be exiled. In the early hours of 7
October 1858, a convoy escorted by the 9th
Lancers proceeded to take the ‘ex-King’ Ẓafar,
his wife Zīnat Mahal and two sons to Calcutta
to be eventually imprisoned in Rangoon for
life. Rangoon was then part of the British
India. Lieutenant Edward Ommaney, who was
an Urdu and Persian scholar, escorted the
convoy, taking due care of the prisoners and
reporting the proceedings of the long journey
back to Saunders, the Commissioner of Delhi
(Dalrymple, 2006: 444). The convoy, by land
route, reached Allahabad (now Prayagraj) on
13 November 1858, and eventually proceeded
to its destination.
Coincidentally, just when the long arduous
journey began, it was also the time when Don-
ati’s Comet was visible in the evening sky in all
its glory. In his communications Lieutenant
Ommaney makes no mention of it, and that
Figure 9: A portrait by Ágoston Schoefft, ca. 1854 of everyone in the party, and above all the ex-
Bahādur Shāh II, the last Mughal Emperor of India (r. King was there to see it. There is nothing on
1837–1857); Ẓafar, his poetic name, means victory
(Wikimedia Commons).
record to show Ẓafar’s reaction, for, had there
been any, Lieutenant Ommaney would certain-
ly have recorded it. That there is no reaction
India Army eventually brought a great cata-
on record by the Last Mughal of India to an
strophe to Hindus and Muslims who joined in
apparition visible throughout the country is
the struggle against the British. A large con-
tingent of the soldiers proceeded to Delhi. On very surprising.
11 May they met the Emperor Bahādur Shāh While comets are not harbingers of misfor-
Ẓafar (r. 1837–1857; Figure 9) and looked up tune, here was one that dared to be precisely
to him for leadership (Dehlvi, 2017: 60). Ẓafar that for those in the convoy suffering from the
was 82 and reluctant, for he knew that his writ recent emotional shock of losing only of their
did not extend beyond his abode, the Red loved ones but also their regal power. In
Fort. Delhi had already been entrusted to the Mughal history, the irrational side of celestial
British in 1803. Yet he consented and gave phenomena, astrology and superstition prevail-
his name to the cause. The word spread and ed in life. Astronomical observations were

106
R.C. Kapoor Comet Tales from India: Donati’s Comet of 1858

required generally for astrological purposes, to

precisely determine the timing or ascertain the
auspiciousness of an event. Be it a royal birth,
eclipses, omens or strategic marches, Hindu
astrologers were invoked (Schimmel 2004:
139–140). At such a juncture, the emergence
of a large and bright comet could not be other
than a baleful sign on the side of the devil and
out to cause ruin only (Kapoor 2018b).
A few weeks later, on 1 November 1858,
the British Crown took over through a Proclam-
ation by the Queen Victoria, whereby the politi-
cal authority of the East India Company ceas-
ed to exist and the Government of India pas-
sed to the management of the Crown. Inci-
dentally, the Queen herself had seen Donati’s
Comet:
Next month [i.e., September 1858] as she
rode home across the darkening hills, she
saw Donati’s comet flaring in the sky with a
star distinctly through its tail. To the country,
Donati’s comet heralded war. War had
already broken out on the other side of the
world. (Longford, 2019: Ch. XIX; his italics).
Figure 10: G.R. Elsmie in 1891 (after Elsmie, 1908: 354).
6 DONATI’S COMET IN SOME BRITISH
MEMOIRS about fourteen miles from Gopiganj. We
drove for six miles, where horses met us,
6.1 G.R. Elsmie’s Account and then we cantered to the Ganges, cros-
George R. Elsmie (1838–1909: Figure 10), a sed in a boat just as the stars had come
British Civil Officer who served in the Punjab out. The scene was most lovely; we were
during 1858–1893, recounts sighting a beaut- silently crossing the river, which was as
smooth as glass, and in the west was to be
iful comet in 1858 (Elsmie, 1908). He had
seen the most beautiful celestial trio I ever
arrived in Calcutta in February 1858 and sub- beheld; rather high up in the sky a gorg-
sequently opted for the Punjab as the province eous comet seemed to be diving down like
to work in, where he joined as the Assistant a falling rocket with a magnificent tail of
Commissioner. He served in Punjab in various light; on the horizon the new moon, tinged
positions, was the Vice-Chancellor of Punjab with red from the last beam of the sun, was
University during 1885–1887 and was made a about to set, and a little to the left, about
Companion of the Order of the Star of India in as high as the comet, Venus was shining
1893. in all the glory of her silvery light. It was a
truly gorgeous sight. I don’t know whether
On 10 October Elsmie and his cousin this comet is visible in England, but we
James Simson watched the comet on their way have seen it here for ten nights, and a
from Gopiganj, a small town 40 miles from worthy sight it is …
Benaras (Varanasi), to Mirzapore (Mirzapur). I am afraid I let my imagination run
Simson was the Joint-Magistrate of Mirzapore, away with me as to the cause of the red-
and at the time happened to be at work in a dish tint on the moon! Perhaps I was
camp at Gopiganj. Elsmie (1908: 39) shares thinking of the third line of the second
their experience in the following words: verse of Tears, idle tears.
After all important business had been trans- In Table 6 I give the apparent positions of var
acted J.S. and I, grit with pistol-belts, start- ious Solar System objects, as seen from Mirz-
ed off in buggy for Mirzapore, which is apur (25° 08′ 01.3′′ N, 82° 33′ 51.8′′ E; altitude

Table 6: The positions of various Solar System objects over Mirzapore at 1300hrs UT on 10 October 1858.
Object RA h m s Dec(°) Alt(°) Az(°) Up or Set
Donati’s Comet 15 07 25 +04 24 44 20.366 265.209 Up
Sun 13 02 23 –06 39 24 –12.580 268.481 Set
Venus 16 02 11 –24 42 54 16.500 231.638 Up
Moon 15 36 12 –24 34 36 11.853 235.398 Up

107
R.C. Kapoor Comet Tales from India: Donati’s Comet of 1858

about 80 m) on 10 October 1858. The choice 6.2 Sir William Russell’s Account
of time is my own, to try and see how well the Sir William H. Russell (1820–1907; Figure 11),
placement of the Donati’s Comet, and the Sun, was an acclaimed special correspondent with
Moon and Venus match with the scenario pre- The Times newspaper, and was one of the first
sented by Elsmie (1908). modern war correspondents who brought the
Tears, idle Tears, mentioned in the indent- frontline realities to the people. The wars that
ed quotation above, is the famous poem by the he covered were all major ones, namely, the
British poet Lord Alfred Tennyson (1809–1892). Crimean War, the Siege of Sevastopol, the
It was written in 1847 and the third line of the Charge of the Light Brigade, the American
second verse is “Sad as the last which red- Civil War and India’s Uprising of 1857–1858.
dens over one”. He published memoires on his coverage of the
In the same memoirs, Elsmie (1908: 293) various wars, and his two-volume work, My
also talks about a comet that he saw from Diary in India, covers the years 1858–1859
Attock on 10 November 1882, while on a jour- (Russell, 1860).
ney from Lahore to Peshawur in the Punjab Sir William (Russell, 1860(2): 209 –213)
(both are now in Pakistan): talks about seeing a comet from a camp in the
hills of Himachal. At the time he was with the
party of Lord William Hay, the then Deputy
Commissioner of Shimla. Russell first saw Do-
nati’s Comet on 28 September 1858, when
they were in the picturesque mountainous
princely state of Jubbul (Jubbal) and were
striving to reach the source of the River Ghir-
ree (Giri) and scale Cooper’s Hill:
The natives were in high delight, as they
had had what they considered a short
day’s work, and would be permitted to
have a day’s rest tomorrow. In all direct-
ions the smoke of their fires rose up
through the dense foliage of the trees, and
we could hear their songs as they cooked
their simple meals of rice, or bathed them-
selves in the refreshing stream which flow-
ed past our camp. At night, as we sat at
dinner in our tent, there arose, right above
the black outline of the forest, cast into the
shade by the clear moonlight, a bright and
wonderful star, which, as it ascended, dis-
played a tail of a faint rose-coloured hue
streaming after it. The natives assembled
in great consternation, and gazed upon it
with awe and horror; for with them to have
the “Doomwallah” is an omen of most evil
import, perplexing nations with the fear of
change. It was some moments ere we
made out that it was indeed a comet; and
for hours we watched its fiery seam across
the calm blue heavens, standing in the
door of our tents, as the patriarchs of old
might have gazed on the wandering visitor
Figure 11: An 1855 photograph of Sir William H. Russell, in times gone by.
The Times special correspondent (courtesy: Library of Con- Sept. 29th – To-night the comet was more
gress https://www.loc.gov/pictures/item/2001697687/).
beautiful than before. Our camp-followers
and coolies seemed almost inclined to wor-
D. November 10. – Reached Attock by rail ship it, and the word “Doomwallah” was
at 3.30 A.M. A good view of the comet, ringing through their talk all night. This
which is still bright…. little stream, by which we were encamped,
This was the Great September Comet of 1882, runs out of a rock close at hand, covered
or C/1882 R1 (see Kapoor, 2020), and it would over by roots of trees, and is clearer than
seem that Elsmie had been following it since any water I have seen in India. It is the
its heyday. source of a great mountain river, which

108
R.C. Kapoor Comet Tales from India: Donati’s Comet of 1858

becomes a tremendous torrent a few miles Elsewhere the Allen’s Indian Mail (1858:
from this place. 910) reproduces a communication about the
The above-mentioned word “Doomwallah” comet from Bombay (Mumbai), the Miscellan-
means “the one with a tail”. Jubbal (31°.1095 eous Section. that makes for interesting read-
N and 77°.6647 E, at an altitude of about 1901 ing:
m) near Rohru, is a small town, about 90 kilo- THE COMET:- A comet was observed in
metres from the state capital Shimla. the western sky soon after sunset last
night. We have no recollection of its hav-
7 NEWSPAPER REPORTS ABOUT ing been foretold. As seen from Middle
Colaba, shortly after 7 o’clock, P.M., it bore
DONATI’S COMET a little to the north of N.W., some 12 or 15
Below we bring together a few communicat- degrees above the horizon, the nucleus
ions that appeared in different newspapers in being about the same apparent size as a
1858 and were reproduced in Allen’s Indian star of the first magnitude, and the tail ex-
tending about 15 degrees in length, point-
Mail for the year 1858 to show how the appa- ing towards the south at an angle of about
rition was seen by commoners in these tum- 30 degrees from the horizon. From Middle
ultuous times. These bring to the fore popular Colaba it appeared to set just behind
accounts of Donati’s Comet and apprehension Malabar Point. In India – at least by the
that it was a portent of war, pestilence and natives – such celestial appearances fore-
famine, etc. bode no good to kingdom and empires.
What may this comet announce? That the
In the Miscellaneous section of the 6 Nov- raj of the Company Bahadoor has come to
ember issue of Allen's Indian Mail (1858: 887), an end? **** We had a more satisfactory
under BENGAL, there is a communication from view of the comet last night than on the
Jalpaiguri about the sighting of a comet: night preceding. As the celestial visitor
was on the point of setting at 7’ P.M. it
JULPIGOREE:- A comet was seen at this bore about W.N.W., and was from 12 to 15
station by some of our Sepoys at 4 P.M. degrees in altitude above the sea horizon.
yesterday, the 19th September, described The body of the comet was of the first
by them as being very red and fiery, and magnitude, equal to Polaris, and the tail,
travelling from north to south. which curved first upwards, and then hori-
In the 19 November issue of Allen's Indian zontally towards the north, displayed a lum-
Mail (1858: 930–931), the Miscellaneous sect- inous divergence from the body of the com-
et which might be termed magnificent.
ion under BENGAL carries an account of the There is no doubt that the comet, in conse-
orgy of hatred in the ongoing war, but pauses quence of setting so shortly after sunset,
midway through to narrate the apparition of a was seen to disadvantage as regards its
comet in the sky: splendour; but notwithstanding the effect of
STAR FORT, JHANSI, Oct. 4. – …. I sunset and twilight diminishing its brillian-
have seen a comet for the last six nights. cy, it displayed a luminous tail equal in arc
It becomes visible a little after dark, and to 13 degrees (Bombay Gazette, October
1).
disappears below the horizon about half
past seven. The natives have prophesied The same issue of the Allen’s Indian Mail
great things connecting it; that it will be (1858: 944) reproduces a communication about
followed by war, famine, and a great many the comet as seen at Agra:
other things, and even some of our men
believe in such superstitious nonsense … THE COMET AT AGRA. - The natives
have now got a new celestial omen – the
In the 13 November issue of Allen's Indian appearance in broad sunshine, of the moon
Mail (1858: 906), there is a communication and Jupiter. These were shining brightly
from Calcutta that had originally appeared in and near each other on Monday, the 11th
the Calcutta Englishman dated 08 October, October, at two o’clock in the afternoon.
and was reproduced in The Perth Gazette The comet, which has passed rapidly to
(India …, 1864): the south and east – thereby, of course,
rising away from the sun, and appearing
CALCUTTA, Oct. 8. - Among matters of higher, and for a longer interval every
local interest we have but little to notice. evening – has been exhibiting a tail trace-
The comet has duly made its appearance, able upwards of 45 degrees, curved to-
and was visible in Calcutta on the 4th to wards the north, and with its best defined
perfection. It is said that the natives view it edge towards the south. Its distance from
as a bad omen of their cause, as it is the earth is rapidly increasing, and its
visible in the west, which they interpret as splendour is fast fading.
the point wherefrom India is to be ruled.
That is a case of gross misidentification.

109
R.C. Kapoor Comet Tales from India: Donati’s Comet of 1858

With the New Moon on 7 October, the comet’s by some authors cited in this paper. Exper-
elongation from the Sun on the 11th was not so ienced astronomers—both professional and
large that it could be viewed during the day- amateur—tended to send reports of their ob-
time, as described. At around 2 o’clock in the servations for publication in established for-
afternoon, the Moon and Venus were up and ums, such as Astronomische Nachrichten or
about four degrees apart, but Jupiter was far Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical So-
away and had set by this time. ciety. But for the others, it was the news-
Yet another communication in the Allen’s papers, or their personal memoirs.
Indian Mail (1858: 971) originated from Rohil- In the nineteenth century, if one wanted to
khand: claim priority for the discovery of a new comet
Rohilcund, Oct. 25. - The comet, which has the accepted norm was to immediately rush a
for some time past been gracing the heav- report that included the comet’s precise posit-
ens, is now about to make its departing ion to a professional observatory or a distin-
bow to the public. From one of the most guished astronomer, preferably in Europe or
conspicuous and brilliant objects, it has the USA. Sometimes discoveries made far
sunk into comparative insignificance; to the from Europe or North America were disadvan-
human eye its glories began to fade as it taged because of the so-called ‘tyranny of
approached Jupiter, and since passing distance’, as stressed by Orchiston (1997).
which, in its course southwards, is still
Some Australian, New Zealand and even Ind-
more rapidly becoming scarce. Myself and
a friend riding out last evening, a little after ian astronomers who discovered comets in the
dusk, thought of the luminary since it did days before the completion of the international
not attract the eye, and it was not till after telegraph network, or even later when there
many a steady and searching look that we were communication breakdowns during major
discovered it wrapped in obscurity. On its wars, were never formally credited with their
first appearance speculations were rife re- discoveries (e.g., see Kapoor, 2013: 858; Ka-
specting it; the native mind had it, that the poor, 2015: 2281; Orchiston et al., 2020). Ma-
Jharoo Tarra betokens a still greater crisis dras Observatory’s T.G. Taylor is a case in
than the last; the rebel horde in Oude
point: he turned out to be an independent dis-
doubtless took it for their forlorn hope;
while our public prints gave us to under- coverer of the Great Comet of 1831, C/1831
stand that previous experience of the ap- A1 (Kapoor, 2011).
pearance of such celestial bodies teaches We need to realize that India faced extra-
that they are portentous of great events;
ordinary circumstances during the years 1857
but a great crisis has preceded our present
visitant – the direct Government of India and 1858. For observers in India, Donati
too by the Crown was resolved upon, ere it Comet of 1858 was not a discovery, and they
obtruded on our sight, the great event only began making observations of it after it
then, of which it is supposed, to be the had reached naked eye visibility and begun
forerunner is yet to come, let us hope it is drawing universal attention. For example, note
restoration of peace and order throughout that Dr Mackay’s observations and orbital calc-
the land.. – Delhi Gazette.” ulations, professional at that, initially were pub-
Rohilkhand is the area around Bareilly and licised through their publication in a news-
Moradabad in Uttar Pradesh, and it too was paper, the Friend of India.
a hotbed of revolt. The phrase Jharoo Tarra For those in the Orient, faster channels of
means ‘broom star’. Perhaps the communi- communication had yet to emerge. Note that
cator here meant Venus for Jupiter, since Jup- steamships were already operating on several
iter was elsewhere in the sky and it was Venus international routes, and going by the fact that
that the comet actually passed within ~2° of on in the mid-nineteenth century they could travel
20 October. between London and Bombay via the Cape in
The names of the original authors of the a month (Etemad, 2007: 79) and to Australia/
above communications were not given. New Zealand in 75–120 days (Rootsroutes,
2020), the choice of how best to communicate
8 CONCLUDING REMARKS: THE cometary observations and orbital elements
INTERNATIONAL TRANSMISSION OF rested with the astronomer. The opening of
the Suez Canal route to navigation in 1869
ASTRONOMICAL INFORMATION
would shorten the time-lapse further. Comm-
DURING THE MID-NINETEENTH
unication using the electric telegraph was in-
CENTURY
troduced in India in 1850. In the following year
Once again, we are confronted with the quest- the East India Company began to use it and,
ion of the channels of communication adopted within a few years, the telegraph began to con-

110
R.C. Kapoor Comet Tales from India: Donati’s Comet of 1858

nect many far-off places in India. However, 6765 feet above sea-level at 30º 27′ 36.3′′
telegraph lines from London to India (8300 km) N and 78º 3′ 3.2′′ E (Kapoor 2014: 119).
had been laid and connected only by January
1870, first to Calcutta and then to Bombay and 10 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Madras (Karbelashvili, 1991). Eventually, it
I express my deep gratitude to the anonymous
was the Great September Comet of 1882 that
referees for their critical remarks and sug-
prompted the foundation in Kiel, Germany of
gestions. I am thankful to the late Dr Baba
the Central Bureau for Astronomical Tel-
Varghese and to Professor Wayne Orchiston
egrams (CBAT) in late 1882 by the editors of
for supplying versions of the Figure 2 locality
Astronomische Nachrichten when a need for a
map. I thank Dr Arpita Mukerji, Principal of the
coordinated centre was felt for a fast and
Scottish Church College in Kolkata for useful
proper dissemination of information.
correspondence on the Reverend Dr William
9 NOTES S. Mackay. Thanks also are due to the British
Library Reference Services that kindly provid-
1. “Comet Tales from India” is my ongoing ed the microfilm copies of the newspaper files
project since 2009 in the search for re- of Friend of India of 28 October 1858 and 11
cords of cometary sightings made from the November 1858. L’Astronomie staff kindly
Indian region, from antiquity until 1960, provided me Jacques Crovisier’s paper on
where available data, however minimal, Donati’s Comet from the June 2019 issue of
permit identification of the comet. The pa- that journal. I deeply acknowledge the support
per “Comet Tales from India. 1. Ancient to by the Director, Indian Institute of Astrophysics
Medieval” (Kapoor, 2018a) covers the per- (IIA) and permission to use material held in the
iod up to 1799. The search for observat- IIA Archives, and I thank Drs Christina Birdie
ions of comets made in India in the nine- and A. Vagiswari, Mr P. Prabahar and Mr B.S.
teenth and twentieth centuries is in pro- Mohan at the Library, IIA for help with
gress. Nineteenth century comets that accessing various references. This research
have been dealt with in this series are the has made use of NASA's Astrophysics Data
Great Comet of 1831 (Kapoor, 2011), the System, the "On-Line Solar System Data
bright comet of 1825 IV (Kapoor, 2016), Service" of the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, the
Donati’s Comet as described by Mirza Fourmilab of John Walker and theskylive.com.
Ghalib (Kapoor, 2018b), the Great Comet Classical reference material was gratefully
of 1807 (Kapoor, 2019a), the Great Comet used from the Internet Archives, The Times
of 1811 (Kapoor, 2019b) and the Great Archive, Google Books and Wikimedia
September Comet of 1882 (Kapoor, 2020). Commons, etc. My sincere thanks are due to
2. J.B.N. Hennessey (1829–1910), also from Mr Manu Kapoor who provided crucial assist-
The Great Trigonometrical Survey of India, ance at the computer. Finally, I am grateful to
had observed the 1874 transit of Venus Professor Wayne Orchiston for helping im-
from Mussoorie. Mary Villa, the site of his prove the presentation of this paper.
appropriately named ‘Venus Station’, was

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Professor Ramesh Kapoor began his career in 1971 at the Uttar Pradesh State Observatory (now Aryabhatta
Research Institute of Observational Sciences, ARIES) at Naini Tal in observational astronomy. His main interest
was flare stars. Since March 1974 until Sept 2010, he was with the Indian Institute of
Astrophysics (IIA), Bangalore where he worked on various topics in relativistic astrophysics
– observational aspects of black holes, white holes, quasars and pulsars etc. He has
participated as observer and organizer in a few solar eclipse expeditions of IIA and also
went out to observe a few on his own. He has published in peer-reviewed journals and
presented papers in national and international conferences.
Ramesh’s current interest is the history of astronomy in the Indian region, and he has
published a succession of papers in this journal. He has all along been active in
popularizing astronomy. He has published also on Indian Systems of Medicine. He is a
Member of the International Astronomical Union (since 1985), a Life Member of the
Astronomical Society of India (since 1973), and an Associate of the National Institute of Advanced Studies (NIAS,
IISc) since 2002 and of COSPAR Commission E Associate (since 2005).

113
 Journal of Astronomical History and Heritage, 24(1), 114 –124 (2021).

OBSERVATIONS OF THE TOTAL SOLAR ECLIPSE

OF 18 AUGUST 1868 CARRIED OUT BY JULES JANSSEN
AT GUNTOOR, INDIA

Françoise Launay,
Paris (France)
E-mail: francoise.launay4@wanadoo.fr
Abstract: Due to its exceptional length, the 18 August 1868 total solar eclipse gave the French physicist Jules
Janssen a very good opportunity to have spectroscopic observations put into practice to study the famous
prominences that could be seen only during total eclipses. He not only saw the hydrogen lines he was so
interested in, but he discovered too that it also would be possible to observe these lines at any time, without
waiting for the next eclipse. This ‘prominence method’ was independently discovered by Britain’s Norman
Lockyer at the same time, and was deemed so important and promising that the French Académie des Sciences
struck a special medal in honour of both scientists.
Keywords: Jules Janssen, 1868, solar eclipse, Guntoor, prominences, hydrogen, helium, spectrohelioscope

1 INTRODUCTION fore he turned 17. He found a position as an

When he left Paris to conduct one of the two accountant in a bank and worked hard to com-
French expeditions to India in 1868, Jules Jan- plete his formal education. He first acquired a
ssen, who was to become the well-known Di- good literary and classical grounding and then
rector of the Meudon ‘physical astronomy’ Ob- began to learn mathematics and physics. He
servatory, which was founded for him in 1875, obtained the corresponding degrees in 1852
had no official position. and 1855, and then became an assistant in a
grammar school in Paris.
However, he was known and recognized
Thanks to the Minister of Public Instruct-
by the scientific and political authorities. Let us
ion, in 1857 he was sent to Peru to determine
recall his background (Launay, 2008; 2012).
the course of the magnetic equator. In 1860,
Pierre Jules César Janssen (1824‒1907; Fig-
he received a Doctorate of Science based on a
ure 1) was born in Paris on 22 February 1824
thesis that he researched and wrote while
in a family where nothing seemed to suggest
serving as a tutor for a family of industrialists.
he would become an astronomer: his father
One year later, he began research on the solar
was a clarinettist and her mother was the
spectrum, observing from the roof of his Paris-
daughter of an architect. Unfortunately, finan-
ian house. After many observations and labo-
cial difficulties forced him to look for a job be-
ratory experiments, he was able to prove that
some spectral lines, which were more notice-
able at sunrise and sunset, were definitely of
terrestrial origin. He was then appointed a
teacher of physics in 1865, and again was sent
abroad, this time to England, Italy, Greece,
Portugal and Spain.
In December 1867, following the success
of his previous travels and observations, among
which the spectroscopic observation of an an-
nular eclipse in Trani (Italy) ten months earlier,
Janssen had received not only congratulat-
ions but also an offer of possible financial sup-
port from the new Minister of Public Instruct-
ion, Victor Duruy (1811‒1894; Figure 2).
Janssen’s request for help did not take
long to arrive at Duruy’s office, because of the
longest total solar eclipse which was due to
occur on next August. Whereas an ordinary
eclipse lasts between 2 and 3 minutes, the du-
ration of this one would actually be 6 minutes
57 seconds. The conditions were thus except-
Figure 1: Jules Janssen (from L’Illustration, © Author’s ionally favourable for achieving spectral analy-
collection). sis of the Sun’s ‘flames’, the prominences:
114
Françoise Launay Jules Janssen and the 1868 Solar Eclipse

If the prominences consist of solid mat- servatory, accompanied by his Paris Obser-
erial, they will give a continuous spectrum. vatory colleagues Georges Rayet (1839‒1906)
Are they incandescent gas? The spectrum and Félix Tisserand (1845‒1896), to Siam
will consist of brilliant lines, and the lo- (now Thailand), on the Malayan Peninsula (Or-
cation of the lines will reveal, to an exper-
ienced eye, the nature of the gas. (Jan-
chiston and Orchiston 2017), where they were
ssen, 1903: 315). met and accompanied Siam’s King Rama IV
(Soonthornthum and Orchiston, 2021), who
This is what spectral analysis would enable had a passion for astronomy (Georgelin and
one to determine. But Janssen had just Arzano, 1999). The decisions were not taken
enough time to prepare, because the path of without bitter tensions. Duruy had to intervene
visibility of the eclipse’s totality crossed Asia, once more, and signed the order for the ex-
and it would be necessary to leave two months pedition on 29 May, that is, two months after
before the event. Janssen’s. The French team for Siam had the
remarkable credit of 50,000 F, one third of the
2 PREPARATIONS
Paris Observatory’s annual budget.
Whilst the British were getting organised to
observe from India (see Orchiston et al., 2017),
the Germans from Aden, and the Dutch from
Celebes Island (Mumpuni et al., 2017), France,
which had initially thought to entrust observat-
ions to seamen, rather than astronomers, vac-
illated (Aubin, 1999). Being independent of
any institutions and, in particular, avoiding the
authoritarian influence of the Director of the
‘Imperial’ Paris Observatory, Urbain Le Verrier
(1811‒1877; Lequeux, 2013), Janssen dealt
directly with the Minister and his Department
that was responsible for expeditions. The or-
der that concerned him, and which sent him to
British India, with a grant of 15,000 F, was
signed by Duruy (1868a) on 9 March.
So, when Le Verrier approached him, Jan-
ssen could take pleasure in telling him that it
was too late:
I have received the letter in which you do
me the honour of asking me to take part in
Figure 2: The Minister of Public Instruction,
a committee relating to the Eclipse next
Victor Duruy (Album Félix Potin. © Author’s
August. I myself, Monsieur, must leave collection).
immediately for India, most particularly for
the plateaus of High Asia, where I intend to
carry out research into both celestial and Because the date of the eclipse fell in the
terrestrial Physics before observation of middle of the monsoon,
the eclipse. Being entirely involved in pre- … stations that offered the most favour-
parations for this major voyage, it would be able chance were those that proved to be
extremely difficult for me to carry out the sheltered by a high chain of mountains and
work of such a commission. I deeply re- the width of a major continent. (Janssen,
gret not being able to give yet again this 1903: 306).
proof of my devotion to our French
Science, but I hope that it will be con- Janssen decided quickly:
sidered that I am paying my debt in an- As soon as the Bureau des longitudes and
other form. (Janssen, 1868a). the Academy [of Sciences] had done me
A few days later, Duruy shook Le Verrier the honour of selecting me, I had no hes-
itation in choosing the eastern coast of
... let us try, by actual activity, to make up Hindustan. The station should be Masuli-
for these really annoying delays. The lo- patam or nearby …
cation chosen will save time. Can you not
find the means of adding spectroscopy and not far from Madras.
photography to the purely astronomical ob- Leaving Paris on 16 June, Janssen took a
servations ... (Duruy, 1868b).
ship from Marseille on the 19th, with the mem-
Finally, Le Verrier, who had suffered plenty of bers of the other French expedition, from whom
other refusals, sent Édouard Stephan (1837 he parted in Ceylon. On his arrival in Madras,
‒1923), the young Director of Marseilles Ob- he was received with the greatest courtesy by
115
Françoise Launay Jules Janssen and the 1868 Solar Eclipse

Figure 3: Map of India showing Guntoor (Guntur) in the white ellipse (map modification: Françoise Launay).

the British authorities, partly thanks to the let- cleverly interlinked, and the overall motion was
ters of recommendation from Warren De La provided by a mechanism constructed by the
Rue (1815‒1889), with whom he maintained brothers Émile (1834‒1895) and Léon (1840‒
extremely friendly relations. Despite the diffi- 1894) Brunner. Janssen, whose only assist-
culties arising from the moist heat and from the ant was a cadet from the liner l’Impératrice,
considerable amount of material that had been made the most of the abilities of three mem-
imported (twice what was necessary, as a bers of the Lefaucheur family, whom he intro-
precautionary measure), Janssen arrived two duced to the tasks of drawing and taking mea-
weeks early at Guntoor (Figure 3), the obser- surements!
ving location finally selected, equidistant from It was known at that time that the lines that
the mountains and the sea. There he found a Fraunhofer called C (in the red) and F (in the
family of French merchants, who had long been blue) were part of the spectral signature of
established in India, the Lefaucheurs, who hydrogen, its ‘identity card’, whilst the yellow D
offered him the whole of the first floor of their line corresponded to sodium, and was in fact
house, the highest and best situated in the two close lines D1 and D2, which had not been
place, which was linked to a terrace. It was separated (by Fraunhofer) in 1814.
thus there that Janssen observed the eclipse:
All the observers whose spectroscopes
I am having a screen of bamboos and
were directed at the assumed position of the
mats made against the wind. We have the
whole of an immense room for our instru- prominences, observed bright lines, of greater
ments. These families are proud and happy or lesser intensity, and characteristic of gas-
to receive us … eous emission. Whereas among the British,
Lieutenant John Herschel (1837‒1921), son of
he wrote to his wife Henriette on 4 August
Sir John (1792‒1871) and grandson of Sir
(Janssen, 1868b).
William (1738 ‒1822), saw three only (one of
which was in the red, closer to B than C; an
3 OBSERVATION OF THE ECLIPSE
orange one exactly on D; and a blue line al-
Janssen had four large 16-cm refractors at his most on F); Norman Pogson (1829 ‒1891) saw
disposal, together with a 21-cm Foucault re- five (one of which was yellow, on or near D,
flector, the mirror of which had been para- but no red); and Colonel James Tennant
bolised, free of charge, by the optician Ad- (1829 ‒1915), who was also at Guntoor, again
olphe Martin (1824‒1896). The refractors were five (one red, one yellow, and one blue corres-
116
Françoise Launay Jules Janssen and the 1868 Solar Eclipse

Figure 4: A prominence followed by Janssen on 4 September 1868, from original drawings preserved at the Institut de France
Library (Œuvres Scientifiques © Author’s collection).

ponding exactly with C, D and F), but with (Janssen, 1868h). It was during the following
considerable difficulty; the Frenchman Rayet night that he perfected this. Here is how Jan-
beat all records despite the absence of the red ssen, as a lecturer, explained it later during the
line corresponding to C, observing nine (of course of a meeting at the Sorbonne in 1870:
which one yellow line corresponded to D). For a long time people had tried to see
Janssen himself saw only “five or six”, but he prominences outside eclipses. Stops at
only cites five colours, without specifying their the focus of refractors, coloured glasses,
exact positions: etc., have all been tried without success.
The intense light from the photosphere has
Two spectra, each consisting of five very
always swamped the weak light from the
brilliant lines (red, yellow, green, blue, and
prominences, above all because of the
violet) filled the spectral field, and replaced
illumination of our own atmosphere around
the prismatic image of the Sun, which had
the disk of the Sun ... But let us interpose a
just disappeared ... These two spectra
prism ... The light from the Sun is approxi-
were caused by two magnificent promin-
mately white; it is rich in all the rays [of the
ences ... One of them ... resembled the
spectrum], it is thus spread out by the prism.
flame from the fire of a forge ... The right-
The prominences, by contrast, contribute
hand prominence ... presented the appear-
just a few simple [monochromatic] lines,
ance of a range of snow-covered mount-
their light is not weakened ... (Janssen,
ains. (Janssen, 1869e).
1903: 316 ‒317).

4 THE DISCOVERY OF THE The very next day he implemented ‘the

‘PROMINENCE METHOD’ method’ and was able to follow the evolution of
prominences with time, his eyes being fixed on
What in fact struck Janssen was, above all, the the C line of hydrogen, which we nowadays
exceptional intensity of the lines, their ‘bri- know as the Hα line:
lliance’ in the blue and in the red, and the
I was able to witness phenomena revealed
analysis of the light
by a new eclipse that lasted all day. The
… immediately showed him that it consist- prominences seen the day before were
ed of an immense column of incandescent greatly altered ... From that day until 4
gas, primarily consisting of hydrogen. (Jan- September, I constantly studied the Sun by
ssen, 1868h). this method. I have drawn charts of the
prominences ... This period ... was like an
He soon noticed that these lines were in the
eclipse that lasted seventeen days. (Jan-
exact position of the C and F lines, and it was ssen, 1869e).
only those lines and, in particular, the red C
line, that interested him. He also noted the Figure 4 shows a prominence that Janssen observ-
ed and tracked on 4 September 1868.
similarities in the chemical composition of the
two prominences observed during the eclipse:
5 PROBLEMS OF COMMUNICATION
their spectra corresponded line for line. At the
moment when the weather clouded over, just Sent the day after the eclipse, on 19 August, at
after the eclipse, he exclaimed “I shall see midday, the telegram that Janssen wrote in
these lines outside eclipses …” (Janssen, English to his wife arrived in the morning of the
1869a): he had just discovered a method of 21st. But because Janssen had used several
observing prominences and the region immed- French words, in particular ‘protubérances’ in-
iately around the Sun “… at any time, without it stead of the English word ‘prominences’, the
being necessary to have recourse to inter- Indians had problems transcribing it. The re-
posing an opaque body in front of the Sun.” sulting text that was transmitted was “Eclipse
117
Françoise Launay Jules Janssen and the 1868 Solar Eclipse

Figure 5: Janssen and Lockyer (Le Monde Illustré © Author’s collection).

observée protu Berankees spectrum remark- covery, although subsequent events showed
able and unexepcted [sic] protuberances gas- that he should perhaps have given it more con-
eous nature.” (Janssen, 1868c), and although sideration:
a bit surprising (after all, Le Moniteur trans- If our beloved France can be foremost in
lated it as: “eclipse observed at Rotaboranas”!) the observation of that eclipse, thanks to
it was perfectly comprehensible to scientists. this discovery, which it is improbable that
It was thus known in France that it had been others will have made, I shall be very
fine at Guntoor, and that the Janssen expedit- happy and rewarded. Now I need to make
ion had been a success. Henriette passed on it widely known. (Janssen, 1868e).
the information to the French authorities and to In fact, thanks to the (normal) delays in the
British friends, including Warren De La Rue, transport of post from India, his letters of 19
who thus received news from Janssen before September did not reach Paris until 24 Octo-
that from Tennant (De La Rue, 1868b). ber. The contents were made known to the
Everyone certainly wanted to know more, members of the Académie des Sciences at
but Janssen remained astonishingly silent. As their meeting on the 26th, both by Jean-
we have seen, he was observing without a Baptiste Dumas (1800‒1884), the Perpetual
break, and drawing up charts, and he only de- Secretary and by Charles Sainte-Claire Deville
cided to write to his wife, to the Académie des (1814‒1876).
Sciences, to the Bureau des Longitudes, and
to several friends, a month later, on 19 Sep- 6 NORMAN LOCKYER ENTERS THE
tember, from the port of Cocanada: PICTURE
I have just arrived from the interior [Gun- Another communication on the same subject
toor]. The eclipse was observed as you had, however, just been made at the same
will have learned from the telegram; but
meeting by Warren De La Rue. The latter in-
the most important thing, for which we
should thank God, is that I have discov- formed the President of two letters that he had
ered a method of studying prominences received, one of 21 October from the physicist
outside eclipses ... This method will be Balfour Stewart (1828 ‒1887), who announced
epoch-making in science; to a certain ex- that on 20 October, in London “Lockyer scored
tent it renders eclipses superfluous, and a success; he found red flames with his new
enables studies to be carried out at any spectroscope …” (De La Rue, 1868b), the in-
time. I am writing to my dear mother, who strument having sufficient dispersion, and which
will be extremely happy with this discovery he had finally received a few days earlier. The
by her son. (Janssen, 1868d).
second letter, dated 23 October, from Norman
Arriving at Calcutta at the beginning of Octo- Lockyer (1836 ‒1920; Figure 5) himself, gave
ber, he was more concerned to talk about his details. From this it was learned that Lockyer
hunting exploits during the trip, before ment- had put forward the idea of the method two
ioning the problems of disseminating his dis- years earlier, on 11 October 1866, in a paper

118
Françoise Launay Jules Janssen and the 1868 Solar Eclipse

communicated to the Royal Society of London unfortunately, very incomplete; that of the
(Lockyer, 1866). monuments is still to be carried out. The
English are only concerned with making
Very wisely, the astronomer and member money, and the other peoples are in-
of the Académie des Sciences Hervé Faye different. (Janssen, 1868g).
(1814‒1902), while fully supporting Janssen,
immediately calmed the situation: 7 THE STAY IN THE HIMALAYAS
It is certain that the initial idea of the meth-
There was no reaction of the meeting of 26
od by which M. Janssen first, and then M.
Norman Lockyer have succeeded, one in October at the Académie des Sciences until
India on 19 August, and the other in Eng- Janssen was at Simla, at an altitude of 8000
land on 20 October, to capture and mea- feet (2400 m), and it was doubtless thanks to
sure previously invisible phenomena by Faye’s suggestion that he felt no animosity
means of spectroscopic analysis, was de- towards the ‘English scholar’, whom he did not
vised and suggested first by M. Lockyer, know, and whom Henriette spoke about to him
but that it did not lead to any results ... It without even giving him the name. As such,
was only when he knew, through French he wrote, on 12 December, to Jean-Baptiste
and British observers1 of the eclipse, the
Dumas:
detailed nature of the spectrum of promin-
ences, that he succeeded in finding signs I cannot accept the far too flattering praise
of this spectrum in England ... M. Janssen, that M. Faye has heaped on the results of
for his part, found himself face to face with my efforts, but I fully associate myself with
the revealing phenomenon of the eclipse; that illustrious astronomer in applauding
he knew immediately how to interpret it; he the success of M. Norman Lockyer. Given
succeeded being a true master as well, his ignorance of the results that I had ob-
and was the first to discover what had long tained in India, this physicist fully deserved
been sought, but fruitlessly, before him ... his achievement in obtaining, in an inde-
But instead of trying to proportion the merit pendent fashion, confirmation of his very
of the discovery, and consequently dimin- sound predictions. (Janssen, 1869a).
ishing it, would it not be better to impartial-
ly attribute the whole honour to both of these He was not as pleasant to Henriette, who
two men of science ...? (Faye, 1868). complained about his return being deferred
month after month, and to whom he replied:
Charles Sainte-Claire Deville immediately
went to see Henriette. He recounted to her a You can trust me; I have started to acquire
glory and position for you, you have all you
comment about her husband that Faye had need, you have an interesting child to
made to him on leaving the meeting: “This raise, you can do good, etc., and still you
man has a real genius for observation …” complain! But that is to tempt God. Do
(Janssen, H., 1868), and he was anxious to be you want everything without any sacrifice?
the first to tell her that Duruy would be sending I beg you, once for all, show more courage
Janssen the cross of the Légion d’Honneur and await my return with cheerfulness,
within three days. Janssen would not have work and spirit. (Janssen, 1868i).
had to wait for very long following the recent, Others were taken to task, such as Le Verrier,
unsuccessful proposal by forty academicians, which was not surprising, but so was Rayet:
which Henriette had told him about on 15 Aug-
ust, and to which he had replied: The observation by M. Rayet is extremely
mediocre; he did not even see that it was
You are wrong to bother. Although accord- hydrogen, and reported B for C. His cross-
ing the red ribbon all the justice and re- shaped slit with the solar crescent was a
spect it merits, I consider that the décor- poor arrangement, etc. M. Leverrier [sic]
ation that I received on 19 August is great- got him a decoration because I had one,
er and will do me more honour. (Janssen, through jealousy – that man is pitiable.
1868e). (ibid.).
At that time, Janssen was at Calcutta, For Janssen, one good piece of news
where he stayed for a month to get used to the brought others: he was proposed for the Acad-
cold before leaving for the Himalaya: “… it will émie des Sciences on 7 December, which was
be really nippy up the mountain …” (Janssen, an honour, even if the chances of success
1868f) he had been told. While there, he took were non-existent on that occasion and, on 5
a bit more time to write, even sending his January Henriette learned that the major ast-
cousin Geneviève Élisa accounts of the region ronomy prize of the Académie des Sciences,
that he was visiting: the Lalande Prize, was going to be awarded to
India is now a curious country, especially him. What is more, the Académie des
from the point of view of races and relig- Sciences would increase the sum from 600 F
ions. Studies that have been made are, to 2000 F! 2 (Janssen, H., 1869). Henriette

119
Françoise Launay Jules Janssen and the 1868 Solar Eclipse

was thus able to pay her next month’s rent diaphragms, and by placing the slit of his
without having to borrow from her brother. spectroscope, not (as formerly) perpendicular
to the prominences, but tangential to the disk
On his mountain, Janssen worked “… un-
of the Sun (Janssen, 1869d). However, when
der conditions of atmospheric dryness that
he prudently sent confirmation of the new dis-
were exceptionally favourable for his spectral
covery by telegraph on 12 January:
and hygroscopic research …”, and rejoiced in
them: “I have superb weather and am gaining Confirmation of the existence of a hydro-
a marvellous advantage over M. Lockyer, who genous atmosphere around the Sun. Re-
must now be under a curtain of fog.” (Janssen, lationship between the presence of spots
1869b). and prominences. (Faye, 1869),
he did not suspect that he had been anticipat-
ed by Lockyer, and which he willingly acknow-
ledged subsequently:
M. Lockyer had noted the presence of this
atmosphere back in November. I anticipat-
ed him by two months in discovering the
method; he has anticipated me by one
month in finding the Sun’s hydrogen at-
mosphere, which he has called the chro-
mosphere [Lockyer, 1869: 430]. (Janssen,
1903: 320).
Curiously, it was between William Huggins
(1824‒1910) and Lockyer that a quarrel arose
(Meadows, 1972: 55), because Huggins claim-
ed priority for the idea of the famous ‘method’!
For Janssen and Lockyer (Figure 5), however,
the events of 1868 marked the beginning of a
deep friendship, undoubtedly encouraged by
the unorthodox path that each had followed
(Lockyer began his career as an amateur ast-
ronomer while he was employed by the War
Office), and sealed forever by the fine medal
that the Académie des Sciences had struck a
few years later, in 1872.
This medal has the profiles of the two
scientists on the obverse, whilst on the reverse
Apollo’s chariot passes in front of the eclipsed
Sun. The god is pointing to the prominences
with his right index finger, and the date 18
August is also stated on the reverse (Figure 6).
This annoyed Lockyer slightly, but Janssen ex-
plained that it was Dumas, the Perpetual Sec-
retary of the Académie des Sciences, who had
the idea of the medal, and that he wanted to
commemorate the fact that it was the eclipse
that led to the discovery (Janssen, 1872a).
Figure 6: The Janssen-Lockyer Medal showing the When Janssen sent the medal to Lockyer, it
profiles of the two scientists and Apollo’s chariot passing was with the following words:
in front of the Sun. (© Author’s collection).
English science has always shown
In a letter of 8 January, he announces the great sympathy towards me of which
discovery of I am proud; please receive in return
this evidence of the great esteem that
… prominence material around the whole
of the solar disk, where it makes a form of
we have of you in France. (Janssen,
continuous ring of which the prominences 1872b).
are just the most salient portions. (Jans- Lockyer hurried to express the pleasure that
sen, 1869d).
he felt in the fact that “… the work it comm-
He arrived at this result by using coloured emorates has been accomplished with such a
glasses or else opaque or semi-transparent noble fellow.” (Lockyer, 1872).
120
Françoise Launay Jules Janssen and the 1868 Solar Eclipse

Janssen was keen to extend his stay in If we now imagine that the spectroscope
High Asia to study not just the spectra of the turning around an axis through the two
planets and stars, searching for water vapour slits, then the various portions of the lum-
(which he said he found), but also the higher inous image [of the Sun] will successively
produce their monochromatic line in the
reaches of our own atmosphere. But funds examining telescope, and if the relative
were lacking. He wrote to Duruy, who hast- movement is sufficiently rapid, the succes-
ened to help him, whereas Faye and Dumas sion of all these lines will produce an over-
thought that his presence in Paris would be all impression that will be the image [of the
more useful. On 30 January, the Minister wrote Sun], created by rays of a single refrangi-
to Dumas: bility. (Janssen, 1869f).
The results of this expedition are assuming In other words, if the motion is sufficiently fast
such importance that it seems to me to be to obtain persistence of vision of the impres-
urgent to authorize M. Janssen to go on. I sions on the retina, the trick will work! This is
am writing to him by telegraph to continue nothing less than the description of the prin-
his research and that the necessary funds ciple of the spectroheliograph, which was per-
will be placed at his disposal. (Duruy,
1869).
fected at the beginning of the 1890s by
George Ellery Hale (1868‒1938) in the United
On 6 February, 5000 F were released! States and Henri Deslandres (1853‒1948) in
Henriette met the Minister to receive this Paris, and interest in which has never flagged.
money, and in April Faye confided in her: But it would have been obvious that Janssen’s
suggestion was directed at colleagues who
Before this expedition, M. Janssen was
known as a talented person, and highly in-
would be expected to understand, and not to
telligent, but now, he has made a name for the general public.
himself, he is perfectly set. He has, he At Exeter, Janssen became acquainted with
added laughing, got things in a bag. His Lockyer, and the two families subsequently
observations of the eclipse succeeded per- met again in London.
fectly, whereas the expedition to Malacca
has returned sheepishly; the English them-
selves achieved very little; and when he 9 THE NON-DISCOVERY OF HELIUM BY
made his discovery he far exceeded the JANSSEN
aims of his expedition. (Janssen, H., Janssen is frequently attributed with the discov-
1869b). ery of helium during the course of the 1868
Later, Janssen would never forget the effective eclipse. It certainly was not so (Aubin, 1999;
support from the Minister: Launay, 2008; 2012; Nath, 2013), but what
We, the French observers, must recognize role did Janssen play in the affair? In all prob-
that to M. Duruy we owe the fact that we ability, it was simply that of a mere expert in
have had favourable conditions to sustain ‘observational skill’.
the scientific struggle that arose between The facts are that on 18 August, all the ob-
scholarly nations regarding the great astro-
nomical phenomenon of 1868. (Janssen,
servers, including Janssen, mentioned a yel-
1903: 299). low line observed in the spectrum of the prom-
inences, but no one was able to give the exact
8 THE PRINCIPLE OF THE position of the line. It was Lockyer who really
SPECTROHELIOSCOPE became concerned about it after 20 October,
thinking about it calmly in London, and after
Janssen did not return to France until the end having read the report from his colleagues,
of July, and in August, while attending the an- and from whom he had probably requested
nual meeting of the BAAS held at Exeter in further information. He established positively
England, he intended to describe his recent that this line did not coincide with the D1 and
discoveries. These included a short paper that D2 sodium doublet. The line, which he called
was slightly more detailed than the one pre- D3 to distinguish it, was ‘more refrangible’,
sented to the Académie des Sciences on 11 which means that it had a shorter wavelength
January (Janssen, 1869a), on a than the other two. It seems obvious that Jan-
… method of observing monochromatic ssen was replying to a specific query that he
images of luminous objects … [which] ap- had received, when he asked Charles Sainte-
plied to the Sun, can provide images of the Claire Deville to bring to the attention of the
whole of prominences. (Janssen, 1869f). Académie des Sciences the following pas-
To do this, Janssen suggested placing a sec- sage from his letter of 19 December 1868
ond slit at the exit of the spectroscope, on the (which, until now, has never been published):
monochromatic image of the entrance slit, Several observers have claimed the bright
where the image of the Sun was formed: D line as forming part of the spectrum of

121
Françoise Launay Jules Janssen and the 1868 Solar Eclipse

Lockyer, for his part, wanted to identify the

line and, in collaboration with the chemist Ed-
ward Frankland (1825 ‒1899), tried to observe
it in the laboratory, thinking at first that it was a
hydrogen line that was not emitted under the
same conditions as the C and F lines. In view
of the total failure of the experiments, Lockyer
decided to christen the unknown solar element
that emitted the line ‘helium’.
It was only in 1895 that helium was ex-
tracted from a mineral, cleveite, by William
Ramsay (1852‒1916), and was thus identified
as being a terrestrial element.
Lockyer (1896) did not mention Janssen in
the article on the history of helium that he pub-
lished in 1896 in his journal Nature,3 and Jan-
ssen certainly never claimed the discovery of
this gas, to which he appeared so indifferent
Figure 7: The three achievements by Janssen selected for that one might wonder if he ever spoke its
his statue at Meudon (© F. Launay). name. But he did, at least three times: the first
under indisputable circumstances in 1896, be-
the prominences on 18 August. The bright cause it was on the occasion of the award of
yellow line did indeed lie very close to D, the Académie des Sciences Janssen Prize to
but the light was more refrangible than Deslandres, who had indeed specifically identi-
those of the D lines. My subsequent stud- fied in cleveite two other solar lines caused by
ies of the Sun have shown the accuracy of
what I state here. (Janssen, 1869c).
helium (Janssen, 1896); the second citation
occurred during the course of a public lecture
It also appears perfectly clear that it was thanks on the constitution of the Sun and on Mont-
to his observations made after the eclipse that Blanc Observatory, which Janssen gave in
he could be so sure of what he stated, but he Rouen in 1901 (Janssen, 1930); and finally,
never returned to the subject. helium was definitely given due prominence in
the account of the eclipse of 1905, the last one
that Janssen observed (just two years before
his death).

10 CONCLUDING REMARKS
Janssen’s true discovery of 1868, the ‘prom-
inence method’, was however far from minor.
In October that same year, could he not write
to his wife: “I was sent to observe the eclipse
for 5 minutes and I am bringing back from the
Indies an eternal eclipse.” (Janssen, 1868e).
The importance of this discovery had not
escaped the members of the Committee who
had chosen the three main representative
achievements of Janssen’s career to be put on
the base of his statue inaugurated in 1920 at
Meudon (Figure 7). While the two evocations
depicted on the lateral sides where Janssen’s
balloon escape from Paris in 1870, and the
foundation of Mont-Blanc Observatory in 1893,
the third one featured on the front face was that
of the ‘prominence method’ discovered during
the 1868 eclipse (Figure 8).

Figure 8: Statue of Janssen at Meudon. Front face plaque 11 NOTES

(nowadays destroyed) evocating the ‘prominence method’
discovered by Janssen in India in 1868 (Inauguration de la 1. Lockyer had, in fact, read Rayet’s report
statue de Janssen © Author’s collection). (1869) the day before.
122
Françoise Launay Jules Janssen and the 1868 Solar Eclipse

2. In fact, 2500 F would be awarded to Jans- 3. He created the journal in 1869 and super-
sen at the meeting of 7 June. vised it until his death.

12 REFERENCES
Aubin, D., 1999. La métamorphose des éclipses de Soleil. La Recherche, 321, 78 – 83 (in French).
De La Rue, W., 1868a. Letter to Henriette Janssen, 26 August 1868, Bibliothèque de l’Institut de France
(henceforth BIF), MS 4136-337 (in French).
De La Rue, W., 1868b. Sur une méthode employée par M. Lockyer pour observer en temps ordinaire le spectre
des protubérances signalées dans les éclipses du Soleil. Comptes Rendus Hebdomadaires de l’Académie
des Sciences (henceforth CRAS), 67, 836 – 838 (in French).
Duruy, V., 1868a. Ministerial order, 09 March, Archives Nationales (Paris), F/17/2977 (in French).
Duruy, V., 1868b. Letter to Urbain Le Verrier, 19 March, Marseille Observatory Archives (in French).
Duruy, V., 1869. Letter to Jean-Baptiste Dumas, 30 January, Archives Nationales, F/17/2977 (in French).
Faye, H., 1868. CRAS, 67, 840 – 841 (in French).
Faye, H., 1869. Note sur un télégramme et sur une lettre de M. Janssen. CRAS, 68, 112 –114.
Georgelin, Y., and Arzano, S., 1999. L’éclipse du Soleil du 18 août August 1868, Stephan and Rayet, hôtes du
roi de Siam à Wha-Thonne. l’Astronomie, 113, 12 –17 (in French).
Janssen, H., 1868. Letter to Jules Janssen, 26 October, BIF, Ms 4134-69 (in French).
Janssen, H., 1869a. Letter to Jules Janssen, 05 January, BIF, Ms 4134-85 (in French).
Janssen, H., 1869b. Letter to Jules Janssen, 04 April, BIF, Ms 4134-100 (in French).
Janssen, J., 1868a. Letter to Urbain Le Verrier, 12 March, Marseille Observatory Archives (in French).
Janssen, J., 1868b. Letter to his wife, 4 August, which arrived in Paris 02 September, BIF, Ms 4133-103 (in
French).
Janssen, J., 1868c. Telegram to his wife, 19 August, BIF, Ms 4133-104 (in English and French).
Janssen, J., 1868d. Letter to his wife, sent 19 September, arriving in Paris 24 October, BIF, Ms 4133-105 (in
French).
Janssen, J., 1868e. Letter to his wife, 10 October, BIF, Ms 4133-106 (in French).
Janssen, J., 1868f. Letter to his wife, 22 October, BIF, Ms 4133-107 (in French).
Janssen, J., 1868g. Letter to Geneviève Élisa Janssen-Le Roux, 25 October, archives of Nicole Worms de
Romilly and Françoise Andlauer (in French).
Janssen, J., 1868h. Indication de quelques uns des résultats obtenus à Cocanada [sic, instead of Guntoor],
pendant l’éclipse du mois d’Août dernier, et à la suite de cette éclipse. CRAS, 67, 838 – 839 (in French).
Janssen, J., 1868i. Letter to his wife, 02 December, BIF, Ms 4133-111 (in French).
Janssen, J. (1869a). Sur l’étude spectrale des protubérances solaires. CRAS, 68 (11, 93 – 95 (in French).
Janssen, J. (1869b). Letter to his wife, 16 January, BIF, Ms 4133-116 (in French).
Janssen, J. (1869c). De l’existence d’une atmosphère hydrogénée autour du Soleil. CRAS, 68, 112 (in French).
Janssen, J. (1869d). Résumé des notions acquises sur la constitution du Soleil. CRAS, 68, 312 – 314 (in French).
Janssen, J. (1869e). Observations spectrales prises pendant l’éclipse du 18 août 1868, et méthode d’observation
des protubérances en dehors des éclipses. CRAS, 68, 367– 376 (in French).
Janssen, J., 1869f. Méthode pour obtenir les images monochromatiques des corps lumineux. Report of the 39th
Meeting of the BAAS, Exeter, August, 67– 68 (in French).
Janssen, J., 1872a. Letter to Norman Lockyer, 19 April 1872, Exeter University Library (henceforth EUL).
Janssen, J., 1872b. Letter to Norman Lockyer, 28 April, EUL.
Janssen, J., 1896. Rapport sur le prix Janssen décerné en 1896 par l’Académie des sciences à M. Deslandres.
CRAS, 123, 1120 –1121 (in French).
Janssen, J., 1903. Conférence sur l’éclipse totale du 18 Août 1868 [lecture given in 1870]. In Lectures
Académiques Discours. Paris, Hachette. Pp. 299 – 329 (in French).
Janssen, J., 1930. La constitution du Soleil et l’observatoire du Mont Blanc. In Œuvres Scientifiques, Volume II.
Paris, Éditions Maritimes et Coloniales. Pp. 558 – 566 (in French).
Launay, F., 2008. Un Globe-trotter de la Physique Céleste. L’astronome Jules Janssen. Paris, Vuibert/
l’Observatoire de Paris.
Launay, F., 2012. The Astronomer Jules Janssen. A Globetrotter of Celestial Physics. New York, Springer.
Lequeux, J., 2013. Le Verrier – Magnificent and Detestable Astronomer (English translation by Bernard
Sheehan), New York, Springer.
Lockyer, J.N., 1866. Spectroscopic observations of the Sun. Proceedings of the Royal Society, 15, 256 – 258.
Lockyer, J.N., 1869. Spectroscopic observations of the Sun. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of
London, 159, 425 – 444.
Lockyer, J.N., 1872. Letter to Jules Janssen, 13 May, BIF, Ms 4136-383.
Lockyer, J.N., 1896. The story of helium. Nature, 53, 319 – 322 and 342 – 346.
Meadows, A.J., 1972. Science and Controversy. A Biography of Sir Norman Lockyer. Cambridge (Mass.), MIT
Press.
Mumpuni, E.S., Orchiston, W., and Steinicke, W., 2017. J.A.C. Oudemans’ observations of the 18 August 1868
and 12 December 1871 total solar eclipses from the Dutch East Indies. In Nakamura and Orchiston, 357– 373.
Nakamura, T., and Orchiston, W. (eds.), 2017. The Emergence of Astrophysics in Asia: Opening a New Window
on the Universe. Cham (Switzerland), Springer.
Nath, B.B., 2013. The Story of Helium and the Birth of Astrophysics. New York, Springer.

123
Françoise Launay Jules Janssen and the 1868 Solar Eclipse

Orchiston, W., and Orchiston, D.L., 2017. King Rama IV and French observations of the 18 August 1868 total
solar eclipse from Wha-koa, Siam. In Nakamura and Orchiston, 219 – 317.
Orchiston, W., Lee, E.-H., and Ahn, Y.-S., 2017. British observations of the 18 August 1868 total solar eclipse
from Guntoor, India. In Nakamura and Orchiston, 771 – 793.
Rayet, G., 1869. The total solar eclipse of August 1868. Report of M. Rayet. Astronomical Register, 7, 133 – 134.
Soonthornthum, B., and Orchiston, W., 2021. King Rama IV: astronomer and ‘The Father of Thai Science’. In
Orchiston, W., and Vahia, M. (eds.), Exploring the History of Southeast Asian Astronomy: A Review of Current
Projects and Future Prospects and Possibilities. Cham (Switzerland), Springer. In press.

Françoise Launay made her whole career as a research engineer at Meudon

Observatory where she was the technical head for a large high resolution vacuum
ultraviolet spectrograph installed in the very place where the astronomer Jules Janssen
carried out his laboratory experiments. She was also involved in preservation of
artefacts of scientific history. She had joined the team of historians at Paris Observa-
tory as an associate researcher when she published Janssen’s biography (Vuibert/
Observatoire de Paris, 2008; Springer, 2012) and continued researching astronomical
instrument makers. She is now devoting herself to discovering unpublished material to
document also the biographies of unknown or erroneously known encyclopaedists and
people whose names appear in the correspondences of D’Alembert (including himself!),
Diderot and Condorcet.

124
 Journal of Astronomical History and Heritage, 24(1), 125 –136 (2021).

TWO PROTO-SCIENCE-FICTION NOVELS WRITTEN IN

FRENCH BY EIGHTEENTH CENTURY WOMEN

Yaël Nazé*
University of Liège, B5C, Allée du 6 Août 19c, B4000-Liège, Belgium.
E-mail: ynaze@uliege.be

Abstract: With Cyrano, Voltaire, and Verne, France provided important milestones in the history of early science
fiction. However, even if the genre was not very common a few centuries ago, there were numerous additional
contributions by French-speaking writers. In this paper, we review two cases of interplanetary novels written in the
second half of the eighteenth century and sharing a rare particularity: their authors were female. Voyages de Milord
Céton was imagined by Marie-Anne de Roumier-Robert whereas Cornélie Wouters de Wasse conceived Le Char
Volant. While their personal lives were very different, and their writing style too, both authors share in these novels
a common philosophy in which equality—between ranks but also between genders—takes an important place.
Their works thus clearly fit into the context of the Enlightenment.
Keywords: science fiction; planets; Moon; women novelists ; eighteenth century

1 INTRODUCTION mégas, by Voltaire (1694 –1778), published in

1752, as the main science-fiction story of this
Early science fiction may be traced back to
time. In it, a big (really big) extraterrestrial from
antiquity, but the roots of its modern avatar are
Sirius travels to the Solar System where he
often attributed to the Age of Reason. Of
meets a much smaller (but still big by our stand-
course, there is no single country, language, or
ards) creature from Saturn. Together, they fur-
civilization that may claim to be the unique point
ther travel to the Earth, at first thinking it unin-
of origin. This contribution will focus on the
habited then realizing it harbors microscopic
case of France. The country has produced sev-
people. While typically Voltairian, this short text
eral influential works in this context. In 1657
mocking the importance that the earthlings at-
Savinien de Cyrano de Bergerac (1619–1655,
tach to themselves somehow recalls Cyrano’s
Figure 1) proposed a comical journey to the
writings because of its satirical tone. In addition
lunar states and empires (soon to be comple-
to these famous stories, there were many other
mented by a journey to their solar colleagues).
The lively text, with its satirical hue, was in-
spired by the novel The Man in the Moone
written by Francis Godwin (1562–1633) and
translated into French in 1648 by Jean Bau-
douin (1590–1650). Cyrano’s novel was a
great success, influencing many other works
there-after. Two centuries later, Jules Verne
(1828–1905, Figure 1) proposed another dip-
tych, De la Terre à la Lune (1865) and Autour
de la Lune (1869), this time limited to a journey
to the Moon. Verne’s tone was very different
from Cyrano’s: no satire, no humor, but detail-
ed descriptions of the technology and know-
ledge of the time. These first hard science-
fiction novels were also immensely influential,
well beyond France. Indeed, many astronaut-
ics pioneers (notably Konstantin Tsiolkovsky
(1857–1935), Robert H. Goddard (1882–1945),
and Wernher von Braun (1912–1977)) quoted
Verne’s books as inspiring sources.
Cyrano and Verne are bookends of sorts to
Figure 1: While no portrait of de Roumier-Robert or Wouters
the eighteenth century, famous for its Enlight- is known, the situation appears different for other
enment. Often neglected in this context, the protagonists of this article. From top left to bottom right are
epoch actually experienced a science-fiction shown Cyrano de Bergerac (engraving, from gallica.bnf.fr /
BnF - ark:/12148/bpt6k6206781d), Fontenelle (painting by
boom, with many works published on journeys N. de Largillière, from Wikipedia – public domain), Edmund
of various types. One often presents Micro- Halley (portrait by R. Phillips, before 1722, from National
Portrait Gallery #4393), and Jules Verne (photograph by F.
* FNRS Senior Research Associate Nadar around 1878, from Wikipedia – public domain).

125
Yaël Nazé Two Eighteenth Century Proto-Science Fiction Novels

works presenting interplanetary journeys. Al- tific discourse by that famous scholar (La Porte
though less influential, they are no less inter- and La Croix, 1767: 79). The family was how-
esting. This paper focuses on two works, the ever ruined in the aftermath of the John Law
Voyages de Milord Céton and Le Char Volant, scandal 2 in 1720 and her parents died rather
which share a peculiarity: they were written by quickly afterwards. As a consequence, Marie-
women. The next two sections will examine the Anne’s education had to be stopped and she
two novels, each one first presenting the au- was sent to a convent before finally being mar-
thor, then the plot, and finally the work’s recept- ried to a lawyer named Mr Robert. Despite her
ion and its inspiration sources. Section 4 will isolation and poor health, she wrote several
further study the astronomical and philosophi- novels before her death in 1771 (La Porte and
cal content of the novels, while Section 5 sum- La Croix, 1769, editor’s introduction to de
marizes and concludes. Roumier-Robert, 1787a, and Harth, 1992). The
one we examine in this paper, Voyages de
2 VOYAGES DE MILORD CÉTON Milord Céton dans les Sept Planettes ou Le
2.1 The Author Nouveau Mentor, was first published in 1765–
Marie-Anne de Roumier-Robert was born in 1766 (Figure 2).
1705 to a wealthy French family, bourgeois but
probably of noble origins (Harth, 1992). Her 2.2 The Novel
father was a friend of Bernard Le Bouyer de The title page of the novel mentions “Mrs R.-R.”
Fontenelle1 (1657–1757, Figure 1). As a young as the translator. This peculiarity is explained
girl, she may have heard at home some scien- in the preface through the following story. One

Figure 2: Front page of Voyages de Milord Céton by de Roumier-Robert (1787a, from gallica.bnf.fr/BnF - ark:/12148/bpt6k818002)
and first of the four engravings made by C.-P. Marillier (1740 –1808) to accompany the text in that edition (from Bibliothèques
Universitaires de Poitiers, Fonds ancien, FD 1511). This engraving relates to the very beginning of the story and shows the genie,
pictured as an old, wise man, welcoming Monime (in man’s clothes) with Céton behind her.

126
Yaël Nazé Two Eighteenth Century Proto-Science Fiction Novels

day, a small ‘salamander’ jumped out of the fire 2.3 Reception and Inspiration
and discussed with her. It was maybe just a
This long (900 pages in the 1787 edition!) novel
dream but, after that interlude, she found
was the third written by de Roumier-Robert.
sheets of paper on her desk full of text (in her
Since its publication, it has received mixed re-
own handwriting!). She then explained that the
views. In 1765, when only the first two parts
following pages simply reproduce that text and
had been published, it was mocked as one of
as such she merely was an editor or a trans-
the worst novels inspired by Gulliver’s Travels
lator, not the real author (although she actually
of Jonathan Swift 3 (1667–1745)—see Collect-
was, of course!). This stratagem was quite
ive (1878: 185–186). Her other novels also re-
common in the past, especially in fantasy or
ceived a similarly bad reception (Harth, 1992),
science-fiction novels, but here it further served
although the lack of enthusiasm was not gener-
the purpose of making a woman acceptable as
al. In his biography, La Porte and La Croix
a source of literature.
(1769: 80) recalled her “… fertile imagination
The novel then begins with an introduction. …”, and described de Roumier-Robert’s writing
The narrator is an English orphan boy, Céton, as possessing
whose father had to flee after Cromwell’s revo-
… a striking mind and a sentimental tone
lution and whose mother died from sorrow soon that give to her novels a strong interest; her
afterwards. His sister Monime and he were host- style is simple and natural; she does not
ed by a distant relative when they stumbled up- adorn it with fashionable ‘bel esprit’.
on Zachiel, a genie, who decided to provide
them with a good education (Figure 2). To- In their detailed and appreciative description of
wards this aim, Zachiel envisaged a space voy- the Voyages, they mentioned that the text pre-
age, which Céton soon accepted, pushed by sents “… interesting episodes, naturally brought
Monime’s enthusiasm. and chained together with art.” (La Porte and La
Croix, 1769: 99). In addition, twenty years later,
The novel then continues with seven chap- Charles-Georges-Thomas Garnier considered
ters, one for each visited ‘planet’: Moon, Mer- the Voyages to be worthy (“… estimable …”,
cury, Venus, Mars, Sun, Jupiter and Saturn, by see the editor’s preface of de Roumier-Robert
order of appearance. Except for the Sun and 1787a) and re-edited two of her novels, Voages
Saturn, the ‘planets’ actually constitute opport- and Les Ondins—those versions are today eas-
unities to show the worst human flaws: the ier to find than the original leaflets.
Moon has inconstant (lunatic?) and frivolous
inhabitants; avarice and greed rule over Mer- Furthermore, in his Mondes Imaginaires et
cury; short-lived passion and libertinism are Mondes Réels (Flammarion, 1865), the astron-
found on Venus; Mars welcomes useless war omer and famous popularizer Camille Flamm-
and unwonted glory; while Jupiter welcomes arion (1842–1925) devoted no less than 15
plotting courtiers of all sorts because nobility pages to the Voyages in Chapter XI of the
reigns on this planet, even if titles were unfairly second part of his book. He stated that such a
acquired. In each case, the plot structure is long description was warranted because the
similar. After a depiction of the planetary vices book is the prototype of one kind of fiction
in various situations, the two orphans encount- (Flammarion, 1865: 512). He also stated that
er a lonely virtuous soul who has been perse- the “… feminine author of these travels posses-
cuted and whom they help. In contrast, they sed some skill in the mechanism of her novels.”
find the Sun to be the seat of reason. It wel- (Flammarion, 1865: 505), thereby showing his
comes philosophers, scientists, and poets, un- appreciation of the writings.
der the auspices of Apollo and the Muses. The A more recent assessment of the work pro-
last planet, Saturn, is depicted as a pastoral vides a balanced view, which summarizes well
paradise, a place where simplicity, temperance, the weaknesses and strengths of the novel
and Nature are the main virtues (a portrait not (Chambrionne, 2015):
unrelated to the theories of Jean-Jacques Rous-
seau (1712–1778)). It has to be admitted that Voyages de Milord
Céton is not the most readable of texts even
Finally, Zachiel reveals that Monime is act- by the standards of its day; it is not only
ually the cousin, not the sister, of Céton as well prolix, repetitive, and inconsistent, but in
as the heir of Georgia. They come back to some respects remarkably lacking in seem-
Earth to help Monime to claim the throne, which ingly necessary intelligence although cer-
tainly not in boldness … Madame Robert’s
she eventually acquires after a battle. She narrative also has some striking compen-
marries Céton and elevates him from consort to satory virtues. Not the least of those
king status. Meanwhile he has found his lost compensations is the sheer bizarrerie of
father and the reunited family live happily ever certain parts of the narrative … Although
after. undoubtedly long-winded and sprawling—

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Yaël Nazé Two Eighteenth Century Proto-Science Fiction Novels

in a manner far from unfashionable in its cure,5 while any French travel to the Moon pays
day—Voyages de Milord Céton’s panoram- some dues to the pioneering novel by Cyrano
ic view of human life, divided up in order to (1657). However, C.-G.-T. Garnier refutes a
emphasize different features in turn, does direct linkage with Cyrano in his editor’s preface
add up, jigsaw-style, to an original and
worthwhile whole.
of de Roumier-Robert (1787a) because marvel-
ous images and caricatures are absent, being
The novel possesses several sources of rather replaced by a “… fine and delicate criti-
inspiration, the most obvious one of which is of cism …” Finally, Chambrionne (2015) mentions
course Fontenelle (1686), probably because of a closeness to the Moon depicted in Zamar …
his relationships with the author’s family. The by Tiphaigne de la Roche (1722–1774; 1754)
idea of a plurality of worlds is indeed central to and in Le Voyageur Philosophe … by Mr de
this travel throughout the Solar System, since Listonai (1761), both of which were published
each planet displays welcoming weather con- before Voyages de Milord Céton …
ditions and similarly hosts plants, animals, and
human inhabitants. On a more specific note, 3 LE CHAR VOLANT
one may find some direct borrowing from Font- 3.1 The Author
enelle’s text. For example, when discussing the
Cornélie Wouters was born in Brussels, prob-
ably in 1737 (Klaus, 2004). She married the
Baron of Wasse (sometimes also written as
Vasse), and travelled around Europe with him
until his death (Collective, 1827: 256). She then
settled in Paris, where this cosmopolitan wo-
man hosted lively salons (Gevrey, 2020). She
then had a short but intensive literary career.
With her sister Marie, she produced several
translations from English works, notably several
theater plays and a history of famous men (“Le
Plutarque Anglois”). Her translated plays con-
tain a few adaptations to suit the taste for more
formal language of the French public: for ex-
ample, she softened rude language or direct
sexual allusions (Klaus, 2007a). She also left
some manuscripts popularizing natural sciences
or chemistry (Collective, 1827: 257) although
they seem lost today. In addition, she wrote
fiction, with two libertinism novels and two travel
novels, including a travel to the Moon in Le Char
Volant, published in 1783 (Figure 3). Due to the
French revolution, she lost access to her prop-
erties in England and Germany, leading her into
some financial difficulties. She continued, how-
ever, to be involved in the intense discussions
of the time. In 1790, she notably sent a text to
the National Constituent Assembly to support
citizenship access for the Jews (Klaus, 2007b).
Figure 3: Front page of Le Char Volant by Wouters (1783, In an original move, clearly different from other
from Google books, id -FdU9nBjLVoC).
contributors to that question, she did not try to
excuse the perceived Jewish flaws (like usury)
origin of astronomy and geometry, pages 19– or to promise future conversions to Christianity
20 of de Roumier-Robert (1787a) uses but act- if citizenship was granted. Rather, she referred
ually shortens the text on pages 28–31 of Fon- to the first article of the 1789 Declarations of the
tenelle (1686). But that is not the only inspiring Rights of Man and the Citizen—men are born
text used by de Roumier-Robert. The mentor- and remain free and equal in rights—and asked
ing by the genie clearly recalls the novel Les for its simple, direct application. She added
Avantures de Télémaque, Fils d’Ulysse by another, down-to-earth, argument playing on
François Fénelon4 (1651–1715), as recognized French pride: if France does not accept Jews
by La Porte and La Croix (1769: 95). The de- as full citizens now, England (the hereditary
tailed planetary descriptions, without a satirical enemy of France …) will do it soon, gathering
tone, have links to the visit to Mercury described all benefits of such a decision since Jews of all
in the 1750 novel Relation du Monde de Mer- Europe would then move there, with their for-
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Yaël Nazé Two Eighteenth Century Proto-Science Fiction Novels

tune, rather than to France. Most probably, this This work is by a foreign author, a woman;
contribution takes place in a grander scheme it thus doubly appeals the reader’s indulg-
aiming at a recognition of all oppressed groups, ence, and one could claim it if the work
with the possible ultimate goal to grant women needed this double recommendation. (An-
onymous, 1784: 210– 211).
the full benefits of citizenship … although that
had to wait another century and a half. In the Contrary to de Roumier-Robert, Wouters is in-
Revolution’s aftermath, she had to leave Paris cluded in the Biographie Universelle edited by
for a while, moving back to Brussels, but she Michaud (Collective, 1827: 256) with the flat-
could soon settle back in Paris, where she died tering description that she is
in 1802. … endowed with a high character … learn-
ed without pedantry, kind without ambition
3.2 The Novel to please; she spread in conversation the
charms of a varied instruction, a gentle and
Eraste, a philosopher (one would say ‘scientist’ playful philosophy, and an exquisite sensi-
today), discovers a means to go to the Moon tivity.
but he does not want to travel alone. He thus Her renown was however attacked in the nine-
publishes a call for volunteers, and receives a teenth century when one of her libertinism books
number of responses. The examination of the was censored: it was considered too scandal-
candidates, with numerous humorous sides, ous (Klaus, 2004). Her defense by a librarian
constitutes the first part of the novel. Most of (Lacroix, 1863) was not sufficient to keep her
them want to go to the Moon for bad reasons, reputation as a writer. This probably explains
such as making money or gaining some advan- why, contrary to de Roumier-Robert, she does
tage. In the end, Eraste accepts for the journey not appear in Flammarion (1865). Her work
five people: an English scholar with his servant, nearly fully fell into oblivion during the twentieth
wishing to improve astronomical knowledge, a century (Berditchevsky, 1990: 18; see, however,
gentleman who has lost his money, the widow a mention of Char Volant in the bibliography of
from an unfaithful husband, and her son con- von Braun and Ordway, 1966: 227). However,
ceived with a malevolent lover. there seems to have been a resurgence of
The second part of the novel is a flash- interest in her work in recent years (Gevrey,
back: Eraste, coming back to Paris, tells the story 2020; Klaus, 2004; 2007a; 2007b).
of his lunar expedition. The Moon appears to The inspirations for Wouters’ work probably
be an ideal world with a single common langu- are similar to those of de Roumier-Robert, as
age but a division into five kingdoms (or actual- there were not many new works in the two
ly queendoms since the state heads are always decades between their novels. The description
female). Each kingdom is linked to a quality: of the departure, however, with “… the chariot
love, fortune, justice, fame, and moderation. In [rising] gently in the air …” in front of a huge
each one, there is a magical place showing the crowd (Wouters, 1783: 115) recalls the Mont-
excesses of those qualities—unbridled passion golfier balloon experiments invented the year
and jealousy in the love kingdom, for example before and whose first official flights took place
—as they exist on Earth. There is an educat- in Paris the same year.
ional value in those theaters, as seeing the
terrestrial defaults actually protects the lunar Regarding (old) lunar travels, Desile (2017)
inhabitants from falling into the same traps as suggests two traditions (which may be also
on Earth. Each traveller finally decides to stay found in other voyage novels). On the one
in a different kingdom (although the two Eng- hand, placing the action on the Moon can be a
lishmen stay together) but, under the suggest- clever stratagem to indirectly criticize the power
ion of his queen, Eraste decides to go further, or society of the time. Along with a common
to the newly discovered Uranus. He however exaggeration, such novels often possess a
first needs to go back to Earth to get some satirical side, facilitated by the chosen location.
needed material for his spacecraft, hence his Indeed, the Moon is associated with lunatics
return to Paris. and madness, hence it is able to trigger quite
colorful events (see e.g. Cyrano, 1657). On the
3.3 Reception and Inspiration other hand, an exotic place may rather be used
to show what escapes us: an ideal society and
In her time, Wouters received a lot of praise for all its benefits. Authors here play on perfecting
her works, which often went into several re- humanity or show a pre-Fall, Eden-type society.
editions and foreign translations. She notably One such case is Godwin (1648): in this novel,
received two Gold Medals from the Swedish his proud and highly self-esteemed Spanish
King for her Plutarque Anglois, which had been traveler meets tall lunar inhabitants who do not
dedicated to him. Le Char Volant is no except- lie, murder, or experience sickness, and all
ion. One review of this work began with speak the same language (as in Le Char Vol-
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Yaël Nazé Two Eighteenth Century Proto-Science Fiction Novels

ant). Mixed with those two main flavors, one lated as “enlighten circle”) composed of many
also finds the unavoidable adventurous side of stars as is the Milky Way. This text clearly
such faraway, hence dangerous, expeditions. alludes to the fact that the ring(s) are made of
In this context, both novels examined here play numerous pieces, hence are not continuous
on both sides. There is a direct criticism of the ring(s). However, the impossibility for Saturn’s
contemporaries (the descriptions of the socie- ring(s) to be solid was only fully demonstrated
ties in five planets of Voyages de Milord Céton, by Pierre-Simon Laplace (1749–1827) (see La-
the portraits of travel candidates in Le Char Vol- place, 1787). Since Le Char Volant was pub-
ant), but without the actual satire found e.g. in lished four years before, it might be assumed
Cyrano (1657). In parallel, both novels actually that the author had discussed this question with
aim at elevated ideals, as in Godwin (1648). Parisian astronomers. These would probably
They hope to educate (especially Voyages de have been informal discussions, just as Verne
Milord Céton) or inspire, and push for these often had in the next century. This would not be
ideas to be actually put into practice on Earth surprising since the Baroness is known to have
(more on this subject will be discussed in participated in and even organized philosophical
Section 4.2). discussions (Gevrey, 2020).
Next, the text mentions Jupiter being en-
4 SCIENTIFIC AND PHILOSOPHICAL veloped by a bright cloud whose darkening
CONTENT enabled to see 4th magnitude stars with a Dol-
Now that the two books and their authors have lond telescope. The references to contemp-
been presented, the main themes for such orary science are here much more obscure.
science-fiction stories are now examined in Finally, on the advice of one of the queens,
some detail: the astronomical content and the Eraste decides to visit the new planet—Uranus’
philosophical content. discovery had been announced only two years
before, and its mention shows that the author
4.1 Astronomy kept up with the news (which is not too difficult
In many science-fiction books, scientific dis- in this case since that discovery had made
coveries and technologies provide a (credible) headlines all over Europe and was certainly
background or a means, not an aim. This is mentioned in Parisian salons).
also the case of our two novels hence the Besides the peculiar Jupiter description,
majority of their text is not concerned with there are also a few other instances of less sat-
science itself. After all, they are not science isfactory sentences. At the beginning of Chap-
popularization books, nor even belong to the ter V (Wouters, 1783: 170–171), the sky ob-
‘hard science fiction’ genre, replete with scient- served from the Moon is declared to have a “…
ific information, of which Verne certainly is a totally different position …” than ours and the
prime representative. However, this does not two Englishmen then discover stars unknown
mean that science is totally absent and, since from Parisian astronomers in the direction of
the novels deal with the ‘planets’, the astronom- Mercury and Venus. However, the Moon is
ical information mentioned in both books con- quite close to Earth compared to the stars,
stitutes the main science content. hence the celestial sphere is similar if not ident-
Being quite short (around 200 pages), Le ical if seen from our satellite. Furthermore, after
Char Volant provides only a few such instances. a few subsequent observations, the English-
Towards the end of chapter VII (Wouters, 1783: men finally decide that man does not know
199–200), the English scholar and his friend anything and that it is therefore best to admire
use their astronomical instruments. They ob- the Universe and adore its creator than to try
serve the Earth, then Saturn and Jupiter. Five unveiling its secrets. They destroy their instru-
moons are said to be associated with Saturn: ments, stay away from any science endeavor,
this was indeed the number known at the time and live happily afterwards. This awkward anti-
of the novel’s writing. Historically, Titan was science move strongly contrasts with the last
discovered by Christiaan Huygens (1629– event in the book, the hero’s decision to pursue
1695) in 1655, and Iapetus, Rhea, Tethys, the adventure by traveling to Uranus.
Dione were found by Giovanni Domenico Being much longer, the Voyages de Milord
Cassini (1625–1712) about twenty years later. Céton provides more opportunities to discuss
The next discoveries, those of Enceladus and celestial information. However, most of it is of
Mi-mas, would occur six years after the novel’s very limited quality. First, there are repeated
publication, in 1789, thanks to William Herschel allusions to astrology. Even the title and the
(1738–1822). overall plot are directly linked to old astronomy
The ring of Saturn is also mentioned as a and astrology. Indeed, the novel is a travel to
“… cercle luminaire …” (which may be trans- “… seven planets …” including the Moon and
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Yaël Nazé Two Eighteenth Century Proto-Science Fiction Novels

the Sun, whose status had changed when the found by Gottfried Kirch (1639–1710) for the
heliocentric model was adopted in the previous latter star is correctly quoted, Mira Ceti is men-
century. Furthermore, the flavor of each planet tioned as making “… its revolutions in six years
is directly taken from basic mythological sym- …” but that is probably an unfortunate typo (in
bolism, e.g. money for Mercury, love for Venus, French “ses révolutions en six ans” rather than
war for Mars. Moreover, there are repeated the correct “sept révolutions en six ans”).
instances of astronomers actually conducting Besides, only SN1604 is said to be of a different
astrological studies and of constellations that type, while Halley (1714a) wrote that for both
influence fates or announce events, see notably supernovae. Strangely, Halley (ibid.) did not list
de Roumier-Robert (1787a: 102, 270, 410, 503; two other variable stars then known, Algol and
1787b: 37, 86). On the latter page, Nostradam- R Hydrae (their variabilities were reported in
us (1503–1566) is even said to be one of the 1669 and 1704, respectively). Hence those stars
best astronomers ever born on Earth! How- do not appear in de Roumier-Robert’s book.
ever, it must also be noted that astrology is Adding the three missing objects to the five
mentioned to be “… a vain science …” whose cited ones, the list appears complete for the
predictions rest on the observation of human time, as there was no further discovery before
behavior (de Roumier-Robert, 1787a: 271). R Leonis in 1782.
Second, one can also find plain errors in the The text related to nebulae uses longer ex-
chapter about Mars: the Martian night appears cerpts of Halley (1714b). It is truly a direct
illuminated by the Moon and the planet is said translation of Halley’s words and this helps
to be “… closer to the Sun than others …” (de identifying the unnamed astronomer showing
Roumier-Robert, 1787a: 415 and 458, respect- the sky to Céton. Indeed, that astronomer says
ively). In the chapter on the Sun, one can also that he discovered the 4th nebula (actually the
find a contradiction: it is clearly said that there star cluster w Cen) while working on a catalog
is no night on this bright object, but then the text of southern stars. The same sentence is found
mentions celestial observations made from the in Halley (1714b), the active voice (“I discov-
Sun by astronomers (de Roumier-Robert, ered …”) of the novel replacing the passive
1787b 19 vs. 37, 41–44, and 115). Finally, the voice (“… discovered by Mr Edmund Halley …”)
attractive force on matter is described as pro- of the original text. Halley’s list contains six
portional to mass and inversely proportional to nebulae whose description is copied in the nov-
the quarter of the distance (de Roumier-Robert, el (M42, M31, M22, w Cen, M11, and M13 by
1787b: 12–13), while Newton’s gravitation law order of appearance in the novel). However,
was well known—and used—at the time. this list was already outdated at the time of de
The only place with some correct astrono- Roumier-Robert’s writing. Indeed, while the cat-
my is Chapter IV of the Fifth Chapter, the one alog of Charles Messier (1730–1817) was not
about the Sun. Our star welcomes bright yet available, two other references in French
minds, which of course include the most fam- existed. The Swiss Jean-Philippe Loys de Ches-
ous astronomers (e.g. Aristarchus (310–210 eaux (1718–1751) listed 20 nebulae in 1746
BCE), Hipparchus (190–120 BCE), Ptolemy (Jones, 1969), while the French Nicolas-Louis
(100–170), Copernicus (1473–1543), Galileo de La Caille (1713–1762) reported 42 cases a
(1564–1642), Brahe (1546–1601), Kepler (1571 few years later (La Caille, 1755). The very short
–1630), Gassendi (1592–1655), and Cassini). list of de Roumier-Robert is probably explained
by her seclusion: contrary to the Baroness, she
On pages 41 to 44 of de Roumier-Robert
was not directly engaged in the philosophical
(1787b), Céton, the narrator, begins to observe
discussions of her age taking place in the Par-
with one of them (unnamed but it can be re-
isian salons hence she only used older refer-
constructed to be Edmund Halley, 1656–1742,
ences.
see Figure 1). The astronomer talks with him
about five variable stars and six nebulae, and As the plot develops, it must be stressed
then answers his question about the nature of that all planets in this novel are inhabited. This
comets. The text about stars and nebulae is corresponds to the philosophy of the time,
directly inspired by Halley (1714a; 1714b). which had percolated through the upper society
From the list of variables from Halley in France thanks to the famous 1686 book by
(1714a), one object is missing, nova 1670 Vul- Fontenelle on the plurality of worlds. While de
peculae. However, the five other variables are Roumier-Robert had clearly read it (see above),
described using Halley’s text, avoiding techni- she deviates from her model on two points.
cal details such as names or coordinates. They First, her planets seem to possess similar
appear in the following order: SN1572 (Tycho’s climates, whereas Fontenelle (1686) clearly ex-
supernova), Mira Ceti, P Cyg, SN1604 (Kep- plains several times that closeness to the Sun
ler’s supernova) and c Cygni. While the period will influence planetary temperatures.

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Yaël Nazé Two Eighteenth Century Proto-Science Fiction Novels

Second, she does populate the Sun, which Russia from 1762 to 1796. There was no fe-
Fontenelle presented as a hot bright world dif- male ruler in France, and there still has not
ferent from the planets (Fontenelle, 1686, been one since then. However, there had been
chapter entitled “4th Night”). However, she is a few female regents (notably Blanche of Cast-
not alone in this interpretation: William Herschel ille (1188–1252), Catherine de’ Medici (1519–
is well known to have advocated the presence 1589), Anne of Austria (1601–1666)), and lit-
of solar residents. erate persons certainly knew of the foreign ex-
Closer to Earth, the Moon is also inhabited amples. Around 1780, there were even several
in both novels. Lunar habitability had been a French fictions, written by men, envisaging fe-
subject of debate for several years and it would male rulers, although the stories do not always
remain for quite some time afterwards. Indeed, end in a very happy manner for them (Grieder,
while Huygens avoided lunar inhabitants in his 1989). It may thus not be totally surprising to
Cosmotheoros, Fontenelle populates the Moon find queens in the two examined novels, though
without much hesitation and Verne (1869) still they do present some interesting twists.
made a (cautious) allusion to a welcoming far In Le Char Volant, the Moon is divided into
side of the Moon in his novel Autour de la Lune. five parts and all of them are ruled by queens.
The choice of de Roumier-Robert and Wouters This is no happy accident as queens are succ-
for the Moon is thus unsurprising and not at eeded by queens. There is no word about the
odds with their contemporary science. possibility of a king in the novel and lunar men
Finally, it is also interesting to note that, like appear as very happy with the situation. More-
Fontenelle, de Roumier-Robert does not limit over, the spirits of the deceased queens are the
life to the Solar System. From the start, her true sources of inspiration for artists and scien-
genie repeats to the two orphans the famous tists on Earth. The queens thus not only reign
quote by Metrodorus of Chios (fourth century on the Moon, but are also providing the best
BCE) on plurality: “… it would be as ridiculous realizations of the human mind on Earth. In this
to think that there is only one ear of wheat in a full realization of ‘girl power’, it thus came as no
field as to consider a single world in the uni- surprise that it is one of the queens who sug-
verse.” (de Roumier-Robert 1787a: 27–28). gests to the hero to further explore the Universe.
Then, in the Jupiter chapter, she introduces a In Voyages de Milord Céton, only one plan-
second genie who had traveled to these other et is ruled by women at all political levels: Ve-
worlds associated with the ‘fixed stars’. Various nus. This is more a mythical need than a fem-
species inhabit these worlds, but all are much inist advocacy, of course. However, two female
less evolved than the creatures of our Solar heirs should be singled out in the story. On
System hence the genie does not recommend Mars, a fellow soldier of Céton, brave and of
the two orphans to visit them, and so further noble character, is finally revealed as a Martian
travel is not envisaged … princess who had to fight for her life, quite lit-
erally in her case. Moreover, the actual hero of
4.2 Ideal Societies the novel is not its narrator, Céton, but his
Most science-fiction stories provide something ‘sister’ Monime. She is the one asking to go to
more than just descriptions of travels or of ex- space, fraternizing with local people, or making
otic wildlife. They also discuss promises, de- the most impressive appearances in the planet-
faults, and advantages of technologies, society ary courts—in other words, she makes most de-
organizations, and/or power systems. They cisions. In the end, she is also the only one with
can envisage contemporary existing cases, oft- the right to a throne and she fights to recover
en pushed to their extremes to convey the point her land, a battle not done from a comfortable
more easily, or present (good or bad) alterna- rear camp as she leads her army, sending out
tives to current order. The two novels present- orders from the forefront and plunging into the
ed here are no exceptions in this respect. In melee to galvanize her troops. In this context,
particular, they both reveal interesting ideas it may be interesting to note that cross-dressing
concerning the place of women—the fact that (for both Monime, see Figure 2, and the Martian
their authors are female is certainly not unrelat- princess) and even a sex change (as Monime
ed to the choice of this subject. envisages on a comet used to go to Mercury)
seem to be allowed.
In the eighteenth century, governing wom-
en were not just mere mirages. While several In addition, equality constitutes the ideal
queens had already reigned in England in the foundation for any state in both novels. In Le
preceding centuries, the Enlightenment era saw Char Volant, the only aim of the five queens is
Maria Theresa (1717–1780) wisely ruling the making all citizens happy, and their agreement
Habsburg lands from 1740 to 1780 and Cath- on this goal and how to reach it imply a “… per-
erine the Great (1729–1796) as Empress of fect equality of conditions …” (Wouters, 1783:
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Yaël Nazé Two Eighteenth Century Proto-Science Fiction Novels

132–133). A similar equality, with promotion kindness to the point of attributing to women
based only on merit, is evoked as an ideal much weakness and more liveliness in their
throughout Voyages de Milord Céton. It only passions, and at the same time ask them for
truly exists in the perfect places of the Sun and more strength than they themselves have to
summon: I would like to ask them where
Saturn. On Saturn, for example, education is does this exclusive privilege come from to
provided to all children and farmers receive the be able to prevent all their desires, to yield
greatest respect as they are the ones providing to all their movements and to listen only to
the food so necessary to human life. In con- the voice of nature, while they hardly allow
trast, travels to the Moon, Mercury, and Jupiter women the option of vegetating; they only
are the occasions to criticize court’s plots and see them as automatons who are only to be
the undue sense of superiority by noble and/or used as ornaments in a living room which
rich people. One may read for example (de they would like to decorate with various
Roumier-Robert 1787a: 183): changes … women are constantly being
shouted at, accused of inconsistency and
Since the great lords can only become rich infidelity, asked for unfailing virtue, and the
at the expense of the people, they try to unjust men who made the laws want to re-
persuade them that spirit, courage, feelings, duce them to hard slavery while they grant
kindness of heart, purity of language and themselves full freedom ....
great knowledge are innate in people of
condition and that it is up to them alone to That text however contains another spike
benefit from the sufferings and work of the towards contemporary women, along with a
poor. path for the future:
The injustices created by such inequality I am always amazed that women have not
yet united … but so far they have been too
are further personified by examples of poor but
coquettish and too dissipated to take ser-
deserving humans, to emphasize the need for iously the interests of their sex.
equality and merit recognition. However, this
equality is not limited to the usual economic One should remember that the narrator, the ‘I’,
status (noble or peasant, poor or rich), as often in those texts is supposed to a man, Céton, but
discussed during the Enlightenment. It is also it is clearly the voice of the author that is heard
enlarged to an equality between genders. The here. The Venusian adventure provides a fur-
importance of this gender equality is particularly ther demonstration by reversing the usual attri-
highlighted for education. In the Voyages de butes of weakness and strength. Indeed, when
Milord Céton, the Lunar Academy of Women is the orphans arrive on the planet, Céton is not
only occupied with defining fashions, but that is allowed to take back his human form:
only a criticism of the female contemporaries of … it is cautious not to expose [Céton] to
de Roumier-Robert and their education. The temptations which it is nearly impossible for
ideal world, represented by the Sun, provides a man to resist … Would it be possible that
very different view: this [female] gender, which seems so deli-
cate and weak to us, could nevertheless re-
In this world, men have no superiority over tain more firmness on occasions? (de
women unless virtue, science, common Roumier-Robert, 1787a: 283).
sense and reason give it to them. It is
certain that a woman can also possess all Céton then remains a sort of fly while his ‘sister’
these gifts, especially when she receives takes full part to the Venusian life.
the same education. (de Roumier-Robert, In another quite modern move, both novels
1787b: 49). describe divorce as possible and even unprob-
Furthermore, the Sun is presented as the host lematic. In Le Char Volant, the wedding is said
of all great minds and that of course includes to be a free union, which can be broken at any
women,6 like Emilie du Châtelet (de Roumier- time, by any of the spouses, without blame.
Robert, 1787b: 73–74). One may regret that However, divorce is actually rare because the
the author lists many more famous men than wise lunar people are always careful in their
illustrious women, in particular there are very choices (Wouters, 1783: 191–192). In Voyages
few women of science, but that could be ex- de Milord Céton, divorce appears to be always
pected at a time when education and status granted on the perfect planet of Saturn while it
were so vastly different that only extremely rare is recommended that “… each spouse obeys
women could perform scientific research or and each one rules …” to have a happy wed-
follow artistic endeavors. To underline this, one ding (de Roumier-Robert, 1787b: 336).
can also find in the Venus chapter a clear A last word may be said about religion. It is
portrait of the women’s status at the time (de difficult to find the usual marks of Christianity on
Roumier-Robert, 1787a: 291–293): the Moon, Sun, or planets of both novels. Their
… in our world, men believe they have the extraterrestrials are not atheist, but the worship
right to demand anything. They push their is more concerned by a supreme being like the
133
Yaël Nazé Two Eighteenth Century Proto-Science Fiction Novels

one referred to by e.g. Voltaire. For example, orary knowledge of the Solar System (helio-
in the Voyages de Milord Céton, there are centrism, existence of other moons) and dis-
temples to Apollo on the Sun, but the philos- cusses the possible presence of inhabitants
ophy of the inhabitants is that “... the whole uni- on celestial objects. The pleasant text went
verse must serve [the divinity] as a temple and not only through several re-editions in
altar.” (de Roumier-Robert, 1787b: 96). Be- France, but it was also translated in several
sides, the mention to relieving poor ones only languages abroad, becoming a reference
by “… blessings.” (de Roumier-Robert 1787a: on astronomy in the early Enlightenment
153) also constitutes a criticism of the usual period. With his long life, the jovial Font-
Christian practices of the time. This is again enelle was also an unavoidable landmark in
quite typical of Enlightenment philosophers. the literary microcosm of the time.
2. The Scottish economist John Law (1671–
5 CONCLUSION 1729) served as financial advisor in France
In the France of the eighteenth century, two in the early years of the reign of King Louis
women proposed fictional interplanetary jour- XV, rising to the position of Controller Gen-
neys: Marie-Anne de Roumier-Robert and Cor- eral of Finances in 1720. Pushing for the
nélie Wouters de Wasse. It is difficult to find two use of paper money, he created the first
women more different than these two. The bank of the country, where people could ex-
former had not traveled and lived a secluded change gold and silver against banknotes.
life, while the latter was a cosmopolitan person, This move was seen as a solution to the
fluent in several languages, and deeply involv- huge debt of the country but it became
ed in the discussions of her time. Their novels problematic when too many banknotes were
also appear at first dissimilar: Voyages de Mi- printed by the bank and speculation occur-
lord Céton by de Roumier-Robert is a long text red over shares of the Mississippi Company
repeatedly alluding to simplified antique sym- linked to it. The bubble exploded in mid-
bolism (seven planets, Venus = love …), while 1720 when people asked to convert notes
Le Char Volant by Wouters is a short novel of back into coins.
adventure with a more modern tone and even 3. The Anglo-Irish cleric Jonathan Swift wrote
some humor. poetry, political pamphlets, and satires. He
is most known for this last kind of writing,
However, important parallels can also be
and Gulliver’s Travels is considered as his
drawn between them, in particular regarding
masterpiece. As was the case for Cyrano,
their ideal vision of some celestial societies.
Swift was inspired for this work by The Man
Their advocacy of equality (especially gender
in the Moone by Francis Godwin (1648),
equality and the need for recognition based on
who actually was his relative.
merit) still finds echoes today. Furthermore,
while not exempt of scientific errors, both works 4. François Fénelon was born in a poor noble
used up-to-date astronomical information on family but he could get a philosophy degree
little popularized subjects (the fragmented nat- from the University of Cahors (southwest
ure of Saturn’s rings, the various properties of France). He then started an ecclesiastic
variable stars). career and became a prominent man in the
French court. Fénelon wrote several books,
Unfortunately, the two novels and their au- notably Les Avantures de Télémaque, Fils
thors are seldom mentioned in astronomical d’Ulysse (1717). This text was one amongst
circles or in recent works on literature or the those aimed at the heir of the throne, of
history of science fiction and proto-science whom he was the tutor, but it was leaked by
fiction. For example, one of the longest recent a servant and began to circulate broadly. In
mentions consists of a few lines on Voyages de it, a mentor demonstrates the shortcom-
Milord Céton and one sentence on Char Volant ings of antique states to a pupil, which was
(Roberts, 2006: 79 and 81, respectively). Nev- an indirect criticism of Louis XIV politics and
ertheless, the portrait of the society of their time it provoked his disgrace. Note that the
along with their dreamed ideals (some still not mentor is called in this book “Mentor”, while
fulfilled today!) makes these books worth read- the subtitle of Voyages de Milord Céton is
ing, even if their astronomical content is scarce. Le Nouveau Mentor (i.e., the new mentor),
most probably indicating the direct filiation
6 NOTES between the works, which share the same
1. Fontenelle first wrote a few theater plays spirit (i.e., educating by showing bad be-
but, with their lack of success, he turned to haviour in an imaginary context).
science popularization. He became fam- 5. The front page of Relation du Monde de
ous in 1686 with Entretiens sur la Pluralité Mercure does not quote any author, and
des Mondes, which presents the contemp- this book is said to be anonymous both by
134
Yaël Nazé Two Eighteenth Century Proto-Science Fiction Novels

Flammarion (1865: 472) and in the editor’s Reine Lepaute (1723–1788). In particular,
preface of the reedition by C.G.T. Garnier the latter one participated in the Parisian
in 1787 (it is included in Volume 16 of his calculations linked to the return of Halley’s
Voyages Imaginaires collection of which de Comet, in 1759, only a few years before de
Roumier-Robert’s novel occupies volumes Roumier-Robert’s writing. The restricted
17 and 18). Today, the author is quoted as list of de Roumier-Robert therefore appears
‘Chevalier de Béthune’, notably in the Gal- somewhat surprising, but the reasons be-
lica database of the French National Library hind it remain unfortunately unknown.
or in Roberts (2006: 78).
6. The full list of those “… talented and illust- 7 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
rious …” women mentioned in the text is:
The author warmly thanks Francis Van Dam
Madame de Maintenon (1635–1719), Mar-
who brought Cornélie Wouters to her attention
quise de Sévigné (1626–1696), Sappho
by sending the lively paper written by D. Berdit-
(630–570 BCE), Deshoulières (either An-
chevsky: this triggered a curiosity that led to this
toinette, 1637–1694, or her daughter An-
contribution. The author also thanks Myron
toinette-Thérèse, 1659–1718), Madame de
Smith for his language advice, Thomas Beyer
Villedieu (1640–1683) and Emilie du Chât-
for his careful reading, Sian Lucca for a sug-
elet (1706–1749). The latter one is the only
gestion, the FNRS for funding, as well as the
scientist in the list, all others belonging to
Liège Library for its help. She acknowledges
the literatary world. The text mentioned “…
the use of ADS, CDS, Gallica, archive.org, and
several others …” without elaborating.
jstor databases. Note that all translations were
Several other female writers, known in
made by the author. For Wouters’ book see
France at the time, could indeed have been
https://books.google.be/books?id=FdU9nBjLV
mentioned, such as Mademoiselle de Scu-
oC and the Mercure de France’s article can be
déry (1607–1701), Margaret Cavendish
found at
(1623–1673) or Madame de La Fayette
https://books.google.be/books?id=idCB953Wj
(1634–1693). Other female scientists were
OYC; other ancient references quoted below
also known at the time too, notably linked to
(including de Roumier-Robert’s novel) are avail-
astronomy, e.g. Hypatia (~360–415), Elisa-
able on https://gallica.bnf.fr
beth Catherina Hevelius (1647–1693), Ma-
ria Margaretha Kirch (1670–1720) or Nicole

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Evocations. Brussels, Magermans. Pp. 11 –18 (in French).
Béthune, C.de, 1750. Relation du Monde de Mercure. Genève, Barrillot (in French).
Chambrionne O., 2015. Proto-Feminist Protest and Imagination in the Fantastic Fiction of Marie-Anne Roumier-
Robert. The New York Review of Science Fiction. Web link:
https://www.nyrsf.com/2015/10/olympe-chambrionne-proto-feminist-protest-and-imagination-in-the-fantastic-
fiction-of-marie-anne-roumier-robert.html
Collective, 1827. Biographie Universelle Ancienne et Moderne. Volume 50. Paris, L.G. Michaud (see, also, the new
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French).
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Flammarion, C., 1865. Les Mondes Imaginaires et les Mondes Réels. Paris, Didier and Co. (in French).
Fontenelle, B. le B. de, 1686. Entretiens sur la Pluralité des Mondes. Paris, Blageart (in French).
Gevrey, F., 2020. La baronne de Vasse, une femme des lumières au carrefour des genres et des cultures. In
Vanoflen, L. (ed.), Femmes et Philosophie des Lumières. De l’imaginaire à la Vie des Idées. Paris, Classiques
Garnier. Pp. 239 – 256 (in French).
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Découvert, par Dominique Gonzales. Paris, Piot and Guignard (in French).
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Halley, E., 1714a. A short history of the several new-stars that have appear’d within these 150 Years; with an
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Halley, E., 1714b. An account of several nebulae or lucid spots like clouds, lately discovered among the fixt stars
by help of the telescope. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London, 29, 390 – 392.
Harth, E., 1992. Cartesian Women. Ithaca, Cornell University Press.
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Klaus, C.F., 2007b. Keeping ahead of the English? A defence of Jews by Cornélie Wouters, Baroness of Vasse
(1790). In Broad, J., and Green, K. (eds.), Virtue, Liberty, and Toleration: Political Ideas of European Women,
1400 –1800. Dordrecht, Springer. Pp. 171 –188.
La Caille, N.-L. de, 1755. Sur les étoiles nébuleuses du Ciel Austral. Mémoires de l’Académie Royale des Sciences,
194 –199 (in French).
Lacroix, P., 1863. Les aveux d’une femme galante. Bulletin du Bibliophile et du Bibliothécaire, 16, 373 –374 (in
French).
Laplace, P.-S. de, 1787. Mémoire sur la théorie de l’anneau de Saturne, par M. de La Place. Identifier at the
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Critiques Contenant un Précis de la Vie & Une Analyse Raisonnée des Ouvrages des Femmes qui se sont
Distinguées dans la Littérature Françoise. Paris, Lacombe (in French).
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de la Terre. Amsterdam, published by the author (in French).
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Roumier-Robert, M.-A. de, 1787a. Voyages de Milord Céton dans les Sept Panettes ou Le Nouveau Mentor.
In Voyages Imaginaires, Songes, Visions et Romans Cabalistiques. Volume 17. Amsterdam, C.-G.-T. Garnier
(in French).
Roumier-Robert, M.-A. de, 1787b. Voyages de Milord Céton dans les sept planettes ou Le nouveau Mentor. In
Voyages Imaginaires, Songes, Visions et Romans Cabalistiques. Volume 18. Amsterdam, C.-G.-T. Garnier (in
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Tiphaigne de la Roche, C.-F., 1754. Zamar, Député à la Lune par Amilec, Grand-Maître de la Manufacture des
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Verne, J., 1865. De la Terre à la Lune. Paris, Pierre-Jules Hetzel (in French).
Verne, J., 1869. Autour de la Lune. Paris, Pierre-Jules Hetzel (in French).
Voltaire, Monsieur de [i.e. Arouet, F.-M.], 1752. Micromégas. Paris, Michel Lambert (in French).
Von Braun, W., and Ordway, F.I. III, 1966. History of Rocketry and Space Travel. New York, Crowell.
Wouters, C., 1783. Le Char Volant ou Voyage dans la Lune. London, Ballard et al. (in French).

Yaël Nazé is a FNRS Senior Researcher working at the University of Liège, Belgium. She
got her PhD in 2004 and became an IAU member in 2012.
Most of her research concerns the observational properties of massive stars, but she also
performs some multi-disciplinary research on historical or sociological aspects of astronomy.
In this context, she has notably published on Newton’s chronology, astronomical knowledge
of the Belgian public, and Max Ernst’s work on Wilhelm Tempel. Her books include Art &
Astronomie (2015, Omniscience) and Astronomie de l’Étrange (2021, Belin).

136
 Journal of Astronomical History and Heritage, 24(1), 137– 140 (2021).

ON THE ALLEGED USE OF KEPLERIAN TELESCOPES IN

NAPLES IN THE 1610s
Paolo Del Santo
Museo Galileo, Institute and Museum of History of Science, Florence, Italy.
E-mail: p.delsanto@gmail.com
Abstract: The alleged use of Keplerian telescopes by Fabio Colonna in Naples from as early as October 1614,
as claimed in some recent papers, is shown to be in fact untenable and due to a misconception.
Keywords: history of the telescope, early telescopes, Fabio Colonna, Giovanni Battista Della Porta, Naples
1610s,

1 INTRODUCTION letter contains six sketches depicting the Sun’s

th surface, partially eclipsed by the Moon, with
At the 37 Annual Conference of the Società
the sunspots. The observation was made by
Italiana degli Storici della Fisica e dell'Astrono-
projecting the solar image through the tele-
mia (Italian Society of the Historians of Phys-
scope onto a sheet of paper, a method widely
ics and Astronomy, SISFA), held in Bari in
September 2017, Mauro Gargano gave a talk used, among others, by Galileo himself, and
entitled “Della Porta, Colonna e Fontana e le first suggested by his disciple Benedetto Ca-
prime osservazioni astronomiche a Napoli”. stelli (1578–1643; Galileo, 1613: 52). In the
This contribution, which appeared in the Pro- above-mentioned letter, Colonna (1614) apolo-
ceedings of the Conference (Gargano, 2019a), gises for the poor quality of his drawings, and
invites Galileo to salvage as much as possible
was then followed by a paper—actually, very
and to “… turn them right side up, since they
close to the former, which, in turn, is very sim-
came out from the telescope inverted [alla ri-
ilar to an earlier one (Gargano, 2017)—which
versa].”
was published, in English, in the same year in
this Journal (Gargano, 2019b). In both of This is how Gargano (2019b: 54) interpret-
these papers, Gargano claims that the Nea- ed Colonna’s words:
politan naturalist and member of the Ac- Upon reading this letter it is evident that
cademia dei Lincei Fabio Colonna (ca. 1567–
1640; Figure 1) would have made observat-
ions with a so-called ‘Keplerian’ or ‘astronom-
ical’ telescope (i.e. with converging eye-piece)
in the early autumn of 1614.

2 THE TELESCOPES OF DELLA PORTA

AND COLONNA
The events relating to the birth and develop-
ment of Keplerian telescope—named after Jo-
hannes Kepler (1571–1630), who theorised on
this optical configuration in his Dioptrice, pub-
lished in 1611—are complex and not well-
documented, and their examination lies be-
yond the scope of this paper. However, from a
historiographical point of view, the news that
someone was already using such a configu-
ration from as early as autumn 1614 for ast-
ronomical observations, if true, would have
significant implications. As a matter of fact, it
would mean to backdate by a couple of years
the terminus ante quem for the construction of
the first Keplerian telescope (Daxecker, 2004:
14; Van Helden, 1976: 25), and at least by 10 or
15 years its regular use for observations.
Gargano’s claim is essentially based upon
a passage in a letter that Colonna (1614) wrote Figure 1: Fabio Colonna
to Galileo Galilei (1564–1642) on the occasion (https://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fabio_Colonna#/media/File:Rit
of the solar eclipse of 3 October 1614. The ratto_di_Colonna.jpg).

137
Paolo Del Santo On the Use of Keplerian Telescopes in the 1610s?

Colonna used a telescope and not a Ga- using both a concave (diverging) lens, and, as
lilean spyglass.1 Therefore, this was the an alternative to it, a convex (converging) one
first astronomical observation made from (Scheiner, 1630: 129v, 130r). Therein, Scheiner
Naples using a Keplerian-like refractor. correctly states that these telescopes project
But did Colonna really use a Keplerian upside-down and right-side up images, respect-
telescope for his astronomical observations? ively.
As we shall see, the answer to this question is
One could argue that the expression ‘alla
‘no’. Indeed, it is well known that, when used
riversa’, used by Colonna in his letter to Gal-
for direct observations, a Galilean telescope will
ileo, might refer not to the vertical (up-down)
provide upright images and a Keplerian tele-
inversion, but to the horizontal (left-right) one.
scope upside-down ones, but, if used in pro-
Actually, ‘riversa’ is an Italian archaic term for
jection, a Galilean telescope gives upside-down
the modern ‘rovescio’ or ‘rovescia’, which, us-
images and a Keplerian telescope upright ones.
ed in the expressions ‘al rovescio’ or ‘alla ro-
It would seem that Gargano was unfamiliar
vescia’, have the generic meaning of ‘upside
with some aspects of geometrical optics and
down’, ‘wrong side up’, ‘wrong way round’ or
the early history of the telescope, otherwise he
even ‘back to front’ (inside out). However,
also would have known the following passage
even though the optical paths of the Galilean
from the renowned work by Galileo, Istoria e and the Keplerian telescopes are completely
dimostrazioni intorno alle macchie solari e loro different, when used for projection, both pro-
accidenti, published in March 1613 (i.e. one duce mirrored images, namely, if one looks at
and a half years before Colonna’s letter): the screen from the side of the eyepiece, left
It should be noted next that [using the and right are reversed. This is why, in order to
telescope by projection] the spots exit the get all orientations correct, both Galileo (as we
tube inverted and located opposite to saw above) and Scheiner (ibid.) recommended
where they are on the Sun: that is, the
transposing the projected images onto the op-
spots on the right come out on the left
side, and the higher ones lower, because
posite surface of the sheet of paper by tracing
the rays intersect each other inside the it against the light. Hence, the two optical con-
tube before they emerge from the concave figurations are indistinguishable on this ac-
glass. But because we draw them on a count, and therefore, even if Colonna really
surface facing the Sun, when turning back meant a mirror-like inversion of the image, this
toward the Sun, we hold the drawing up to circumstance does not prove anything about
our eyes, the side on which we drew no the type of optical configuration, Galilean or
longer faces the Sun but is instead turned Keplerian, that he used.
away from it, and therefore the parts of the
drawing on the right-hand side are already We have already touched upon the im-
in their proper place again, corresponding plications of Gargano’s interpretation on the
to the right side of the Sun, and the left chronology of the development of the Kepler-
ones on the left, such that one only has to ian telescope, but he goes further: he claims
invert the upper and lower ones. There- that the new optical configuration
fore, turning the paper over and thus mak-
ing the top the bottom, and looking through … did not derive from Kepler’s studies or
the paper while facing the light, one ob- those of Fontana, but was the result of the
serves the spots as they should be, as if combined theoretical and practical skills of
we were looking directly at the Sun. And in Della Porta and Colonna. (Gargano, 2019:
this appearance they must be traced and 54),
inscribed on another sheet in order to have
them correctly positioned. (Galilei, 1613: who therefore, in Gargano’s opinion, would be
53; translation by Reeves and Van Helden, the true originators of the Keplerian telescope.
2010: 127). Gargano’s statement is based on a letter from
Giovanni Battista Della Porta (1535–1615) to
So, if we did not know the laws of geo-
Galileo, dated 26 September 1614, i.e. exactly
metrical optics, in the light of this detailed des-
one week before the afore-mentioned letter
cription and following Gargano’s belief, we from Colonna to Galileo of 3 October. In his
would be forced to think that Galileo was letter, Della Porta informs Galileo that he is
wrong or that Galileo himself had already aban- working, together with Colonna, to realize “…
doned the optical combination named after a new kind of telescope, that will increase a
him, in favour of the Keplerian one, at the be- hundredfold the performance of the usual
ginning of the 1610s. ones.” (Della Porta, 1614). However, Gargano
Besides, Gargano seems also not to know (2019: 54) takes it for granted that Della Porta
the passage in the Rosa Ursina where the and Colonna were working on the develop-
German Jesuit Christoph Scheiner (ca. 1575– ment of a Keplerian telescope—which, as we
1650) describes the projection technique by shall see later, is more than unlikely, and, in
138
Paolo Del Santo On the Use of Keplerian Telescopes in the 1610s?

any case, unproven—and that this new, un- 3 CONCLUDING REMARKS

specified instrument was the one that Colonna
It would seem that Gargano’s comments about
used to observe the eclipse just one week
Colonna’s supposed Keplerian telescope were
later. As a matter of fact, neither in the letter to
mainly due to his inadequate survey of primary
Galileo of 3 October nor elsewhere in the
and secondary sources about the early history
following months, did Colonna claim that he
of the telescope. But he was probably also
was using a new kind of telescope, different
misled by Paolo Molaro and Pierluigi Selvelli,
from those (Galilean instruments) that he us-
who in several papers published over the last
ually used in making his observations. Nor is
decade have promoted the erroneous ideas
there any evidence to suggest such an hy-
that (1) The telescope depicted in the 1617
pothesis. Furthermore, I find it rather odd that
painting The Sense of Sight by Jan Brueghel
Colonna, working by himself and without Della
the Elder and Peter Paul Rubens, is a Kepler-
Porta—his partner in this project—would have
ian one, and therefore, that this optical con-
tested such an innovative instrument with just
figuration was already rather common at this
one observation, made upon hurriedly return-
time (Molaro and Selvelli, 2009: 330‒332); (2)
ing home between two judicial hearing in the
“There are no apparent reasons to question
court-house of Naples, where he practised law
Father Zupus’s declaration to have used Fon-
for a living (Colonna, 1614). Besides, as far
tana’s [Keplerian] telescope in 1614 … [and
as we know, Della Porta (who was to die a few
therefore that] the year of 1608 does not seem
months later) makes no further mention of this
so implausible as the birthdate of Fontana’s
mysterious new telescope. In all likelihood,
[Keplerian] telescope.” (Molaro, 2017a: 227;
Della Porta and Colonna were working on an
cf. Molaro, 2017b: 275); and (3) As early as
improvement of the Galilean telescope, in or-
around 1615 Fontana had acquired such a
der to achieve higher magnifications by increas-
reputation as an optician that one of the great-
ing the focal length of the objective lens and/or
est painters of that time, José de Ribera, por-
decreasing the focal length of the ocular, but
trayed him in his painting Allegory of Sight
apparently this project led nowhere.2
(Molaro, 2017b: 284‒286).
In my opinion, the irrefutable evidence that
Colonna did not use a Keplerian telescope in 4 NOTES
1614 is contained in a letter from Colonna to
1. It should be noted, incidentally, that Gar-
Federeico Cesi (1585–1630), one of the found-
gano seems to use the terms ‘telescope’
ers of the Accademia dei Lincei, which is not
and ‘spyglass’ incorrectly. This erroneous
mentioned by Gargano in his paper and has
use of the two terms is even clearer in the
been neglected by most historians of the tele-
same passage of the original Italian ver-
scope. This letter, dated 19 September 1626,
sion of the paper, in which Gargano
contains a reference to a small telescope made
(2019a: 271) uses ‘telescopio’ and ‘cannoc-
by the Neapolitan optician Francesco Fontana
chiale’, to indicate a Keplerian telescope
(1585–1656) that undoubtedly had a converg-
and a Galilean (or Dutch) telescope, re-
ing eyepiece:
spectively. However, originally the two Ita-
This friend [Francesco Fontana] has also lian terms were synonyms, whereas nowa-
invented a … telescope, long just a palm,3 days ‘cannocchiale’ survives only in every-
which shows objects upside-down, but day language, and it is usually used to in-
magnifies them very much, and, what is dicate a refracting telescope, especially if
most remarkable, it shows objects so near
that those which are as far away as a
of modest size. In any case, the possible
musket shot are seen close to the eyes; I semantic difference between the two terms
could not understand yet, because I can- in no way lies in the fact that a ‘telescopio’,
not attend to that, due to my job, how it without any attribute, would produce up-
can do that, since two convex lenses show side-down images, and a ‘cannocchiale’
objects more distant and smaller than they erect ones.
actually are, but more sharply; when I get 2. Albert Van Helden (pers. comm., 28 Janu-
around to going to him, I will examine it, ary 2021) is of the same opinion.
and I will obtain one to His Excellency. 3. Until 1840, the Neapolitan ‘palm’ was
(Colonna, 1626).
0.263670 m.
That passage shows conclusively that—twelve
years after his letter to Galileo—Colonna still 5 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
could not understand, either theoretically or in
I would like to address a special thanks to
practice, how two convex lenses could be us-
Professors Albert van Helden, Sven Dupré and
ed to form a telescope.
Paolo Galluzzi, and Dr Giorgio Strano, for
reading the manuscript and for their appreci-
13
Paolo Del Santo On the Use of Keplerian Telescopes in the 1610s?

ation. I also would like to thank Professor Rubi Dela Cruz for their helpfulness.
Wayne Orchiston and Associate Professor

6 REFERENCES
Colonna, F., 1614. Letter to Galileo Galilei, dated 3 October. In Bibloteca Nazionale Centrale di Firenze, Florence.
Published in Galilei, G., 1902. Le Opera. Volume 12 (Carteggio 1614 –1619). Tipografia di G. Barbèra. Pp.
102–103. 2nd reprint 1965, Firenze, G. Barbèra – Editore, pp. 79 – 80. Available at:
https://www.liberliber.it/mediateca/libri/g/galilei/le_opere_volume_xii_carteggio_1614_1619/pdf/le_ope_p.pdf
Colonna, F., 1626. Letter to Federeico Cesi, dated 19 September. In Archivio Storico Linceo, Roma. Published in
Gabrieli, G. (ed.), 1942. Il carteggio linceo della vecchia Accademia di Federico Cesi (1603 –1630), Part 3: Anni
1625 –1630. In Atti della Reale Accademia Nazionale dei Lincei, anno CCCXXXV, Serie 6, Memorie della
Classe di Scienze Morali, Storiche e Filologiche, Volume VII, fasc. 4, Roma, Dott. Giovanni Bardi. Reprint, Il
Carteggio Linceo, 1996, Roma, Accademia Nazionale dei Lincei, pp. 1131 –1132.
Daxecker, F., 2004. The Physicist and Astronomer Christopher Scheiner: Biography, Letters, Works. Innsbruck,
Veröffentlichungen der Universität Innsbruck (Volume 246).
Galilei, G., 1613. Istoria e dimostrazioni intorno alle macchie solari e loro accidenti comprese in tre lettere scritte
all'illustrissimo Signor Marco Velseri Linceo ... Roma, Appresso Giacomo Mascardi. Available at:
https://www.liberliber.it/mediateca/libri/g/galilei/istoria_e_dimostrazioni_etc/pdf/galilei_istoria_e_dimostrazioni_e
tc.pdf
Gargano, M., 2017. The status of astronomy in Naples before the foundation of the Capodimonte Observatory. In
Esposito, S. (ed.), Atti del XXXVI Convegno Aannuale della Società Italiana degli Storici della Fisica e
dell’Astronomia (SISFA) – Napoli 2016. Pavia, University Press. Pp. 205 – 214.
Available at: http://archivio.paviauniversitypress.it/oa/9788869520709.pdf
Gargano, M., 2019a. Della Porta, Colonna e Fontana e le prime osservazioni astronomiche a Napoli. In
Campanile, B., De Frenza, L., and Garuccio, A. (eds.), Atti del XXXVII Convegno Annuale della Società Italiana
degli Storici della Fisica e dell’Astronomia (SISFA) – Bari 2017. Pavia, Pavia University Press. Pp. 263 – 274.
Available at: http://archivio.paviauniversitypress.it/oa/9788869521188
Gargano, M., 2019b. Della Porta, Colonna, and Fontana: the role of Neapolitan scientists at the beginning of
telescope era. Journal of Astronomical History and Heritage, 22(1), 45 – 59.
Available at: http://articles.adsabs.harvard.edu/pdf/2019JAHH...22...45G
Molaro, P., 2017a. The Neapolitan Francesco Fontana inventor of the astronomical telescope. In Salvatore
Esposito (Ed.) Atti del XXXVI Convegno annuale della Società Italiana degli Storici della Fisica e
dell’Astronomia (SISFA) – Napoli 2016, Pavia, Pavia University Press. Pp. 225 – 232.
Available at: http://archivio.paviauniversitypress.it/oa/9788869520709.pdf
Molaro, P., 2017b. Francesco Fontana and the birth of the astronomical telescope. Journal of Astronomical
History and Heritage, 20(2), 271 – 288.
Available at: http://articles.adsabs.harvard.edu/pdf/2017JAHH...20..271M
Molaro, P., and Selvelli, P., 2009. On the telescopes in the paintings of Jan Brueghel the Elder. In Valls-Gabaud
D., and Boksenberg, A. (eds.), The Role of Astronomy in Society and Culture, Cambridge University Press
(Proceedings IAU Symposium, No. 260). Pp. 327– 332.
Available at: http://adsabs.harvard.edu/full/2011IAUS..260..327M
Reeves, E., and Van Helden, A., 2010. On Sunspots: Galileo Galilei & Christoph Scheiner. Translated and
Introduced by Eileen Reeves and Albert van Helden. Chicago, University of Chicago Press.
Scheiner, C., 1626 ‒1630. Rosa Ursina sive Sol. Bracciani, Apud Andream Phæum Typographum Ducale.
Available at: https://archive.org/details/A148130
Van Helden, A., 1976. The “Astronomical Telescope”: 1611–1650. Annali dell’Istituto e Museo di Storia della
Scienza di Firenze, 1, Fasc. 2, 13 – 36.

Paolo Del Santo is an historian of astronomy, who has collaborated with the Museo Galileo,
Institute and Museum of History of Science of Florence (Italy), since the late 1980s. He has
curated and co-curated several international exhibitions, and was formerly a member of the
national committee of experts established by the Italian Ministry of Education, Universities
and Research within the project ‘PON - Educazione Scientifica I ciclo’ for science education
at the middle school and teachers within the project ‘Neoassunti 2008’, directed to newly-
recruited high school teachers. His research interests lie in the kinematic models of pre-
Newtonian astronomy and in the history of the telescope. In 2009, he discovered an
unpublished letter of the Neapolitan optician Francesco Fontana, which contains the very
first representation of Jupiter’s belts.
 Journal of Astronomical History and Heritage, 24(1), 141– 158 (2021).

THE HISTORY OF EARLY LOW FREQUENCY RADIO

ASTRONOMY IN AUSTRALIA. 10: SHAIN, GARDNER, AND
JOVIAN OBSERVATIONS MADE AT FLEURS AND POTTS HILL
FIELD STATIONS IN SYDNEY DURING 1955 –1956
Wayne Orchiston, Martin George
National Astronomical Research Institute of Thailand, 260 Moo 4,
T. Donkaew, A. Maerim, Chiang Mai 50180, Thailand, and Centre for
Astrophysics, University of Southern Queensland, Toowoomba,
Queensland 4350, Australia.
E-mails: wayne.orchiston@gmail.com; martingeorge3@hotmail.com
Harry Wendt
Centre for Astrophysics, University of Southern Queensland,
Toowoomba, Queensland 4350, Australia.
E-mail: harry.wendt@gmail.com
and
Richard Wielebinski
Max-Planck-Institut für Radioastronomie, Bonn, Germany, and
Centre for Astrophysics, University of Southern Queensland,
Toowoomba, Queensland 4350, Australia.
E-mail: rwielebinski@mpifr-bonn.mpg.de
Abstract: In 1955 –1956, soon after the announcement by Burke and Franklin of the existence of decametric
bursts from Jupiter and Shain’s report on pre-discovery observations carried out in Australia in 1950 –1951, Alex
Shain and Frank Gardner carried out observations of this emission at 19.6 MHz from the CSIRO’s Division of
Radiophysics Fleurs and Potts Hill field stations in Sydney. Some Fleurs observations also were conducted at 14
and 27 MHz. This paper1 reports on these observations, made prior to Shain’s untimely death in 1960.
Keywords: low frequency radio astronomy, Jupiter, Fleurs, Potts Hill, Shain, Gardner

1 INTRODUCTION Hayden Planetarium in New York.

Radio emission from Jupiter was first detected As might be imagined, the unexpected dis-
by Bernard Flood Burke (1928–2018; Figure covery of radio emission from another body in
1a) and Kenneth Linn Franklin (1923–2007; Fig- our Solar System other than our Sun created
ure 1b) 2 using the Carnegie Institution of Wash- an international sensation, and prompted C.A.
ington’s 22.3 MHz ‘Mills Cross’ at Seneca (Mary- Shain (1922–1960; Figure 2a; Pawsey, 1960) 4
land) in 1955 and was first announced in a from the CSIRO’s Division of Radiophysics in
paper published in the Journal of Geophysical Sydney to reflect on the study of galactic emis-
Research (Burke and Franklin, 1955), titled “Ob- sion at 18.3 MHz that he and his Technical As-
servations of a variable radio source associated with sistant Charlie Higgins (Figure 2b) had carried
the planet Jupiter.”3 As has been pointed out out at Hornsby Valley field station on the north-
else-where,
This was not a journal that habitually was
read by radio astronomers, but the mag-
nitude of this discovery—the first detection
of radio emission from a planet in our Solar
System other than the Earth—guaranteed
that it found its way into Nature (Radio
emission from Jupiter, 1955), and this gave
it a very wide audience … (Orchiston et al.,
2015b: 299).
The ‘discovery paper’ was followed soon after
by others (Franklin and Burke, 1956a; 1956b),
and then long after the event Franklin (1983) Figure 1a (left): Bernard Burke at an IAU meeting late in life
(courtesy: IAU on-line membership directory); Figure 1b
reminisced on these halcyon days in his short- (right): Kenneth Franklin
lived research career. By 1983 he was well- (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kenneth_Franklin#/media/Fil
established as an astronomy educator at the e:Kenneth_L._Franklin.jpg).

141
W. Orchiston, M. George, P. Robertson, et al. Jovian Observations at Fleurs and Potts Hill in 1957

Quite frequently there was interference

from atmospherics and radio stations; thus
no particular significance was attached to
the occurrence of occasional groups of
bursts during the night. (Shain, 1956: 62;
our italics).
However, upon investigation, Shain (1955;
1957) determined that much of this ‘interfer-
ence’ in fact emanated from Jupiter. Examples
of groups of Jovian bursts recorded at Hornsby
Valley in 1950 and 1951 are shown in Figure 4.
Figure 2a (left): Alex Shain (cropped close-up taken from
CSIRO Radio Astronomy Image Archive—henceforth
CRAIA—B2842-133); Figure 2b (right): Charlie Higgins
(cropped close-up taken from CRAIA, B2842-132).

ern outskirts of suburban Sydney (Figure 3) be-

tween June 1950 and June 1951 (Shain, 1951;
see, also, Orchiston et al., 2015b).5
During their observations Shain and Hig-
gins had noticed that

Figure 4: Examples of strong 18.3 MHz Jupiter bursts

recorded by Shain and Higgins at Hornsby Valley in 1950
and 1951. The records (top to bottom) date to 11, 19, 29
October and 3 November 1950, and 11 February and 18
March 1951. Local times (in hours) are shown, and the
records are aligned so that the times of transit of Jupiter are
on the line joining the two arrows (after Shain, 1956: 63).

But Shain (1956) went further, and not only

found that the location of the emitting region
clustered in Jovicentric longitude (Figure 5) and
Figure 3: A map showing CSIRO Division of Radiophysics
had a rotation period of 09h 55m 13±05s—very
field stations (blue circles), remote sites (red circles) and close to Jupiter’s System II rotation period—but
other localities (black circles) in the Sydney (upper dotted was almost identical to a conspicuous white
boundary) and Wollongong (lower dotted boundary) regions spot in the South Temperate Belt. He therefore
between 1945 and 1965. Key: 1 = Badgery’s Creek; 2 =
Collaroy Plateau; 3 = Cumberland Park; 4 = Dapto; 5 =
suggested that this spot was the source of the
Dover Heights; 6 = Fleurs; 7 = Freeman’s Reach; 8 = radio emission.
George’s Heights; 9 = Hornsby Valley; 10 = Llandilo; 11 =
Long Reef; 12 = Marsfield (Radiophysics headquarters, 2 THE 1955–1956 RESEARCH PROJECT
from 1968); 13 = Murraybank; 14 = North Head; 15 =
Penrith; 16 = Potts Hill; 17 = Radiophysics headquarters, to 2.1 Introduction
1968; 18 = Rossmore; 19 = Wallacia; 20 = West Head; 21
= Bankstown Aerodrome. Field stations discussed in this
Understandably, Shain was eager to follow up
paper are Fleurs (6), Hornsby Valley (9) and Potts Hill (16). these published results with further observat-
Scale: site 15 to site 11 ≈ 60 km (map: Wayne Orchiston). ions, because
142
W. Orchiston, M. George, P. Robertson, et al. Jovian Observations at Fleurs and Potts Hill in 1957

At this stage our knowledge of the basic

facts concerning the radiation was too in-
complete for the drawing of worthwhile
conclusions about the mechanism of gener-
ation of the radiation. (Gardner and Shain,
1958: 55).
However, by this time (1955) the Hornsby Val-
ley field station was closed (Orchiston et al.,
2015b), and the Radiophysics low-frequency
research program had been transferred to
Fleurs field station (Orchiston and Slee, 2002; Figure 5: A histogram of the occurrence frequency of 18.3
Site 6 in Figure 3) where the 19.7 MHz Shain MHz Jupiter bursts recorded in 1950 –1951 plotted against
Cross was under construction.6 Joviocentric longitude, showing clustering between lJ = 240º
and 140º (after Shain, 1956: 68).
2.2 The Radio Telescopes
Until recently, we were under the impres-
In the interim, Shain and fellow Radiophysics sion that no photographs existed of any of these
research scientist, Francis Frederick (Frank) antenna systems, as in an earlier review of
Gardner (1924–2002; Figure 6; Milne and images preserved in the CSIRO’s incomparable
Whiteoak, 2005),7 decided to erect three simple Radio Astronomy Image Archive (CRAIA; see
low-frequency radio telescopes at Fleurs in Orchiston, 2001; Orchiston et al., 2004), all
1955, that they could use to observe Jupiter. Fleurs images of low frequency antennas were
And because erroneously assumed to relate to the 19.7 MHz
… the radiation from Jupiter is very variable Shain Cross, which was constructed in 1955–
and bears some resemblance to interfering 1956. However, a recent detailed re-examin-
signals from terrestrial atmospherics, solar ation of images in the CSIRO radio astronomy
noise, and radio stations, which can be very photo archive has revealed the existence of
severe at frequencies near 20 Mc/s, it was three photographs that all undoubtedly show a
considered essential to have a good system part of one of these low frequency antenna
for identifying the radiation from the planet systems. Two of these photographs are shown
(Gardner and Shain, 1958: 56).
here in Figures 8 and 9. Unfortunately, all those
The main radio telescope was a 19·6 Mc/s who worked at Fleurs field station in 1955–1956
interferometer, and each aerial consisted of four have now passed away, and there is no docu-
full-wave dipoles,8 suspended between poles mentation with the negatives that reveals which
and each a quarter-wavelength above the radio telescope is shown in these images.
ground. The two aerials were spaced 12 Nor is the precise location of any of the
wavelengths apart (183 m, or 600 feet) in an antenna systems known. The first author of this
east-west direction, and each aerial paper only began working at Fleurs in Novem-
… was phased to produce maximum re-
sponse to the north at a zenith distance of
about 50°. Since the aerial was only mod-
erately directive in azimuth, Jupiter could be
observed over a period of about 5 hr per
day. (ibid.).
This interferometer was operational from June
1955, and the system diagram is shown in Figure
7. The aerials were connected to two receivers Figure 6: Frank Gardner in
1983, 27 years after the
that were isolated from one another, one using Fleurs Jovian observations
the aerials in-phase, the other out-of-phase. (courtesy: CRAIA).
Gardner and Shain (ibid.) stressed that this
system had the advantage “… that even short
duration bursts can be identified as Jupiter
radiation by the ratio of the outputs of the two
receivers.” Thus, instances of terrestrial inter-
ference were easily isolated.
Later in the year, in October, two further low
frequency radio telescopes were completed.
These operated at 14 MHz and 27 MHz, and
comprised single in-line arrays of four and eight Figure 7: 19.6 MHz system diagram (courtesy: CRAIA,
half-wave dipoles respectively.8 B4060-2).

14
W. Orchiston, M. George, P. Robertson, et al. Jovian Observations at Fleurs and Potts Hill in 1957

Figure 8: This 22 February 1956 photograph shows one of the low-frequency radio telescopes at Fleurs used for observations
of Jupiter in 1955 –1956. The array was erected just south of the eastern arm of the Mills Cross. The presence of four sets of
poles (with no indication that the array extended to eight dipoles) suggested that this was either the 14 MHz array or one of the
19.6 MHz interferometer elements. Note that the poles are aligned perpendicular to the Mills Cross (which is in the background),
with the low frequency dipoles running E-W (courtesy: CRAIA, B3932-14).

Figure 9: Another photograph taken on 22 February 1956 showing poles and dipoles of one of the low frequency arrays. Once
again, the eastern arm of the Mills Cross is clearly visible in the background. Because of perspective and fore-shortening effects,
this photograph does not provide a clear indication of the array design, so we have marked on the photograph the four different
sets of three poles that supported the half-wave dipoles (and their associated insulators). For scale, note the radio astronomer
on the ladder, attending to one of the dipoles (courtesy: CRAIA, B3923-13).

144
W. Orchiston, M. George, P. Robertson, et al. Jovian Observations at Fleurs and Potts Hill in 1957

Figure 10: An enlargment of a photograph taken on 30 November 1955 from directly underneath the eastern arm of the Mills
Cross, looking west towards the Mills Cross receiver hut (indicated by the blue arrow). On the left (i.e. to the south of the eastern
arm of the Mills Cross, are some of the poles (white arrows) that supported the half-wave dipoles of the 14 MHz or the 19.6 MHz
arrays. Both radio telescopes had been constructed and were operational by the time this photograph was taken. The second,
fourth and fifth white arrows from the left indicate the positions of the poles that supported the first dipole in the array, with the
last two poles hidden behind the infrastructure of the Mills Cross. The first and third white arrows mark two of the three poles
that supported the second dipole. The red arrows indicate the insulators associated with the first and second dipoles (courtesy:
CRAIA, B3868-2).

ber 1961, assisting Bruce Slee and Charlie receiver hut sited very near the centre of the
Higgins with observations of flare stars using Mills Cross. All three photographs showed
the Shain Cross, and by this time the low- poles that would have supported low frequency
frequency arrays discussed in this paper had dipoles at this time, and an enlarged section of
been removed. Our original intention was to the most detailed of these photographs is
research and write this paper in 2016 as Num- shown in Figure 10. This appears to show the
ber 5 in the series on Early Australian Low same array represented in Figure 8 and 9, but
Frequency Radio Astronomy, so that it immed- what is equally clear is that no other aerials are
iately followed the Hornsby Valley paper (Or- visible between this array and the Mills Cross
chiston et al., 2015b), and Bruce Slee would receiver hut.
then have identified the locations of the arrays
Figure 7 indicates that the two elements of
and written up this section of the paper. In-
the 19.6 MHz interferometer were located 300
stead, Martin George’s Tasmanian low fre-
feet to the east and west of the Mills Cross
quency research for his doctorate was given
receiver hut, and when an aerial photograph of
priority (see George et al., 2015c; 2016; 2017a;
part of the Fleurs field station taken on 22
2017b; 2018), and sadly, in the interim Bruce
February 1956 was enlarged (see Figure 11), it
passed away.
clearly showed what must be the eastern ele-
Prior to this, all that Bruce Slee (1924– ment of this array. Some of the poles also cor-
2016) mentioned when we raised the location relate with those shown in Figures 8–10. Figure
of the antennas with him was that they were 12 indicates the relative positions of the Mills
adjacent to the east-west arm of the Mills Cross Cross, Shain Cross and Chris Cross at Fleurs
(Bruce Slee, person comm, 2016). This was field station. Each arm of the Mills Cross was
partially confirmed when we enlarged three 432.8 m (1420 feet) long, and on this scale and
different CRAIA images taken on 30 November using the drain seen running diagonally across
1955 from directly underneath the eastern arm the aerial photograph and the road that is
of the Mills Cross, and looking west towards the alongside the Mills Cross we can pinpoint the
14
W. Orchiston, M. George, P. Robertson, et al. Jovian Observations at Fleurs and Potts Hill in 1957

Figure 11: An aerial photograph 10 of Fleurs field station taken on 22 February 1956 showing the Chris Cross receiver hut (upper
left), the Chris Cross under construction, the southern and eastern arms of the Mills Cross and the Mills Cross receiver hut
(extreme right). The large inset shows a close-up of the eastern element of the 19.6 MHz interferometer and the Mills Cross
receiver hut, with the bases of the poles that supported the four dipoles marked with red circles. Within the red box are what
appear to be some of the poles associated with the western element of the interferometer (CRAIA, B3923-14; photograph
modifications: Wayne Orchiston).

position of the low frequency array shown in in any of the other late 1955–early 1956 photo-
Figure 11, which is indeed 300 feet from the graphs in the CSIRO photo archive. However,
receiver hut. There can be no doubt that existing photographs show that they were not
the antennas shown in Figures 8–11 therefore located anywhere to the north of the east-west
represent the eastern element of the 19.6 arm of the Shain Cross, so we must assume
MHz interferometer. The Figure 11 aerial that they were somewhere to the west of the
photograph only shows the start of the western western element of the 19.6 MHz interfero-
arm of the Mills Cross, but faintly visible within meter.
the red box are what appear to be five of the Apart from Shain and Gardner, a third Radio-
poles that supported two of the four dipoles of physics staff member, technician Les Clague
the western element of the interferometer. (see Figure 13), assisted with the construction
From data provided by this photograph and of the arrays, and subsequently with the obser-
Figure 7, and the known measurements of the vations. He was a substitute for Shain’s prev-
Mills Cross, we were able to mark the position ious assistant in low-frequency radio astrono-
of the western element of the 19.6 MHz inter- my, Charlie Higgins, who had been assigned to
ferometer on the map shown in Figure 12. another Fleurs project.
The 14 MHz and 27 MHz radio telescopes Whilst most of the 1955–1956 Jovian pro-
became operational in October 1955, but unfor- ject was carried out with the simple purpose-
tunately there is no sign of them in Figure 11 or built arrays at Fleurs, some observations were
14
W. Orchiston, M. George, P. Robertson, et al. Jovian Observations at Fleurs and Potts Hill in 1957

Figure 12: A map of the Fleurs field station showing the WWII air strip, and the sites of the Mills Cross (red), Chris Cross (blue)
and most of the Shain Cross (yellow) radio telescopes. The two green circles mark the locations the 19.6 MHz antennas. We
believe that the 14 MHz and 27 MHz arrays were to the west of the 19.6 MHz interferometer, just south of and adjacent to the
western arm of either the Mills Cross or the Shain Cross (original CRAIA map extensively modified by Wayne Orchiston).

Figure 13: This historic collage was assembled

by the Radiophysics Photo Lab in January 1968
for the farewell card that was presented to the
first author of this paper when he left Radio-
physics in order to complete his Honours degree
at the University of Sydney and pursue graduate
studies. It shows most members of the Solar
Group, led by Paul Wild (top centre). Les
Clague, who assisted Shain and Gardner with
the 1955 –1956 Jovian project at Fleurs is in the
second-to-bottom row, second from the left
(yellow arrow). Beside him, on the left (blue
arrow), is the first author of this paper, who was
then at 24 years of age the youngest member of
the Solar Group (Orchiston Collection).

14
W. Orchiston, M. George, P. Robertson, et al. Jovian Observations at Fleurs and Potts Hill in 1957

Figure 14: The various receivers in the Mills Cross receiver hut, as photographed on 22 February 1956. The racks second and
fourth from the right were not present in photographs of the receiving equipment taken on 7 October 1954 when only the Mills
Cross receiver was installed in this hut. We can therefore assume that one of these two racks contains the Shain Cross receiver,
and the other housed the three Jovian radio telescope receivers (courtesy: CRAIA, B3923-1).

made with the newly completed east-west arm In addition to the Fleurs equipment, some
of the 19.7 MHz Shain Cross. This was com- Jovian observations were made simultaneously
pleted during 1956, and was 1,036 m (3,400 with a simple 19.6 MHz antenna erected espec-
feet) in length. There were 132 dipoles 4 m ially for the purpose at Potts Hill field station, 25
above the ground and strung between tele- km east-southeast of Fleurs (site 16 in Figure
graph poles, with the ground serving as a re- 3). This was
flector. … part of a spaced-aerial experiment to
The receivers connected to the Shain and determine if the scintillations in the radio
the 19.6 MHz interferometer and the 14 MHz emission were inherent in the source itself
and 27 MHz antennas were housed in the near- or caused by the ionosphere. (Wendt, et al.,
2011: 420).
by Mills Cross receiver hut, and by a process of
elimination we can identify all of the low fre- Consequently, the Fleurs and Potts Hill 19.6
quency receiver racks in Figure 14 by compar- MHz radio telescopes were not set up as an
ing this photograph with images of the Mills interferometer, but so that they could record
Cross receiver racks shown in Radiophysics independently. To our knowledge, there are no
photographs taken prior to 1955. Thus, we extant photographs of the 19.6 MHz equipment
know that of the seven racks shown in Figure at Potts Hill (although some of the destroyed
14, those second and fourth from the right con- negatives may originally have shown it).
tained low-frequency receivers. Unfortunately,
there are no comparable photographs of the 2.3 The Observations
receiving equipment in 1957–1960, after the Between June 1955 and March 1956 (inclus-
three temporary low frequency radio telescopes ive) Jovian observations were made at Fleurs
had been removed, that would have allowed us field station at 14, 19.6 and 27 MHz, although
to identify which of the two aforementioned racks most of the observing was carried out with the
housed the Shain Cross receiver.11 previously described 19.6 MHz interferometer.
14
W. Orchiston, M. George, P. Robertson, et al. Jovian Observations at Fleurs and Potts Hill in 1957

Figure 15: Typical records obtained with the 19·6 MHz interferometer on 28 June 1955. At the top is the in-phase record and
below the out-of-phase record, with the sine waves indicating the expected responses of the two receivers to a steady source of
Jupiter emission. The fine spikes on the records are atmospherics, while all other increases in signal level are Jupiter bursts
(after Gardner and Shain, 1958: 57).

2.3.1 The 19.6 MHz Jovian Emission ... The time structure appeared similar to
that of enhanced solar radiation at about
Observations at 19.6 MHz were carried out al- 100 Mc/s. (Gardner and Shain, 1958: 59).
most every day from mid-July 1955 to the end
of March 1956, and although Jovian emission But in contrast, the maximum burst intensity
was not recorded on every day, was only about the same order of magnitude as
a small solar outburst (ibid.).
… on [those] days when it did occur the
average overall duration of the activity was When the occurrence frequency of the emis-
about half an hour out of the possible ob- sion received with the 19.6 MHz interferometer
serving time of 5 hr. (Gardner and Shain, was plotted the histogram showed a skewed
1958: 58). unimodal sine wave with a peak of activity in
Figure 15 shows a typical record of bursts re- November (Figure 16, left), but Gardner and
corded with the 19.6 MHz interferometer over Shain (1958) rightly reasoned that interference
an interval of 2 h 28 m on 28 June 1955. probably masked the true pattern, given that the
average level varied greatly with time of day,
Gardner and Shain (ibid.) note that a dis- and that
tinctive feature of Figure 15
… the observed frequency of occurrence
… is the occurrence of groups of bursts of would be expected to depend on the local
radiation lasting for times of the order of a time of transit, with a maximum during the
minute … [where] fluctuations within each early morning hours when interference is
burst are very pronounced. Frequent generally low.
breaks of a minute or so occur, during which
there is no radiation from Jupiter. Consequently, they carried out observations with
the east-west arm of the Shain Cross, which
In order to study the fine structure of the were less susceptible to interference, and the
bursts Gardner and Shain (1958: 59) used a resulting plot (Figure 16, right) seemed to con-
high-speed Brush Electronics oscilIograph with firm their suspicions—although they admitted
a response time of a few milliseconds,9 and that “There may, however, be a true maximum
found that there were “… no significant bursts in Jupiter activity in November.” (Gardner and
much shorter than 1 sec …” Shain, 1958: 61).
When heard on a loudspeaker in the Mills When Alex Shain (1956) had analysed the
Cross receiver hut, Jovian bursts more closely 1950–1951 Hornby Valley observations, one of
resembled solar bursts than terrestrial interfer- the important results to emerge was that
ence, sounding like
… Jupiter radiation in 1951 had a strong
… thermal noise varying rapidly in intensity, tendency to recur at intervals of a rotation
but only at a rate which the ear can follow period, an indication that the active centres
14
W. Orchiston, M. George, P. Robertson, et al. Jovian Observations at Fleurs and Potts Hill in 1957

Figure 16: Histograms of

the monthly occurrence
frequency of 19.6 MHz
Jovian bursts recorded
with the interferometer
(left) and the east-west
arm of the Shain Cross
(right) between August
1955 and March 1956
(after Gardner and Shain,
1958: 61).

Figure 17: A diagram

showing the central mer-
idian longitude (System
II) of Jupiter at times
when there were radio
bursts. The thick horizon-
tal lines show intense
19.6 MHz emission; the
dashed horizontal lines
weak 19.6 MHz emission;
the hashed horizontal
lines 27 MHz emission;
and ‘X’ shows absence of
27 MHz emission. The
near-vertical dashed line
shows the motion of the
major source of 19.6 MHz
emission relative to the
System II rotation and
reveals a period of 9h 55m
30±3s. White spots in Jup-
iter’s atmospheric belts
are indicated by FA, BC
and DE; and the Great
Red Spot by the arrow
at bottom centre (after
Gardner and Shain,
1958: 65).

on the planet were of small area and per- prominent white spot in the South Temperate
sisted for more than one rotation. (Gardner Belt (S.T.B.) but when Gardner and Shain
and Shain, 1958: 64). (1958: 65) examined the 1955–1956 Jovian
This recurrence tendency was still prominent in emission they could not find any obvious link
1955–1956, as shown in Figure 17. Here the between several white spots then visible in the
times when Jovian bursts occurred were con- S.T.B and the Jupiter bursts. Although some of
verted to central meridian longitudes in System these optical features had comparable rotation
II, where 360º relates to a rotation period of 9h periods, Gardner and Shain (ibid.) regarded this
55m 40s. The rotation period of the main Jovian as purely fortuitous. They also said that “It is
source can be determined from the slope of the worth noting that the [Great] Red Spot was
dashed line in Figure 17, and was found to be definitely not the main source of the 1950-51
9h 55m 30±3s. While this rotation rate is sig- radio noise.”
nificantly faster than Jupiter System II, it lies
Drawing on the data presented in Figure
within the range determined for the main source
17, Gardner and Shain (1958: 66) plotted the
observed in 1951, which was 9h 55m 13±30s.
occurrence frequency of 19.6 MHz Jovian
Shain (1956) postulated that the primary emission in 1955–1956 against relative longi-
source visible in 1951 was associated with a tude, and came up with the histogram shown in
1
W. Orchiston, M. George, P. Robertson, et al. Jovian Observations at Fleurs and Potts Hill in 1957

Figure 18. This shows that there is a strong

main source, between about –50º and +50º
relative longitude; possibly two weak partially-
overlapping sources centred on about –90º and
–130º; and a further weak source at around +80º.

2.3.2 A Multi-Wavelength Analysis

Gardner and Shain (1958: 62) noted that
Between November 1955 and February
1956, when Jupiter was transiting between
midnight and sunrise, interference on 27
Mc/s was negligible … Figure 18: A histogram of the occurrence frequency of 19.6
MHz Jupiter bursts recorded in 1955 –1956 and plotted
and observations were conducted at 19.6 MHz against relative longitude, showing one main source and
and 27 MHz on 52 different evenings. The several weak secondary sources (after Gardner and Shain,
1958: 66).
number of nights when Jovian emission was
recorded is listed in Table 1.
from observations that were made Gardner and
Note that no 19.6 MHz or 27 MHz Jovian Shain (1958: 63) were able to conclude that
bursts were received on 61.5% of those days
… unless the association between days of
when observations were made at both frequen-
activity on 14 and 19.6 Mc/s is worse than
cies. Another remarkable statistic of Table 1 is between 19.6 and 27 Mc/s, it is reasonably
that 27 MHz bursts were never observed alone certain that both the peak intensity and the
—on every day that they were recorded, bursts mean duration of active periods on 14 Mc/s
also were received at 19.6 MHz. However, are lower than on 19.6 Mc/s.
The peak intensity on 27 Mc/s was gen- Upon reviewing all of their spectral obser-
erally only about one-third of that on 19·6 vations, Gardner and Shain (ibid.) estimated
Mc/s, and on those days on which 27 Mc/s that the maximum level of Jovian burst activity
radiation was received the duration of the
activity was only about one-half of that on
was between 14 and 27 MHz, and probably
19·6 Mc/s. (Gardner and Shain, 1958: 62 – near 20 MHz.
63).
2.3.3 The Role of the Earth’s Ionosphere
Meanwhile, Figure 19 shows that although a
few bursts were received at both frequencies, Gardner and Shain also were interested in the
the majority were not. effect of the ionosphere on Jovian bursts, and
Gardner and Shain (1958) also investigat- Table 1: Simultaneous observations of Jupiter at 19·6 MHz
ed the relative longitude of the 27 MHz emis- and 27 MHz (after Gardner and Shain, 1958: 62).
sion, and although the number of bursts in their
Frequencies at which Jupiter Bursts were No. of
sample was limited, as Figure 20 shows, almost Observed Days
all of the emission derived from the ‘main 19·6 MHz and 27 MHz 10
source’. 19·6 MHz but not 27 MHz 10
27 MHz but not 19·6 MHz 0
The results of observations at 14 MHz were No bursts at either frequency 32
disappointing because of the high level of Total number of days when 19.6 and 27 MHz 52
interference from radio stations. Nonetheless, observations were made

Figure 19: Chart records of simultaneous observations of Jovian emission at 27 MHz (top) and 19.6 MHz (bottom), made at
Fleurs on 26 February 1956. With the lower (interferometer) record, the time of maximum response is shown by the upward-
pointing arrow and the time of minimum response by the downward-pointing arrow (after Gardner and Shain, 1958: 62).

1 1
W. Orchiston, M. George, P. Robertson, et al. Jovian Observations at Fleurs and Potts Hill in 1957

west arm of the Shain Cross (Figure 22) was

… used as an interferometer in conjunction
with a small array whose individual dipoles
were in the north-south plane and also
perpendicular to the direction of Jupiter at
transit. (Gardner and Shain, 1958: 57).
Figure 20: A histogram of the occurrence frequency of 27 Because of the narrow beam of the long east-
MHz Jupiter bursts recorded in 1955 –1956 and plotted
against relative Joviocentric longitude (adapted by Wayne
west array, polarisation measurements were
Orchiston from Gardner and Shain, 1958: 66). confined to times within 10 min of transit (ibid.).
Unfortunately only one reliable record was
during February and March 1956 they conduct- obtained, which was on 24 January 1956 when
ed a short series of parallel 19.6 MHz obser- the ‘main source’ (as identified in Figure 18)
vations at Fleurs and Potts Hill between 2300 h was being observed. At this time, the Jovian
and 0200 h local time. The receivers at both bursts exhibited right-hand circular polarisation
sites were closely tuned to avoid discrepancies (Gardner and Shain, 1958), indicating the ex-
caused by sharp spectral variations in the burst istence of a magnetic field in the vicinity of the
signals. source of the bursts—as reported earlier by
Unfortunately, high levels of radio interfer- Franklin and Burke (1956b). Gardner and
ence at Potts Hill threatened this project, and Shain (1958: 64) noted that since the same type
only three pairs of results were available for of polarisation was reported by northern and
comparison (and a short section of one of these southern hemisphere observers then “… the
pairs is shown in Figure 21). Yet these limited Earth’s ionosphere cannot be the medium
observations were enough to show that there which impresses circular polarization on the
were Jupiter radiation.” This led them to conclude
that their observations
… significant differences between the two
sites with some bursts observed at only one … suggest an origin of the noise in some
of the two sites. There also appeared to be type of resonance oscillation in Jupiter’s
timing differences between the sites and atmosphere, but optical data give no clues
some differences in the burst character- as to where or why such oscillations occur.
istics. (Wendt et al., 2011: 420 – 421). (Gardner and Shain, 1958: 56).

Similar differences were found with the other 3 CONCLUDING REMARKS

two records, and Gardner and Shain (1958: 60)
In 1955, immediately after completing his an-
concluded that the ionosphere had a consid-
alysis of the pre-discovery 18.3 MHz Jovian de-
erable effect on the Jovian radiation.
tections made at the CSIRO’s Division of Radio-
2.3.4 Polarisation and the Source of the Jovian physics Hornsby Valley field station in 1950–
Emission 1951, Alex Shain teamed with Frank Gardner to
conduct further research on the enigmatic radio
One of the objectives of the research project emission from the planet Jupiter.
was to determine whether Jovian bursts were
By this time the Hornsby Valley field station
polarised. If they were, this would denote the
was already closed down, so they and Les
presence of a magnetic field and possibly throw
Clague decided to install three temporary low
some light on the nature of the sources gener-
frequency radio telescopes at Fleurs field stat-
ating the emission.
ion, which they could use immediately for their
In order to measure polarisation, the east- investigation, pending the completion there of

Figure 21: The spaced-receiver records for Potts Hill (top) and Fleurs (bottom) taken at 19.6 MHz on 26 February 1956. Time
is shown in sidereal time, where 1000 hrs = 2330 hrs Eastern Australian Standard Time (after Gardner and Shain, 1958: 60).

1 2
W. Orchiston, M. George, P. Robertson, et al. Jovian Observations at Fleurs and Potts Hill in 1957

Figure 22: A view looking east along the east-west arm of the Shain Cross, showing the poles that supported the dipoles and
the transmission line. On the left is ‘Flo’, the mobile field laboratory that was used when servicing and checking the Mills Cross
and the Shain Cross. Occasionally it got bogged after heavy rain, and the radio astronomers then had to ask help from a local
farmer in order to extricate it (courtesy: CRAIA, B3923-4).

the 19.7 MHz ‘Shain Cross’ radio telescope. from Radiophysics would use what was then re-
This stop-gap measure involved a 19.6 MHz garded as long-baseline interferometry to show
two-element interferometer, and single 14 MHz that the bursts were in fact due to scintillations
and 27 MHz antennas. Once the east-west arm that were caused by diffraction in the solar
of the Shain Cross was operational they also wind.]
used this (in conjunction with other aerials) to Meanwhile, the 19.6 MHz observations at
explore the polarisation of Jupiter bursts, and in Fleurs showed that most of the Jovian emission
order to investigate the role of the Earth’s derived from just one primary source, a very
ionosphere in modifying the Jovian emission different result from 1950–1951 when three
they also installed a simple 19.6 MHz antenna major partially-overlapping sources were in-
at Potts Hill field station. volved (cf. Figures 18 and 5). Yet the rotation
Most of the observations Gardner, Shain period of the 1955–1956 main source (9h 55m
and Clague carried out at Fleurs were made at 30±3s) did not differ significantly (at 1σ) from the
19.6 MHz, and these yielded results that dif- mean rotation rate of the 1950–1951 main
fered in various ways from those obtained when sources. But what Gardner and Shain were
Shain researched the 1950–1951 18.3 MHz able to do was eliminate Jupiter’s Great Red
Jovian emission. Spot and a number of conspicuous white spots
For a start, the 19.6 MHz ‘spaced-receiver in the North Temperate Belt (NTB) as the origin
experiment’ involving Fleurs and Potts Hill re- of the radio emission. This negated an earlier
vealed that the form of the Jovian decametric finding where Shain had linked the 1950–1951
emission received at the Earth was not intrinsic Jovian bursts to a white spot in the NTB.
to the bursts themselves, but appeared to be With the benefit of the instrumentation that
caused by the terrestrial ionosphere. [More was newly available in 1955, Gardner and
than a decade later, Slee and Higgins (1968) Shain also were able to see that the 19.6 MHz
1
W. Orchiston, M. George, P. Robertson, et al. Jovian Observations at Fleurs and Potts Hill in 1957

Jovian bursts were polarised. This confirmed Carnegie Institution of Washington to con-
the involvement of a magnetic field in the gener- duct research in low frequency radio ast-
ation of the emission, and they suggested that ronomy. Burke later built a distinguished
some type of resonance oscillation in Jupiter’s career in astrophysics at the Massachu-
atmosphere was the cause. Only later would setts Institute of Technology, while Frank-
we learn that Jovian bursts lin became well known for his activities in
… are associated with spiraling electrons in astronomy education while at the Hayden
the magnetic torus that extends from the Planetarium (from 1956 to 1984).
inner moon, Io, to Jupiter’s magnetosphere 3. Prior to this, the Jovian emission had been
… [and] have nothing whatsoever to do with announced at a meeting of the American
the spots or other features seen in Jupiter’s Astronomical Society in Princeton, New
ever-changing atmospheric ‘cloud belts’ Jersey, just one week after its discovery
(Orchiston et al., 2020: 143). (Ken Kellermann, pers. comm., March
As we have seen, Gardner, Shain and 2021).
Clague carried out multi-wavelength observat- 4. Charles Alexander (‘Alex’) Shain (1922–
ions in 1955–1956, which gave them an en- 1960; Figure 2a) was born in Melbourne,
hanced perspective on the Jovian burst emis- and after completing a BSc at the University
sion. Bursts at 27 MHz were much rarer than of Melbourne and serving briefly in the mili-
those received at 19.6 MHz—they were only tary he joined the CSIR’s Division of Radio-
detected on about 20% of all observing nights— physics in November 1943 (Orchiston and
while terrestrial interference hampered obser- Slee, 2005). He assisted in the develop-
vations at 14 MHz. Nonetheless, Gardner and ment of radar during WWII, and from late
Shain were able to conclude that the peak burst 1946 he was one of those scientists charg-
intensity occurred at around 20 MHz. Mean- ed with identifying peacetime research that
while, it appeared that almost all of the 27 MHz would take advantage of the war-time tech-
emission derived from the primary 19.6 MHz nological achievements of the Division. It is
source, and 27 MHz emission only occurred on important to remember that at this time
days when there also were bursts at 19.6 MHz.
Radiophysics was CSIR’s glamour division,
Despite reliance on simple makeshift radio arguably containing within its walls the
telescopes erected in 1955 solely for the pur- densest concentration of [radar-related]
pose of elaborating on Shain’s 1950–1951 in- technical talent on the continent ... (Sulli-
vestigation, the Fleurs observations carried out van, 2009: 122; cf. Robertson, 1992).
in 1955–1956 led to a greater international Shain was among a coterie of young re-
understanding of the nature of Jovian decamet- searchers who would quickly make Austra-
ric emission. Further low frequency observat- lia a world leader in the newly-emerging
ions of Jupiter by Shain would have to await field of radio astronomy, and he pioneer-
completion of the Shain Cross, and these will ed research at low frequencies. Unfortun-
be discussed in a later paper in this series. ately, Shain’s inspiring lead in this field was
cut short prematurely when he succumbed
4 NOTES to cancer on 11 February 1960, just five
1. This is the tenth paper in a series that aims days after his 38th birthday. This was a
to document pre-1980 low frequency (<30 tragic loss for Australian and international
MHz) radio astronomy in Australia. The radio astronomy, as documented by Dr
first two papers overviewed the research by Joseph Lade (‘Joe’) Pawsey (1908–1962),
staff from the CSIRO Division of Radio- the Deputy Chief of the Division of Radio-
physics near Sydney (Orchiston et al., physics, who described Alex Shain as “... a
2015a) and the efforts in Tasmania by wonderful colleague in the laboratory, im-
Grote Reber and staff from the Physics aginative, well balanced, exceedingly un-
Department at the University of Tasmania selfish, and a real friend to all.” (Pawsey,
(George et al., 2015a). Subsequent papers 1960: 245).
looked in depth at individual field stations in 5. Fleurs field station (Site 6 in Figure 3) was
Tasmania (see George et al., 2015b; 2015c; founded in 1953 and ended up being home
2016; 2017a; 2017b; 2018) and at Hornsby to three different ‘cross-type’ radio tele-
Valley near Sydney (Orchiston et al., 2015b). scopes, modelled predominantly on the Potts
2. Bernard Flood Burke and Kenneth Franklin Hill prototype designed by Bernie Mills and
both received PhDs in 1953, from MIT and Alec Little (Wendt et al., 2011: 406–407).
the University of California (Berkeley) re- The Fleurs ‘crosses’ were the 85.5 MHz
spectively, and when they detected Jovian Mills Cross, completed in 1954 (see Or-
decametric emission were employed by the chiston and Slee, 2017: 548–555); the 19.7
Department of Terrestrial Magnetism at the MHz Shain Cross (completed in 1956) and
1 4
W. Orchiston, M. George, P. Robertson, et al. Jovian Observations at Fleurs and Potts Hill in 1957

the 1421 MHz Chris Cross solar grating they already planned to make some of their
array designed by W.N. (Chris) Christian- observations with part of the Shain Cross
sen and completed in 1957 (see Orchiston as it became operational. But then the
and Mathewson, 2009). This innovative question arises as to why they chose 19.6
last-mentioned radio telescope combined MHz instead of 19.7 MHz, which was the
the principles of Bernie Mill’s classical cross- operating frequency of the Shain Cross.
type antenna (see Mills and Little, 1953), Nor could be find out why Shain and Gard-
and the two solar grating arrays that ner selected 14 MHz and 27 MHz as the
Christiansen had erected earlier at Potts frequencies for the other observations they
Hill field station (see Wendt et al., 2008). would make at Fleurs.
6. The Shain Cross (see Shain, 1958) 10. Unfortunately, some of the negatives dating
… was built alongside the Mills Cross, to 1955–1956
operated at a frequency of 19.7 MHz, and … were found to have suffered irreparable
had a beam width of 1.5°. It evolved out of damage owing to the use at the time [by the
Shain’s earlier exploits at the Hornsby Val- Radiophysics photographers] of what later
ley and the 19.6 MHz interferometer at proved to be faulty film. These degraded
Fleurs, and drew inspiration also from the negatives were too damaged for further use
Mills Cross concept. The N-S arm was and [most] were disposed of … (Orchiston,
1,151 m in length and contained 151 di- et al., 2004: 47).
poles, while the E-W arm was a little short-
The left-hand half of the negative used to
er, at 1,036 m, with 132 dipoles. The di-
poles were 4 m above the ground and strung create Figure 11 was badly damaged and
between telegraph poles, with the ground useless, but the right-hand half of the neg-
serving as a reflector ... (Orchiston and ative, although degraded and unclear in
Slee, 2017: 556). places, is still able to provide information
7. Frank Gardner (or ‘FF’ as we all called him useful for this paper. We know that many
at Radiophysics) was born in Sydney in other photographs of Fleurs field station
1924 and died in 2002. Milne and Whiteoak and its radio telescopes taken at this time
(2005: 33) reveal how FF were destroyed, and we can be certain that
… graduated from the University of Sydney some of these originally would have provid-
in Science in 1943 and with First Class ed details of interest to us. This is yet an-
Honours in Electrical Engineering in 1945. other instance of the source limitations that
Quiet and unassuming, he worked on iono- we sometimes face when researching the
spheric research at the Cavendish Labor- history of astronomy.
atory from 1947 to 1949 graduating with a 11. Had this paper been written as initially
PhD from Cambridge University. Returning planned, then Bruce Slee would quickly
to Australia, he joined the CSIRO’s Division
have identified which of the racks housed
of Radiophysics in 1950 …
the Shain Cross receiver. This is yet an-
Initially he worked on ionospheric research, other reminder of how important it is for
before transferring to radio astronomy, and those studying the history of radio astron-
the Fleurs Jovian project was to be his sole omy to utilise the memories, photographs,
foray into low frequency research and Solar letters, reports and other archival records of
System radio astronomy. Then once the the few pioneering radio astronomers who
64-m Parkes Radio Telescope was com- are still alive.
missioned (late 1961), FF became an ac- 12. This was loaned to Shain and Gardner by
knowledged receiver expert, but he also Grote Reber, the American radio astronomy
was “… more or less forced to become a pioneer (see Kellermann, 2005) who at the
‘radio astronomer’.” (Milne and Whiteoak, time was living in the Australian island state
2005: 34). Over the years he worked on a of Tasmania where he was conducting re-
wide range of galactic and extragalactic search on low frequency radio astronomy
projects, and was a pioneer in polarisation (e.g. see George et al., 2015b; 2015c).
and spectral line studies. Reber tended to work in isolation (ibid.),
8. Gardner and Shain (1958: 56) claimed that
and this is one of the few instances where
they used full-wave dipoles, but the accum-
he is known to have assisted his profess-
ulated evidence, including Figures 8 and 9,
sional radio astronomical colleagues.
clearly shows that they in fact used half-
wave dipoles.
5 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
9. We could find no evidence to explain why
Shain and Gardner decided to observe at We wish to thank Ken Kellermann for providing
19.6 MHz instead of 18.3 MHz (using the information relevant to this paper. We also are
receiving equipment they had developed at grateful to the CSIRO’s Australian Telescope
Hornsby Valley), unless it was because National Facility for providing many of the
1
W. Orchiston, M. George, P. Robertson, et al. Jovian Observations at Fleurs and Potts Hill in 1957

images used in this paper. We also made use Slee. Had circumstances been different, he
of ADS while researching this paper. Finally, would have been a co-author of this paper.
we would like to dedicate this paper to Bruce

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and Heritage, 12, 11 – 32.
Orchiston, W., George, M., Slee, B., and Wielebinski, R., 2015a. The history of early low frequency radio astronomy
in Australia. 1: The CSIRO Division of Radiophysics. Journal of Astronomical History and Heritage, 18, 3 ‒13.
Orchiston, W., Slee, B., George, M., and Wielebinski, R., 2015b. The history of early low frequency radio astronomy
in Australia. 4: Kerr, Shain, Higgins and the Hornsby Valley field station near Sydney. Journal of Astronomical
History and Heritage, 18, 285 – 311.
Orchiston, W., and Slee, B., 2017. The early development of Australian radio astronomy: the role of the CSIRO
Division of Radiophysics field stations. In Nakamura, T., and Orchiston, W. (eds.). The Emergence of Astrophysics
in Asia: Opening a New Window on the Universe. Cham (Switzerland), Springer. Pp. 497‒ 578.
Orchiston, W., Robertson, P., and Sullivan, W.T. III, 2020. Golden Years of Australian Radio Astronomy: An
Illustrated History. Cham (Switzerland), Springer.
Pawsey, J.L., 1960. Obituary Notices: Charles Alexander Shain. Quarterly Journal of the Royal Astronomical
Society, 1, 244 – 245.
Radio emission from Jupiter. Nature, 175, 1074 (1955).
Robertson, P., 1992. Beyond Southern Skies. Radio Astronomy and the Parkes Telescope. Cambridge, Cambridge
University Press.

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W. Orchiston, M. George, P. Robertson, et al. Jovian Observations at Fleurs and Potts Hill in 1957

Shain, C.A., 1951. Galactic radiation at 18.3 Mc/s. Australian Journal of Scientific Research, A4, 258 –267.
Shain, C.A., 1955. Location on Jupiter of a source of radio noise. Nature, 176, 836 – 837.
Shain, C.A., 1956. 18.3 Mc/s radiation from Jupiter. Australian Journal of Physics, 9, 61 – 73.
Shain, C.A., 1957. Location on Jupiter of a source of radio noise. In van de Hulst, H.C. (ed.). Radio Astronomy.
Cambridge, Cambridge University Press. Pp. 397– 399.
Shain, C.A., 1958. The Sydney 19.7 Mc/s radio telescope. Proceedings of the Institute of Radio Engineers, 46,
85 – 88.
Slee, O.B., and Higgins, C.S., 1968. The solar wind and Jovian decametric radio emission. Australian Journal of
Physics, 21, 341 –368.
Sullivan, W.T., III, 2009. Cosmic Noise. A History of Early Radio Astronomy. Cambridge, Cambridge University
Press.
Wendt, H., Orchiston, W., and Slee, B., 2008. W.N Christiansen and the development of the solar grating array.
Journal of Astronomical History and Heritage, 11, 173 –184.
Wendt, H., Orchiston, W., and Slee, B., 2011. The contribution of the Division of Radiophysics Potts Hill field station
to international radio astronomy. In Orchiston, W. Nakamura, T., and Strom, R. (eds.). Highlighting the History of
Astronomy in the Asia-Pacific Region. New York, Springer. Pp. 379 – 431.

Dr Wayne Orchiston was born in New Zealand in 1943, and works at the National Astronomical Research Institute
of Thailand. He also is an Adjunct Professor of Astronomy at the University of Southern Queensland in
Toowoomba, Australia. In the 1960s Wayne worked as a Technical Assistant in the CSIRO‘s Division of
Radiophysics in Sydney, and forty years later joined its successor, the Australia Telescope National Facility, as its
Archivist and Historian.
He has a special interest in the history of radio astronomy, and in 2003 was founding Chairman of the IAU
Working Group on Historical Radio Astronomy. Through James Cook University and the University of Southern
Queensland he has supervised six PhD or Masters theses on historic radio astronomy, and has published papers
on early radio astronomy in Australia, France, India, Japan, New Zealand and the USA.
He also has published extensively on the history of meteoritics; historic transits of Venus
and solar eclipses; historic telescopes and observatories; the history of cometary and
asteroidal astronomy; the early development of astrophysics in Asia and Oceania; and
Indian, SE Asian and New Zealand ethnoastronomy. In 2016 and 2017 Springer published
his books, Exploring the History of New Zealand Astronomy: Trials, Tribulations, Telescopes
and Transits and The Emergence of Astrophysics in Asia: Opening a New Window on the
Universe (co-editored by Tsuko Nakamura), both of which contain various chapters on early
radio astronomy. His latest Springer book is Golden Years of Australian Radio Astronomy:
An Illustrated History (2020, co-authored by Peter Robertson and Woody Sullivan).
Currently, Wayne is the President of IAU Commission C3 (History of Astronomy), and he is a co-founder and
the current Managing Editor of the Journal of Astronomical History and Heritage and a Co-editor of Springer’s book
Series on Historical and Cultural Astronomy. In 2013 the IAU named minor planet 48471 Orchiston after him, and
in 2019 he and former PhD student, Dr Stella Cottam, were awarded the Donald E. Osterbrock Book Prize by the
HAD/American Astronomical Society for their Springer book, Eclipses, Transits and Comets of the Nineteenth
Century: How America’s Perceptions of the Skies Changed.

Dr Martin George is responsible for the planetarium and astronomy collections at the Queen Victoria Museum and
Art Gallery in Launceston, Tasmania, and is a former President of the International
Planetarium Society.
He has a special research interest in the history of radio astronomy, and completed a
PhD on the development of low frequency radio astronomy in Tasmania through the
University of Southern Queensland, supervised by Professors Wayne Orchiston and Richard
Wielebinski (and originally also by the late Professor Bruce Slee). Martin was the
Administrator of the Grote Reber Medal for Radio Astronomy, and is a member of the IAU
Working Group on Historical Radio Astronomy.
He has published extensively on early Tasmanian radio astronomy, along with several
papers on seventeenth century Jesuit astronomers in Siam (aka Thailand).

1
W. Orchiston, M. George, P. Robertson, et al. Jovian Observations at Fleurs and Potts Hill in 1957

Dr Harry Wendt is an Adjunct Research Fellow in the Astrophysics Group at the University of Southern
Queensland.
He has a long-standing interest in early Australian radio astronomy and in 2009
completed a PhD thesis on “The Contribution of the CSIRO Division of Radiophysics Potts
Hill and Murraybank Field Stations to International Radio Astronomy” through James Cook
University (Townsville, Australia), supervised by Professor Wayne Orchiston and the late
Professor Bruce Slee.
Harry has since published a series of papers based upon his thesis and subsequent
research, and the book Four Pillars of Radio Astronomy: Mills, Christiansen, Wild, Bracewell
(2017, Springer, co-authored by Bob Frater and Miller Goss). Harry is a member of the IAU
Working Group on Historical Radio Astronomy.

Professor Richard Wielebinski was born in Poland in 1936, and moved with his parents to Hobart, Tasmania,
while still a teenager. Richard completed BE (Hons.) and MEngSc. degrees at the University of Tasmania. In his
student days he met Grote Reber and was involved in the construction of a low frequency array at Kempton. After
working for the Post Master General’s Department in Hobart he joined Ryle’s radio astronomy group at the
Cavendish Laboratory, Cambridge, and completed a PhD in 1963 on polarised galactic radio emission.
From 1963 to 1969 Richard worked with Professor W.N. (Chris) Christiansen in the
Department of Electrical Engineering at the University of Sydney, studying galactic emission
with the Fleurs Synthesis Telescope and the 64-m Parkes Radio Telescope. He also was
involved in early Australian pulsar research using the Molonglo Cross.
In 1970 Richard was appointed Director of the Max-Planck-Institut für Radioastronomie
in Bonn, where he was responsible for the instrumentation of the 100-m radio telescope at
Effelsberg. In addition, he built up a research group that became involved in mapping the
sky in the radio continuum, studying the magnetic fields of galaxies, and pulsar research.
Further developments were the French-German-Spanish institute for millimetre-wave
astronomy (IRAM), and co-operation with the Steward Observatory, University of Arizona,
on the Heinrich-Hertz Telescope Project.
Richard holds Honorary Professorships in Bonn, Beijing and at the University of Southern Queensland. He is
a member of several academies, and has been awarded honorary doctorates by four universities. After retiring in
2004 he became involved in history of radio astronomy research, and is a former Chairman of the IAU Working
Group on Historical Radio Astronomy.

1
 Journal of Astronomical History and Heritage, 24(1), 159 –169 (2021).

DIAMETERS (BIMBAS) OF THE SUN, MOON AND

EARTH’S SHADOW-CONE IN INDIAN ASTRONOMICAL TEXTS,
WITH SPECIAL REFERENCE TO THE MAKARANDASĀRIṆῑ
AND THE GAṆAKĀNANDA
S.K. Uma
Department of Mathematics, Sir M. Visvesvaraya Institute of Technology,
Hunasamaranahalli, Bengaluru 562 157, India.
Email: uma.sreenath@yahoo.com
Padmaja Venugopal
Department of Mathematics, SJB Institute of Technology, Bangalore 60, India.
Email: venugopalpadmaja@gmail.com
K. Rupa
Department of Mathematics, GAT, Rajarajeshwarinagar, Bangalore 98, India.
Email: shr_rupak@yahoo.co.in
and
S. Balachandra Rao
Bhavan’s Gandhi Centre for Science and Human Values, Bharatiya Vidya
Bhavan, # 43/1, Race Course Road, Bengaluru 560 001, India.
Email: balachandra1944@gmail.com

Abstract: The diameters of the Sun, Moon and Earth’s shadow-cone are important in the computation of lunar
and solar eclipses. This paper discusses the procedures for computing the diameters of the Sun, Moon and
Earth’s shadow-cone according to the Makarandasāriṇῑ and the Gaṇakānanda texts. The results are compared
with those of the basic siddhādntic text, the Sūryasiddhānta, and with the popular astronomical handbook, the
Grahalāghava of Gaṇeśa Daivajña (CE 1520). A number of illustrative examples are provided, along with
possible explanations.
Keywords: angular diameters, bimbas, nakṣatrabhoga, Grahalāghava, Makarandasāriṇῑ, Gaṇakānanda,
Sūryasiddhānta, Makaranda

1 INTRODUCTION angle subtended by a heavenly body at the

viewer (i.e. the angular diameter) depended on
In astronomy, the sizes of objects in the sky
the distance of the body from the viewer, while
are often given in terms of their angular dia-
in turn the angular velocity of the body was
meters as seen from the Earth. The angular
also related to its distance. The Siddhāntic
diameter of an object is the angle the object
astronomers made out, though as a first ap-
subtends at the observer as seen from the
proximation, that the angular diameter of a
Earth. These angular diameters play a very
body was proportional to its true daily motion
important role in the computation of lunar and
in longitude as observed from the Earth. How-
solar eclipses, conjunctions, occultations and
ever, for makers and users of almanacs (pañ-
transits.
cāṅga) the readily available parameters were
In Indian classical astronomical texts, the
(i) the true daily motion in longitude;
procedures for calculating angular diameters
(bimbas) are given in different forms in differ- (ii) the duration of the lunar mansion (nak-
ent texts. The majority of the Siddhāntic texts ṣatrabhoga or nakṣatramāna);
give angular diameters in terms of the true (iii) anomalies of the Sun and the Moon from
daily motions of the Sun and Moon. Some their respective apogees (mandocca); and
other texts, including astronomical tables like (iv) the duration of the Sun’s stay in different
the Makarandasāriṇῑ, determine angular dia- zodiacal signs (rāśi) i.e. of (sidereal) solar
meters as a function of the duration of the months.
running lunar mansion (nakṣatrabhoga), or the
These diameters are expressed in differ-
anomalies of the Sun and Moon from their re-
ent units in different texts, and the notations
spective apogees.
and units used in this paper are listed and ex-
By sustained observations over many cen- plained below, in Section 1.1. The famous
turies Indian astronomers realized that the classical Siddhāntic text, the Sūryasiddhānta,
159
S.K. Uma, P. Venugopal, K. Rupa & S. Balachandra Rao The Sun, Moon and Earth’s Shadow in Indian Texts

gives diameters in terms of the linear unit the direct application of the major texts is cum-
yojana. In the Khaṇḍakhādyaka, by Brahma- bersome and tedious for the day-to-day pos-
gupta, the angular diameters are given in itions of heavenly bodies, the almanacs are
minutes of arc (kalās). On the other hand, in compiled annually based on tables (sāriṇῑs) of
the Karaṇakutūhala by Bhāskara II and the different siddhānta pakṣas. The popular Ind-
Grahalāghava of Gaṇeśa Daivajña, the unit ian astronomical tables belong to different
used for the diameter is the aṅgula. schools and are based on different major
In Sections 2–7 we discuss the procedure texts. These different pakṣas conformed to
for determining angular diameters given in the the parameters and procedures respectively of
Makarandasāriṇῑ (MKS), and we compare it the Sūryasiddhānta, the Āryabhaṭῑyam of Ārya-
with those outlined in the Sūryasiddhānta (SS) bhaṭa I (CE 476), the Brahma sphuṭa sid-
and the Grahalāghava (GL). dhānta of Brahmagupta (CE 628) and the
Grahalāghava of Gaṇeśa Daivajña (CE 1520).
1.1 Notations and Units Used in this Paper The annual almanacs are computed using dif-
ferent sets of astronomical tables like the Mak-
This paper is based on Sanskrit astronomical arandasāriṇῑ, Gaṇakānanda, Pratibhāgῑ, Mahā-
texts and tables and hence the units of angle, devī, Tithicintāmaņi, etc. These Indian astro-
distance, time etc. used are also in Sanskrit. nomical tables are variously referred to as sār-
The following are some that we frequently use iṇῑ, padakam, koṣṭhaka and vākya. The major
in this paper. tables of the Saurapakṣa are (i) the Makaran-
dasāriṇῑ, (ii) the Gaṇakānanda, (iii) the Prati-
1.1.1 Time bhāgῑ and (iv) the Tyāgarti manuscripts.
1 day = 60 ghatis; 1 ghati = 60 vighatis = 24 The Makarandasāriṇῑ (MKS) is the most
minutes (i.e. 1 hour = 2.5 ghati ) popular text among the Indian astronomical
1 lunar month = cāndra māsa = 30 tithis (lunar tables. These tables with explanatory verses
days) (ślokas) were composed by Makaranda, the
son of Ānanda, at Kāśi in CE 1478. This sār-
1.1.2 Angles
iṇῑ belongs to the Saurapakṣa. In fact, the
Amśa = 1 degree; 1 amśa = 60 kalās (arc min- MKS is the most popular among the tables
utes) (sāriṇῑs) of the Saurapakṣa, and most con-
1 kala = 60 vikalās (arc seconds) temporary almanac-makers in India adopt the
Rāśi = zodiacal sign; 1 rāśi = 30 degrees; 1 MKS tables when computing tithis (lunar days),
ańgula = 3 kalās (i.e. 3 arc minutes) = 60 nakṣatras (lunar mansions), yoga (combinat-
pratyaṅgulas ions of longitudes of the Sun and Moon) and
karaṇas (half a lunar day), and also for com-
1.1.3 Angles in the Sūryasiddhānta putations of planetary positions and eclipses.
The yojana; 1 yojana = 15 kalās The commentaries on these tables are
algorithmic in nature, and these explain only
1.1.4 Zodiacal Signs and other Sanskrit how to use the tables for compiling almanacs.
Astronomical Words
The sidereal equivalents of the zodiacal signs 3 OBTAINING DIAMETERS OF THE SUN,
(Aries, Taurus, etc.) are called Meṣa or Vṛṣabha MOON AND EARTH’S SHADOW-CONE
in Indian terminology. The English equivalents ACCORDING TO THE MKS
of other Sanskrit words, like bimba, nakṣatra- The following tables are given in the MKS for
bhoga, etc., mentioned in this paper are pro- computing angular diameters of the Sun,
vided when first introduced. Moon and Earth’s shadow-cone.
2 IMPORTANCE OF ASTRONOMICAL Figure 1 is from the text of the MKS in
TABLES which the angular diameters of the Sun and the
Moon are given. In the case of the Moon the
In Indian society, for observances of religious true daily motion in longitude is the argument,
festivals and also for civil purposes, a calen- and in the case of the Sun the argument is the
drical almanac called a pañcāṅga is a neces- duration of the solar month. The left part of
sity. In the Indian tradition, these astronomical the top entry in the image provides the Moon’s
almanacs are published annually according to angular diameter, and the right part is that of
different pakṣas (schools), namely the Saura, the Sun. The verse below these portions ex-
Ārya, Brāhma and Gaṇeśa pakṣas. plains the procedure for their use. These are
These astronomical almanacs are based shown in Tables 1 and 2 and the procedures
on traditional treatises (siddhānta) like the Sūr- are explained. In Table 1, the angular diamet-
yasiddhānta, the Brahma siddhānta etc. Since ers of the Moon (candra bimba) and the Earth’s
16
S.K. Uma, P. Venugopal, K. Rupa & S. Balachandra Rao The Sun, Moon and Earth’s Shadow in Indian Texts

shadow-cone (pāta bimba) are given for the from 56 ghaţīs to 66 ghaţīs. Also, the corre-
duration of the Moon’s stay in a mansion (nak- sponding Moon’s daily rate of motion (in arc-
ṣatrabhoga or nakṣatramāna) over the range minutes) in longitude is given in the last row.

Figure 1: A text from the MKS showing a table of angular diameters for the Sun and Moon.

Table 1: A table for finding the Moon’s diameter.

Duration of the lunar mansion (in ghaţīs) 56 57 58 59 60 61 62 63 64 65 66
Moon’s diameter 11 11 11 10 10 10 10 10 10 9 9
(in aṅgulas) 34 22 10 59 48 37 27 17 7 58 48
Diameter of the shadow-cone 29 28 28 27 27 26 25 25 24 24 24
(in aṅgulas) 34 54 16 38 2 27 13 20 49 18 48
Moon’s daily rate of motion (in kalās) 857 842 827 813 800 787 774 762 750 738 727

3.1 Rationale for the Moon’s Diameter According to the MKS

The angular extent of a lunar mansion (nakhatra) = 13° 20′ = 800′
The duration of a lunar mansion (nakṣatramāna) = Extent of a nakṣatra/Moon’s daily motion
= 800/Moon’s daily motion (where the Moon’s daily
motion is in arc minutes per day)
= (800/Moon’s daily motion) × 60 gh
∴ The Moon’s daily motion = 48000/Duration of a nakṣhatra [1]
According to the SS,
The Moon’s diameter = (Moon’s true daily motion/Moon’s mean daily motion) × 480, in yojanas
= [(48000/Duration of a nakṣatra)/790′ 35′′] × 480 using equation [1]
= 29143.03784/Duration of a nakṣatra, in yojanas
= 647.6230631/Duration of a nakṣatra, in aṅgulas (converting yojanas into
aṅgulas)
≈ 648/Duration of a nakṣkatra, in aṅgulas
Note that Table 1 can be generated using the above formula for the Moon’s diameter.
Table 2: A table for finding the Sun’s diameter.
Karkataka
Vŗșabha

Kumbha
Mithuna

Dhanus

Makara
Vŗścika

Solar months
Simha

Kanyā
Meșa

Mīna
Tulā

The Sun’s diameter (in aṅgulas 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 11 11 11 11 10

and pratyaṅgulas) 46 35 27 26 33 44 57 8 14 15 8 58
Corrections for the diameter of 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
the shadow-cone 22 31 37 37 31 22 14 5 1 0 5 13
(in aṅgulas and pratyaṅgulas)
The Sun’s daily motion 58 57 56 56 57 58 59 60 61 61 60 59
(in kalās and vikalās) 45 42 58 57 33 34 42 52 18 22 15 18

16
S.K. Uma, P. Venugopal, K. Rupa & S. Balachandra Rao The Sun, Moon and Earth’s Shadow in Indian Texts

In Table 2 the angular diameter of the Sun (ravibimbam) and corrections for the shadow-cone
diameter (pāta bimbas) are given for 12 solar months. The corresponding daily motion of the Sun
(ravibhukti) is also given in the last row.

4 THE PROCEDURE FOR FINDING THE DIAMETERS ACCORDING TO THE MKS

The following procedure is given in the MKS for finding the diameters:
(1) Find the duration of the running lunar mansion (gata-eșya ghaţī ) at Full Moon day or New Moon
day (parvānta) on an eclipse day.
(2) Consider the entry in the column headed by the number represented by the duration of the lunar
mansion (taking only the integer part of the ghaţī ) corresponding to the row with the Moon’s
diameter (candrabimba).
(3) Find the entry in the next column (next to the column headed the duration of the lunar mansion
corresponding to the row with Moon’s diameter. This entry is called the agrimāṅka (succeeding
number).
(4) Find the difference (agrimāntara) between the above two entries obtained from steps 2 and 3.
Now the remaining fractional part of the duration (in ghaţī or vighaţī ) is to be multiplied by this
difference and divided by 60. Add or subtract the result obtained to the first value or from
agrimāṅka (the entries obtained in the steps 2 and 3) respectively.
(5) The above result gives the angular diameter of the Moon (candrabimba) in aṅgulas.
(6) Similarly, we find the diameter of the Earth’s shadow-cone at its intersection with the plane of the
lunar orbit (bhubhābimbam) using Table 1 and following the same procedure. In this case,
instead of the Moon’s diameter row, the values corresponding to the row with the diameter of the
shadow-cone are to be considered. This diameter of the shadow-cone should be corrected using
Table 2, as explained in the following steps.
(7) Find the solar month at parvānta by calculating the Sun’s position expressed in rāśi, amśa, kalā
and vikalās (sign, degrees, minutes and seconds). Obtain the diameter of the shadow-cone value
corresponding to the running solar month and to the next solar month using Table 2, and take the
difference between the two values.
(8) Multiply the above difference between the two values by amśa, kalā and vikalās (degree, minutes
and seconds) for the Sun’s position considered in the above step 7, and divide the product by 30.
This result will be in aṅgulas.
(9) Add the above result to the diameter of the shadow-cone value corresponding to the running solar
month obtained in step 7. This is the correction factor to be added to the diameter of the shadow-
cone obtained using Table 1 in step 6 to get the corrected angular diameter of the Earth’s shadow
(bhubhābimbam).
(10) The same procedure is followed to find the diameter of the Sun using Table 2, corresponding to
the solar month at New Moon on the day of the solar eclipse.

4.1 Example Number 1

Given date: śaka 1534 vaiśākha śuddha 15, Monday, corresponding to CE 15 May 1612.
For the above given date:
Ending moments of the full Moon day (parvānta ghaţī ) = 54ￜ40 gh
duration of Anurādhā nakṣatra = 58ￜ36 gh
Anurādhā is the name of the 17th lunar mansion in the list of the 27 lunar mansions of the zodiac.
The true position of the Sun = 1R 6º 30′ 37′′ The true position of the Moon = 7R 6º 34′ 35′′
Rāhu (the Moon’s ascending node) = 1R 14º 18′ 11′′
Note: In the above, (i) 54ￜ40 gh means 54 ghatis, 40 vighatis, where 1 ghati = 60 vighatis = 24
minutes. 58ￜ36 gh is also similarly understood. In 1R 6º 30′ 37′′, the notation 1R = 1 zodiac sign = 30
degrees.

4.1.1 To Find the Diameter of the Moon

Now from Table 1 the entry corresponding to the Moon’s diameter row in the column headed by
duration number 58 is 11ￜ10
The entry corresponding to the Moon’s diameter row in the column headed by next number 59
(succeeding number) is 10ￜ59
The difference = 10ￜ59–11ￜ10 = –0ￜ11
The remaining fractional part of the duration = 36
Now, (difference × remainder)/60 = [(–11) × 36]/60 = –396/60 = –6.6 = –6ￜ36
= –0ￜ6ￜ36 aṅgulas
16
S.K. Uma, P. Venugopal, K. Rupa & S. Balachandra Rao The Sun, Moon and Earth’s Shadow in Indian Texts

The diameter of the Moon (candrabimba) = 11ￜ10 + (–0ￜ6ￜ36) = 11ￜ4 aṅgulas

4.1.2 To Find the Diameter of the Earth’s Shadow-cone

From Table 1 the entry corresponding to the diameter of the shadow-cone row in the column headed
by duration number 58 is 28ￜ16
The entry corresponding to the diameter of the shadow-cone row in the column headed by next
number 59 (succeeding number) is 27ￜ38
The difference = 27ￜ38–28ￜ16 = –0ￜ38
(difference × remainder)/60 = [(–38) × 36]/60 = –22ￜ48 » 22
The diameter of the shadow-cone (bhubhābimbam) = 28ￜ16 + (–0ￜ22) = 27ￜ54 aṅgulas

4.1.3 Correction to the Diameter of the Shadow-cone using Table 2

The true position of the Sun at Full Moon (parvānta) = 1R 6º 30′ 37′′
The number 1 in the rāśi position indicates that the current solar month is Vŗșabha, and the remaining
degree etc. in the Sun’s position is 6º 30′ 37′′
Now, the entries in the column of Vŗșabha and Mithuna corresponding to the diameter of the shadow-
cone are 0ￜ31 and 0ￜ37 respectively.
The difference = 0ￜ37–0ￜ31 = 0ￜ6
(difference × remainder)/30 = (6 × 6º 30′ 37′′)/30 = 1.3020556 » 1 = 0ￜ1 aṅgulas (ignoring the
fraction)
The correction to the diameter of the shadow-cone = 0ￜ31 + 0ￜ1= 0ￜ32 aṅgulas
The corrected diameter of the shadow-cone = 27ￜ54 + 0ￜ32 = 28ￜ26 aṅgulas

4.2 Example 2: To Find the Diameter of the Sun

Given date: śaka 1532 Mārgaśira kŗşṇa 30 Wednesday corresponding to CE 15 December 1610
Ending moments of the new Moon day (parvānta ghaţī) = 11ￜ59
The true position of the Sun = 8R 5º 26′ 20′′
The number 8 in the rāśi position indicates that the current solar month is Dhanu and the next is
Makara.
The entries in the column headed by Dhanu and Makara corresponding to the diameter of the Sun in
Table 2 are 11ￜ14 and 11ￜ15 respectively.
Their difference = 11ￜ15–11ￜ14 = 0ￜ1
Now the Sun’s diameter = 11ￜ14 + (difference × remainder)/30
= 11ￜ14 + (0ￜ1 × 5º 26′ 20′′)/30 = 11ￜ14 + 0ￜ10ￜ52
= 11ￜ24ￜ52 » 11ￜ25 aṅgulas
Remark: The dates given in the above examples are taken from Viśvanātha’s commentary on the
MKS. The same examples of eclipses are given by Viśvanātha in his commentary on the very
popular text Grahalāghava of Gaṇeśa Daivajña.

4.3 Example 3: A Modern Example

Given date: Tuesday 16 July 2019
There is a partial lunar eclipse visible in India on the given date.
Ending moments of Full Moon day (parvānta) = 52ￜ22 gh
Duration (gata eșya ghaţī ) of Pūrvāṣāḍha nakṣatra (20th lunar mansion = 64ￜ37.5 gh)
True position of the Sun = 3R 24º 3′ 56′′
True position of the Moon = 9R 24º 3′ 55′′
The Moon’s node (Rāhu) = 3R 17º 7′ 48′′

4.3.1 To Find the Diameter of the Moon

Now from Table 1 the entry corresponding to the diameter of the Moon row in the column headed by
duration (in ghaţī ) number 64 is 10ￜ7
The entry corresponding to the diameter of the Moon row in the column headed by the next number
65 (succeeding number) is 9ￜ59
The difference = 9ￜ59–10ￜ7 = –0ￜ8
The remaining fractional part of the duration (in ghaţī or vighaţī ) = 37.5
Now, (difference × remainder)/60 = [(–8) × 37.5]/60 = –300/60 = – 0ￜ 5ￜ37.5
≈ –0ￜ6 aṅgulas
The diameter of the Moon (candrabimba) = 10ￜ8 + (– 0ￜ6) = 10ￜ2 aṅgulas

4.3.2 To Find the Diameter of the Earth’s Shadow-cone

From Table 1 the entry corresponding to the shadow diameter row in the column headed by duration
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S.K. Uma, P. Venugopal, K. Rupa & S. Balachandra Rao The Sun, Moon and Earth’s Shadow in Indian Texts

(in ghaţī) number 64 is 24ￜ49

The entry corresponding to the shadow diameter row in the column headed by the next number 65
(the succeeding number) is 24ￜ18
The difference = 24ￜ18–24ￜ49 = –0ￜ31
(difference × remainder)/60 = [(–31) × 37.5]/60 = –19ￜ22 » 19
Diameter of the shadow-cone (bhubhābimbam) = 24ￜ49 + (–0ￜ19) = 24ￜ30 aṅgulas

4.3.3 Correction to the Diameter of the Shadow-cone Using Table 2

True position of the Sun at full Moon = 3R 24º 3′ 56′′
The number 3 in the rāśi position indicates that the current solar month is Mithuna and the remaining
degree etc, in the Sun’s position is 24º 3′ 56′′
Now, the entries in the column of Mithuna and Karkataka solar months corresponding to the shadow
diameter are 0ￜ37 and 0ￜ37respectively.
The difference = 0ￜ37– 0ￜ37= 0ￜ0
(difference × remainder)/30 = 0ￜ0 (ignoring the fraction)
Correction to the diameter of the shadow-cone = 0ￜ0 aṅgulas
Corrected diameter of the shadow-cone = 24ￜ30+0ￜ0 = 24ￜ30 aṅgulas

4.4 Example 4: To Find the Diameter of the Sun

Given date (modern example): 26 December 2019
This is an annular solar eclipse visible in India on the given date.
Ending moments of New Moon day (parvānta ghaţī) = 11ￜ59
True Sun = 8R 9º 58′ 57′′
The number 8 in the rāśi position indicates that the current solar month is Dhanu and the next is
Makara. The entries in the column headed by Dhanu and Makara.
The corresponding diameters of the Sun in Table 2 are 11ￜ14 and 11ￜ15 respectively.
Their difference = 11ￜ15–11ￜ14 = 0ￜ1
Now the Sun’s diameter = 11ￜ14 + (difference × remainder)/30
= 11ￜ14 + (0ￜ1 × 3R 24º 3′ 56′′)/30 = 11ￜ14 + 0ￜ0ￜ19.97
= 11ￜ14ￜ19.97 » 11ￜ14 aṅgulas

5 THE ANGULAR DIAMETER OF THE SUN ACCORDING TO KUPPANNA SASTRY

Professor T.S. Kuppanna Sastry (1900–1982) was a highly respected Sanskritist and erudite in both
traditional and modern astronomical theories and procedures. Professor Sastry devoted all his time to
a critical study and appreciation of almost all sāstras including Jyotişa (Astronomy), gaņita
(Mathematics) and modern astronomy. He has edited six astronomical texts. He brought out a critical
edition of the Mahābhāskarīya with the commentaries of Govindsvāmin and Parameśvara with
annotations and indices in 1957. He edited the Vākyakaraņa with the commentary of Sundararāja in
1962. He also critically edited the Vedāńgajyotişa and Pañcasiddāntikā with translations and notes.
Professor Sastry’s immensely scholarly and useful “Collected papers on Jyotişa” was brought out by
Rashtriya Sanskrit Vidya Peetha (now the National Sanskrit University), in Tirupati.
According to Kuppanna Sastry, the Sun’s angular diameter is given by 2[961.2 + (16.1)cos(GS)]
in kalās (seconds of arc), where GS is the Sun’s anomaly from its perigee. Table 3 gives the Sun’s
diameter at different sankrānti (the Sun’s entry into 12 rāśis) calculated using Kuppanna Sastry’s
formula in both kalās (seconds of arc) and aṅgulas.
Table 3: The Sun’s diameter using Kuppanna Sastry’s formula.
Sl. Solar Mean Sun at beginning GS Sun’s diameter Sun’s diameter in
No. month of month (º) (º) in kalās aṅgulas and sub units
1 Meśa 0 –102 31.92842073 10ǀ38ǀ34
2 Vŗśabha 30 –132 31.68089991 10ǀ33ǀ37
3 Mithunna 60 –162 31.52959967 10ǀ30ǀ35
4 Karkataka 90 –192 31.51506079 10ǀ30ǀ18
5 Simha 120 –222 31.64117894 10ǀ32ǀ49
6 Kanyā 150 –252 31.87416088 10ǀ37ǀ29
7 Tulā 180 –282 33.15157927 10ǀ43ǀ02
8 Vŗścika 210 –312 32.39910009 10ǀ47ǀ59
9 Dhanu 240 –342 32.55040033 10ǀ51ǀ0.48
10 Makara 270 –372 32.56493921 10ǀ51ǀ18
11 Kumbha 300 –402 32.43882106 10ǀ48ǀ47
12 Mīna 330 –432 32.20583912 10ǀ44ǀ07

According to the above table, the Sun’s diameter is minimum at Karkataka, that is 10ￜ30ￜ18
aṅgulas, and is maximum at Makara, i.e. 10ￜ51ￜ18 aṅgulas.
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S.K. Uma, P. Venugopal, K. Rupa & S. Balachandra Rao The Sun, Moon and Earth’s Shadow in Indian Texts

6 DIAMETERS OF THE SUN, MOON AND EARTH’S SHADOW ACCORDING TO THE SS AND GL
In the Sūryasiddhānta (SS) the diameters are expressed in linear units called yojanas. In this text, the
mean diameters of the Sun, the Moon and the Earth’s shadow-cone are taken as 6500, 480 and 1600
yojanas respectively. The true diameters are as given below.
Sun’s diameter = (Sun’s true daily motion × 6500/Sun’s mean daily motion) × (43,20,000/577,53,336)
yojanas
Moon’s diameter = (Moon’s true daily motion × 480/Moon’s mean daily motion) yojanas
Shadow-cone diameter = (Moon’s true daily motion × 1600/Moon’s mean daily motion) – [(Sun’s
diameter – 1600) × 480/6500] yojanas
Note that in the SS, the revolutions of the Sun and the Moon in a Mahāyuga of 432 × 104 years are
respectively taken as 43,20,000 and 577,53,336. Note, also, that 1 yojana = 15 kalās, 1 aṅgula = 3
kalās, 1 kalā = 60 vikalās and 1 aṅgula = 60 pratyaṅgulas.
In Table 4 we give the diameter of the Sun according to the MKS, SS, and Kuppanna Sastry’s
formulae, for different solar months. While calculating using the SS formula we have used the Sun’s
daily motion for different solar months given in the MKS, as the Sun’s true daily motion and mean
daily motion of the Sun are taken as 58′ 58′′ per mean sidereal day.

Table 4: The Sun’s diameter according to the MKS, SS and Kuppanna Sastry.
Sun’s motion Sun’s diameter Sun’s diameter Sun’s diameter according
Sl. Solar according to the according to the according to the SS to Kuppanna Sastry
No. month MKS (in kalās) MKS (in aṅgulas) (in aṅgulas) (in aṅgulas)
1 Meśa 58ￜ45 10ￜ46 10ￜ45ￜ53 10ￜ38ￜ34
2 Vŗśabha 57ￜ42 10ￜ35 10ￜ34ￜ21 10ￜ33ￜ37
3 Mithunna 56ￜ58 10ￜ27 10ￜ26ￜ17 10ￜ30ￜ35
4 Karkataka 56ￜ57 10ￜ26 10ￜ26ￜ06 10ￜ30ￜ18
5 Simha 57ￜ33 10ￜ33 10ￜ32ￜ42 10ￜ32ￜ49
6 Kanyā 58ￜ34 10ￜ44 10ￜ43ￜ52 10ￜ37ￜ29
7 Tulā 59ￜ42 10ￜ57 10ￜ56ￜ20 10ￜ43ￜ02
8 Vŗścika 60ￜ22 11ￜ08 11ￜ03ￜ40 10ￜ47ￜ59
9 Dhanu 61ￜ18 11ￜ14 11ￜ13ￜ55 10ￜ51ￜ0.48
10 Makara 61ￜ22 11ￜ15 11ￜ14ￜ40 10ￜ51ￜ18
11 Kumbha 60ￜ15 11ￜ08 11ￜ02ￜ23 10ￜ48ￜ47
12 Mīna 59ￜ18 10ￜ58 10ￜ51ￜ56 10ￜ44ￜ07

From Table 4 we observe that the values according to the MKS and SS coincide up to a
pratyaṅgula. But those based on Kuppanna Sastry’s expression are less by 10 to 12 pratyaṅgulas.
In the Grahalāghava (GL) the angular diameters are expressed in aṅgulas. The expressions
given in the GL for finding diameters are as follows:
Sun’s diameter = [(Sun’s true daily motion – 55)/5] + 10, in aṅgulas
Moon’s diameter = Moon’s true daily motion/74, in aṅgulas
Shadow diameter = [(3/11) × Moon’s diameter + 3 × Moon’s diameter] – 8, in aṅgulas
In Table 5 below we have compared the diameter of the Moon according to the three texts,
namely the MKS, SS and GL. The Moon’s angular diameter is computed by considering the duration
of a lunar mansion (nakṣatrabhoga) and the Moon’s daily motion corresponding to the duration of a
lunar mansion (bimba candra bhukti) given by the MKS in SS and GL formulae.

Table 5: The Moon’s diameter according to the MKS, SS and GL.

Duration of Moon’s daily Moon’s diameter Moon’s diameter Moon’s diameter
Sl. No. lunar mansion motion according to the MKS according to the SS according to the GL
(in ghaţīs) (in kalās) (in aṅgulas) (in aṅgulas) (in aṅgulas)
1 56 857 11ￜ34 11ￜ35ￜ40 11ￜ34ￜ52
2 57 842 11ￜ22 11ￜ23ￜ29 11ￜ22ￜ42
3 58 827 11ￜ10 11ￜ11ￜ19 11ￜ10ￜ32
4 59 813 10ￜ59 10ￜ59ￜ57 10ￜ59ￜ11
5 60 800 10ￜ48 10ￜ49ￜ24 10ￜ48ￜ39
6 61 787 10ￜ37 10ￜ38ￜ51 10ￜ38ￜ00
7 62 774 10ￜ27 10ￜ28ￜ17 10ￜ27ￜ34
8 63 762 10ￜ17 10ￜ18ￜ33 10ￜ17ￜ50
9 64 750 10ￜ7 10ￜ08ￜ49 10ￜ08ￜ06
10 65 738 09ￜ58 09ￜ59ￜ04 09ￜ58ￜ22
11 66 727 09ￜ48 09ￜ50ￜ08 09ￜ49ￜ27
Note: In the MKS the diameters are given only in aṅgulas and pratyaṅgulas, with no further subunits.

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S.K. Uma, P. Venugopal, K. Rupa & S. Balachandra Rao The Sun, Moon and Earth’s Shadow in Indian Texts

From Table 5 we notice that the values for the Moon’s diameter according to the MKS and the GL
coincide within one pratyaṅgula although they belong to different schools.

7 DIAMETERS ACCORDING TO THE GAṆAKĀNANDA

The Gaṇakānanda is a popular text in the Andhra and Karnataka regions. The epocal date of the text
is CE 16 March 1447, and it is based on the Sūryasiddhānta. The Telugu translation by Chella
Lakshmi Nrusimha Sastrigaru of Machlipatnam is taken up. It is a handbook (karaṇa text) comprising
a textual part and astronomical tables. The famous Andhra astronomer Sūrya, son of Bālāditya,
composed his famous karaṇa (tables) called the Gaṇakānanda. His more illustrious protégé, Yallaya,
composed his exhaustive commentary the Kalpavallī, which was based on the well-known Sūrya-
siddhānta.
Yallaya belonged to the kāśyapa gotra (lineage) and his genealogy was as follows: Kalpa Yajvā
(great grandfather) Ò Yallaya (grandfather) Ò Śrīdhara (father) Ò Yallaya. Yallaya learnt three
works from his teachers: the Gaṇakānanda, the Daivajñābharaṇa and the Daivajñabhūṣaṇạ.
Yallaya’s residence was a small town to the north of Addankī (latitude 15°.49 N, longitude 80°.01 E)
called Skandasomeśvara in Andhra Pradesh. Yallaya’s home town lay towards the āgneya (south-
east) of Śriśaila, the famous pilgrimage centre.
The following are the abbreviations for the symbols used: SDIA = the Sun’s angular diameter;
STDM = the Sun’s true daily motion; and SMDM = the Sun’s mean daily motion.
The true daily motions of the Sun and the Moon, STDM and MTDM vary with their respective
manda anomalies (Mandakendra, MK). The variation of the Sun’s true daily motion with its MK is
given by:
STDM = 59.1388 – (1.98109) cos (MK) – (0.041285) cos (2MK) in kalās (arc min.) [2]
Here, the manda anomaly MK = Sun’s Mandocca (apogee) – Mean Sun. Similarly, the Moon’s true
daily motion, in terms of its manda anomaly MK, is given by
MTDM = 790.5666 – (PRD/360) × 783.9 × cos (MK) in kalās (arc min.) [3]
where PRD is the Moon’s manda paridhi (periphery). Here also, MK = Moon’s Mandocca (Apogee) –
Mean Moon. From [2] and [3], as MK varies from 0° to 360°, the minimum values of the true daily
motions (TDM) of the Sun and the Moon are as shown in Table 6.
Table 6: Minimum and maximum true daily motions.
Body Minimum TDM Maximum TDM
Sun 56′.83 61′.43
Moon 720′.8866 860′.2466

The variations of the Sun’s true daily motion (STDM) and its diameter (Ravi bimba) SDIA with the
MK are shown in Table 7. Similarly, the variations of the Moon’s true daily motion (MTDM) and its
diameter MDIA, Candra bimba) are shown in Table 8.

Table 7: The Sun’s angular diameter according to the Table 8: The Moon’s angular diameter according to the
Sūryasiddhānta. Sūryasiddhānta.
MK STDM (‘) SDIA (‘) MK MTDM (‘) MDIA(MOD)’ MDIA(SS)’
0 56.83367 31.24122 0 720.8866 29.28333 28.88662
10 56.88734 31.27071 10 722.1935 29.28333 28.88662
20 57.00755 31.33679 20 725.5553 29.31428 28.93899
30 57.18918 31.43664 30 730.8505 29.40616 29.0737
40 57.4256 31.56659 40 737.9034 29.55619 29.28588
50 57.70905 31.7224 50 746.4919 29.75982 29.5685
60 58.0309 31.89933 60 756.3551 30.01086 29.91265
70 58.38198 32.09231 70 767.2012 30.30167 30.30787
80 58.7527 32.2961 80 778.715 30.62342 30.74249
90 59.1333 32.50531 90 790.5666 30.96634 31.20386
100 59.5139 32.71452 100 802.4181 31.32 31.67876
110 59.88463 32.91831 110 813.9321 31.67367 32.15367
120 60.23571 33.1113 120 824.7781 32.01658 32.61504
130 60.55756 33.28822 130 834.6413 32.33833 33.04965
140 60.84101 33.44403 140 843.2299 32.62914 33.44488
150 61.07743 33.57399 150 850.2827 32.88018 33.78903
160 61.25906 33.67383 160 855.5779 33.08381 34.07165
170 61.37927 33.73991 170 858.9398 33.23384 34.28383
180 61.43293 33.76941 180 860.2466 33.32573 34.41854

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Table 9: The angular diameter of the Earth’s shadow-cone according to the Sūryasiddhānta.
STDM (‘) → 56 57 58 59 60 61 62
MTDM (‘)↓
720 74.9 74.4 73.8 73.3 72.7 72.2 71.6
730 76.3 75.7 75.2 74.6 74.1 73.5 73
740 77.6 77.1 76.5 76 75.4 74.9 74.3
750 79 78.4 77.9 77.3 76.8 76.2 75.7
760 80.3 79.8 79.2 78.7 78.1 77.6 77.1
770 81.7 81.1 80.6 80 79.5 78.9 78.4
780 83 82.5 81.9 81.4 80.8 80.3 79.8
790 84.4 83.8 83.3 82.7 82.2 81.7 81.1
800 85.7 85.2 84.6 84.1 83.5 83 82.5
810 87.1 86.5 86 85.4 84.9 84.4 83.8
820 88.4 87.9 87.3 86.8 86.3 85.7 85.2
830 89.8 89.2 88.7 88.2 87.6 87.1 86.5
840 91.1 90.6 90 89.5 89 88.4 87.9
850 92.5 91.9 91.4 90.9 90.3 89.8 89.2
860 93.8 93.3 92.8 92.2 91.7 91.1 90.6
870 95.2 94.6 94.1 93.6 93 92.5 91.9

The angular diameter of the Earth’s shadow-cone (SHDIA) varies with the true daily motions of
both the Sun and the Moon (STDM and MTDM), as shown in Table 9, while the STDM varies from a
minimum of 56′.83 to a maximum of 61′.43. The corresponding external values of the MTDM in the
case of the Moon are respectively 720′.8866 and 860′.2466 (see Table 8).

Table 10: Diameters of the Moon, the Earth’s shadow-come and the Sun according to the MKS, SS, GL and modern
calculations for different dates of lunar and solar eclipses.
Lunar Eclipse
No Date Moon’s diameter (in aṅgulas) Shadow-cone diameter (in aṅgulas) Sun’s diameter (in aṅgulas)
MKS SS GL Modern MKS SS GL Modern MKS SS GL Modern
1 15 May 1612 11ￜ4 10ￜ56 10ￜ55 10ￜ33.7 28ￜ26 28ￜ38 27ￜ44 28ￜ17 10ￜ33 10ￜ32 10ￜ30 10ￜ32.98
2 16 July 2019 10ￜ2 9ￜ57 9ￜ58 9ￜ59ￜ40 24ￜ34 25ￜ33 24ￜ37 26ￜ34 10ￜ20 10ￜ29 10ￜ26 10ￜ30
Solar Eclipse
Sun’s diameter (in aṅgulas) Moon’s diameter (in aṅgulas)
MKS SS GL Modern MKS SS GL Modern
3 15 Dec 1610 11ￜ24.8 11ￜ14 11ￜ15 10ￜ51.4 9ￜ44.5 9ￜ45 9ￜ49 9ￜ48
4 26 Dec 2019 11ￜ25 11ￜ12 11ￜ14 10ￜ51 10ￜ44 10ￜ38 10ￜ37 10ￜ01

8 CONCLUSION
In the present paper we have discussed in detail the procedures for determining the angular
diameters of the Sun, the Moon and the Earth’s shadow according to the Makarandasāriņī and the
Gaṇakānanda, and presented concrete examples. Also, the results using the MKS were compared
with those according to the SS, GL and Kuppanna Sastry (e.g. see Table10).
The specialty of the MKS lies in giving the procedure for obtaining the angular diameters of the
Sun, Moon and Earth’s shadow-cone using the total duration of the running lunar mansion and the
solar months, values of which are readily available in traditional astronomical almanacs (pañcāṅga).

9 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
We express our indebtedness to the History of Science Division, Indian National Science Academy
(INSA), New Delhi, for sponsoring the research project for one of us (S.K. Uma) under which the
present paper was prepared.

10 BIBLIOGRAPHY
Bag, A.K., 1979. Mathematics in Ancient and Medieval India. Vāranāsī, Chowkamba Orientalia.
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Daivajña, V. (commentary), 1913. Sodāharaņa Makarandasāriņī. Bombay, Śrī Venkateśvara Press.
Jhā, P.L., 1998. Makarandaprakāśa., Vāraņāsī, Chaukhambā Surabhāratī Prakaśan.
Mishra, A.R. (commentator), 1982. Makarandasārinī. Varanasi, Madālasā Publications.
Pingree, D., 1968. Sanskrit Astronomical Tables in the United States (SATIUS). Phildelphia, Transactions of the
American Philosophical Society.
Pingree D., 1973. Sanskrit Astronomical Tables in England (SATE). Madras, The Kuppuswami Sastri Research
Institute.

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S.K. Uma, P. Venugopal, K. Rupa & S. Balachandra Rao The Sun, Moon and Earth’s Shadow in Indian Texts

Rao, S. Balachandra, 2000. Ancient Indian Astronomy – Planetary Positions and Eclipses. Delhi, B.R. Publishing
Corporation.
Rao, S. Balachandra, Uma, S.K., and Venugopal, P., 2004. Mean planetary positions according to
Grahalāghavam. Indian Journal for History of Science, 39, 441– 466.
Rao, S. Balachandra, 2005. Indian Mathematics and Astronomy – Some Landmarks. Third Revised Edition.
Bangalore, Bhavan’s Gandhi Centre of Science & Human Values.
Rao, S. Balachandra, and Uma, S.K., 2006. Grahalāghava of Ganeśa Daivajña – an English exposition,
mathematical explanation and notes etc. Indian Journal for History of Science, 41, S1– S88, S89 – S183,
S185 – 315, S317– 415.
Rao, S. Balachandra, and Uma, S.K., 2007– 2008. Karaņakutūhalam of Bhāskara II – an English translation with
mathematical notes. Indian Journal for History of Science, 42, S1– S41, S43 – S108; 43, S109 – S150, S151–
S220.
Rao, S. Balachandra, and Padmaja Venugopal, P., 2009. Transits and Occultations in Indian Astronomy.
Bangalore, Bhavan’s Gandhi Centre of Science & Human Values.
Rao, S. Balachandra, 2016. Indian Astronomy – Concepts and Procedures. Bengaluru, M.P. Birla Institute of
Management.
Rupa, K., Venugopal, P., and Rao, S. Balachandra, 2014. Makarandasārinī and allied Saurapakșa tables—a
study. Indian Journal for History of Science, 49, 186 –208.
Sastri, V.L.N. (editor), 2006. Gaṇakānanda [Sanskrit text in Telugu script]. Machalipatnam, published by the
author.
Tandan, S.G., 1945. Makarandasārinī. Bombay, Sri Venkateshwara Press.
Uma, S.K., and Rao, S. Balachandra, 2018. Ahargaņa in Makarandasārinī and other Indian astronomical texts.
Indian Journal for History of Science, 53, 16 –32.

Professor S.K. Uma has an MSc from Bangalore University and PhD from Manipal University. Currently she is
a Professor in the Department of Mathematics at the Sir Mokshagundam Visvesvaraya
Institute of Technology in Bangalore.
She has been working in the field of Indian astronomy for the past two decades and
has presented papers at various conferences and published a few papers in the Indian
Journal of History of Science and other journals. Her most recent published paper is on
the Ahargana according to the Makarandasāriņī, and other Indian astronomical texts.
She worked on the Indian National Science Academy research project
“MAKARANDASᾹRIṆῙ ‒ English Exposition, A Critical Analysis and Comparison with
Other Indian Astronomical Tables”. She is guiding PhD candidates in the field of
astronomy, and has authored three books on Indian Astronomy.

Professor Padmaja Venugopal has a PhD from Bangalore University. Currently she is Professor and Head of
the Department of Mathematics at the SJB Institute of Technology in Bangalore.
Her recent publications include Eclipses, Transits, Occultations and Heliacal Rising
and Setting of Planets. She has been working in the field of Indian astronomy for the past
two decades, and has presented papers at various conferences and published a few
papers in the Indian Journal of History of Science and other journals. She worked on the
Indian National Science Academy (INSA) research project ‘Comparative Study of Planetary
Models in Respect of Epicycles in Classical Indian Astronomy vis-à-vis Ptolemaic and
Copernican Models’. Currently she is working on another INSA project: ‘Gankananda –
English Translation, a Critical Analysis & Comparison with other Indian Astronomical
Tables’. She is guiding PhD candidates in the field of astronomy.
She has authored books on Eclipses in Indian Astronomy and Transits and Occultations in Indian
Astronomy. She presented a stand-alone paper on “Eclipses ‒ inscriptional and literary references, a survey” at
the 25th International Congress of History of Science and Technology, in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, in July 2017.

Associate Professor K. Rupa has an MSc from Bangalore University and a PhD from Anna University,
Chennai. The title of her doctoral thesis is: Planetary Models in Classical Indian
Astronomy in Comparison with Ptolemaic, Copernican and Keplerian Models – A
Mathematical Analysis.
She is currently an Associate Professor in the Department of Mathematics at the
Global Academy of Technology in Bangalore. She has presented papers at various
conferences and published a few papers in the Indian Journal of History of Science and
other journals.
At present, she is working on the INSA research project ‘Occultation and Transits in
Indian Astronomy – A Mathematical Analysis’. She has co-authored the book Bharathada
Suprasidda Ganitajnaru (Famous Indian Mathematicians).

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S.K. Uma, P. Venugopal, K. Rupa & S. Balachandra Rao The Sun, Moon and Earth’s Shadow in Indian Texts

Professor S. Balachandra Rao has an MSc (Mathematics) from the University of Mysore and a PhD (Fluid
Mechanics) from Bangalore University. He served at the National Colleges at Gauribidanur and Bangalore,
teaching mathematics for 35 years, and retired in 2002 as Principal. Currently he is (1) Honorary Director,
Gandhi Centre of Science and Human Values, Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan, Bengaluru; (2) a
Member of the National Commission for History of Science, INSA, New Delhi; and (3) an
Honorary Senior Fellow at the National Institute of Advanced Studies (NIAS) in Bengaluru.
Professor Rao has been researching in the field of classical Indian astronomy since 1993
under successive research projects from INSA. He has authored, singly and jointly, quite
a few papers in reputed journals and books on Indian mathematics and astronomy. The
books published so far are about 30, half in English and the remainder in Kannada. The
more popular ones among them are: (1) Indian Mathematics and Astronomy—Some
Landmarks; (2) Indian Astronomy—Concepts and Procedures; (3) Eclipses in Indian
Astronomy; (4) Transits and Occultations in Indian Astronomy [titles (3) and (4) were co-
authored by Dr Padmaja Venugopal]; (5) Grahalaghavam of Ganesha Daivajna, English
Translation and Notes; (6) Karanakutuhalam of Bhaskara II, English Translation and Notes [titles (5) and (6) were
co-authored by Dr S.K. Uma]; (7) Astrology—Believe it or Not?; (8) Traditions, Science and Society, etc. While
title (7) was translated into the Kannada and Marathi languages, title (8) was rendered into Kannada, Telugu and
Malayalam versions. The Kannada versions of books (7) and (8) have won awards as “The Best Works of
Rational Literature” from the Kannada Sahitya Parishat (Kannada Literary Authority).

16
 Journal of Astronomical History and Heritage, 24(1), 170 – 227 (2021).

A COMPLICATED RELATIONSHIP: AN INTRODUCTION

TO THE CORRESPONDENCE BETWEEN PERCIVAL LOWELL
AND GIOVANNI VIRGINIO SCHIAPARELLI
Jennifer Putnam
Department of History, Classics and Archaeology, Birkbeck College, University
of London, 28 Russell Square, London, UK WC1B 5DQ.
Email: jputna01@mail.bbk.ac.uk
and
William Sheehan
2655 Turtle Creek Ovi Trail, Flagstaff, AZ 86005 USA.
Email: sheehanw987@gmail.com
Abstract: From 1896 until Schiaparelli’s death in 1910, Percival Lowell and Giovanni Schiaparelli exchanged
letters, telegrams, packages, and postcards apprising them of each other’s work and commenting on the other’s
latest theories. Lowell, who greatly admired Schiaparelli’s astronomical career, wrote in search of approval for his
oft-criticized theories about the perceived presence of canals and vegetation on Mars. Schiaparelli, who courted
many theories about Mars but never truly invested himself entirely in one, gently guided Lowell to see other
possibilities or recognize faults in his work, criticism that Lowell took with difficulty from others but accepted from
Schiaparelli. The correspondence, translated from the original French here and made newly available to the public,
shows a complex but respectful, warm, and gentlemanly relationship between two giants of Martian astronomy.
Keywords: Lowell Observatory, Brera Astronomical Observatory, Percival Lowell, Giovanni Schiaparelli, Mars,
Mars photography, correspondence, E. M. Antoniadi, canals

1 FROM LIBRARY TO OBSERVATORY as sharp as the hairpin turn of a Kreutz comet

The emergence of Percival Lowell (1855–1916) bending its way around the Sun. As late as
on the astronomical scene in 1894 was dram- October 1893, still in Tokyo, he was musing with
atic and unexpected. Although he had been a friend, Ralph Curtis, about spending the
interested in astronomy since boyhood and, in following Easter together in Seville. When he
1892, had met the great observer Edward Emer- sailed from Yokohama Bay for San Francisco
son Barnard (1857–1923) in San Francisco the following month (for what was to be the last
before shipping out to Tokyo on the last of four time), there were still no premonitory rumblings
voyages to the Far East (taking along a six-inch to be heard of his subsequent dramatic trans-
Clark refractor), he had given no clear indicat- formation. For USA localities mentioned in the
ions that he was about to make a career change text see Figure 1.

Figure 1: USA localities mentioned in the text (map: Jennifer Putnam).

170
William Sheehan and Jennifer Putnam The Lowell –Schiaparelli Correspondence

Figure 2: Schiaparelli’s map of Mars for 1883 –1884, showing some of the geminations of the canals. Note that some of the
smaller dark patches (e.g. Trivium Charontis and Propontis) are also shown as double (courtesy: Brera Observatory Archives).

the receipt of a Christmas 1893 gift from his

Even when account is taken of Lowell’s
aunt Mary Putnam (1810–1898). The gift was
flamboyant and impetuous personality, it has
a book, La Planète Mars, Volume 1, by Camille
always seemed rather incredible at what speed
Flammarion (1842–1925), published in 1892 and
he sorted things out in equipping and organiz-
was the French astronomer’s monumental com-
ing what biographer David Strauss has called
pilation of all Mars observations made up to that
“… a speculative, high risk, sensational, and
time. Flammarion was an enthusiast, and no-
very idiosyncratic project.” (Strauss, 2001:
thing captivated him more than the idea that
173). The closest thing to what he was about
Mars (and other planets) might be living worlds.
to accomplish was perhaps the trip to the Noto
As evidence, Flammarion included synopses of
Peninsula (in Japan) which he organized in
the Mars memoirs in which Schiaparelli, without
1889 (described in his charming book Noto—
doubt the greatest student of Mars of that time,
see Lowell, 1891).1 But that, though ambitious,
had summarized his long series of observations
was hardly on the scale of setting up a major
begun in 1877 with the 8-inch and 18-inch re-
scientific institution on a tight schedule. The lat-
fractors at the Brera Astronomical Observatory
ter’s purpose was, however, rather specific—
in Milan. Lowell was fluent in French and ap-
and singular. Lowell wanted to study the pos-
parently read Flammarion’s work from begin-
sibility of life—and, more particularly, intelligent
ning to end at lightning speed. His imagination
life—on Mars.
was stirred and recognizing an opportunity
He had given indications of his interest as when he saw it, followed the family motto, Oc-
early as 1890, when he discussed Mars with casionem Cognosce (Seize the Opportunity),
Harvard astronomer William H. Pickering (1858 and formulated a plan breath-taking in scope by
–1938) and requested from his older broth-er the end of January.
Edward Pickering (1846–1919), the Director of Meeting with William Pickering, who had
the Harvard College Observatory, copies of just returned from Peru where he had observ-
Mars maps by our other protagonist, Giovanni ed the 1892 opposition of Mars from Harvard’s
Virginio Schiaparelli (1835–1910; see Figure Boyden Station, high in the Andes near Are-
2). He had also written to his brother-in-law quipa, he was made aware of the upcoming
William Lowell Putnam II (1861–1923) a plan to favorable Mars opposition in October 1894,
write a “… philosophy of the cosmos, with illu- when the planet would be much farther north of
strations from celestial mechanics.” (A.L. Low- the celestial equator than in 1892 (and thus
ell, 1935: 60). But this only suggests a building more accessible to observation from Northern
up of what he referred to as his “… budget of Hemisphere observatories), after which the
literary event-ualities.” (ibid.). His meeting with planet would retreat through a series of in-
Barnard should be seen in the same light. It creasingly unfavorable oppositions for the next
hardly was enough to foreshadow the amazing decade or so. Lowell, who did not lack re-
turn of events which 1894 was to see. sources, proposed underwriting the expenses
The event which clinched Lowell’s fate was for an expedition to observe Mars.2
171
William Sheehan and Jennifer Putnam The Lowell –Schiaparelli Correspondence

Figure 3: The pre-fab dome designed by William H. Pickering, on Mars Hill, awaiting the arrival of the 18-inch and 12-inch
telescopes in May 1894 (courtesy: Lowell Observatory Archives).

As is well known, in support of this bold plan staff and a fateful rendezvous with Mars and
and at very short notice, Pickering borrowed destiny, Lowell on 22 May 1894 made the fol-
two telescopes, an 18-inch refractor from optic- lowing remarks about the thin lines first ob-
ian James Brashear and a 12-inch Clark from served by Schiaparelli in 1877, in a talk to the
Harvard College Observatory. He also design- Boston Scientific Society:
ed a pre-fab dome (Figure 3) that could be The most self-evident explanation … is
taken apart and shipped across country by rail probably the true one; namely, that in them
to its final destination. At the same time, And- we are looking upon the result of the work
rew Ellicott Douglass (1867–1962), his assist- of some sort of intelligent beings. (Anony-
ant in Peru, was dispatched with the 6-inch re- mous, 1894: 3).
fractor Lowell had taken to Tokyo, to the arid Thus, it was not only Pickering’s dome that was
clime of the Arizona Territory where Pickering pre-fab: so were some of the ideas Lowell took
had surmised that the seeing for planetary work with him to Arizona.
would be the best anywhere in the continental
United States, possibly even comparable to Though Lowell himself would do much to
what it had been in Peru. inspire the great late-Victorian era ‘Mars furor’,
in which the red planet dominated the public
Douglass tested 10 sites in all, beginning in imagination as never before (or since), and
the southern part of the state, then moving though scores of observers entered the field
northward; from Tombstone and Tucson, he eager to take their places in observing chairs at
reached Tempe, Phoenix, and Prescott. Final- the eyepieces of their telescope to peruse and
ly, in early April, he arrived in Flagstaff, a site sketch details on the planet’s tantalizing, quiv-
which had been added to the list at the end of ering disk, the gold standard was always Schia-
March. He set up his telescope on the wooded parelli.
hill on the mesa just west of Flagstaff. Time
That Lowell’s expectations were framed
was passing; Lowell was becoming increas-
even before he arrived to put eye to eyepiece in
ingly anxious to get started, and so on 16 April
Flagstaff by what the Italian astronomer had
1894 he decided on Flagstaff.3
seen on Mars is attested not only by his Boston
Just before he boarded the train for Flag- Scientific Society talk but by a poem he almost
172
William Sheehan and Jennifer Putnam The Lowell –Schiaparelli Correspondence

certainly began during the period when he was June 25. No canals in the northern regions
still getting organized for the grand adventure, as yet.
“Mars.” It exists in manuscript form in the As a veteran of all of one month of observ-
Lowell Observatory archives (Lowell, 1894), ation, Lowell returned to Boston, and at Sev-
and captures better than anything else some- enels, the family mansion in Brookline (Figure
thing of the mood of the man as he began his 4), conceived his ‘Theory’ of intelligent life on
quest. A few of the first lines read: Mars, in which he accepted without hesitation
One voyage there is I fain would take the reality of the canali that had so far been so
While yet a man in mortal make; furtive in their apparitions while substituting for
Voyage beyond the compassed bound Schiaparelli’s seas tracts of blue-green vegetat-
Of our own Earth’s returning round; ion.5 Presto! The canali (to use Schiaparelli’s
Voyage whose shining goal by day term, one which can have many meanings in
From stupid stare lies hid away …
But when staid night reclaims her sphere
Italian) were actual canals (as the term was
And the beshadowed atmosphere translated into English), that is, artificial water-
Its shutters to sight once more unbars, ways built by a civilization of intelligent Martians
Letting the universe appear to irrigate their progressively dried-up dying
With all its wonder world of stars, planet. The historian William Graves Hoyt notes,
My far-off goal draws strangely near, regarding this development, that though Lowell
Luring imagination on,
… had already arrived at some positive and
Beckoning body to be gone—
quite sensational conclusions about life on
The last line shows his debt to Schiaparel- Mars in particular and extraterrestrial life in
li’s views at the time. Schiaparelli had thought general before he ever looked through a
what appeared to many observers of the planet telescope from Flagstaff … on his own testi-
as blue-green areas were seas and the ochre mony at least, he did not formalize his
areas lands.4 thinking into what he considered to be a full-
blown scientific theory until late in July of
It is fitting that some of his earliest utter- 1894 ... (Hoyt, 1976: 68).
ances on Mars were in verse, for Lowell began “Full-blown” might be a bit of an exaggeration,
his great adventure more as a literary man than for Lowell’s theory was straightforward enough
as a practiced astronomer. In fact, though no for an intelligent ten-year-old child to under-
doubt a fast study, he was virtually without ex- stand. Lowell himself could sketch the theory
perience as a planetary observer. Though the
in a short paragraph, as in a letter to Douglass
observations got underway at the beginning of
written on 25 March 1895:
June, when Mars was still a very long way from
the Earth, Lowell’s time at the telescope was in Roughly speaking the evidence seems to
reality rather intermittent, and sustained in rath- be that Mars has (1) some but not much
atmosphere; (2) is an aged world with no
er short, intensive bursts rather than protracted
water to speak of except what makes the
campaigns at the eyepiece. Thus, he was back polar caps; (3) is provided with an elaborate
in Boston from the end of June until August, and system of line markings which are best
after returning for two weeks from late August explained by artificial construction … (4)
to early September, was away again until 10 shows what seems to be artificially produc-
October, just before opposition, whereupon he ed oases as the termini of the canals—what
remained at the observatory until late Novem- we see and call canals being merely strips
ber. During his absences Pickering and Doug- of vegetation watered by the canals, the
lass continued the observations. canals themselves being too narrow to be
seen. (Lowell, 1895a).
Lowell’s observing log books in the Lowell
It appears that he must at about this time
Observatory Archives are fascinating to study
have resumed work on his poem, for it now
as from first to last they show someone already
includes striking passages such as this:
strongly committed to a Schiaparellian view of
the planet and growing increasingly more adept Far sights have been seen there stranger
at seeing (or more practiced in the arts of yet,
Adventure’s appetite to whet,
autosuggestion) what he knew in advance to be Tracings Schiaparelli has spied,
there: So-called canals, in parallel pairs
June 19. With the best will in the world, I can That for a thousand miles run straight nor
certainly see no canals. swerve,
June 23. Phasis the most persistent of the Save as parts of great circles curve
canals. Owing to very poor seeing, the In bended centres stretching out
canals are not sharp lines. To band the whole great globe about,
June 24. Plenty of markings just on the And changing in hue with the changing year
verge of location about Terby Sea From a dark green tint to an ochre clear
[Phoenix Lake]. With the varying mantle that verdure wears
173
William Sheehan and Jennifer Putnam The Lowell –Schiaparelli Correspondence

Figure 4: A view of the garden at Sevenels, 70 Heath Street and Warren Street, Brookline, Massachusetts, where Percival Lowell
devised his theory of intelligent life on Mars at the end of July 1894, after only one month of observing the planet from Flagstaff
(courtesy: Historic New England).

When fields of grain from lush grow sere, Aug. 22. 12h Canals only glimpsed.
Colors that elsewhere come and go -- 12h 55m. Network of canals.
Over the surface of Mars as its seasons General effect quite like Schiaparelli’s globe.
grow. -- 13h 40m. Three short thick can-
als seen for an instant.
His modified Schiaparellian vision became Sept. 3. Had a glimpse showing Ganges
ever more detailed in August and especially double, but do not credit it.
after he returned for the main thrust of the Oct. 9. Canal connecting Tithonius Lake
campaign, in mid-October. A few ‘canals’ were and Phoenix Lake certainly not direct; but
certain and definite; most, however, hovered at whether made up of two straight lines or
the uncertain border between verifiable fact and one curved one, am not sure.
illusion, as fugitive threads that would appear in Oct. 10. Suspected longitudinal line in
brief flashes that came and went with the see- Nectar, the opening of Solis Lacus.
ing: Oct. 13. 11h 35m Saw my line again p[re-
ceding] Margaritifer Sinus [Ochus]
… fine lines and little gossamer fila- -- 11h 37m Saw Mr. Douglass’s
ments only, cobwebbing the face of the f[ollowing] Margaritifer Sinus, but think it
Martian disk, but threads to draw one’s illusion.
mind after them across the millions of Oct. 21. Imagined Hellas crossed by
miles of intervening void … Peneus and Alpheus.
Nov. 1. Canals as conspicuous (!) as the
as Lowell (1908: 146) later put it. Their evanes- seas.
cent quality, as if they were written in disap- Nov. 2. 9h 12m The canals came out in
pearing ink, is attested in many of the entries in distinct flashes, as well as being, the more
the log book (see, also, Figure 5): conspicuous of them, always dully there.
-- 9h 26m. This is the first time the
Aug. 21. Suspected multitudinous canals, canals have really appeared strikingly
all too fugitive to be positively figured. straight and in profusion.
174
William Sheehan and Jennifer Putnam The Lowell –Schiaparelli Correspondence

Figure 5: An observing page of Lowell’s notebooks, showing the canals seen in glimpses (courtesy: Lowell Observatory Archives).

Nov. 8. Can see the spider’s web about The double canals were a particularly im-
the Lake of the Sun because I know it is pressive showing, as this phenomenon—in
there. which a canal that had at one time been single
Nov. 17. Glimpses of canals might later appear as two parallel canals side
Nov. 18. 6h 3m Suspect Euphrates double.
-- 6h 8m Phison double
by side, a process Schiaparelli called gemin-
Nov. 19. Strange glimpses of other double ation—had been one of the most baffling phen-
stars which I seriously doubt. omena reported by Schiaparelli. In Schiaparel-
175
William Sheehan and Jennifer Putnam The Lowell –Schiaparelli Correspondence

li’s most recent published map, from 1888, al- Observatory. Lowell returned to Flagstaff to
most all the canals were double, and Lowell resume his series of observations the day be-
was able, usually in glimpses or ‘revelation fore the dust storm began and was just getting
peeps’, as he put it, in which the seeing ceased his bearings as it spread rapidly across the
its usual wavering and steadied for a moment, southern hemisphere of Mars, brightening a
to confirm many of them. vast swath of formerly blue-green areas with a
These, like all the others, were evanescent dusty ochre pall. Lacking a clear reference to
apparitions, and yet as soon as they were set the planet’s pre-dust storm appearance and
down in a drawing—and later a map—they be- failing to recognize the cause of the change (as
came something fixed and permanent and def- well as by then having committed himself to the
inite. Not many of those who would look at the idea that the dark blue-green areas were tracts
maps of that era were aware of the transform- of vegetation instead of seas), Lowell inferred
ation from fleetingly glimpsed detail to the defin- incorrectly that in the period in which he had left
ite features shown. The maps suggested a off observations the Martian vegetation had
more perfect knowledge than was achievable passed to late-summer sere, rather than seeing
from such marginal perceptual data. As a case that in fact the whole area had simply fallen
in point, Lowell’s map based on his 1894 ob- beneath a cloak of dust (see Figure 6). Instead
servations was the most prolific in turning un- of being witness to an inconvenient fact, Low-
certain apparitions into seeming facts; it show- ell’s observations merely provided further rein-
ed no fewer than 184 named canals, a veritable forcement of his theory.
spider’s web!
2 FROM OBSERVATORY TO LECTURE
It is worth comparing what the leading HALL
planetary observer of the time, Edward Emer-
son Barnard, was seeing with the 36-inch re- After wrapping up his observations at the end
fractor at Lick Observatory on Mount Hamilton, of November and returning to Boston, Lowell
California—with many of his views taking place proceeded to set out his rather hastily ass-
simultaneously with those of the Flagstaff ob- embled ‘theory’ of intelligent life on Mars in four
servers. Internationally celebrated for his dis- lectures at 1000-seat capacity Huntington Hall
covery of the fifth satellite of Jupiter in 1892— on the Massachusetts Institute of Technology
the first satellite discovered since Galileo’s campus in Boston in January and February
time—he had made a grand tour of European 1895. These were published as a series of art-
observatories the following year, including a icles in The Atlantic Monthly between May and
pilgrimage to Brera in which he had discussed August and finally served up attractively in book
planetary observations with Schiaparelli (Van form in Mars, published in December 1895,
Biesebroeck, 1934). At that time he was in- which included drawings by Lowell and his
clined to give the Schiaparellian canals the colleagues and a new map of Mars (Figure 7)
benefit of a doubt, since Mars had been too low that was covered with spider-threadlike canals
in the sky to be seen clearly from Mt. Hamilton. (which, he noted, “… agree[d] fairly within the
But conditions in 1894 were very favorable, and errors of observation with those figured in Schi-
on September 3 he wrote in his observing log aparelli’s chart.” (Lowell, 1895b: 158).
book: The lectures, articles, and especially the
The past two nights while making drawings book created a sensation with the general pub-
I have examined Mars most thoroughly lic. Professional astronomers were more wary,
under good conditions. The region of the or even downright dismissive. Barnard was
lake of the Sun [Solis Lacus] has been skeptical, while the pioneering astrophysicist
under review. There is a vast amount of de- James E. Keeler (1857–1900) of Lick Observa-
tail ... I however have failed to see anything
of Schiaparelli’s canals as straight narrow
tory was downright hostile. Noting Lowell’s neo-
lines. In the regions of some of the canals phyte status as an observer, Keeler wrote to
near the Solis Lacus there are details— George Ellery Hale (1868–1938) of the Yerkes
some of a streaky nature but they are broad Observatory:
diffused and irregular and under the best I dislike his style … It is dogmatic and ama-
conditions could never be taken for the so teurish. One would think he was the first
called canals. (Sheehan, 1995: 244). man to use a telescope on Mars, and that
About 10 October Barnard, along with sev- he was entitled to decide offhand questions
eral observers in England, recorded the begin- relating to the efficiency of instruments; and
ning of a vast regional dust storm—a rather he draws no line between what he sees and
what he infers. (Sheehan, 1995: 247).
momentous Martian event not fully appreciated
by Lowell owing to the gaps in coverage oc- The two were co-editors of The Astrophysical
casioned by his frequent absences from the Journal and after what they regarded as a sub-
176
William Sheehan and Jennifer Putnam The Lowell –Schiaparelli Correspondence

Figure 6: Lowell’s drawings of Mars, showing supposed seasonal fading of the southern dark blue-green areas correlated with
the melting of the polar caps. It was this kind of evidence that made Lowell strongly suspect that the dark areas were vegetation.
He did not realize that the complete fading out shown in the late-summer drawing was owing to the effects of a large regional
dust storm on Mars (courtesy: Lowell Observatory Archives).

Figure 7: Lowell’s 1894 map, published in Mars (Lowell, 1895b) (courtesy: Lowell Observatory Archives).

standard submission from Lowell’s pen, banish- (Heymann, 1980: 200).

ed Lowell henceforth from the pages of that A few passages from his book show to what
august journal—leading Lowell to establish his extent Lowell was in debt to Schiaparelli’s ear-
own outlet, the Annals (and later Bulletins) of lier results—indeed, standing on the shoulders
the Lowell Observatory. But despite the criti- of a giant:
cisms of men like Keeler and Hale, Lowell cer-
Previous to the present chart, the most
tainly deserves a great deal of credit; he did for detailed map of the planet was Schiapa-
astronomy what his cigar-smoking younger relli’s made in 1888. On comparison with
sister Amy would do for poetry, contributing “… his, it will be seen that the present one
enthusiasm and salesmanship ...” They both confirms all his details and adds to it about
“… knew how to package and sell the goods.” as much more. I have adopted his nomen-
177
William Sheehan and Jennifer Putnam The Lowell –Schiaparelli Correspondence

Figure 8: Leo Brenner’s 1896 –1897 map. Note that the maps are somewhat displaced in longitude relative to one another
(William Sheehan collection).

clature ... (Lowell, 1895b: 94). skillful observer who was Flammarion’s assist-
ant at the latter’s Juvisy Observatory.
And:
At that moment, canals were all the fashion.
The first hint the world had of their existence
[that of the canali] was when Schiaparelli To not see them was as much as to admit that
saw some of the lines in 1877, now eight- one was rather hopeless as an observer.7 In
een years ago. The world, however, was 1895, the systematic observation of the planets
anything but prepared for the revelation, was quite limited. Also, it was still mainly des-
and, when he announced what he had criptive and subjective—a matter of visually in-
seen, promptly proceeded to disbelieve him. specting a planet and making a drawing. Thus,
Schiaparelli had the misfortune to be ahead it was easy for someone to acquire a mod-
of his time, and the much greater misfort- erately sized telescope, claim keen-sighted-
une to remain so … For many years fate
ness and exceptional seeing conditions, and
allowed Schiaparelli to have them all to him-
self, a confidence he amply repaid. While set themselves up as the next scientific prodigy
others doubted, he went on from discovery as Leo Brenner did. Brenner’s 1896–1897 map
to discovery … (Lowell, 1895b: 136). of Mars (Figure 8) showed no fewer than 164
canals, most of them new; fully 18 of them
After publishing Mars, Lowell set off on what radiated in various directions from a single dark
would become a perennial visit to Europe and spot, Trivium Charontis. Moreover, Brenner
made a point of visiting Schiaparelli, whom he claimed that he had been able to detect no
saw at Brera sometime in February or March fewer than 34 canals with only a 3-inch re-
1896. No doubt they communicated in French, fractor! But far more credible observers like
but there does not seem to be any record of Cerulli, Lowell, and E.M. Antoniadi (a skillful
their visit. He also met Flammarion and another observer who was Mars Section Director of the
astronomer who was then attracting a great British Astronomical Association), and many
deal of publicity for his Mars observations, Leo others, also recorded canals in profusion.
Brenner (nom de plume of Spiridon Gopčević;
(1855–1928), who had a private observatory The canal furor illustrates a point made by
equipped with a 7-inch refractor at Lussinpicco- the great art historian E.H. Gombrich (1969: 82)
lo (on an island in the Adriatic Sea) and, like that
Lowell, claimed to enjoy unusually fine climatic … the familiar will always remain the likely
conditions for planetary observations.6 Another starting point for the rendering of the
prolific mapper of canals was Schiaparelli’s unfamiliar; an existing representation will
countryman, Vincenzo Cerulli (1859–1927), who always exert its spell over the artist even
set up a private observatory at Teramo, in while he strives to record the truth …
Abruzzi, and was about to become one of the as well as a further point by the psychologist
foremost critics of the canals, concluding that William Zangwill, that
they were mere optical illusions. Yet another … reproducing the simplest figures constit-
was Eugène Michael Antoniadi (1870–1944), a utes a process itself by no means psycho-

178
William Sheehan and Jennifer Putnam The Lowell –Schiaparelli Correspondence

logically simple. This process typically dis- within the increasingly industrialized city of
plays an essentially constructive or recon- Milan, and so he followed with cautious interest
structive character, and … reproduction what Lowell and Cerulli were doing:
was mediated pre-eminently through the
agency of verbal and geometrical formulae Mars is already within reach of the obser-
… (Gombrich, 1969: 74). vatories where one can observe its minute
details. Here it is almost always impossible;
Certainly, the canals were as much a psy- this is why I have not yet started to observe
chological and sociological phenomenon as an it regularly. But Mr. Lowell at the Flagstaff
astronomical one. Mars historian K. Maria D. Observatory (Arizona) and Mr. Cerulli at
Lane has pointed out, “… given the authority Teramo (Abruzzo) have already announced
and nature of the cartographic data-recording that they have seen remarkable things. We
format …” used by astronomers at the time, hope that they will not see too much, and
especially that they will see well. Lowell in
… it was nearly impossible to erase canals 1894 discovered a great many things that
that had been mapped by a credible ast- had completely escaped me, so I’m anxious
ronomer. Just as was true for many of the to know if I will be able to confirm at least
terrestrial expeditions of the day, prestige part of his extremely complicated tracery,
inhered in putting things on the map, not which would make of the lines of Mars an
taking them off. (Lane, 2010: 45). almost indecipherable network. I am very
Lowell himself admitted as much in Mars, satisfied to see that the interest of this study
increases rather than decreases, and it is
We easily see what we expect to see, but probable that after the uncertainty of the
with great difficulty what we do not. Fashion first tests one will manage to fix the results
is as potent here as elsewhere … A few of it in a sure way by setting aside any phan-
years ago it was the fashion not to see the tastic element.--As regards the explanation
canals of Mars, and nobody except Schia- of the phenomena, I must admit that the
parelli did. Now the fashion has begun to more I advance in this study, the less I see
set the other way, and we are beginning to clearly. (G. Schiaparelli to O. Struve, 6 Oct.
have presented suspiciously accurate fac- 1896; trans. W. Sheehan. Schiaparelli,
similes of Schiaparelli’s observations. (Lo- 1963: 206).
well, 1895b: 160).
He continued to worry, however, about the
Schiaparelli’s views about Lowell were com- fantastic profusion of canals on the recent
plex. From what we have already said, it should maps. After expressing his hope in 1896 that
be obvious that Lowell saw in Schiaparelli a Lowell and Cerulli “… will not see too much …”
much-admired ‘Master’ whom he wished to em- but will “… see well …” he complained in 1899
ulate and impress. Schiaparelli’s initial com- of “… chaos into, which MM. Lowell and Bren-
ments about Lowell show that he was pleased ner threaten to plunge us.” (G. Schiaparelli to
with his enthusiasm but not entirely convinced O. Struve, 24 March 1899. Schiaparelli, 1963:
about the soundness of his observations— 297). By then, the correspondence between
much less of the correctness of his ‘theory’. Lowell and Schiaparelli has begun (see Section
Already in 1893, Schiaparelli had written: 5, below); it is still quite formal at first, and Lo-
The network formed by these [canali] was well addresses Schiaparelli merely as Mon-
probably determined in its origin in the geo- sieur. It mainly concerns the exchange of doc-
logical state of the planet, and has come to uments; Schiaparelli sends Lowell his papers
be slowly elaborated in the course of cen- on Mercury and Venus (which Lowell had
turies. It is not necessary to suppose them begun to observe in August 1896 with the newly
the work of intelligent beings, and notwith-
standing the almost geometrical appear-
commissioned 24-inch Clark refractor), as well
ance of all of their system, we are now in- as his memoirs on Mars. The fifth memoir, on
clined to believe them to be produced by the the observations of 1886, was published in
evolution of the planet, just as on the Earth 1896–1897, and the sixth, on those of 1888,
we have the English Channel and the appeared in 1899, the year before Schiaparelli
Channel of Mozambique. (Pickering, 1921: retired. Lowell sent Schiaparelli the first volume
88). of the Lowell Observatory Annals, published in
In 1896, Schiaparelli wrote to Otto Struve 1898 and modeled studiously on Schiaparelli’s
(1819–1905) at the Pulkova Observatory, with Memoirs.
whom he had trained during his student days Very little is said about Venus, other than
and who, with François Terby (1846–1911) of Lowell’s claim (in one of the letters published
the University of Louvain, was the correspond- here, which Lowell wrote from Mexico City on 4
ent who most enjoyed his confidence. By then January 1897) that “In the air of Flagstaff, the
his own ability to observe Mars successfully spots—even on Venus—are … easy to see.” In
was hampered both by growing problems with fact, that claim was to cause Lowell a great deal
his eyesight and the deteriorating conditions of trouble. Before Lowell, most other observ-
179
William Sheehan and Jennifer Putnam The Lowell –Schiaparelli Correspondence

ers had seen nothing definite on Venus; only, uted to Lowell’s depression is not clear. But
as Schiaparelli confided to Barnard when the it is certainly plausible that his own hesit-
latter visited Brera in the summer of 1893, “… ations about the validity of the work contrib-
dark markings … so nebulous that it is danger- uted to the exhaustion …
ous to make use of them for the rotation.” In his While recovering, Lowell and his secretary
entire career, Schiaparelli had seen something decided to accompany Professor David Todd
definite on the planet only once, in 1877, when (1855–1939) from Amherst College and his wife
he saw two luminous spots on the upper cusp Mabel to Tripoli in order to observe the 28 May
of the planet. But Lowell claimed to make out a 1900 total solar eclipse. Prior to their depart-
series of spoke-like markings organized around ure from Amherst, Lowell observed Venus and
a central hub, which were
‘surprisingly distinct’ and
about as evident to the
naked eye as the dark
spots on the Moon. W.G.
Hoyt (1976: 110) wrote:
But while Lowell could
claim that other observ-
ers had seen the canals of
Mars, no other astrono-
mer had, or indeed has,
ever seen anything like
the ‘surprisingly distinct’
feat-ures he described on
Venus.
The one person who came
closest was his secretary,
Wrexie Leonard. The re-
action of astronomers was
immediate and caustic; the
censures of E.M. Antoniadi
were especially severe,
and the relationship be-
tween the two men remain-
ed strained forever after.
Lowell published observat-
tions not only made at
Flagstaff but also at Tac-
ubaya (near Mexico City) to
which he had temporarily
moved the observatory at
the end of 1896 (Figure 9).
As usual he defended the
work on the basis of the
supposed superiority of
Flagstaff’s air. Soon after
he returned from Mexico,
he suffered an attack of
‘nervous exhaustion’; it
proved a difficult thing to shake, and saw him Figure 9: Percival Lowell observing with the 24-inch Clark
retire from the field for almost four years. refractor during its sojourn in Mexico, in 1897. Presumably
Lowell biographer David Strauss (2001: 193) he was scrutinizing one of the inner planets, Mercury or
Venus, in daylight, or perhaps this is merely a staged
notes: photograph (courtesy: Lowell Observatory Archives).
Lowell’s entire astronomical project seems
to have come crashing down upon him in
early 1897. Serious doubts had been cast
Mars with the University’s 7-inch refractor, once
on the viability of Flagstaff as an environ- again reporting markings on Venus (Figure 10)
ment for good seeing, and questions had and canals on Mars (Figure 11), notwithstand-
been raised about the validity of the Mars ing the modest aperture of the Amherst tele-
work and other planetary observations. To scope and less than ideal atmospheric con-
what extent such doubts may have contrib- ditions found there near sea level.
180
William Sheehan and Jennifer Putnam The Lowell –Schiaparelli Correspondence

Figure 10: Lowell’s drawings of Venus, November 1899. First seen with the 24-inch Clark telescope at Flagstaff in August 1896
and subsequently at Tacubaya, Mexico, the spoke-like markings on Venus seen by Lowell (and to a certain extent his secretary
Wrexie Leonard) were unlike anything seen elsewhere and provoked a fierce reaction from the astronomical world. Though largely
sidelined from astronomical work with ‘nervous exhaustion’, probably at least in part occasioned by these criticisms, Lowell made
these observations with the 7-inch refractor at Amherst College. Though he defended his observations by claiming that the air at
Flagstaff was particularly fine for revealing planetary detail, these drawings from near sea level show the markings as well as at
Flagstaff (courtesy: Lowell Observatory Archives).

3 THE MARTIAN MASTER AND THE work: “We must confess that [it] it is full of flaws
HEIR-APPARENT and leaves itself open on many sides to
Schiaparelli was aware of Lowell’s illness, and challenges.”
wrote to Cerulli on 4 April 1900: “I was hoping In fact, however, Lowell was ‘down but not
for Mr. Lowell but I see that he cannot or will not out’, and he returned to Flagstaff in the spring
continue.” (G. Schiaparelli to V. Cerulli, 4 April of 1901, determined to vindicate his controver-
1900. Schiaparelli, 1963: 317). He added that sial planetary observations with new assistants
he was still not sure what to make of Lowell’s (Douglass, the last of the assistants from the
181
William Sheehan and Jennifer Putnam The Lowell –Schiaparelli Correspondence

Figure 11: Mars drawings from November 1899, also made with Amherst College’s 7-inch refractor, while Lowell and Wrexie
Leonard were guests of David and Mabel Todd (courtesy: Lowell Observatory Archives).

early years, was fired in part because he had ed his relationship with Schiaparelli, whom he
become skeptical of many of the Flagstaff identified both as a Master and as someone
markings) and instruments—now cameras and who had suffered from persecution by his un-
a spectrograph supplemented the old visual comprehending contemporaries. This is the per-
methods. During these years, he also cultivat- iod documented in the correspondence here, in
182
William Sheehan and Jennifer Putnam The Lowell –Schiaparelli Correspondence

Section 5.
Lowell had met Schiaparelli (Figure 12) at
Brera in February or March 1896, and on a
European adventure during the summer of
1904, in which he was accompanied not by
Miss Leonard as he had often been on previous
adventures but with Philadelphia socialite Miss
Edith Pettit. Lowell (Figure 13) succeeded in
tracking Schiaparelli (and not without consider-
able difficulty) to his country villa at Sorino di
Monticello, near Lake Como (Figure 14), where
the retired Director of Brera Astronomical Ob-
servatory escaped to during the hot summers.
Figure 12: Schiaparelli as he
Lowell recorded in his diary (7 August 1904) his looked in 1895, at about the time
second encounter with his hero, which again of Lowell’s first visit (courtesy:
seems to have been rather brief and formal: Lowell Observatory Archives).
He seemed neither ill nor old but little
changed from nine years ago. He told me
that 1890 was the last opposition at which
he was able to make observations of
worth—these he may sometime publish—
From him, I learnt that the 8-inch, not the
18-inch, was specially achromatic for the
red rays but he used a red glass on the
other. He expressed surprized [sic] cha-
grin that Barnard could not see the canals
and I explained to him my idea of the two
kinds of eye, the sensitive (Barnard’s) and
the acute (that necessary to the detection of
the canals). He said this tallied with his
personal experience as he had never been
able to see the satellite of Sirius, nor that of
Procyon … (Lowell, 1904: 14 –15).
It does not appear that Lowell, despite con-
tinuing his perennial travels overseas, ever met
Schiaparelli in person again, but he continued
to view the Italian astronomer as his lodestar.
As discussed in several letters in this collection
(beginning with Lowell to Schiaparelli, 27 June
1906), Lowell dedicated his Martian magnum
opus, Mars and Its Canals (1906), to the Italian Figure 13: Percival Lowell, 1904, as he would have looked
master: when he met Schiaparelli the second time (courtesy: Lowell
Observatory Archives).

Figure 14: The villa, inherited from his wife’s family, to which Schiaparelli often retreated during the summers after his retirement
(courtesy: Museo Scienza, Milan).
183
William Sheehan and Jennifer Putnam The Lowell –Schiaparelli Correspondence

To G.V. Schiaparelli, the Columbus of a for the first time addresses Schiaparelli as his
New Planetary World, this investigation “Maître Martien et honoré Collégue” (Martian
upon it is appreciatively inscribed. Master and Honored Colleague), asks Schia-
Schiaparelli was somewhat embarrassed parelli to render his judgment. “You and you
at first, and wrote to Lowell (1 February 1907): alone should create the representation of what
… the new Columbus is entirely devoid of
one might see in the photographs of Mars that I
the terrible ambition which was the principal sent you,” Lowell also writes:
cause of the misfortunes in which the great Because, in spite of what you write to me
Admiral was overwhelmed. about your poor eyes, you can still see
However, he allowed the dedication to stand much better than Mr. Antoniadi or anyone
else who has not studied the planet well …
and also praised Lowell’s book, which he called Do this honor, please, for science.8
“… a small masterpiece …”, noting the progress
Lowell had achieved in Areography: Schiaparelli receives Lowell’s new book
Mars as the Abode of Life (1908), and praises
You have walked straight and steady …
Where many times I have wandered in un-
it in a letter of 26 March 1909 in which he now
certainty, embarrassed by the unexpected- addresses Lowell as “professor and illustrious
ness and strangeness of what I have seen. colleague.” He writes:
Schiaparelli, previously inclined to straddle My attention was above all captured by the
the fence, now admitted that he found Lowell’s second part, that which contains notes on
various questions; I see there that you
theory leave no corner of Areography without
… more and more satisfying in general. I bringing the light of your study.
am now persuaded by you that the hypoth-
esis of oceans and continents cannot re-
Referring back to the manner in which he had
present the facts, and the hypothesis of been addressed in Lowell’s last letter (16 March
vegetation is, for the moment, the most 1909), “O, my well esteemed colleague and
probable of any. successor, you have exceeded in so many
ways him whom you call your master.” He
Henceforth, their correspondence seems to
agrees to explain to the world what is shown in
have moved to the level of friendship and even
the photographs, but there are a number of pre-
affection. Much of their ongoing discussion
liminaries to be addressed before he makes the
concerned the photographs of Mars that were
attempt. Here we see that Schiaparelli, even in
being taken at Lowell Observatory by Lowell’s
the last year of his life, had not changed; he was
assistant C.O. Lampland. As far back as 1905,
ever the meticulous scholar, able to take even
when Schiaparelli learned from an article in the
the most extraordinary pains to get at the truth
German journal of record, Astronomische Nach-
of a matter.9
richten, that the photographs were “Sufficiently
detailed to show many dark lines … I would In the end, the business turned out to be
never have believed that it would be possible rather involved, and Schiaparelli’s efforts did
...” (Schiaparelli to Lowell, 30 June 1905), he little to further Lowell’s cause:
added: The enormous quantity of details that one
The climate of the Flagstaff Observatory could easily recognize on your disks do not
should be very exceptional and the observ- all belong on the planet, at least such is my
ers of a very extraordinary skill. I congrat- opinion at present …
ulate you on the result and I congratulate he wrote in what is perhaps the most critical
myself on having again helped the stunning letter in the collection, dated 2 September 1909
progress of Areography.
(and discussed previously by McKim and
Lowell (to Schiaparelli, 14 August 1905) Sheehan (2009)). Many of these details in-
apologized for not sending the photographs stead seemed to be artifacts of the granular
directly to Schiaparelli, stating that he had be- emulsions and the way the plates were pre-
lieved based on what he read in a newspaper pared. So the photographs were less the
that Schiaparelli was dead! Even better photo- Q.E.D. to Lowell’s theory of canals and oases
graphs were taken in 1907, both by Lampland than Lowell had hoped. “Mars,” Schiaparelli
in Flagstaff and by E.C. Slipher who went to told his younger colleague, “promises to exer-
Alianza, Chile, to photograph Mars as a mem- cise our patience for some time, especially
ber of the ‘Lowell Observatory Expedition to the yours.” To add to the general tone of perplexity
Andes’, and Lowell sends these to Schiaparelli suggested by this letter, Schiaparelli also com-
for examination. A number of astronomers, in- ments on Lowell’s New Observations of the
cluding E.M. Antoniadi, in examining these Planet Mercury, a Memoir of the American
images had disagreed about what they showed. Academy of Arts and Sciences based on
Now Lowell, who in his letter of 16 March 1909 Lowell’s 1896–1897 observations (see Lowell,
184
William Sheehan and Jennifer Putnam The Lowell –Schiaparelli Correspondence

1902). Apparently Lowell had just sent Schia- to observe, he carried on the battle over the
parelli a copy. Schiaparelli, whose own observ- Planet of War for the rest of his life—increas-
ations of Mercury had been considered sem- ingly casting himself as a persecuted pioneer
inal, was clearly shocked by the drawings and trying to gain a hearing against the uncompre-
map reproduced (see Figure 15) therein and hending and unappreciative ‘troglodytes’ array-
says: ed against him. Predictably, he saw himself as
I had seen, I don’t remember anymore heir to Schiaparelli, both in his pioneering work
where, some drawings of Mercury that were and the failure of the world to recognize it. In
said to have resulted from your obser- an obituary written shortly after Schiaparelli’s
vations. These drawings seemed to me so death, he intoned:
different at first sight from what I had seen Unwittingly the world pays to its pioneer
myself that I believed it was unnecessary to minds the tribute of distrust. To nescience
attempt a comparison before having seen the advances of science are distasteful in
your definitive publication. Now that I have proportion as they are correct; in accord-
it, this publication, it terrifies me, that is the ance with the common-law maxim, the
word! Would Mercury, then, have the ap- greater the truth, the greater the libel. No
proximate structure of a polyhedron, regular one likes his beliefs overthrown nor what he
and symmetrical, like a faceted diamond? thought he knew upset, and the louder the
This was the next-to-last letter Schiaparelli outcry the more symptomatic is it of defeat
sent to Lowell. The last (23 April 1910), con- …
tains positive comments on Lowell’s book The All this Schiaparelli had to endure …
Evolution of Worlds (1909). This book had (Lowell, 1910: 465).
been crushingly reviewed by Forest Ray Moul-
ton (1872–1952), a leading University of Chi-
cago expert on celestial mechanics—another
area Lowell ventured into ‘where angels feared
to tread’—who regarded Lowell as “… the myst-
erious ‘watcher of the skies’ whose scientific
theories, like Poe’s vision of the raven, ‘have
taken shape at midnight’.” (Sheehan, 2016:
224). But Schiaparelli was more gentle, and
thanked Lowell for
… this so instructive and inviting reading, as
much by the form of the exposition as by the
new ideas that you have sown the seeds of
everywhere.
Lowell’s next letter, 14 June 1910, which in-
cludes some positive images of Mars, left just
as Schiaparelli was laid low at Monticello by a
stroke; without regaining consciousness he
passed away on 4 July 1910.
Figure 15: Lowell’s map of Mercury. From the Memoirs of
4 CODA the American Academy of Arts and Sciences (1902).
Schiaparelli passed from the scene just as In the months before his death, Lowell barn-
Lowell’s work was suffering from its most scath- stormed colleges in the Pacific Northwest hop-
ing rebuke—from E.M. Antoniadi, who used the ing that—if his unimaginative professional
32.7-inch Henry Brothers refractor at Meudon, peers were hidebound old fogeys, unable to
near Paris, to reveal that the true structure of recognize the promise of a new idea—the
the Martian surface as seen in a large telescope minds of youth were still open and capable of
under excellent conditions was as Barnard had forming new impressions. He insisted:
shown it in 1894:
Progress is first obstructed by the reticence
The planet revealed a prodigious and be- of nature and then opposed by the denun-
wildering amount of sharp or diffused nat- ciation of man … A really new idea is a
ural, irregular, detail, all held steadily; and it foundling without friends. Indeed a door-
was at once obvious that the geometrical step acquisition is welcome compared with
network of single and double canals dis- the gift of a brand-new upsetting thought….
covered by Schiaparelli was a gross illus- A generation or more is needed to secure it
ion. (Sheehan, 1988: 244). a hearing and more time still till its worth is
Lowell, of course, did not agree; dismissing recognized. (Lowell, 1916a).
Antoniadi as a man without knowledge of how Again, he put forth Schiaparelli as a leading
185
William Sheehan and Jennifer Putnam The Lowell –Schiaparelli Correspondence

example of one who had been opposed by the is but a hint, a suggestion, that is all (e.g. see
denunciation of man—along with other great Figure 16 for a possible ‘modern’ example).
figures such as Copernicus and Darwin. They were hardly enough to fix a definite inter-
And yet—it isn’t clear that Schiaparelli him- pretation of the underlying reality, as Schiapar-
self had ever felt particularly persecuted. He elli understood. While eager, with his childlike,
defended his observations against all comers playful nature, to entertain any of a host of
but was not so attached to any particular inter- possible ideas of what the canals might be, he
pretation of them. Indeed, even the most for- never committed to any one interpretation as
midable opponent of the canals, Antoniadi, anything other than a possibility. Even in ack-
credited Schiaparelli’s observations to a certain nowledging (letter of 1 February 1907) that
degree. They had (in contrast to the Lowellian Lowell’s theory of vegetation was “… for the
cobwebs) a basis in reality, moment, the most probable of many …”, he
resisted steadfastly the temptation for premat-
… so that in the positions of each of them,
ure closure. His religion in the end was ag-
single or double, on the surface of the plan-
et, there is present an irregular trail, a nosticism. He had written about the puzzling
jagged edge of halftone, an isolated lake, in phenomena of the geminations in 1893:
… for us, who know so little of the physical
state of Mars, and nothing of its organic
world, the great liberty of possible suppo-
sition renders arbitrary all explanations …
and constitutes the gravest obstacle to the
acquisition of well-founded notions. All that
we may hope is that with time the uncer-
tainty … will gradually diminish … We may
also confide a little in what Galileo called
“the courtesy of Nature,” thanks to which,
some time from an unexpected source, a
ray of light will illuminate an investigation at
first believed inaccessible to our speculat-
ions, and of which we have a beautiful ex-
ample in celestial chemistry. Let us there-
fore hope and study. (Pickering, 1921: 95 –
96).
Lowell, on the other hand, had a mind of a
very different order from the master. Schiapar-
elli possessed in high degree what the poet
John Keats (Amy Lowell’s favorite) called
Negative Capability, that is when [a] man is
capable of being in uncertainties, [m]yster-
ies, doubts, without any irritable reaching
after fact & reason. (Keats, 1817).
Lowell had very little capacity for Negative Cap-
Figure 16: A CCD image of Mars by the Belgian amateur ability—he wanted things sharply defined as
astronomer Leo Aerts, with a 14-inch Celestron Schmidt- black and white, without ambiguity, which ap-
Cassegrain, taken on 31 July 2020. The planet was still pears even in his planetary drawings where
months away from opposition, but already had an apparent everything—even the notoriously diffuse and
diameter of 14.5 seconds of arc, which is as large as it gets
at its aphelic oppostions. There are tantalizing details in the nebulous markings on Venus—is depicted as
ochre areas that one can easily imagine might be perceived hard, sharp, clearly bounded, well-defined. Per-
as ‘canals’ by visual observers managing with only fleeting haps this need for definiteness and certainty
glimpses of the fine details (courtesy: Leo Aerts). had something to do with a rather rigid and
obsessive personality structure; he could not
a word something complex. These details
are extremely varied … Due to the except- tolerate disorder, unpunctuality, delay. Perhaps
ional acuity of his sight, Schiaparelli sur- it had something to do with the deep-seated
passed all the observers who worked with Puritanism of his New England culture. There
equally-sized instruments; but his modest is a hint in what Hattie Bundy once said of her
refractors did not permit him a glimpse of mother, Percival’s niece Katharine Lawrence
the trails and other complex details in any Putnam Bundy (1890–1983),
other form than that of fleeting lines …
(Sheehan, 1988: 248). Mother’s sense of righteousness was very
deep … How well I remember our fights
The key is that the canals were seen in over the dining room … For her, things were
glimpses. A glimpse is not a definitive view; it black and white. It’s an outlook that des-
186
William Sheehan and Jennifer Putnam The Lowell –Schiaparelli Correspondence

cends directly from the Puritans and we all prises 47 postcards, telegrams and handwritten
have it. (Bird, 1998: 36). letters, that range in date from August 1896 to
There is an analogy, too, with his sister Amy’s June 1910 (which was just weeks before
poetry. She once described the aspiration of Schiaparelli’s death), and housed in the historic
her imagist poems. They should be, she said, archives of Brera Astronomical Observatory in
“Hard and clear, never blurred or indefinite.” (A. Milan (Italy), the Domus Galilaeana in Pisa
Lowell, 1917: 239). In other words, they should (Italy) and the Archives of Lowell Observatory
be like mathematics, or Percival’s drawings of in Flagstaff, Arizona.
the planets. Most of the letters are in French, but neither
Lowell rapidly organized his expedition to Lowell nor Schiaparelli spoke French natively,
observe Mars from Flagstaff, and even before and thus they both made mistakes, misspel-
he arrived, he had a strong preconceived not- lings, and sometimes invented their own words.
ion, largely inspired by Schiaparelli, of what he These mistakes have been left in the French
would find. After no more than a month of transcription, and the English translation was
observing, he formulated the ‘Theory’ which he done in a manner that reflects their awkward-
was to defend for the rest of his life. To have ness and attempts at grandeur. Inconsistenc-
committed himself so completely in this way ies in the names of celestial bodies are kept
shows that he possessed nothing of Schia- and, where needed, referenced in the foot-
parelli’s tentativeness. There was no ‘Negative notes. The punctuation and grammar used in
Capability’ in his make-up. Schiaparelli’s ideas the English translations correspond to modern
were in constant flux; and he threw many sug- American English standards, with reference to
gestions out about Mars without ever com- older terms in appropriate places. There are a
mitting himself to any of them. He knew there few words that were not decipherable—the
were too many possibilities yet untried to do reader may notice that most of those words are
that. Lowell on the other hand, in some of his from letters written by Schiaparelli. As his eye-
last remarks about Mars, wrote in most un- sight declined, his handwriting became more
Schiaparellian fashion: ‘prickly’ as the researchers at the Brera Astro-
I have said enough to show how our know- nomical Observatory would say.
ledge of Mars steadily progresses. Each
opposition as it comes round adds some-
Of the 42 letters in this selection, 37 of them
thing to what we knew before. It adds were transcribed in French in the book Giovan-
without subtracting. For since the theory of ni Virginio Schiaparelli – Percival Lowell Un-
intelligent life on the planet was first enun- published Epistolary Exchange (1896–1910),
ciated 21 years ago, every new fact discov- which is held in the archives at Brera Astro-
ered has been found to be accordant with it. onomical Observatory. The five remaining let-
Not a single thing has been detected which ters that were not transcribed were recently
it does not explain. This is really a remark- uncovered by Lauren Amundson, the Archivist
able record for a theory. It has, of course, at Lowell Observatory.
met the fate of any new idea, which has
both the fortune and the misfortune to be Originals have been obtained for every
ahead of the times and has risen above it. piece of correspondence in this collection, and
New facts have but buttressed the old, have been compared with the transcription to
while every year adds to the number of maintain accuracy; some changes have been
those who have seen the evidence for
themselves. (Lowell, 1916b: 427).
made from the original transcriptions after com-
paring them with the correspondence.
To which we find it impossible to resist recalling
what he wrote long before, in the most influ- The last letter in the series was written
ential of the books he wrote on the basis of his just a few weeks before Schiaparelli passed
travels in Korea and Japan, The Soul of the Far away, and it seems from his previous letter that
East: he knew the end was near. Ever devoted to
Only the superficial never changes its ex-
astronomy and to his friendship with Lowell, he
pression; the appearance of the solid varies wrote:
with the standpoint of the observer. In In spite of this, I will always be very in-
dreamland alone does everything seem terested in the great progress that Astron-
plain, and there all is unsubstantial. (Lowell, omy makes every day and some of which
1888: 5). will mark the belle époque in the history of
this science.
5 THE LOWELL–SCHIAPARELLI
CORRESPONDENCE Here, now, are the English translations of
the Lowell–Schiaparelli letters.
5.1 Introduction
The ‘Lowell–Schiaparelli Correspondence’ com- 5.2 The Letters
187
William Sheehan and Jennifer Putnam The Lowell –Schiaparelli Correspondence

17 agosto 1896 17 August 1896

P. Lowell a G.V. Schiaparelli From Percival Lowell to Giovanni
A.O.B., Corrispondenza Scientifica, cart. Schiaparelli
168, n. 105 bis. A.O.B., Corrispondenza Scientifica, cart.
Telegramma. 168, n. 105 bis. Telegram.

Mylan de Flagstaff Arizona 35 7 voie Brest To Milan from Flagstaff, Arizona 35 7 Anglo-
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GANGES IS DOUBLE. GANGES IS DOUBLE.

LOWELL LOWELL

14 ottobre 1896 14 October 1896

P. Lowell a G.V. Schiaparelli From Percival Lowell to Giovanni
A.O.B., Corrispondenza Scientifica, cart. Schiaparelli
168, n. 124 bis. A.O.B., Corrispondenza Scientifica, cart.
Telegramma. 168, n. 124 bis. Telegram.

Flagstaff Ariz 257 11 Via Westernunion Flagstaff, Arizona 257 11 via Western Union

PRIÉRE ENVOYER BOSTON PRAY SEND BOSTON PUBLICATIONS

PUBLICATIONS MERCURE VENUS. MERCURY VENUS.

LOWELL LOWELL

17 novembre 1896 17 November 1896

G.V. Schiaparelli a P. Lowell From Giovanni Schiaparelli to Percival
A.O.B., Corrispondenza Scientifica, cart. Lowell
168, n. 151 bis. A.O.B., Corrispondenza Scientifica, cart.
Minuta. 168, n. 151 bis. Draft.

A Percival Lowell 17 novembre 1896 To Percival Lowell 17 November 1896

Monsieur, Sir,
je répond un peu tard à votre télégramme I am responding a bit late to your telegram
concernant mes publications sur Mercure et concerning my publications on Mercury and
Vénus. C’est que j’ai du chercher d’en trouver Venus. It is because I had to search to find a
quelque exemplaire n’en possédant plus qu’un copy apart from the one for my own use. What
seul pour mon propre usage. Ce que je vous I send you today in the mail relates to the latest
éxpedie aujourd’hui par la poste, se rapport aux observations of Venus, done in 1895.a My
dernières observations de Vénus faites en 1890 publication, containing proof that the old
1895.a Ma publication de 1890, contenant rotation of 23h 20m has no serious foundation,
la démonstration que l’ancienne rotation de will arrive to you in a few days. This publication
23h 20m n’a aucun sérieux fondement, from 1890b has been translated into French
vous parviendra d’ici à quelques jours. Cette (with some deletions made by the translator)
publication de 1890b a été traduite en français and published in the journal Ciel et Terre, which
(avec quelques suppressions faites par le is printed in Brussels.
traducteur) et publiée dans la Revue Ciel et Concerning Mercury, the only important
Terre qui s’imprime à Bruxelles. publication appeared in no. CXXIII 2944 of
Pour ce qui concerne Mercure, la seule Astronomische Nachrichten.c I am not able
publication importante a parue dans le no to send you a copy, but Astr. Nachr. is so
CXXIII 2944 des Astronomische Nachrichten.c widespread that you will not find it hard to
Je ne puis vous en envoyer aucun exemplaire; procure one.
mais les Astr. Nachr. sont si répandues, qu’il ne Your drawings of Mercury prove that you
vous sera pas difficile de les procurer. have seen the planet better than I; at the same
Vos dessins de Mercure prouvent que vous time, they prove that you have seen the same
avez vu la planète mieux que moi: en même things. The angular spot that exists near the
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William Sheehan and Jennifer Putnam The Lowell –Schiaparelli Correspondence

temps ils prouvent que vous avez vu le mêmes upper corner and forms a type of obtuse angle
choses. La tache angulaire qui existe près du has been seen by me a great number of times.
corne supérieur et forme une espèce d’angle No doubt is possible about the reality of these
obtus a été vue par moi un très grand nombre results, and astronomers will thank you for
de fois. Aucun doute n’est possible sur la finally having put beyond doubt a fact that many
réalité de ces résultats et les astronomes vous people still doubt.
seront reconnaissants d’avoir enfin mis hors de Concerning Mars, I am even more unhappy
doute un fait dont beaucoup de personnes this time than during the oppositiond of 1894. I
doutaient encore. am right to believe that my eye is again good
Pour ce qui concerne Mars, je suis encore enough, but the atmospheric state since last
plus malheureux cette fois, que pendant July has always been poor and there is
l’oppositiond de 1894. J’ai raison de croire que no indication of improvement. In these
mon œil est encore assez bon: mais l’état circumstances, I should consider myself very
atmosphérique depuis juillet dernier a été lucky that other people are in a position to
toujours très mauvais, et il n’y a aucun indice continue my observations.
d’amélioration. Dans ces circonstances je In a few days, my Memoir IV f on Mars,
dois m’estimer très heureux que d’autres containing the opposition 1883–84, [will be
personnes soient en position de continuer mes published].e And I think that, in four or five
observations. months, I will be able to send you Memoir V,g
Dans quelques jours [sera tiré]e mon containing the opposition of 1886.
Mémoire IV f sur Mars contenant l’opposition Your devoted
1883–84. Et je pense que dans quatre ou cinq
mois je serai en mesure de vous envoyer le G.V. Schiaparelli
Mémoire V g contenant l’opposition de 1886!
Votre dévoué

G.V. Schiaparelli

a In 1895 two papers about Venus by Schiaparelli were published: “On a few new appearances on
the planet Venus”, Records of the Lombard Institute of Sciences and Letters, Series II, Volume
XXVIII and “Two writings by Prof. G. Schiaparelli in Milan of importance to the publisher about the
spots seen on the surface of Venus”, Astronomische Nachrichten, Volume 138, n. 3304. Besides,
in the Bulletin of the Royal Academy of Belgium, 3rd Series, Volume XXX, an extract of a letter from
Schiaparelli to Terry was published with the title: “On a spot recently observed on the surface of
Venus and on the duration of the rotation of this planet.”
b The original publication is: “Considerations on the rotating motion of the planet Venus”, which
appeared in the Records of the Lombard Institute, Series II, Volume XXIII and includes five notes.
The first three and the summary of the last two were translated into French by F. Terry and were
published in the journal Ciel et Terre, 11th year, 1890–91. The same translation by Terry is
reproduced in the journal Astronomie, 9th year, 1890. Beyond these five notes, in part freely
translated and in part summarized in German they also appeared in Sirius, New Series, Volume
XVIII.
c On the basis of repeated observations of the planet, Schiaparelli arrived at the conclusion that the
period of rotation of Mercury was 87.9693 days, equal to the period of its revolution.
d An opposition occurs whenever Mars and the Earth line up on the same side of their orbits from the
Sun, and the two planets make their closest approach to one another. Because their orbits are
elliptical rather than circular, their separations vary from opposition to opposition, and because
Mars’ orbit departs far more from circular than the Earth’s, it is mainly Mars’ position that is decisive.
Once every 15 or 17 years, when Mars is near perihelion at opposition, a particularly favorable
approach occurs, when the two planets can be as little as 56 million kilometers apart.
e Unclear writing, possibly ‘sera tiré’, meaning ‘will be published’.
f This refers to the Fourth Recollection on Mars by G. Schiaparelli with the title: Astronomical and
Physical Observations on the Axis of Rotation and on the Topography of the Planet Mars done at
the Royal Observatory of Brera in Milan with the Mertz Equatorial (8 inches). It is published in the
Acts of the Royal Academy of the Lincei, Year CCXCIII (1895–1896), Series 5, Records of the
Class of Physical, Mathematical and Natural Sciences, Volume 2. Session of June 6, 1896, Rome.
g This refers to the Fifth Recollection on Mars by G. Schiaparelli entitled: Astronomical and Physical
Observations on the Axis of Rotation and on the Topography of the Planet Mars made at the Royal
Observatory of Brera in Milan with the Mertz Equatorial (Opposition of 1886). It is published in the

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William Sheehan and Jennifer Putnam The Lowell –Schiaparelli Correspondence

Acts of the Royal Academy of the Lincei, Year CCXCIV (1896–1897). Series 5. Records of the
Class of Physical, Mathematical and Natural Sciences, Volume 2. Session of May 16, 1897, Rome.

4 gennaio 1897 4 January 1897

P. Lowell a G.V. Schiaparelli From Percival Lowell to Giovanni
A.O.B., Corrispondenza Scientifica, cart. Schiaparelli
169, n. 4 bis. A.O.B., Corrispondenza Scientifica, cart.
Originale. 169, n. 4 bis.
Original.
City of Mexico, Jan 4 1897
Mexico City, 4 January 1897
Monsieur,
Je vous remercie infiniment de vos belles Sir,
brochures sur Venus et Mars (1883–84). I would like to thank you infinitely for your
Votre dessin de Mercure me rappelle tant beautiful booklets on Venus and Mars (1883–
les miens que je dirais l’avoir fait moi-même. 84).
Je vous envoie la suite de mes Your drawing of Mercury reminds me so
observations sur cette dernière, qui sont encore much of mine that I would say I had done it
plus satisfaisantes que les premières. Il n’y myself.
a point de doute possible sur la période de I am sending you the rest of my
rotation ni de Mercure, ni de Venus et je observations on the latter, which are even more
m’étonne que vous seul ait pu le reconnaître satisfying than the first. There is no possible
plus tôt car mes observations ont été fait sans doubt about the period of rotation of Mercury,
aucun rapport aux précédentes. Je vous fait nor of Venus, and it astounds me that you
mon sincère éloge. alone could recognize it earlier because my
Dans l’air de Flagstaff les taches – même observations were made without any relation
de Venus – se voient si bien, qu’il n’y a n’on plus to the previous ones. I owe you my sincere
de doutes sur la condition physique des deux praise.
planètes au moment. In the air of Flagstaff, the spots – even on
Avec la plus grande estime Venus – are so easy to see that there are no
Votre devoué more doubts about the physical condition of the
two planets at the moment.
Percival Lowell With the greatest esteem
Your devoted

Percival Lowell

15 dicembre 1898 15 December 1898

G.V. Schiaparelli a P. Lowell From Giovanni Schiaparelli to Percival
A.O.B., Corrispondenza Scientifica, cart. Lowell
172, n. 96. A.O.B., Corrispondenza Scientifica, cart.
Minuta. 172, n. 96.
Draft.
A P. Lowell, 15 Xbre 1898
To P. Lowell, 15 December 1898
Je viens de recevoir votre grand ouvrage
sur Mars;a vous comprendrez aisément avec I have just received your grand work
quel intérêt je vais l’étudier. on Mars;a you can easily understand how
Je vous ai expédié, il y a deux ou trois interestedly I will study it.
semaines, mon cinquième Mémoire sur cette I have sent you, two or three weeks ago,
planè; et j’espère d’être en position de vous my fifth Memoir about this planet; and I hope to
envoyer dans le cours de 1899 le sixième be in a position to send you, in the course of
Mémoire auquel je travaille maintenant. 1899, the sixth Memoir that I am working on
Seeb m’apprend que votre santé n’à pas now.
été très bonne dernièrement. Tous désirent Seeb informed me that your health has not
vraiment qu’elle soit améliorée afin que vous been very good lately. Everyone truly hopes
soyez en gré de continuer vos travaux that it will get better so that you may be able to
commencés d’une manière si brillante et si continue your unfinished works in a manner as
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William Sheehan and Jennifer Putnam The Lowell –Schiaparelli Correspondence

grandiose. brilliant and as grandiose as before.

Quant a moi, j’ai fini. Ma vue devient As for me, I am done. My vision becomes
toujours plus imparfaite et plus insuffisante pour always more imperfect and more insufficient for
cette sorte d’observations. Je dois si bien à this sort of observation. I should be able to
observer la planète pour ma propre instruction. observe the planet well enough for my own
Combien je suis content de pouvoir vérifier les instruction. How happy I am to be able to check
nombreuses découvertes dont vous avez the numerous discoveries with which you have
enrichis l’Aréographie! c enriched Areography! c
J’ai l’honneur …d avec les plus illustres I have the honor …dwith the most illustrious
[découvertes].e [discoveries].e
Je vois sur votre ouvrage que vous citez I see in your work that you have cited
mes recherches par l’intermédiaire de M. my research by the intermediary of Mr
Flammarion.f Si vous ne possédez pas tous Flammarion.f If you do not possess all of my
mes Mémoires, je me ferai plaisir et un devoir Memoirs, I would think it a pleasure and duty to
de vous en expédier un exemplaire de ce qui send you a copy of what you lack.g
vous manque.g

a This refers to the first volume of the Annals of the Lowell Observatory, published in 1898 with the
title Observations of the Planet Mars during the Opposition of 1894-5 made at Flagstaff, Arizona.
The volume, with a dedication autograph of Lowell, is conserved in the library of the A.O.B. In the
introduction, there is contained a detailed description of the Observatory and its instruments.
Schiaparelli reviewed the book in an article entitled “Observations of the planet Mars”, which
appeared in Science, New Series, Volume IX, n. 227, pages 633–637, 5 May 1899.
b Thomas J.J. See (1866–1962) studied at the University of Berlin, then in Columbia, Missouri, and
then at the University of Chicago; he was an Assistant and Astronomer at Lowell Observatory. In
1899, he became Professor of Mathematics at the Naval Observatory of Washington in Washington,
D.C. In 1903, he then went to the Naval Observatory on Mare Island, California. He occupied
himself with the evolution of the stellar systems, the structure and dynamics of the Solar System
and its extension beyond Neptune. He also did research in the field of geodesy, on the causes of
solar spots and their periodicity. In the archives of Brera Astronomical Observatory are conserved
about twenty letters from See to Schiaparelli and almost all the corresponding responses of
Schiaparelli to See, relating to the period 1907–1909. The topics treated are multiple: terrestrial
seas, the origin and development of double stars, the formation of mountains and the physics of
the Earth, the evolution of the Solar System. Having lived through the San Francisco earthquake
of 1906, See commiserated with Schiaparelli after Italy experienced a particularly catastrophic
earthquake in Calabria and Sicily in 1908.
c ‘Areographie’ or ‘Areography’ is a word frequently used by Lowell to describe the study of Mars.
Coming from the God of War, Ares, for whom Mars is named, it is a term that has fallen out of
regular use in the astronomical community.
d Illegible writing.
e Unclear writing, possibly ‘découvertes’, meaning ‘discoveries’.
f A reference to the work La Planète Mars by Camille Flammarion (1892).
g This paragraph is missing from the copy of the letter at Lowell Observatory, but was transcribed in
the collection of letters from Alessandro Manara and Franca Chlistovsky, entitled Giovanni Virgilio
Schiaparelli, Percival Lowell: Scambi Epistolkari Inediti (1896–1910).

30 settembre 1900 30 September 1900

P. Lowell a G.V. Schiaparelli From Percival Lowell to Giovanni
A.O.B., Corrispondenza Scientifica, cart. Schiaparelli
176, n. 53. A.O.B., Corrispondenza Scientifica, cart.
Originale. 176, n. 53.
Original.
Boston – Mass.
53 State – St. Boston – Mass.
30th September 1900 53 State – St.
30th September 1900
Dear Professor Schiaparelli,
In looking over the 2nd vol. of the Annalsa – Dear Professor Schiaparelli,
a copy of which I have had sent to you – I have In looking over the 2nd vol. of the Annalsa –
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William Sheehan and Jennifer Putnam The Lowell –Schiaparelli Correspondence

been pained to see that the references to you a copy of which I have had sent to you – I have
and your great work are not to your own been pained to see that the references to you
Memoirs but to Flammarion.b I am the more and your great work are not to your own
grieved at this as I had given instructions that it Memoirs but to Flammarion.b I am the more
should be otherwise but through some accident grieved at this as I had given instructions that it
it was overlooked. Hoping that you will excuse should be otherwise but through some accident
this slip and find at least something to interest it was overlooked. Hoping that you will excuse
you in the volume. I am, with great respect and this slip and find at least something to interest
esteem, you in the volume. I am, with great respect and
Very faithfully yours – esteem,
Very faithfully yours –
Percival Lowell
Percival Lowell

a This refers to the second volume of the Annals of the Lowell Observatory published in 1900. The
second part of this volume is entitled Observations of Mars 1896 and 1897.
b Camille Flammarion (1842–1925), French astronomer and geophysicist, is noted for studies of
double stars and for observations of the Sun and Moon. He is also particularly remembered for his
assiduous activity in the popularization of astronomy. He wrote several popular texts, among which
is Popular Astronomy published in 1880. He was among the most strenuous champions of the
existence of life on Mars.

4 novembre 1900 4 November 1900

G.V. Schiaparelli a P. Lowell From Giovanni Schiaparelli to Percival
A.O.B., Corrispondenza Scientifica, cart. Lowell A.O.B., Corrispondenza Scientifica,
176, n. 53a. cart. 176, n. 53a.
Minuta. Draft.

4 Nov. 1900 4 November 1900

Cher Monsieur Percival Lowell, Dear Mr. Percival Lowell,

Je réponds à votre lettre du 30 septembre. I am responding to your letter from 30
Je vous remercie bien de l’envoi que vous September. I thank you kindly for the telegram
annoncez de Vol. II des Annales de votre in which you announce Vol. II of the Annals of
Observatoire. Vous pourrez bien imaginer your Observatory. You can imagine the interest
l’intérêt avec le quel je le lirai lorsque il sera with which I will read it when I have it in
parvenu entre mes mains. Quant aux citations my hands. As for the references made to
tirées de Flammarion plutôt que des mes Flammarion instead of to my original memoirs,
mémoires originaux, je ne pense pas ce que I do not think that it will be too important of an
soit là un inconvénient très important, d’autant inconvenience, especially since French is more
plus que le français est plus universellement universally known than Italian, which renders,
connu que l’italien: ce qui rende peut-être ces perhaps, the references more useful, however
citations plus utiles, quoique peut-être un peu perhaps a bit less accurate.
moins exactes. Our Observatory just sent no. XXXIX a of its
Notre Observatoire vient d’expédier à publications to Lowell Observatory.
l’Observatoire Lowell le no XXXIX a de ses [Since] b the first of this month, November
publications. 1900, I am retired from the direction of the
[Sur] b le premier de ce mois novembre Observatory of Milan.c I will nevertheless
1900 je me suis retiré de la direction de continue my relations with the Observatory,
l’Observatoire de Milan.c Je continuerai such that you can still address your letters and
cependant mes relations avec l’Observatoire, beautiful publications to me there.
de sorte que vous pourrez toujours m’y With the greatest esteem
adresser vos lettres et vos belles publications. Your devoted
Avec la plus grande estime
Votre dévoué G.V. Schiaparelli

G.V. Schiaparelli

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William Sheehan and Jennifer Putnam The Lowell –Schiaparelli Correspondence

a The Publications of the Royal Observatory of Brera in Milan were printed starting in 1873. Volume
XXXIX, printed in Milan by Ulrico Hoepli in 1900, is entitled Determination of the Difference of
Longitude between Naples and Milan According to Observations made in 1888 by Prof. Emanuele
Fergola and Dr. Michele Rajna.
b Unclear writing, probably ‘Sur’, meaning ‘since.’
c Schiaparelli was nominated Director of Brera Astronomical Observatory by decree on 8 September
1862. Having left the Directorship, he continued to go to the Observatory, near to which he lived at
7 Fatebenefratelli Street. In the final years of his life, Schiaparelli spent long periods at Monticello
in Brianza. In the archives of Brera Astronomical Observatory one also finds the correspondence
(perhaps not in its entirety) that Schiaparelli received after the time when his institutional role as
Director had ceased.

2 marzo 1903 2 March 1903

P. Lowell a G.V. Schiaparelli From Percival Lowell to G.V. Schiaparelli
A.O.B., Fondo G.V. Schiaparelli, cart. 597, A.O.B., Fondo G.V. Schiaparelli, cart. 597,
fasc. 1, n. 43. fasc. 1, n. 43.
Originale. Original.
Allegato un disegno di Marte del 25 febbraio Accompanied by a drawing of Mars from 25
1903. February 1903.

Lowell Observatory, Flagstaff, A. T. Lowell Observatory, Flagstaff, A. T.

March 2, 1903 March 2, 1903

Cher Monsieur Schiaparelli, Dear Mr. Schiaparelli,

Ci-inclus je vous envoie le dessin d’une Enclosed I am sending you the drawing of
observation d’un certain intérêt: la re- an observation of certain interest: the re-
observation après beaucoup d’années de votre observation after many years of your Nix
Nix Olympica. C’est la première fois que je le Olympica. It is the first time that I have seen it.
vois. Je m’en suis aperçu sur le terminateur le I viewed it at the terminator on 23 February at
23 Feb à 17h 44m ou Feb 24 0h 44 G.M.T. et 17h 44m or Feb 24 at 0h 44m G.M.T. and, in
en calculant de l’angle de position que j’avais calculating the position angle, which I had
pris pour le point du terminateur qui brillait taken through the terminator point that was
il résultat lat 19°.8N long 130°.5, presque illuminated, the result was lat. 19°.8N, long.
exactement où se trouve le Nix Olympica sur 130°.5, almost exactly where Nix Olympica was
votre carte de 1879. Le surlendemain je l’ai vue located on your map from 1879. Two days later
sur le disque et depuis. Aujourd’hui j’ai observé and since, I have viewed it on the disk. Today,
une autre petite tache blanche dont j’ai marqué I observed another small, white spot whose
la position sur le dessin que je vous envoie. position I marked in the drawing that I am
Elle est plus petite encore que le Nix Olympique sending you. The spot is even smaller than Nix
lequel a un diametre de 3°.5. Tharsis aussi est Olympique, which has a diameter of 3°.5.
très blanche, ce qui rappele vos observations Tharsis is also very white, which recalls your
là-dessus en 1886 car la saison est presque la observations on the subject in 1886 as the
même qu’alors. Cette partie du disque donnait season is almost the same as then. This part
l’apparence d’être parsemée de points blancs of the disk gives the appearance of being
mais je n’ai pus constater que les ci-devants. studded with white points, but I could only note
Je n’ai jamais reçu vos mémoires de 1888, the above.
1890 et 1892. Auriez-vous l’obligeance peut- I never received your Memoirs from 1888,
être de me les envoyer. 1890, and 1892. Would you be kind enough to
Votre dévoué send them to me?
Your devoted
Percival Lowell
Percival Lowel

18 marzo 1903 18 March 1903

P. Lowell a G.V. Schiaparelli From Percival Lowell to Giovanni
A.O.B., Fondo G.V. Schiaparelli, cart. 597, Schiaparelli A.O.B., Fondo G.V. Schiaparelli,
fasc. 1, n. 49. cart. 597, fasc. 1, n. 49.
Originale. Original.
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William Sheehan and Jennifer Putnam The Lowell –Schiaparelli Correspondence

To Mr. G.V. Schiaparelli To Mr. G.V. Schiaparelli

Professeur et Directeur émerite Professor and Director Emeritus
Brera Milan Brera Milan

Lowell Observatory, Flagstaff, A. T. Lowell Observatory, Flagstaff, A. T.

Le 18ème Mars 1903 18th March 1903

Cher Monsieur, Dear Sir,

Je viens de trouver votre Mémoria Sexta I just found your Mémoria Sexta about the
sur la planète Mars que vous avez eu planet Mars that you were so kind as to send
l’obligeance de m’envoyer lors de sa me at the time of its publication, and I am sorry
publication et je suis fâché de vous avoir to have disturbed you. If you have already been
déranger à son compte. Si vous avez déja été kind enough to send me another copy and you
aussi aimable que de m’envoyer une autre would like it for yourself, I would hasten to send
exemplaire et que vous le désirerez vous- it back to you.
même, je me haterai de le vous renvoyer. The planet presents a very interesting area
La planète presente une surface très this opposition. Already Phison, Euphrates,
intéressante cette opposition. Deja le Phison, Orontes, Sitacus, Djihoun (I distinguish it from
l’Euphrate, l’Oronte, le Sitacus, le Djihoun (je le the other Oxus that goes to Siloe Fons),
distingue de l’autre Oxus qui va au Siloe Fons), Protonilus, Thoth, and Gigas are double, as
le Protonilus, le Thoth et le Gigas sont double well as Lacus Ismenius. It is a very good time,
et aussi le Lactus Ismenius. C’est de très bon and the majority of the “canals” are also
heure et aussi ces «canaux» sont extrêmement extremely weak. But what interests me most
faible pour la plupart. Mais ce qui m’a le plus are the views that I had of the double Gigas and
intéressé ce sont des vues que j’ai eu du Gigas Lacus Ascraeus and Protonilus and Lacus
double et le lac Ascraeus et du Protonilus et le Isenius. I saw with certainty the manner in
lac Ismenius. J’ai vue avec certitude la manière which the doubles break in these “lakes” that I
dont les doubles débouchent dans ces «lacs» consider oases.
que je considère oases.

It was like this.

C’était comme ceci Lacus Ascraeus appeared perfectly round,
Le lac Ascraeus semblait parfaitement very small, and black, and the two canals of
round, très petit et noir et les deux canaux du Gigas met it on both sides. It was the same with
Gigas le rencontraient à ces deux cotés. C’était Deuteronilus (?) and Protonilus and Lacus
le même avec le Deuteronilus (?) et Protonilus Ismenius. The duplication of the latter followed
et le lac Ismenius. Le dédoublement de ce along these canals as well.
dernier longeait ces canaux aussi.

And I believe, although I am not positive,

Et je crois, quoique je n’en suis pas positif, that Euphrates entered as I have drawn it. The
que l’Euphrate l’entrait comme je l’a dessiné. distance between the two Gigas was 3°.7 on
La distance entre les deux Gigas était 3°.7 sur the planet, between the two Protonilus nearly
la planète, entre les deux Protonilus à peu près 3°.0. Euphrates is the largest and, as usual,
3°.0. L’Euphrate est plus large et comme du was larger than Phison.
coutume plus large que le Phison. Your devoted
Votre dévoué
Percival Lowell
Percival Lowell

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William Sheehan and Jennifer Putnam The Lowell –Schiaparelli Correspondence

27 marzo 1903 27 March 1903

G.V. Schiaparelli a P. Lowell From Giovanni Schiaparelli to Percival
A.O.B., Fondo G.V. Schiaparelli, cart. 597, Lowell
fasc. 1, n. 43a. A.O.B., Fondo G.V. Schiaparelli, cart. 597,
Minuta in calce alla lettera di P. Lowell del 2 fasc. 1, n. 43a.
marzo 1903. Al Lowell Observatory è Draft at the foot of Lowell’s letter from 2
conservato l’originale. March 1903. The original is kept at Lowell
Observatory.
Je vous remercie bien pour votre lettre et pour
le dessin de la réapparition de la Nix Olympica.a I would like to thank you very much for your
Ce phenoméne paraît confirmer une opinion letter and for the drawing of the reappearance
que j’ai déjà eu occasion d’exprimer autrefois, of Nix Olympica.a This phenomenon seems to
savoir: que les changements de Mars sont confirm the opinion that I already had the
sujets à certaines règles. Un phenoméne se occasion to express before: to know that the
montre, puis disparaît.* Il faut donc que la variations in Mars are subject to certain rules.
cause locale, qui a déterminé la production du A phenomenon shows itself, then disappears.*
phénomène, soit quelque chose de persistant, It must be that the local cause, which has
quoique elle ne produise son effet que à des determined the production of this phenomenon,
intervalles plus ou moins longs. is something persistent, although it does not
Vous recevrez avec cette lettre, ou peu produce this effect except at intervals that are
après, un autre exemplaire de mon sixième more or less prolonged.
mémoire sur Mars,b contenant l’opposition de You will receive with this letter, or a bit after,
1888. C’est le dernier que j’ai publié. J’ai another copy of my sixth memoir on Mars,b
composé une partie du septième Mémoire containing the opposition of 1888. It is the
1890,c mais une longue maladie m’a rendu latest that I have published. I composed a part
tellement faible, que je ne puis bien savoir moi of the seventh Memoir in 1890,c but a long
même de jour que j’arriverai à le publier. Ce illness has rendered me so weak that I am not
sera le dernier de mes Mémoires sur Mars. J’ai able to know myself what date I will be able to
bien observé aussi les oppositions suivantes, publish it. It will be the last of my Memoirs on
mais avec une force de vision toujours Mars. I have also observed the subsequent
décroissante. Vers 1892 mon œil commença à oppositions, but with a strength of vision which
se déformer peu a peu, et les observations is ever decreasing. Around 1892, my eyesight
deviennent de plus en plus insuffisantes. Enfin began to degrade little by little, and the
en 1899 j’ai dû cesser non seulement les observations become more and more
études de Mars, mais toute observation insufficient. Finally in 1899, I had to cease not
astronomique. Maintenant mon œil gauche, qui only my studies of Mars, but all astronomical
jadis a été si parfait, est presque complètement observation. Now, my left eye, which had
aveugle. always been perfect, is almost completely blind.

* Tout change dans cet endroit; mais après un * Everything changes in this place; but after an
intervalle quelquefois bien long, il [réapparait]d interval, sometimes a very long interval, it
lorsque on ne là attendait pas. [reappears]d unexpectedly.

a Nix Olympica is the former name for the Olympus Mons, a huge volcano on Mars. Back in Lowell's
time, no one knew it was a volcano; it was not identified as such until spacecraft were able to take
images up close, decades later.
b This refers to the Sixth Recollection on Mars by G. Schiaparelli with the title: Astronomical and
Physical Observations on the Topography and Composition of the Planet Mars made at the Royal
Observatory of Brera in Milan with the Merz–Repsold Equatorial (18 inches), during the Opposition
of 1888. It is published in the Acts of the Royal Academy of the Lincei, Year CCXCVI (1899). Series
5. Records of the Class of Physical, Mathematical and Natural Sciences, Volume 3. Session of
June 3, 1899, Rome.
c This refers to the Seventh Recollection on Mars by G. Schiaparelli with the title: Astronomical and
Physical Observations on the Topography and Composition of the Planet Mars made in the Royal
Observatory of Brera in Milan with the Merz Equatorial during the Opposition of 1890. It is published
in the Acts of the Royal Academy of the Lincei, Year CCXCVI (1899). Series 5. Records of the
Class of Physical, Mathematical and Natural Sciences, Volume 8. Session of June 16, 1910, Rome.
d Unclear writing, probably ‘réapparait’, meaning ‘reappears’.

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William Sheehan and Jennifer Putnam The Lowell –Schiaparelli Correspondence

27 marzo 1903 27 March 1903

G.V. Schiaparelli a P. Lowell From Giovanni Schiaparelli to Percival
Lowell Observatory Archives. Originale. Lowell
Lowell Observatory Archives. Original.
Milan, le 27 Mars 1903
(Via Fatebenefratelli, 7) Milan, 27 March 1903
(7 Fatebenefratelli Street)
Cher Monsieur Lowell,
Je vous remercie bien pour votre lettre et Dear Mr Lowell.
pour le dessin de la réapparition de la Nix I would like to thank you very much for your
Olympica. Ce phenoméne paraît confirmer une letter and for the drawing of the reappearance
opinion que j’ai déjà eu occasion d’exprimer of Nix Olympica. This phenomenon seems
autrefois, savoir: que les changements de Mars to confirm the opinion that I already had the
sont sujets à certaines règles. Un détail se occasion to express before: to know that the
montre, puis disparaît, tout change en cet variations in Mars are subject to certain rules.
endroi ; mais après un intervalle quelque fois de A detail shows itself, then disappears,
plusieurs années, il reparaît lorsque on ne s’y everything changes in this place; but after an
attendait. Il faut donc que la cause locale, qui a interval of sometimes many years, it reappears
déterminé la production du phénomène, soit unexpectedly. It must be that the local cause,
quelque chose de persistant, quoique elle ne which has determined the production of this
produise son effet que à des intervalles plus ou phenomenon, is something persistent, although
moins longs. it does not produce this effect except at
Vous recevrez avec cette lettre, ou peu intervals that are more or less prolonged.
après, un autre exemplaire de mon sixième You will receive with this letter, or a bit
Mémoire sur Mars, contenant l’opposition de after, another copy of my sixth memoir on Mars,
1888. C’est le dernier que j’ai publié. J’ai containing the opposition of 1888. It is the
composé une partie du septième (et dernier) latest that I have published. I composed a part
Mémoire 1890, mais une longue maladie m’a of the seventh (and last) Memoir in 1890, but a
rendu tellement faible, que je ne puis bien long illness has rendered me so weak that I am
prévoir moi-même quand j’arriverai à le publier. not able to predict myself when I will be able to
Ce sera le dernier de mes Mémoires sur publish it. It will be the last of my Memoirs on
Mars. J’ai bien observé aussi les oppositions Mars. I have also observed the subsequent
suivantes, mais avec une force de vision oppositions, but with a strength of vision which
toujours décroissante. Vers 1892 mon œil is ever decreasing. Around 1892, my eyesight
commença à se déformer peu à peu, et mes began to degrade little by little, and my
observations à cette date ne sont plus observations since this date are no longer
comparables aux observations antérieures. comparable to earlier observations. Finally in
Enfin en 1899 j’ai dû cesser non seulement les 1899, I had to cease not only my studies of
études sur Mars, mais toute observation Mars, but all astronomical observation. Now,
astronomique. Maintenant mon œil gauche, qui my left eye, which had always been perfect, is
jadis a été si parfait, est presque complètement almost completely blind.
aveugle. Your devoted
Votre dévoué
G. Schiaparelli
G. Schiaparelli

9 maggio 1903 9 May 1903

G.V. Schiaparelli a P. Lowell From Giovanni Schiaparelli to Percival
A.O.B., Fondo G.V. Schiaparelli, cart. 597, Lowell
fasc. 1, n. 49a. Minuta in calce alla lettera di A.O.B., Fondo G.V. Schiaparelli, cart. 597,
Lowell del 18 marzo 1903. fasc. 1, n. 49a. Draft at the foot of Lowell’s
letter from 18 March 1903.
9 May 1903
9 May 1903
Cher Monsieur,
Je vous remercie bien des nouvelles que Dear Sir,
vous m’envoyez sur vos observations de Mars. I would like to thank you very much for the
Ne pouvant plus rien faire moi-même, je vois news you sent me about your observations of
avec plaisir le succès des autres. Mars. Not being able to do it myself, I look with
196
William Sheehan and Jennifer Putnam The Lowell –Schiaparelli Correspondence

Les phénomènes dont vous m’écrivez, pleasure on the success of others.

vous trouverez quelque chose d’analogue dans The phenomena about which you write, you
mon dernier Mémoire, surtout dans la planche will find something analogous in my last
dernière. C’est le cas de dire E pur si muove!a Memoir, above all on the last plate. It is the time
Car bien de personnes n’ont connue pas la to say E pur si muove!a Because a good many
profondeur de la vérité des choses que nous people have not known the depth of the truth of
avons pu si bien observer. things that we have been able to observe so
Je possède encore un nombre suffisant well.
d’exemplaires de mon VIe Mémoire, 1888. I still possess a sufficient number of copies
Aussi ne prenez pas la peine de me of my sixth Memoir, 1888. Also, do not go
renvoyer l’exemplaire que je vous ai adressé through the trouble of returning the copy that
dernièrement. I sent you recently.
Avec les meilleures souhaites pour vos With the best wishes for your success.
succès. I am yours
Je suis votre

a An Italian phrase meaning “And yet it moves!”

10 agosto 1903 10 August 1903

P. Lowell a G.V. Schiaparelli From Percival Lowell to G.V. Schiaparelli
A.O.B., Fondo G.V. Schiaparelli, cart. 597, A.O.B., Fondo G.V. Schiaparelli, cart. 597,
fasc. 1, n. 80. Originale. fasc. 1, n. 80. Original.

Boston Boston
Aug 10, 1903 August 10, 1903

Cher Monsieur Schiaparelli, Dear Mr Schiaparelli,

Je viens de vous faire envoyer les bulletinsa I have just sent you this observatory’s
de cet observatoire dans lesquels j’espère que bulletins,a in which I hope you will find some
vous trouverez des nouvelles intéressantes de interesting news about Mars. Especially in
Mars. Surtout dans le no 2 sur la manière de Issue no 2, on the manner of the initial growth
l’accroissement initialle de la calotte polaire du of the northern polar ice cap, which I had the
nord que j’ai eu le bonheur d’attraper dans le pleasure of catching, in fact, for the first time,
fait pour la première fois, aura pour vous je suis and which will be for you, I am sure, something
sure quelque chose de bien venue. of a welcome arrival.
La saison a été d’ailleurs fort satisfaisante. The season, otherwise, has been incredibly
Votre Thoth et Lacus Moeris ont reparus apres satisfying. Your Thoth and Lacus Moeris have
beaucoup d’années d’invisibilité. Je n’avais reappeared after many years of invisibility. I
jamais pu les voir et je me demandais si have never before seen them and asked myself
l’Amenthes, comme je l’avais nommé, n’était if Amenthes, as I have called it, was not Thoth.
pas le Thoth. Mais cet année a rendu tout ça. But a year has returned all of that. The
La configuration est comme ci-dessous. configuration is as below.
Le Lac Moeris était noir, petit, rond et Lacus Moeris was black, small, round, and
caillant et je ne l’aurais jamais manqué si ça eut clotting, and I would have never missed it if it
été de cette façon en 1894 et 1896. had appeared this way in 1894 and 1896.
Ce que vous m’écrivez de vos yeux me What you wrote to me about your eyes
donne bien de peine. Ils ont tant vus pour la gives me much sorrow. They have seen so
science dans leurs jours heureux. much for science in their happy days.
Votre dévoué Your devoted

Percival Lowell Percival Lowell

a The Lowell Observatory Bulletins began publication in 1903.

4 dicembre 1904 G.V. Schiaparelli a P. 4 December 1904

Lowell From Giovanni Schiaparelli to Percival
A.O.B., Fondo G.V. Schiaparelli, cart. 589, Lowell
fasc. 1, n. 86. Minuta. A.O.B., Fondo G.V. Schiaparelli, cart. 589,
197
William Sheehan and Jennifer Putnam The Lowell –Schiaparelli Correspondence

(Manca l’indicazione dell’anno sulla minuta, fasc. 1, n. 86. Draft.

ma quasi sicuramente si tratta del 1904) (There is no indication of a year on the draft,
but it is almost certainly from 1904)
4 Xbre a Percival Lowell
4 December to Percival Lowell
Cher Monsieur:
Revenu à Milan j’y ai trouvé plusieurs Dear Sir:
numéros des Bulletins of the Lowell Having returned to Milan, I have found here
Observatory, qui ont fixé particulièrement several numbers of the Lowell Observatory
mon attention. Bulletins, which have particularly caught my
Votre Mémoire sur les cartouches de attention.
Mars,a dont vous m’aviez expliqué en peus Your Memoir on the cartouches of Mars,a
de mots le contenue, est un essai bien the contents of which you explained to me in
remarquable d’une nouvelle méthode de few words, is a remarkable attempt of a new
considérer les phénomènes de Mars, une method of considering the phenomena of Mars,
méthode qui pourra conduire à des résultats a method that could lead to important results.
importants. Votre théorie de la végétation Your theory regarding vegetation is becoming
devient de plus en plus probable. more and more likely.
J’ai aussi beaucoup admiré le travail sur la I also greatly admired the work on the
rotation de Venus.b M. Slipherc est parvenu rotation of Venus.b Mr. Slipherc has managed
à résoudre le problème que M. Belopolskyd to resolve the problem that Mr. Belopolskyd had
avait cru pouvoir attaquer avec des moyens believed he could attack with insufficient
insuffisants. L’idée d’employer Mars comme methods. The idea of employing Mars as a
terme de comparaison a été excellente. Je comparison was excellent. Please accept my
vous prie d’accepter mes remerciements pour thanks for these important communications and
ces communications si importantes, et pour for the visit that you honored me with last
la visite dont vous m’avez honoré l’automne autumn.e
dernier.e My health, which has not been good, is
Ma santé, qui n’était pas bonne alors greatly improved now and I am starting to work
est beaucoup améliorée maintenant et je a bit again.
recommence à travailler un peu. With the best wishes for the success of your
Avec les meilleurs souhaits pour la bonne noble work.
réussite de vos nobles travaux.
Votre

a This refers to The Cartouches of the Canals of Mars that form Bulletin No. 12 of the Lowell
Observatory. Lowell defined cartouche of a canal on Mars, his percentage of visibility in respect to
a certain date (the percentage of visibility is determined from the numerous drawings at his disposal
for all the periods of the year).
b This refers to A Spectographic Investigation on the Rotation Velocity of Venus by V.M. Slipher, that
forms Bulletin, No. 3 of the Lowell Observatory
c Vesto Melvin Slipher (1870–1963), Assistant to Lowell, together with C.O. Lampland developed
spectographic and photographic studies of the atmosphere and of the surface of Mars. His
spectroscopic studies demonstrated the existence of aqueous vapor and oxygen on the surface,
and he claimed to have confirmed photographically the existence of a network of canals on Mars.
d In 1894 the Russian astronomer Aristarkh Belopolsky (1859–1934) discovered periodic variations
in the radial velocity of δ Cephei, establishing that it was a general property of certain variable stars
with short periods. He also conducted a spectoscopic study of Saturn and determined the period
of rotation of its ring.
E No other testimony of this visit from Lowell to Schiaparelli exists in the archives of Brera Astronomi-
cal Observatory; however, Lowell’s travel diary contains a passage describing a visit on 7 August
1904 to Schiaparelli’s country home, Monticello. This was his second visit after the preceding one
which occurred in February or March 1896, according to A. Lawrence Lowell’s Biography of Percival
Lowell. In the book The Planet Mars by W. Sheehan (University of Arizona Press, 1996: 110–111),
we read, in fact, that in December 1895 Lowell went to Europe in order to meet the most famous
observers of Mars. In Paris, he met Flammarion, and then he went to Milan in order to meet
Schiaparelli whom he admired most of all, so much so that he called him in the letter of 16 March
1909 “… dear teacher of Mars.” Also, even though Schiaparelli was then still Director of Brera
Astronomical Observatory, no documentation of this first meeting was found in the archives of that
Observatory.

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William Sheehan and Jennifer Putnam The Lowell –Schiaparelli Correspondence

17 gennaio 1905 17 January 1905

P. Lowell a G.V. Schiaparelli From Percival Lowell to G.V. Schiaparelli
A.O.B., Fondo G.V. Schiaparelli, cart. 589, A.O.B., Fondo G.V. Schiaparelli, cart. 589,
fasc. 1, n. 100. Originale. Allegato un fasc. 1, n. 100. Original. Accompanied by a
disegno di Marte del 13–14 gennaio 1905. drawing of Mars from 13–14 January 1905.

Lowell Observatory, Flagstaff, A. T. Lowell Observatory, Flagstaff, A. T.

Le 17 Janvier 1905 17 January 1905

A Monsieur le Docteur Schiaparelli To the Doctor Schiaparelli

Milan Milan

Cher Docteur, Dear Doctor,

Vous m’écriviez une fois qu’à l’avenir il You wrote to me once that in the future you
vous fallait observer par les yeux des autres. would have to observe through the eyes of
En souvenir de cette triste déclaration, je vous others. In remembrance of that sad declaration,
envoie les primeurs de mes observations I am sending you the first of my observations of
de cette opposition de 1905. Je leur souhaite this opposition of 1905. I hope that they will
qu’ils vous donnent quelques instants give you a few moments of pleasure.
d’agrément. The drawing depicts what I was able to see
Le dessin représente ce que j’ai pu voir les the first two nights, that is to say the 13th and
deux premières nuits, c’est à dire le 13 et 14 de 14th of January. On this drawing, one notes
janvier . Sur ce dessin on remarque d’abord first the large difference between the maria and
une grand différence entre les maria et les the canals north of L. Niliacus and those to the
canaux au nord du L. Niliacus et ceux au sud south of that place. For the maria, M. Acidalium
de cet endroit. Pour les maria, le M. Acidalium and L. Niliacus are much darker than M.
et le L. Niliacus sont beaucoup plus foncés que Erythraeum. The closer these maria are to the
le M. Erythraeum Plus ces maria envoisinent le north pole, the darker they are. In regards
pole norde plus ils sont sombres. En ce qui to the canals, the same gradation of color
concerne les canaux la même gradation de is shown, but, on the other hand, one can
teint se fait voir, mais en outre on y distingue distinguish a dissimilarity of state, or at the least
une dissemblance d’êtát, ou tout au moins de of manner, between those of the north and
façon, entre ceux du nord et ceux du sud. Les those of the south. The northern canals,
canaux au nord, le Symaetus, le Sybaris, le Symaethus, Sybaris, Zygatus, Jaxartes, and
Zygatus, le Jaxarte et le Callirrhoe sont des Callirrhoe are simple lines, straight and dark,
lignes simples, étroites et noires, tandis que les whereas the southern canals from the 30th
canaux au sud du 30ème degré de latitude nord degree of northern latitude are wide and diffuse,
sont larges et diffus, i.e. le Nilokeras, le Gange, i.e. the Nilokeras, the Ganges, the Jamuna, and
le Jamuna et l’Indus. the Indus.
En second lieu, la calotte polaire est assez Secondly, the polar cap is rather small and
petite et mal définie, à cause apparemment poorly defined, apparently due to a kind of spring-
d’une espèce de brume de printemps qui time mist that surrounds it. This is also appar-
l’environne. Ce qui se montre aussi dans la ent in the visibility of the arctic canals. Thus,
visibilité des canaux arctiques. Ainsi le Sybaris, Sybaris, Zygatis, and Jaxartes are more easily
le Zygatis et le Jaxartes se distinguent plus distinguished from the southern side. To the
facilement du coté sud. Au nord on les suit north, we hardly follow them up until the cap.
à peine jusque la calotte. The two Nilokeras are quite visible,
Les deux Nilokeras se voient bien, parallels one to the other at 10°.5 of distance.
parallèles l’un à l’autre à 10°.5 de distance. This value upholds the measurements of six
Cette valeur tient des mesures de six dessins. drawings. It fits well with my findings of the
Ça s’accorde bien avec ce que j’ai trouvé pour same distance in 1903, about 10° then.
la même distance en 1903, à peu près 10° Nilokeras I, the northern line, differs from
alors. Le Nilokeras I, la ligne du nord, diffère du Nilokeras II in that it is narrower and, something
Nilokeras II en ce qu’il est plus étroit et, chose interesting, it is curved there where it enters into
intéressante, se trouve courbé là ou il entre L. Lunae. It is exactly what was present in
dans le L. Lunae. C’est exactement ce qui c’est 1903. L. Lunae itself is weak and difficult to
presenté en 1903. Le L. Lunae lui même est see. Jamuna is a sort of ashen ribbon, well
faible et difficile à voir. Le Jamuna est en façon defined on both sides and 4° wide. Gange
de ruban cendré, bien défini des deux bords et seems weaker and indistinct. Between Ganges
large de 4°. Le Gange semble plus faible et mal and Indus, we can perceive fuzzy shadows,
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William Sheehan and Jennifer Putnam The Lowell –Schiaparelli Correspondence

tranché. Entre le Ganges et l’Indus on aperçoit Hydaspes and others, probably, that I cannot
des ombres confus, le Hydaspes et d’autres, detect.
probablement, que je n’ai pu déceler. Remembering that the 13th of January was
En se souvenant que le 13 janvier était le the day of the summer solstice of the northern
jour du solstice d’été de l’hémisphère nord, on hemisphere, we see how all of this confirms the
voit comme tout ça confirme le résultat de past opposition on the development of the
l’opposition passée sur le développement des canals (Bulletin 12 L. Obs.) from north to south
canaux (Bulletin 12 L. Obs.) du nord au sud à at this Martian season.
cette saison Martienne. Your devoted
Votre dévoué
Percival Lowell
Percival Lowell

30 giugno 1905 30 June 1905 From Giovanni Schiaparelli to

G.V. Schiaparelli a P. Lowell Percival Lowell A.O.B., Fondo G.V.
A.O.B., Fondo G.V. Schiaparelli, cart. 589, Schiaparelli, cart. 589, fasc. 1, n. 142.
fasc. 1, n. 142. Originale. Original.

A Percival Lowell, Flagstaff, Arizona To Percival Lowell, Flagstaff, Arizona 30 June

30 giugno 1905 1905

Avant de partir pour la campagne, je veux Before leaving for the countryside, I want to
payer ma dette de reconnaissance envers pay my debt of gratitude toward you, in thanking
vous, en vous remerciant pour des nouvelles you for the news about the recent opposition of
sur la dernière opposition de Mars, et pour le Mars and for the fond telegram that you sent me
télegramme affectueux que vous m’avez on 14 Marcha and also the package of the
envoyé le 14 Marsa et aussi l’envoi des derniers latest, interesting numbers of the Bulletin of the
numéros si intéressants du Bulletin du Lowell Lowell Observatory.
Observatory. By the Astr. Nachr., I learned the big news
Par les Astr. Nachr. j’ai appris la grande that you have succeeded in taking photographs
nouvelle que vous avez réussi a faire sur Mars of Mars that are sufficiently detailed to show
des photographies suffisamment détailees pour many dark lines. I would never have believed
montrer plusieurs des lignes sombres. Je that it would be possible, and I doubt that we
n’aurais jamais cru que cela fut possible, et je could arrive at something similar in our climate
doute qu’on puisse arriver à quelque chose of such an agitated atmosphere. The climate
semblable dans nos climats d’atmosphère si of the Flagstaff Observatory should be very
agitée. Le climat du Flagstaff Observatory doit exceptional and the observers of a very
être très exceptionnel, et les observateurs extraordinary skill. I congratulate you on the
d’une habilité bien extraordinaire. Je vous result and I congratulate myself on having
félicite de ce résultat et je me félicite moi même again helped the stunning progress of
d’avoir pu encore assister a ces progrès Areography.
étonnant de l’aréographie.

a Schiaparelli’s birthday was on 14 March.

Lowell’s was on13 March.

14 agosto 1905 14 August 1905

P. Lowell a G.V. Schiaparelli From Percival Lowell to G.V. Schiaparelli
A.O.B., Fondo G.V. Schiaparelli, cart. 589, A.O.B., Fondo G.V. Schiaparelli, cart. 589,
fasc. 1, n. 147. Originale. Allegati 5 fogli con fasc. 1, n. 147. Original. Accompanied by 5
fotografie e disegni di Marte. sheets of photographs and drawings of
Mars.
Lowell Observatory, Flagstaff, A. T.
le 14 Aout 1905 Cher Monsieur, Lowell Observatory, Flagstaff, A. T.
14 August 1905
Cher Monsieur,
Je vous aurais envoyé les primeurs des Dear Sir,
photographies de Mars si un journal n’eut I would have sent you the first photographs
200
William Sheehan and Jennifer Putnam The Lowell –Schiaparelli Correspondence

votre mort. Heureusement le journal – comme of Mars if a newspaper had not announced your
toujours – eut tort. Maintenant je suis en étât death. Fortunately, the newspaper was – as
de vous envoyer encore de plus belles que M. always – wrong. Now I am in a position to send
Lamplanda vient de tirer et où vous pourriez you even more beautiful photographs that Mr.
reconnaître ce que vos yeux ont les premiers Lamplanda has just taken and where you will
vus. C’est vraiment presque inconcevable que even be able to recognize what your eyes saw
l’art photographique ai pu les reproduire. first. It is almost inconceivable that the art of
L’habileté de M. Lampland et l’atmosphère en photography could reproduce them. Mr.
sont venus à bout. Lampland’s skill and the atmosphere have
Votre dévoué overcome the odds.
Your devoted
Percival Lowell
Percival Lowell

a Carl Otto Lampland (1873–1951) was a specialist in planetary photographic studies at the Lowell
Observatory.

10 ottubre 1905 10 October 1905

P. Lowell a G.V. Schiaparelli From Percival Lowell to Giovanni
A.O.B., Fondo G.V. Schiaparelli, cart. 589, Schiaparelli
fasc. 1, n. 154. Originale. A.O.B., Fondo G.V. Schiaparelli, cart. 589,
fasc. 1, n. 154. Originale.
Boston
53 State Street Boston
le 10 Octobre 1905 53 State Street
10 October 1905
Monsieur,
Le professeur E.S. Morsea désire Sir,
beaucoup posséder un portrait de vous pour The professor E.S. Morsea greatly desires
le reproduire dans un ouvrage qu’il écrit to possess a portrait of you to reproduce in a
actuellement sur la planète Mars.b Auriez vous work that he is currently writing about the planet
la bonté de vos rendre à son souhait, il vous en Mars.b If you would be so kind as to reply to his
serait reconnaissant ainsi que. request, he would be grateful as well.
Votre très dévoué Your very devoted

Percival Lowell Percival Lowell

a Edward Sylvester Morse (1838–1925) was the Director of the Peabody Museum in Salem,
Massachusetts, founder of the East India Marine Society, and author of a book on Mars. In the
letter of 7 December 1906, conserved in the archives of Brera Astronomical Observatory, he asks
Schiaparelli if he could publish his favorable opinion on the work together with a photograph. Lowell
was the intermediary of such correspondence. On the back of the letter from Morse to Schiaparelli,
there is the reply (draft) of the latter, who agrees to Morse’s wish.
b Morse published Mars and Its Mystery in Boston in 1906.

30 ottobre 1905 30 October 1905

G.V. Schiaparelli a P. Lowell From Giovanni Schiaparelli to Percival
A.O.B., Fondo G.V. Schiaparelli, cart. 589, Lowell
fasc. 1, n. 147a. Minuta. A.O.B., Fondo G.V. Schiaparelli, cart. 589,
fasc. 1, n. 147a. Draft.
30 Octobre 1905
30 October 1905
Mon cher Monsieur,
Je dois vous remercier pour plusieurs My dear sir,
intéressants envois que j’ai reçu de votre part I should thank you for the many interesting
pendant les quatre mois qui viennent de shipments that I have received from you during
s’écouler: la continuation des Bulletins du the four months that have just flown by: the
Lowell Observatory, l’atlas de vos dessins de continuation of the Lowell Observatory Bulletin,
201
William Sheehan and Jennifer Putnam The Lowell –Schiaparelli Correspondence

Mars faits en 1903a et les cinq planches the atlas of your drawings of Mars done in
photographiques.b Ces dernières sont 1903,a and the five photographic plates.b The
vraiment étonnantes non seulement par ce latter are truly stunning not only for what they
qu’elles offrent déjà, mais encore beaucoup already offer, but still more for the right to hope
plus par ce qu’elles donnent le droit d’espérer. that they give. The line that separates Mare
La ligne qui termine le Mare Erytraeum du coté Erythraeum from the northern coast is marked
du Nord est marquée sur la photo du 6 juin avec on the photo from 6 June with a precision that
précision tout-à-fait inattendue dans ce genre is quite unexpected in these kinds of things; it
de choses, elle suffit pour démontrer que suffices to show that Areography by your
l’Aréographie par votre initiative et par l’habilité initiative and by the skill of Mr. Lampland will
de M. Lampland va entrer dans une phase enter into a new phase, of which we cannot
nouvelle, dont on ne peut pas même prévoir foresee the extent; not only concerning the
l’extension; non seulement par ce qui concerne topography of the planet but also the natural
la topographie de la planète mais aussi pour history of its phenomena and even more for the
l’histoire naturelle de ses phénomènes et degree …c of accuracy which we will benefit
encore pour le degré bien …c d’exactitude from for the measurements of everything and
qu’on va gagner pour les mesures de toute for the direction of the axis. What we have seen
sorte et pour la direction de l’axe. Ce que on a up until now will hardly be anything in
vu jusqu’ici ne sera rien en comparaison de ce comparison to what you will find following the
que vous allez trouver en suivant la vie que life that you have seen.
vous venez d’entrevoir. Your very devoted
Votre très dévoué
G.V. Schiaparelli
G.V. Schiaparelli

a This refers to the volume “Drawings of Mars” selected directly from the record book, and conserved
in the library of Brera Astronomical Observatory. It is devoid of text and contains ten plates with
drawings of Mars.
b Attached to the preceding letter.
c Unclear writing. It possibly says ‘hyperion’.

1 novembre 1905 1 November 1905

G.V. Schiaparelli a P. Lowell From Giovanni Schiaparelli to Percival
A.O.B., Fondo G.V. Schiaparelli, cart. 589, Lowell
fasc. 1, n. 154a. Minuta in calce alla lettera di A.O.B., Fondo G.V. Schiaparelli, cart. 589,
P. Lowell del 10 ottobre 1905. fasc. 1, n. 154a. Draft at the foot of Lowell’s
letter from 10 October 1905.
Milan, le 1er novembre 1905
Milan, 1st November 1905
Revenu de la campagne, j’ai saisi avant
tout à satisfaire votre désir exprimé par votre Returned from the countryside, I
lettre du 10 Octobre. Voici ce que j’ai trouvé de considered before everything satisfying the
mieux parmi mes anciens portraits, faits en desire expressed by your letter from 10
1895. Je n’en ai pas de plus récents; il me October. Here is what I found best among my
répugne d’avoir des témoins importants d’une old portraits, taken in 1895. I don’t have any
décadence qui n’est que trop visible et à la more recent ones; it revolts me to have
quelle malheureusement il est impossible de se important witnesses to a deterioration which is
soustraire; je souhaite qu’elle vienne bien tard only too visible and which it is unfortunately
pour vous, le plus tard possible et qu’il vous soit impossible to avoid; I hope that it will come late
donné d’enrichir encore pour longtemps la for you, as late as possible, and that you will
science avec des belles découvertes. again be able to enrich science for a long time
Votre très dévoué with beautiful discoveries.
Your very devoted
Schiaparelli
Schiaparelli
Je viens d’avoir vos publications et je vous
remercie …a pour les cinq feuilles des photos I just received your publications and I would like
de Mars. to thank you …a for the five pages of photos of
Mars.
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William Sheehan and Jennifer Putnam The Lowell –Schiaparelli Correspondence

a Illegible writing.

Undated. Between 29 December 1905 and 1 Undated. Between 29 December 1905 and 1
January 1906. January 1906.
P. Lowell a G.V. Schiaparelli From Percival Lowell to G.V. Schiaparelli
Lowell Observatory Archives. Lowell Observatory Archives.

Cher Collègue et Ami: Dear Colleague and Friend:

Permettez-moi de vous envoyer avec ceci Allow me to send you with this some of the
de plus récents résultats de M. Lampland en more recent results from Mr. Lampland of the
fait de photographies de Mars, que ceux dont photographs of Mars, more recent, in fact, than
je vous ai d’abord fait part. Je crois que vous those that I first told you about. I believe that
serez de mon avis qu’elles sont encore plus you will be of my opinion that they are even
surprenantes que les premières. more surprising than the first ones.
Votre dévoué Your devoted

Percival Lowell Percival Lowell

27 giugno 1906 27 June 1906

P. Lowell a G.V. Schiaparelli From Percival Lowell to G.V. Schiaparelli
A.O.B., Fondo G.V. Schiaparelli, cart. 590, A.O.B., Fondo G.V. Schiaparelli, cart. 590,
fasc. 1, n. 40. Originale. fasc. 1, n. 40. Original.

Boston, le 27ème Juin 1906 Boston, 27th June 1906

Á Monsieur le docteur G.V. Schiaparelli To the Doctor G.V. Schiaparelli
Milan Milan

Cher collègue et ami, Dear colleague and friend,

Je viens de mettre main à la conclusion I have just put my hand to the conclusion of
d’un nouvel livre sur la planète Mars et je a new book about the planet Mars and I would
voudrai témoigner mon estime en le dédiant à like to show my respect by dedicating it to you
vous à qui on doit les magnifiques primeurs de to whom it owes the magnificent success of this
ces recherches. research.
Je pars de suite pour l’Europe, mon I am leaving at once for Europe, my
adresse là étant: address there is:
Jo Brown, Shipley Co. Jo Brown, Shipley Co.
123 Pall Mall 123 Pall Mall
Londres London
Votre dévoué Your devoted

Percival Lowell Percival Lowell

Dopo il 27 giugno 1906 After 27 June 1906

G.V. Schiaparelli a P. Lowell From Giovanni Schiaparelli to Percival
A.O.B., Corrispondenza Scientifica, cart. Lowell
590, fasc. 1, n. 40a. Minuta senza data in A.O.B., Corrispondenza Scientifica, cart.
calce lettera di P. Lowell del 27 giugno 1906. 590, fasc. 1, n. 40a. Draft without a date at
the foot of the letter from P. Lowell from 27
J’accepte bien volontiers la marque June 1906.
d’estime dont vous proposez de m’honorer:
d’abord par ce qu’elle me vient de vous, ensuite I willingly accept the mark of esteem with
pour montrer en quelque manière combien which you propose to honor me: first because it
j’apprécie vos importants travaux. Je me comes from you, then to show in some way how
déclare avec la plus grand reconnaissance. much I appreciate your important work. I
Votre declare myself with the greatest respect.
Yours

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William Sheehan and Jennifer Putnam The Lowell –Schiaparelli Correspondence

20 settembre 1906 20 September 1906

P. Lowell a G.V. Schiaparelli From Percival Lowell to Giovanni
A.O.B., Fondo G.V. Schiaparelli, cart. 590, Schiaparelli
fasc. 1, n. 56. Originale. A.O.B., Fondo G.V. Schiaparelli, cart. 590,
fasc. 1, n. 56. Original.
Boston le 20 Septembre 1906
Boston, 20 September 1906
à Mons. G. Schiaparelli
Milan to Mr. G. Schiaparelli
Milan
Cher collègue et ami:
Votre lettre m’a trouvé à Londres et c’est Dear colleague and friend:
avec vive reconnaissance que je vous remercie Your letter found me in London, and it is
et de la permission qu’elle contient et des with deep gratitude that I thank you and for the
paroles appreciés parce qu’elles viennent de permission it contains and for the appreciated
celui qui le premier dévoilat ce monde et dont words because they come from he who first
l’opinion me sera toujours la plus chère. revealed this world and whose opinion will
Votre dévoué always be the most dear to me.
Your devoted
Percival Lowell
Percival Lowell

Dopo il 20 settembre 1906 After 20 September 1906

G.V. Schiaparelli a P. Lowell From Giovanni Schiaparelli to Percival
A.O.B., Fondo G.V. Schiaparelli, cart. 590, Lowell
fasc. 1, n. 56a. Minuta senza data in calce A.O.B., Fondo G.V. Schiaparelli, cart. 590,
alla lettera di P. Lowell del 20 settembre fasc. 1, n. 56a. Draft without a date at the
1906. foot of the letter from Percival Lowell from
20 September 1906.
Revenu de la campagne, je trouve à Milan
votre bonne lettre du 20 septembre, et le Returned from the countryside, I find in
superbe Volume III des Annales de votre Milan your good letter from 20 September and
Observatoire, contenant les observations de the superb Volume III of the Annals of your
cinq oppositions, 1894–1903.a Observatory, containing the observations of
Je n’ai pas besoin de dire combien je vous five oppositions, 1894–1903.a
suis reconnaissant pour cet envoi, qui me I do not need to tell you how grateful I am
donne un sujet agréable d’étude pour l’hiver qui for this post, which gives me an agreeable
va commencer. subject to study for the coming winter.
Les prochaines oppositions présenteront The next oppositions will present Mars with
Mars sous un diamètre considérable, et je a considerable diameter, and I hope that you
vous souhaite d’y faire les plus brillantes will make some brilliant discoveries.
découvertes. Your devoted
Votre dévoué

a The third volume of the Annals of Lowell Observatory is entitled Observations of the Planet Mars
during the Oppositions of 1894, 1896, 1898, 1901 and 1903 made at Flagstaff, Arizona. It was
published in 1905. The copy sent by Lowell to Schiaparelli is conserved in the library of Brera
Astronomical Observatory.

1 febbraio 1907 1 February 1907

G.V. Schiaparelli a P. Lowell From Giovanni Schiaparelli to Percival
A.O.B., Fondo G.V. Schiaparelli, cart. 590, Lowell
fasc. 1, n. 102. Minuta. A.O.B., Fondo G.V. Schiaparelli, cart. 590,
fasc. 1, n. 102. Draft.
A Percival Lowell
1o febbraio 1907 To Percival Lowell
1 February 1907
Monsieur,
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William Sheehan and Jennifer Putnam The Lowell –Schiaparelli Correspondence

La saison mauvaise que nous avons ici Sir,

m’a obligé à interrompre ma correspondance The wicked season that we have here
pendant quelque temps. required me to interrupt my correspondence for
Vous me pardonnerez d’avoir differé some time.
si longtemps de vous envoyer mes You will forgive me for having deferred so
remerciements pour l’envoi de votre nouvel long in sending you my thanks for the shipment
ouvrage sur la planète Mars. of your new work on the planet Mars.
Je suis fort embarrassé pour savoir quelle I am too embarrassed to know what
mine je dois faire en présence de nouveau reaction I should have in the presence of your
Columbus que vous venez de découvrir. new Columbus that you have just discovered.
Ordinairement, dans de semblables occasions, Ordinarily, on similar occasions, it would be
il faut montrer une …a tout à fait particulière. necessary to show a completely particular …a
Mais cela ne me parait point nécessaire dans le But that does not seem to me at all necessary
cas actuel. La différence entre les deux in the present case. The difference between
Columbus est tellement visible à tout le monde, the two Columbus is so visible to all the world
que je puis me dispenser de la constater. that I can dispense with noting it.
Cela n’empêche pas de rester le nouveau This does not preclude keeping the new
Columbus supérieur à l’ancien. Par exemple, Columbus above the old. For example, the new
le nouveau Columbus est tout-à-fait dépourvu Columbus is entirely devoid of this terrible
de cette terrible ambition, qui a été la cause ambition, which was the principal cause of the
principale des malheurs dont le grand Almirante misfortunes in which the great Admiral was
a été accablé.b overwhelmed.b
Votre livrec est tout simplement un petit Your bookc is quite simply a small
chef d’œuvre. En le lisant, j’ai pu me faire une masterpiece. In reading it, I could create an
idée plus synthétique et plus complète des idea more concise and more complete of the
progrès que vous avez réalisés dans progress that you have realized in Areography.
l’Aréographie. Vous avez marché droit et sûr là You have walked straight and steady there
ou bien de fois je suis resté dans l’incertitude, where many times I have stayed in uncertainty,
embarrassé par l’inattendu et par l’étrangeté de embarrassed for the unexpected and the
ce que je voyais. Votre livre contient un strangeness of what I have seen. Your book
vrai programme de recherches pour les contains a true program of research for the
observateurs à venir. Il faut cela est la fruit de observers to come. It must be that this is the
la méthode logique et rationnelle que vous avez fruit of the logical and rational method that you
appliqué à tous ces problèmes. Cette même have applied to all these problems. This same
methode vous a permis de construire, dans la method has allowed you to create, in the fourth
quatrième partie une théorie que je trouve de part, a theory that I find more and more
plus en plus satisfaisante dans son ensemble. satisfying in general. I am now persuaded
Je suis maintenant persuadé avec vous que by you that the hypothesis of oceans and
l’hypothèse des mers et des continents ne peut continents cannot represent the facts, and the
représenter les faits et que l’hypothèse de la hypothesis of vegetation is, for the moment, the
végétation est pour le moment de beaucoup most probable of many. In any case, even
la plus probable. En tout cas, même les the most skeptical should recognize in it an
plus sceptiques devront y reconnaître une excellent working hypothesis. The reader
excellente working hypothesis. Le lecteur arrives at the end, sees with astonishment
arrivé à la fin, voit avec étonnement l’astronome the precise astronomer, who, after having done
minutieux, qui après avoir fait les observations the most subtle observations, leaves his
les plus subtiles, sort de son observatoire et se observatory and transforms into a simple
transforme en un philosophe plein de bon sens philosopher of good sense and a brilliant writer.
et dans un brillant écrivain. My news is not entirely good. Age and
Mes nouvelles ne sont pas tout à fait infirmity continue their work. To pass the time,
bonnes. L’âge et les infirmités continuent leur I amuse myself now with the Babylonians. I ask
œuvre. Pour passer le temps je m’amuse you to please accept a small memoir I have just
maintenant avec les Babyloniens. Je vous published on the observations of Venus. These
prie d’agréer un petit mémoire que je viens …d Babylonians have also left some
de publier sur leurs observations de Vénus. observations of Mars, but not as interesting as
Ces …d Babyloniens ont laissé aussi des those we are doing and those which will be
observations sur Mars, mais pas aussi done in Flagstaff.
intéressantes que celles qu’on font et qu’on va Your devoted
faire à Flagstaff. I wish for you to be able to continue for a
Votre dévoué long time your noble work. And again I make

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William Sheehan and Jennifer Putnam The Lowell –Schiaparelli Correspondence

Je vous souhaite de pouvoir continuer wishes for you to finally find a successor who
encore longtemps ces nobles travaux. Et can continue in the same spirit and with the
encore je fais des vœux afin que vous trouviez same success.
un successeur qui puisse les continuer dans le
même esprit et avec le même succès.

a Illegible writing.
b Schiaparelli is referring to Lowell's Mars and its Canals book that Lowell just sent to him. Lowell
dedicated the book to Schiaparelli – “To GV Schiaparelli – The Columbus of a new planetary world,
this investigation upon it is appreciatively inscribed”. Here, Schiaparelli is making a joke comparing
himself to the great admiral Columbus. It is of course meant to be flattering—both discovered New
Worlds, in a sense—but Schiaparelli, who was a very modest individual, was clearly not entirely
comfortable with it. He accepts the dedication only because he believes it to be so over-the-top
that the difference will be obvious; but he also—interestingly—says that “… the new Columbus is
entirely devoid of the terrible ambition which was the principal cause of the misfortunes in which the
great Admiral was overwhelmed.” He also wrote to his closest friend, Francois Terby, on 11 May
1886: “It is a New World, this world of Mars, believe me, and it will be necessary for us to conquer
it little by little as a prize. It will be a less difficult and less bloody conquest than the exploits of
Cortes and Pisarro.”
c This refers to the book by P. Lowell entitled: Mars and Its Canals (New York, MacMillan, 1906).
d Illegible writing.

Dopo il 1 febbraio 1907 (marzo [?] 1907) After 1 February 1907 (March [?] 1907)
P. Lowell a G.V. Schiaparelli From Percival Lowell to Giovannie
A.O.B., Fondo G.V. Schiaparelli, cart. 590, Schiaparelli
fasc. 1, n. 121. Originale senza data. A.O.B., Fondo G.V. Schiaparelli, cart. 590,
fasc. 1, n. 121. Original without a date.
Cher collègue,
C’est l’envoi qui plait, non la grandeur du Dear colleague,
brochure. C’est ainsi que je vous remercie des It is the shipment that pleases, not the size
Venusbeobachtungen.a of the booklet. It is thus that I thank you for
J’espère que la comparaison à Colomb ne Venusbeobachtungen.a
vous a pas déplu. I hope that the comparison to Columbus
Le 14 de ce moi je pars pour Flagstaff et has not displeased you.
Mars. De plus une expédition sous les mêmes The 14th of this month I leave for Flagstaff
auspices ira au Peru. Donnez moi vos and Mars.
souhaits. Furthermore, an expedition under the same
Votre dévoué auspices will go to Peru. Send me your best
wishes.
Percival Lowell Your devoted

Percival Lowell
a A German title meaning ‘Venus Observations’.

Dopo il 1 febbraio 1907 After 1 February 1907

G.V. Schiaparelli a P. Lowell From Giovanni Schiaparelli to Percival
A.O.B., Fondo G.V. Schiaparelli, cart. 590, Lowell
fasc. 1, n. 121a. Minuta senza data in calce A.O.B., Fondo G.V. Schiaparelli, cart. 590,
alla precedente lettera di P. Lowell. fasc. 1, n. 121a. Draft without a date at the
foot of the letter from Percival Lowell.
Pourquoi la comparaison que vous avez
fait de moi à Colomb m’aurait-elle déplu? Why would the comparison that you made
Comme je vous ai écrit en vous remerciant de of me with Columbus have displeased me? As
l’envoi de votre magnifique ouvrage sur Mars, il I wrote to you in thanking you for the shipment
n’arrive pas très souvent d’être en si bonne of your magnificent work on Mars, it does not
compagnie. often happen to be in such good company.
Je vous écris à Flagstaff, une autre lettre de I write to you in Flagstaff, another letter of
moi vous aura probablement précédé. Vous mine will probably precede its arrival to you. You
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William Sheehan and Jennifer Putnam The Lowell –Schiaparelli Correspondence

allez commencer une nouvelle campagne: mon are going to begin a new campaign: my desire
désir est qu’elle soit encore plus heureuse que is that it is even happier than all of its
toutes les précédentes, et c’est beaucoup dire. predecessors, and that is saying a lot.
J’ai dernièrement étudié quelques I have recently studied some observations
observations des Babyloniens sur Mars. Ces from the Babylonians of Mars. These are
sont des essais assez informes, mais c’est le fairly crude attempts, but they are the
commencement de l’astronomie planétaire. commencement of planetary astronomy. This
Cette planète est vraiment précieuse. Elle a planet is especially precious. It has evaded the
partie les premiers essais des Babyloniens; first attempts of the Babylonians; with his
avec son moyen, Kepler a découvert ses deux method, Kepler discovered its first two laws;
premiers lois: maintenant elle va dévoiler les now, it will reveal the mysteries of life on
mystères de la vie sur un autre monde. C’est another world. It is the terrestrial Mars, that
le Mars terrestre, c’.à direa la guerre, qu’il faut is to say war, that must be abolished.
abolir. Your devoted
Votre dévoué

a Shorthand for ‘c’est-à-dire’.

2 luglio 1907 2 July 1907

P. Lowell a G.V. Schiaparelli From Percival Lowell to Giovanni
A.O.B., Fondo G.V. Schiaparelli, cart. 591, Schiaparelli
fasc. 1, n. 6. Originale con inserite due A.O.B., Fondo G.V. Schiaparelli, cart. 591,
fotografie di Marte del giugno 1907. fasc. 1, n. 6. Original with the insertion of
two photographs of Mars from June 1907.
Lowell Observatory, Flagstaff, A. T.
le 2 Juillet 1907 Lowell Observatory, Flagstaff, A. T.
2 July 1907
Al Prof. G.V. Schiaparelli
Milano To Prof. G.V. Schiaparelli
Milan
Cher Collègue et Ami,
A vous, avant personne, doivent être Dear Colleague and Friend,
envoyées les premières épreuves des To you, before anyone, should be sent
nouvelles photographies de Mars que M. the first proofs of the new photographs of Mars
Lampland vient de faire. Ainsi c’est à vous that Mr. Lampland has just made. Thus it is
qu’elles se hâtent de partir. to you that they must go.
Avec respect et affection With respect and affection
Votre dévoué Your devoted

Percival Lowell Percival Lowell

28 aout 1907 28 August 1907

P. Lowell a G.V. Schiaparelli From Percival Lowell to Giovanni
Lowell Observatory Archives. Schiaparelli
Originale. Lowell Observatory Archives.
Original.
Cher Collègue:
A vous plus qu’à personne doivent aller les Dear Colleague:
nouvelles photographies de Mars. C’est The new photographs of Mars should go to
surprenant ce qu’elles montrent. Vous allez you more than anyone. It is surprising what
même y découvrir encore le petit fons they show. You yourself will go there to
juventae.a Notez aussi commes les dessins discover the little fons juventaea again. Note
et les photographies, indépendamment faits, also how the drawings and the photographs,
se vérifient les uns les autres. independently made, verify one another.
Avec tous mes hommages et mes souhaits With all my respect and wishes for your
pour votre santé health
Votre dévoué Your devoted

207
William Sheehan and Jennifer Putnam The Lowell –Schiaparelli Correspondence

Percival Lowell Percival Lowell

a The Juvantae Chasm on Mars was named by Schiaparelli after the fons juvantae, the ‘Fountain of
Youth’.

4 novembre 1907 4 November 1907

G.V. Schiaparelli a P. Lowell From Giovanni Schiaparelli to Percival
A.O.B., Fondo G.V. Schiaparelli, cart. 591, Lowell
fasc. 1, n. 34. Minuta. A.O.B., Fondo G.V. Schiaparelli, cart. 591,
fasc. 1, n. 34. Draft.
A Percival Lowell, Flagstaff, Arizona
4 novembre 1907 To Percival Lowell, Flagstaff, Arizona
4 November 1907
Malgré les instructions que j’avais
données, vos deux envois si précieux et si Despite the instructions that I had given,
intéressants sont restés à Milan pendant your two so precious and so interesting
plusieurs mois et c’est seulement à mon retour shipments were kept in Milan for many months
dans cette ville que j’ai pu lire votre lettre and it was only upon my return to that city that
affectueuse, et examiner les photographies I was able to read your affectionate letter and
J’avais bien raison de vous écrire que les examine the photographs.
photographies de 1905 n’étaient que le premier I have been correct in writing to you that the
pas dans une carrière ainsi fructueuse que photographs from 1905 were but the first step
brillante! in a career as fruitful as it is brilliant!
Quoique ma vue fatigué aient perdu Although my fatigued gaze has lost its
beaucoup de sa précision, j’ai bien pu precision, I was able to recognize the quantity
reconnaître là une quantité de formes qui of forms that were again very familiar and that I
n’étaient autrefois très familières et que je could never draw exactly despite all my efforts.
n’avais jamais pu dessiner exactement malgré The photographs from 11 July show, at the first
tous mes efforts. Les photographies du 11 look, again many things and I believe that one
juillet montrent à la première vue déjà will be able to see …a if one examines them at
beaucoup de choses et je croie qu’on pourra a certain enlargement under a strong light.
en voir …a davantage lorsqu’on les examinera I remark that the renderings of the colored
avec un certain grossissement sous une forte image in the halftone are done with different
lumière. methods for the eye and for the photographic
Je remarque que la traduction de l’image plate: not only does this show a larger
colorée dans le clair-obscur est faite dans une disproportion between the dark areas and the
manière différente pour l’œil et pour la plaque yellow areas, but there is also a tendency to
photographique: non seulement celle-ci montre darken the more intense shades of red more
une disproportion plus grande entre les aires than one should. This is, without a doubt,
sombres et les aires jaunes mais il y a inevitable. But in comparing the drawings with
encore une tendance à noircir plus qu’il faut the photographs, it is necessary to account for
les nuances plus intenses du rouge. Cela est this circumstance. What can only be done with
inévitable sans doute. Mais dans la the exact knowledge of the planet.
comparaison des dessins avec les I hope that your new plates [convince] b a
photographies il faudra savoir compter avec good number of skeptics of some more just
cette circonstance. Ce qui ne pourra être bien ideas.
fait que par les connaissances exactes de la With the greatest respect.
planète.
J’espère que vos nouveaux clichés
[convaincront] b à des idées plus justes un bon
nombre des sceptiques.
Avec les plus grands reconnaissances.

a Illegible writing.
b Unclear writing, possibly ‘convaincront’, meaning ‘convincing’.

31 gennaio 1909 31 January 1909

G.V. Schiaparelli a P. Lowell From Giovanni Schiaparelli to Percival
208
William Sheehan and Jennifer Putnam The Lowell –Schiaparelli Correspondence

A.O.B., Fondo G.V. Schiaparelli, cart. 592, Lowell

fasc. 1, n. 50. Minuta. A.O.B., Fondo G.V. Schiapareli, cart. 592,
fasc. 1, n. 50. Draft.
A Percival Lowell
31 Gen 1909 To Percival Lowell
31 Jan 1909
Mon cher Professeur et ami,
Une nouvelle opposition de Mars aura lieu My dear Professor and friend,
bien tôt et je ne doute point que vous allez A new opposition of Mars will take place
continuer vos essais de photographie sur cette very soon, and I do not doubt at all that you will
planète. L’article publié dernièrement par M. continue your attempts to photograph this
Antoniadi dans le Monthly Notices de la R.A.S. planet. The recently published article by Mr.
montre que ces essais sont dejà parvenus Antoniadi in the Monthly Notices of the R.A.S.
à un haut degré de perfection et que vos show that these attempts are already
photographies peuvent déjà, pour la quantité undertaken to a high degree of perfection and
des détails, être placées sur la même ligne that your photographs can already, for the
que les observations visuelles, tout en les quantity of details, be placed on the same line
surpassant beaucoup par l’exactitude du trait et as visual observations, all in surpassing
par leur indépendance de toute équation many by the exactitude of traits and by their
personnelle. independence from any personal equation.
L’article de M. Antoniadi me rappelle que Mr. Antoniadi’s article reminds me that I too
moi aussi j’ai fait une étude détaillée de vos did a detailed study of your photographs of
photographies de 1907,* qui portent la date du 1907,* that have the date of 11 July, that is
11 juillet, c’est à dire la même date que les to say the same date of the photographs
photographies examinées par M. Antoniadi. examined by Mr. Antoniadi. But the two
Mais les deux positions de la planète ne positions of the planet are not the same and
sont pas les mêmes et il y a dans les détails there is, in the details, a very considerable
une différence très considérable, quoique difference although the interval between the
l’intervalle entre les époques ne soit que d’un periods is nothing more than a quarter of an
quart d’heure tout au plus. hour.
Mes photographies contiennent beaucoup My photographs contain many more
plus de détails. Entre autres choses on y voit details. Among other things, one can see the
la quadripartition de Hellas par l’Alphi et par le quadripartition of Hellas by Alpheus and by
Penio, le dédoublement du Cerbere y est plus Peneus, the doubling of Cerberus is here
évident que sur la figure de M. Antoniadi, le more evident than on the picture card
Xantus et le Scamander s’y trouvent dédoublés of Mr. Antoniadi, Xanthus and Scamander
de la manière plus indubitable; entre l’Elisium et find themselves doubled in an unmistakable
la Mer Cimmerium, il y a un enchevêtrement manner; between Elysium and Mare
prodigieux de lignes, parmi les quelles il n’est Cimmerium, there is an amazing entanglement
pas aisé de s’orienter, bien qu’il soit possible of lines amidst which is it not easy to orient
d’y reconnaître plusieurs des anciens tracés. oneself, however it would be possible to do so
Je n’ai rien publié de cet examen, pour by recognizing various older traces.
deux motifs. Le premier est que vous avez le I have not published anything of this test for
droit d’être le premier à faire cette publication two reasons. The first is that you have the right
dans la forme que vous estimerez être la to be the first to create this publication in the
meilleure et plus complète. En second lieu, form that you deem the best and the most
ayant essayé de construire un dessin agrandi complete. In the second place, having tried to
de l’un des 40 petits disques, j’ai constaté avec create a drawing out of one of the 40 small
douleur que ma main et mon œil sont devenus plates, I have ceased with the pain that my
tout-à-fait insuffisants pour un travail si difficile. hand and my eyes have become totally
J’ai perdu toute habitude du dessin! Pour la insufficient for such a difficult work. I have lost
même raison je me trouve dans l’impossibilité all the ability to draw! For the same reason, I
de publier mon VIIe Mémoire sur Mars, dont le find myself in the impossibility of publishing my
texte est tout prepare, mais dont j’ai vainement VII Memoir on Mars, for which all the text is
essayé de reproduire les dessins fait au prepared, but for which I have tried in vain to
télescope en 1890. reproduce the drawings done at the telescope
Dans cet état des choses j’ai pensé qu’il in 1890.
serait dommage, si les photographies dont In this state of things, I thought that it would
vous m’avez faits present, restaient inédites. be too bad if the photographs that you took
Sans doute le mieux serait de les voir publiés remained unedited. Without a doubt, the best

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William Sheehan and Jennifer Putnam The Lowell –Schiaparelli Correspondence

sur vos livres; d’autant plus que vous êtes en would be to see them published in your books;
possession des négatives, ce qui est une especially since you are in possession of
circonstance bien essentielle pour l’exactitude the negatives, which is a very essential
de la publication. Mais si vous ne pouvez vous circumstance for the exactitude of the
charger de cette tâche, ne serait-il pas le cas publication. But if you cannot take charge of
de profiter de la bonne volonté de Mr. such a task, would it not be the case to profit
Antoniadi, qui s’est déclaré prêt à faire une from the good will of Mr. Antoniadi, who
semblable publication pour toute cliché qu’on has declared himself ready to create a similar
mette à sa disposition? Si vous êtes d’accord publication for every image that is put at his
dans cette idée, je pourrais envoyer mon cliché disposal? If you are in agreement with this
à Antoniadi qui pourrait le reproduire de la idea, I will be able to send my plate to Antoniadi
même manière que l’autre déjà publié. Sa who will be able to reproduce it in the
publication laisse beaucoup à dessin; mais cela same manner as the other that was already
sera toujours mieux que de laisser inédit un published. His publication leaves much to
materiel ainsi précieux. drawing; but this will always be better than
Mes nouvelles ne sont ni trop bonnes, leaving such precious material unedited.
ni trop mauvaises: la décadence naturelle My news is not too good nor too bad; the
continue, come il faut s’y attendre. Mais natural deterioration continues, as one should
j’espère bien de voir encore les résultats de vos expect. But I hope to see again the results of
travaux de l’opposition de 1909, sur la réussite your work on the opposition of 1909, on the
des quels j’ai les plus grandes espérances. success of which I have the highest hopes.
Vos photographies de 1907 marquent un Your photographs from 1907 mark a
pas gigantesque sur celles de 1905; un autre gigantic step compared to those from 1905;
pas égal nous conduira à des conséquences another equal step drives us to unexpected
inattendues, que les clichés de 1907 me font outcomes, that the copies from 1907 have
pressentir. presented me.
Votre dévoué Your devoted

G. Schiaparelli G. Schiaparelli

*que vous avez eu la bonté de me *that you had the good will to send to me
communiquer

16 marzo 1909 16 March 1909

P. Lowell a G.V. Schiaparelli From Percival Lowell to Giovanni
A.O.B., Fondo G.V. Schiaparelli, cart. 592, Schiaparelli
fasc. 1, n. 79. Originale. A.O.B., Fondo G.V. Schiaparelli, cart. 592,
Allegata una post card Spectrogram of fasc. 1, n. 79. Original. Attached to a post
Moon and Mars by V.M. Slipher. card Spectrogram of Moon and Mars by V.M.
Slipher.
Boston le 16 Mars 1909
Boston, 16 March 1909
Cher Maître Martien et honoré Collègue,
Vous et vous seulement devez faire la Dear Martian Master and honored Colleague,
représentation de ce qu’on puisse voir sur les You and you alone should create the
photographies de Mars que je vous ai envoyé. representation of what one might see in the
Car, malgré ce que vous m’écrivez de vos photographs of Mars that I sent you. Because,
pauvres yeux, vous pouvez encore beaucoup in spite of what you write to me about your poor
mieux de voir que M. Antoniadi ou tout autre qui eyes, you can still see much better than Mr.
n’a pas bien étudié la planète. Je vois ça sans Antoniadi or anyone else who has not studied
contredit par votre lettre et les canaux que vous the planet well. I see this without contradiction
avez entrevu. Ainsi faites je vous prie la chose, through your letter and the canals that you have
dictant si c’est nécessaire à quelque glimpsed. So do, I beg of you, the task,
amanuensis. Faites cet honneur, je vous prie, dictating if necessary to some amanuensis. Do
à la Science. this honor, please, for Science.
Votre dévoué Your devoted

Percival Lowell Percival Lowell

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William Sheehan and Jennifer Putnam The Lowell –Schiaparelli Correspondence

Testo della post card: Text from the postcard:

Hommages pour l’anniversaire du 14 mars Best wishes for your birthday on 14 March
– et souhaits pour beaucoup encore. – and wishes for still more.
Si par hazard vous voyagez cet été à If, by chance, you are traveling to Dresden
Dresde vous verrez à l’exposition là des this summer, you will see at the exposition there
photographies de Mars faisants le tour de la some photographs of Mars circling the planet.
planète.
P.L.
P.L.

26 marzo 1909 26 March 1909

G.V. Schiaparelli a P. Lowell From Giovanni Schiaparelli to Percival
A.O.B., Fondo G.V. Schiaparelli, cart. 592, Lowell
fasc. 1, n. 79a. Minuta. A.O.B., Fondo G.V. Schiaparelli, cart. 592,
fasc. 1, n. 79a. Draft.
A Percival Lowell
26 marzo 1909 To Percival Lowell
26 March 1909
Cher professeur et illustre collègue,
en répondant à votre lettre du 16 mars je Dear professor and illustrious colleague,
dois avant tout vous remercier pour le nouveau responding to your letter from 16 March, I
volume que vous venez de m’envoyer sur notre should before everything thank you for the new
planète. Mon attention a été surtout captivée volume that you have just sent me on our
par la seconde partie, celle qui contient les planet. My attention was above all captured by
notes sur diverses questions; je vois par là que the second part, that which contains the notes
vous ne laissez aucun coin de l’Aréographie on various questions; I see there that you leave
sans y porter la lumière de vos études. no corner of Areography without bringing the
O, mon bien stiméa collègue et light of your studies.
continuateur, vous qui avez dépassé à tant O, my well esteemed colleague and
d’égard celui que vous appelez votre maître! successor, you have exceeded in so many
Êtes vous bien sérieux lorsque me proposez ways him who you call your master! Are you
d’expliquer au monde ce qu’on voit dans vos serious when you proposed me to explain to the
photographies? Si excellentes qu’elles sont, world what we see in your photographs? As
elles ne peuvent suffire à une semblable tâche. excellent as they are, they cannot suffice for
Voyons. En dehors des photographies elles such a task. We will see. Apart from the
mêmes, je ne possède aucune des notions photographs themselves, I do not possess any
nécessaires. Je ne sais absolument rien sur of the necessary notions. I do not know
elles, pas même la date; car quoique mon absolutely anything about them, not even the
exemplaire et cliché étudié par M. Antoniadi date; for although my copy and image studied
portent celle du 11 juillet 1907, je ne pourrai by Mr. Antoniadi bear that of 11 July 1907, I will
jamais croire qu’ils puissent présenter l’état du not ever be able to believe that they could
même jour à peu de minutes d’intervalle. Il y a present the state of the same day within
là doute qu’il serait très important d’éclaicir.b minutes of each other. There is the doubt that
Comment voulez-vous que j’explique de would be very important to clear up.
quelle manière ces photographies on été How would you like me to explain the
prises, l’appareil optique, l’endroit (Flagstaff ou manner in which the photographs were taken,
Arequipa?), la durée des expositions, la qualité the optical device, the place (Flagstaff or
des plaques et des écrans …,c la suite des Arequipa?), the duration of the exposures, the
essais jusqu’à la réussite, les défauts de quality of the plates and the screens …,c the
plusieurs disques et leurs causes (j’en devine sequence of tests until success, the defects of
quelques unes mais il y a en a de tout-a-fait several disks and their causes (I can guess a
mystérieuses pour moi), comme si faut-il que few, but there are some that are a mystery to
des disques pris à très court intervalle montrent me), like how it is possible for disks taken at a
de différences aussi considérables? short interval to show such considerable
Enfin quelle autorité aurai je pour décider differences?
les sceptiques à croire aux géminations? Ils Finally, what authority do I have to convince
hausseront les épaules et diront: «Notre vieux skeptics to believe in these geminations? They
hibou de Milan a vu double avec son telescope shrug their shoulders and say: “Our old owl from

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William Sheehan and Jennifer Putnam The Lowell –Schiaparelli Correspondence

sur Mars, maintenant il voit double avec ses Milan has seen double with his telescope on
bésicles sur les photographies: rien de plus Mars, now he sees double with his spectacles
naturel». Non, ce n’est pas à moi mais c’est à on the photographs: nothing more natural.” No,
vous d’exposer tout ce que vous avez fait: car it is not for me but it is for you to expose all that
vous en avez tous les moyens. you have done: because you have all the
Cela n’empêche pas que je puisse entrer means.
comme témoin auxiliaire, ce que je ferai This does not prevent me from acting as an
toujours très volontiers. auxiliary witness, which I will do very willingly.
On ne nous croira pas: mais du moins They will not believe us: but at least the true
les vrais savants auront entre le mains un scholars will have in their hands an exact and
document exact et complet que, abandonné complete document that, abandoned to my own
à mes propres moyens, je ne pourrai jamais means, I would never be able to render.
fournir. If I were a bit younger, the voyage to
Si j’étais un peu plus jeune, le voyage de Dresden would not seem too significant to see
Dresde ne me semblerait pas trop considerable the planet photographed from other longitudes
pour y voir photographier la planète sous than 260°: but I have entered my 75th year and
d’autres longitudes que 260°: mais je suis entré my strength only suffices to help me make it
dans ma 75e année et ma force suffit tout around my apartment. Thus, I should content
juste pour m’aider à faire le tour de mon myself with what I have actually seen in Martian
appartement. Ainsi je me devrais contenter photography. But no, not entirely. Maybe at the
de ce que j’ai vu en fait de photographie end of 1909, all of that will be ancient history. If
martienne. Mais non, pas de tout. Peut être you are as happy in 1909 as you were in 1907,
à la fin de 1909 tout cela sera de l’histoire we will learn again many things. May heaven
ancienne. Si vous serez aussi heureux en 1909 hear my wishes!
que vous l’avez été en 1907 nous allons encore I forgot to thank you for the spectrum of
apprendre bien de choses. Que le ciel entende Martian water vapor that is another conquest of
mes vœux! your activity and of the good memory that you
J’oublia de vous remercier pour le spectre keep even of a circumstance so little important
de la vapeur d’eau martienne qui est une autre as my entrance into the earthly world. This took
conquête de votre activité et du bon souvenir place too early, much too early, that is what I
que vous conservez même d’une circonstance think sometimes.
si peu important que mon entrée dans le monde
terrestre. Cela a eu lieu trop tôt, beaucoup trop
tôt, voilà ce que je pense quelquefois.

a Mis-spelling of the word ‘estimé’, meaning ‘esteemed’.

b Mis-spelling of the word ‘éclaircir’, meaning ‘to clear up’. c Illegible writing.

11 giugno 1909 11 June 1909

G.V. Schiaparelli a P. Lowell From Giovanni Schiaparelli to Percival
A.O.B., Fondo G.V. Schiaparelli, cart. 592, Lowell
fasc. 1, n. 123. Minuta. A.O.B., Fondo G.V. Schiaparelli, cart. 592,
fasc. 1, n. 123. Draft.
A Percival Lowell
11 Juin 1909 To Percival Lowell
11 June 1909
Hier j’ai reçu vos photographies. J’ai vérifié
l’enveloppe et j’ai trouvé tout en parfait ordre. Yesterday I received your photographs. I
Toutes les pièces de verre du reste étaient à checked the envelope and I found everything in
leur place et elles avaient conservé toutes leur perfect order. All the remaining pieces of glass
orientation. Une des pièces était cassée mais were in their place and they all kept their
la cassure était toute en dehors du disque de orientation. One of the pieces was broken, but
Mars. the break was completely outside of the disk of
Pour le moment je n’ai encore fait aucun Mars.
examen: quelque coup d’œil a suffit cependant For the moment, I have not yet done any
pour me persuader que un étude attentive va examination; a few glances were sufficient to
mettre en evidence bien de choses. J’ai enfin persuade me that an attentive study will bring
trouvé l’explication des différences entre les to light many things. I have finally found the
clichés étudiés par M. Antoniadi et ceux dont explanation for the differences between the
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William Sheehan and Jennifer Putnam The Lowell –Schiaparelli Correspondence

vous m’aviez fait présent. La date et la images studied by Mr. Antoniadi and those
configuration étaient les mêmes, 11 juillet ω = which you have presented to me. The date and
260°; mais les deux images ont été prises l’une the configuration are the same, 11 July ω =
à Flagstaff, l’autre au Chile, et l’une est bien 260°; but the two images were taken, one in
plus parfaite que l’autre. Ce sera une Flagstaff, the other in Chile, and the one is
comparaison fort instructive. much more perfect than the other. This will be
Je vais tâcher de me procurer un réticule a very instructive comparison.
micrométrique pour faire quelque essai de I will attempt to procure a micrometric
reproduction sur grande échelle. Pour le reticule to do some reproduction tests on a
moment je ne promets rien; mais je vais bien large scale. For the moment, I do not promise
faire tous mes efforts pour utiliser autant que anything, but I will make all efforts to use as
possible l’envoi précieux que vous venez de me much as possible the precious shipment that
faire. you have just sent me.
Votre dévoué Your devoted

28 giugno 1909 28 June 1909

P. Lowell a G.V. Schiaparelli From Percival Lowell to G.V. Schiaparelli
A.O.B., Fondo G.V. Schiaparelli, cart. 592, A.O.B., Fondo G.V. Schiaparelli, cart. 592,
fasc. 1, n. 132. Originale. (è una cartolina) fasc. 1, n. 132. Original postcard.

Al Signor Prof. G.V. Schiaparelli To Prof. G.V. Schiaparelli

7, via Fatebenefratelli 7, via Fatebenefratelli

Milano Milan
Italy Italy

Très honoré collège et ami, Very honored colleague and friend,

Le 7 Mai on vous a envoyé une suite de On 7 May we sent you a series of
photographies de Mars encadrées – un assez photographs of Mars enclosed in a box – a
gros tableau. Vous y sont elles parvenues? large enough tableau. Have they reached you?
Votre dévoué Your devoted

Percival Lowell Percival Lowell

7 luglio 1909 7 July 1909

G.V. Schiaparelli a P. Lowell From Giovanni Schiaparelli to Percival
A.O.B., Fondo G.V. Schiaparelli, cart. 592, Lowell
fasc. 1, n. 141. Minuta. Risposta al biglietto A.O.B., Fondo G.V. Schiaparelli, cart. 592,
del 28 giugno arrivato a Milano il 6 luglio. fasc. 1, n. 141. Draft. Response to the letter
from 28 June, which arrived in Milan 6 July.
A Percival Lowell
7 luglio 1909 To Percival Lowell
7 July 1909
J’apprend par votre billet du 28 juin que ma
dernière lettre n’est point parvenue entre vos I understand from your note from 28 June that
mains. my last letter has not yet reached your hands.
Votre envoi est arrivé à Milan le 10 juin. Your shipment arrived in Milan 10 June.
Après avoir vérifié que tout était en bon ordre, After having confirmed that everything was in
et que rien n’était cassé, je vous ai écrit le good order and nothing was broken, I wrote to
lendemain, en adressant ma lettre à Flagstaff, you the next day, addressing my letter to
je ne possède pas votre adresse exacte de Flagstaff, I do not have your exact address in
Boston. Boston.
Ayant bien vu de quoi il s’agissait, le 14 Having well seen what the note from 14
juin je me mis en relation avec M. Koristka, June was about, I put myself in touch with Mr.
qui est un constructeur habile de microscopes Koristka, who is a skilled maker of microscopes,
et je lui ai ordonné un microscope de bas and I instructed him to make a microscope of
grossissement avec un réticule micrométrique low magnification with a micrometric reticle for
pour dessiner et éventuellement pour mesurer drawing and eventually measuring as well. With
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William Sheehan and Jennifer Putnam The Lowell –Schiaparelli Correspondence

aussi. Avec cet appareil je ne gagne pas this device, I will not gain much on the naked
beaucoup pour l’œil nu quant à la finesse des eye in regard to the fineness of the details, but
détails mais les dimensions plus considérables the more substantial dimensions of the image
de l’image me permettent d’y travailler assez will permit me to work for longer amounts of
longtemps sans me fatiguer l’œil. time without tiring the eye.
À l’aide de cet instrument j’ai commencé With the aid of this instrument, I began to
par faire une revue sommaire de chaque do a summary review of each image; I have
image: je en ai examiné jusqu’à présent les 72 examined to date 72 of the images from
images de Flagstaff parmi les quelles. Dans le Flagstaff. In the number, there are some of
nombre il y en a quelques unes d’une grande great perfection: they have the dates Flagstaff
perfection: elles ont les dates Flagstaff 11, 15, 11, 15, 26, 27, 28 July. Among the 12 images
26, 27, 28 juillet. Parmi les 12 images d’Alianza from Alianza that I examined to date, I found
que j’ai examinées jusqu’à présent, j’en ai two truly excellent ones, both of the images
trouvées deux vraiment excellentes, toutes from 26 June, and I hope to find others. These
les deux du 26 juin: et j’espère d’en trouver images do not only show what is already well
encore d’autres. Ces images ne donnent pas known, but they provide further clarification for
seulement des choses déjà bien connues, mais known objects and make sight of other new
elles fournissent de nouveaux éclaircissements objects. The geminations are not numerous,
sur d’objets connus, et en font entrevoir but those that appear are very well marked.
d’autres nouveaux. Les géminations ne sont The examination of these frames requires
pas nombreuses mais il y en a de très bien a good deal of caution because of the grains of
marquées. powder and the small filaments of sensitive film,
L’examen de ces photogrammes exige positive or negative, that sometimes simulate
beaucoup de précaution, à cause des grains de beautiful oases and strong, well-marked
poudre et du petits filaments de la couche canals. In this regard, I will tell you that it is
sensible positive ou negative, qui simulent quite necessary to know the exact
quelquefois de belles oases et des canaux fort circumstances relative to the history of each
bien marqués. À cet égard je vous dirai qu’il est image. In the first place, it is of course very
tout à fait nécessaire de savoir exactement necessary to know (within one or even a few
plusieurs circonstances relatives à l’histoire de minutes) the length of the exposure of each
chaque image. En premier lieu il est surtout fort negative. Next, it is essential to be able to
nécessaire de savoir (à une, ou même à distinguish one from another all of the negatives
quelques minutes près) l’époque de l’exposition taken on the same day; it suffices to assign
de chaque négative. Ensuite il faut pouvoir numbers in order for each day. And for each
distinguer l’une de l’autre toutes les négatives positive, it would be essential to designate the
prises le même jour: il suffit pour cela de leur negative from which it was taken by the
assigner un numéro d’ordre pour chaque jour. negative’s date and number.
Et pour chaque positive il faudra désigner la In this manner, one could easily discern
négative dont elle a été tirée par la date et par the relationship that exists between various
son numéro d’ordre. images that bear the same date. This is
De cette manière on pourra aisément essential. Because the comparison of different
discerner la relation qui existent entre plusieurs images from the same day cannot be done with
images qui portent la même date. Cela est très certainty without this method. When one of
essentiel. Car la comparaison des différentes these images presents some remarkable detail
images du même jour ne peut se faire avec that does not exist in the other images from
certitude sans cela. Lorsque une de ces the same day, it is evidently useful to know if,
images présente quelque détail remarquable among these other images, there are some that
qui n’existe pas dans les autres images du depend on the same negative or if there are not.
même jour il est evidemment utile de savoir si You understand that if several images are
parmi ces autres images il y en a qui dépendent taken from the same negative, and the same
de la même negative, ou s’il en y a pas. Vous remarkable detail is found in several of them,
comprenez que si plusieurs images ont été the reality of that detail remains doubtful. On
tirées de la même négative, et le même détail the contrary, if this detail is found in two images
remarquable se trouve en plusieurs d’elles, la taken from different negatives, the reality of this
réalité du détail reste douteuse. Au contraire si detail is almost certain.
ce détail se trouve dans deux images tirées de On 11 July, I am going to the countryside;
négatives différentes, la réalité du detail est please address your shipments to this address:
presque certaine. Prof. Schiaparelli
Le 11 juillet je vais à la campagne; je vous Monticello (province of Como)
prie d’adresser vos envois à l’adresse: Italy

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William Sheehan and Jennifer Putnam The Lowell –Schiaparelli Correspondence

Prof. Schiaparelli until the first of November. I will carry with me

Monticello (province de Como) the device relative to Mars, and I will try to
Italie extract from your images all that I can. At the
same time, you will be struggling with Mars. I
jusqu’à premier novembre. Je porterai avec wish you to do even better than in 1907. But
moi l’appareil relatif à Mars, et je tâcherai even if the progress ...a becoming impossible,
d’extraire de vos clichés tout ce que je pourrai. the point which you have already arrived at will
Dans le même temps vous serez aux prises mark huge progress compared to the old
avec Mars. Je vous souhaite de faire encore drawings. Do not forget when exposing your
mieux qu’en 1907. Mais même si le progrès …a images to mark the hour of your timepiece (this
devenant impossible, le point auquel vous êtes will suffice) and to number your negatives each
déjà arrivé marquera sur les anciens dessins un day in chronological order.
énorme progrès. N’oubliez pas, en exposant Your devoted
vos clichés, de marquer l’heure de votre montre
(cela suffit) et de numéroter vos négatives de
chaque jour selon l’ordre chronologique.
Votre dévoué

a Illegible writing.

28 luglio 1909 28 July 1909

P. Lowell a G.V. Schiaparelli From Percival Lowell to Giovanni
Lowell Observatory Archives. Schiaparelli
Originale. Lowell Observatory Archives.
Original.
53 State Street
Boston 53 State Street
le 28 juillet 1909 Boston
28 July 1909
Cher ami:
Votre avant dernier lettre m’eut parvenue Dear friend:
presque immédiatement après que je vous Your second-to-last letter arrived to me
avais écrit le contraire. Ainsi tout va bien. almost immediately after I had written you a
Touts mes clichés sont numerotés et response. Thus, all is well.
inscrits avec la date et les conditions sous All my images are numbered and inscribed
lesquelles ils ont été exposé. Sur chaque nous with the date and the conditions under which
prenons de trente à cinquante images en suite. they were exposed. On each, we took from
Les empreintes que vous avez sont tirées thirty to fifty images in a row. The prints that
toutes de différentes images et si elles portent you have were printed from all of the different
la même date elles se suivent de peu de images and, if they bear the same date, they
minutes si elles viennent du même cliché. follow each other by just a few minutes if they
Puisque et M. Lampland et moi ont pris des come from the same plate. Since then, Mr.
photographies à Flagstaff – M. E.C. Slipher à Lampland and I have taken some photographs
Alianza – et nos plaques se suivent il se peut in Flagstaff – Mr. E.C. Sliper at Alianza – and if
que vos images soient de différentes clichés et our plates follow, it is possible that your images
ainsi se trouvent separées d’environ une demi- are from different images and thus find
heure ou même plus. Mais ça ne …a pas du themselves separated by approximately half an
tout à leur interprétation. En plus nous avons hour or even more. But that does not …a at all
noté que les images photographiques sont to their interpretation. Additionally, we have
comme les vues de l’œil eu ceci qu’elles vous noted that the photographic images are like the
présentent un moment en détail, le suivant un eye’s view in that they present to you a moment
autre – l’Euphrate par exemple, puis le Sitacus, in detail, the following moment another –
puis tout deux. Vous allez reconnaitre ça sur Euphrates for example, then Sitacus, then both.
l’empreinte d’une plaque entière que je vous ai You will recognize this on the print of a whole
envoyé auparavant. plate that I have sent you previously.
Votre examen et description donneront à Your examination and description give
ces images une valeur rehaussi pour tout le great value to the images for all the world, but
monde mais pour moi une toute particulière. Ce for me in particular. This will be the culmination
sera comme l’apothéose de vos propres études. of your own studies.
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William Sheehan and Jennifer Putnam The Lowell –Schiaparelli Correspondence

Sous peu je pars encore pour Flagstaff. Shortly, I will leave again for Flagstaff.
De cœur, votre dévoué From the heart, your devoted

Percival Lowell Percival Lowell

a Illegible writing.

2 settembre 1909 2 September 1909

G.V. Schiaparelli a P. Lowell From Giovanni Schiaparelli to Percival
Lowell Observatory Archives. Lowell
Originale. Lowell Observatory Archives.
Original.
Monticello (Como) le 2 Sept. 1909
Monticello (Como) 2 Sept. 1909
Cher ami:
Je vous suis infiniment obligé pour votre Dear friend:
dernière lettre du 28 juillet a et pour votre grand I am infinitely indebted to you for your last
Mémoire sur Mercure,b qui m’était resté letter from 28 Julya and for your great Memoir
entièrement inconnu jusqu’à ce jour. J’avais on Mercury,b which had remained entirely
bien vu, je ne me rappelle plus quelle part, unknown to me up to this day. I had seen,
quelques dessins de Mercure qu’on disait I don’t remember anymore where, some
résulter de vos observations. Ces dessins drawings of Mercury that were said to have
m’ont paru au premier abord si différents de resulted from your observations. These
ce que j’avais vu moi même, que j’ai cru drawings seemed to me so different at first sight
nécessaire de ne pas essayer une from what I had seen myself that I believed it
comparaison avant d’avoir vu votre publication was unnecessary to attempt a comparison
définitive. Maintenant je la tiens, cette before having seen your definitive publication.
publication; elle m’a terrifié, c’est le mot! Now that I have it, this publication; it
Mercure aurait-il donc une structure presque de terrifies me, that is the word! Would Mercury,
polyèdre régulier et symétrique, comme un then, have the approximate structure of a
diamant à facettes? Cependant, malgré toute polyhedron, regular and symmetrical, like a
dissemblance apparente, il ne manque pas faceted diamond? However, despite the total
quelques points de contact, et ce sont ceux-là apparent dissimilarity, it does not lack points
que j’aborderai les premiers, si jamais je me of contact, and these are the ones that I
décide à publier encore quelque chose sur will approach first, if I ever decide to publish
cette planète, ce qui n’est pas en dehors de something again about this planet, which is not
toute possibilité. Mais à présent, parlons de beyond all possibility. But, at present, we speak
Mars, qui, à ce qu’il parait, promet d’exercer of Mars, which, as it appears, promises to
encore notre patience pendant quelque temps, exercise our patience for some time, especially
surtout la vôtre. yours.
Depuis deux mois environ je me For about two months, I applied myself to
suis appliqué à l’étude de vos merveilleux the study of your marvelous frames. After a
photogrammes. Après une inspection preliminary inspection, I began a more detailed
préliminaire, j’ai commencé une étude plus study, and I arrived at the number 22, the
détaillée, et je suis arrivé au nombre de 22, la largest part pertaining to the region between
plus grande partie appartenant à la région Jamuna and Phasis and including Ganges,
comprise entre la Jamuna et le Phasis et Thaumasia, and what I have formerly called
comprenant le système du Ganges, Thaumasia Lacus Tithonius. Work goes slowly enough for
et ce que j’ai appelé autrefois le Lacus several reasons. First, I cannot spend more
Tithonius. Le travail marche assez lentement than an hour at a time, given the great difficulty
par plusieurs causes. D’abord je n’y consacrer to distinguish each detail in their overwhelming
plus qu’une heure de suite, vu la grande multitude, and the weakness of my eye,
difficulté de bien distinguer chaque détail dans although aided by a very good lens. Next, with
leur accablante multitude, et la faiblesse de my device, I need to use a strong enough light,
l’œil, quoique aidé d’une très bonne lentille. which the sky does not always give me. Finally,
Ensuite avec mon appareil il me faut employer I could not content myself to explore one or two
une lumière assez forte, que le ciel ne me disks for each date and for each value of λ. I
donne pas toujours. Enfin, je ne puis me decided to explore all that you have sent me
contenter d’explorer un ou deux disques par with the exception of some disks that were less
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William Sheehan and Jennifer Putnam The Lowell –Schiaparelli Correspondence

chaque date et pour chacun valeur de λ. Je me successful in their printing; I can note that their
suis décidé à explorer tout ce que vous m’avez number is not significant.
envoyé à l’exception de quelques disques The first discovery that I made is very
moins bien réussites dans l’impression; j’ai disagreeable! The enormous quantity of details
pu constater que leur nombre n’est pas that one could easily recognize on your disks
considérable. do not all belong on the planet, at least such is
La première découverte que j’ai fait est bien my opinion at present; but in many cases, I can
désagréable! L’enorme quantité de détails even say very often, to the lines and spots of
qu’on peut aisément reconnaître sur vos the planet are added other, too numerous
disques n’appartient pas toute à la planète, du details, that I would not know to admit as being
moins telle est à présent mon opinion; mais part of the surface of Mars, and many others
dans bien de cas, je puis même dire très- which seem to be of a doubtful nature. Here is
souvent, aux lignes et aux tâches de la planète how and why:
s’ajoutent d’autres détails trop nombreux, que On many disks, examined with an effective
je ne saurais admettre comme faisant part de la magnification of about 1950, one sees,
surface de Mars, et beaucoup d’autres qui me between many dark bands and lines more or
paraissent de nature douteuse. Voici comment less clearly completed, and about which there
et pourquoi: can be no suspicion, one, two, or even more
Sur beaucoup de disques, examinés avec bright lines, white like the polar snow, ordinarily
un grossissement effectif de 1950 fois environ single, sometimes double. These lines imitate,
(1), on voit, entre beaucoup de bandes et because of their form and arrangement, the
de lignes sombre plus ou moins nettement dark lines, and do not seem to differ from those
terminées, et sur les quelles il ne peut y avoir but for their white and often-intense light. Often
aucun soupçon, une, deux, ou même plusieurs they are parallel (or almost) to another dark,
lignes brillantes, blanches comme la neige neighboring line. I do not think that these would
polaire, ordinairement simples, quelquefois be the lines of Mars. I believe, rather, that they
doubles. Ces lignes imitent, quant à leur forme represent fissures in the sensitive film where
et disposition, les lignes sombres, et ne the glass is covered. There is nothing too
semblent différer de celles-ci que par leur strange about such an assumption. Like a light
lumière blanche et souvent intense. Souvent layer of varnish on oil paintings or on certain old
elles sont parallèles (ou presque) à quelque vases, or like a light layer of soft mud exposed
ligne sombre voisine. Je ne pense pas que ce to the sunlight, producing systems of parallel
soient là des lignes de Mars. Je crois plutôt, cracks or forming a grid, it is very possible that
qu’elles représentent des fissures de la couche a similar effect draws itself on the sensitive
sensible dont le verre est couvert. Il n’y a rien layer as it dries. If the crack is deep enough to
de bien étrange dans une telle supposition. go through the entire thickness of the layer, one
Comme une légère couche de vernis dans should be able to see the light of day through
les peintures à l’huile ou sur certains vases this layer when viewing the frame through
anciens, ou comme une légère couche de transparency.
boue molle exposée au soleil produisent de As long as such fissures appear on a
systèmes de fissures parallèles ou formant un positive, they are not very dangerous: but one
réseau, il est bien possible qu’un effet cannot say the same for negatives. Because it
semblable se dessine sur la couche sensible is believed (I do not yet have experience in this
pendant son desséchement. Si la fissure est regard) that if the light becomes visible to the
assez profonde pour occuper toute l’épaisseur eye through transparency, then an appreciable
de la couche, on doit voir la lumière du jour en effect could take place on the negative in
travers de cette couche, lorsqu’on examine le question by producing dark lines on the positive
photogramme par transparence. which are very capable of imitating the actual
Tant que de telles fissures se produisent traced lines on the planet. I believe it can even
sur une positive, elles ne sont pas bien be said that the false lines should be blacker
dangereuses: mais on ne peut dire de même than the others.
pour les négatives. Car il est à croire (je n’ai At what stage of their preparation should be
pas encore d’expérience à cet égard) que si placed the production of the thus-cracked
leur lumière devient sensible à l’œil par plates? I believe that I have found that the
transparence, elle peut donner lieu à un effet bright lines have a marked tendency to form
appréciable sur la couche sensible positive parallel systems, in some cases two systems,
exposée sous la négative en question en one of which is nearly perpendicular to the
produisant sur la positive des lignes sombres other.
bien capables d’imiter les lignes réellement I noted this recent fact on several disks
tracées sur la planète. Je crois de pouvoir même presenting the large oval o f Thaumasia and

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William Sheehan and Jennifer Putnam The Lowell –Schiaparelli Correspondence

dire que ces lignes fausses devront être plus what I called again Lacus Tithonius: on the
noires que les autres. latter, this happens to the point of giving rise to
A quelle époque de leur préparation a kind of crude tiling. On these disks, the
devons-nous placer la production des plaques system of lines can arrive at a point of losing all
ainsi fendillées? Je crois avoir trouvé que les resemblance with the well-known telescopic
lignes brillantes ont une tendance marquée à configurations. From this, I find Phasis
former des systèmes parallèles, en quelque cas completely displaced, and I do not know where
deux systèmes dont l’un est à peu près to search for Araxes; the outline of Thaumasia
perpendiculaire à l’autre. along Phasis is lost and also elsewhere altered
J’ai remarqué ce dernier fait sur in a way that cannot be real, and finds itself in
plusieurs disques présentant la grande ovale plain contradiction with the drawings done by all
de Thaumasia et ce que j’appelais autrefois the observers with a telescope by the ordinary
le Lacus Tithonius: sur ce dernier cela arrive method. In certain places on several disks, the
au point de donner lieu à une espèce de tendency to the perpendicular system and to a
carrelage grossier. Sur ces disques le système certain uniform tile pattern is such that we
des lignes peut arriver à perdre ainsi toute believe we are seeing a piece of Scottish plaid;
ressemblance avec les configurations a system of lines is ordinarily vertical, the other
télescopiques bien connues. Par là je trouve le horizontal or almost (I understand here the
Phasis tout à fait deplacé, et je ne sais où verticality in the sense of parallelism to the axis
chercher l’Araxe; le profil de Thaumasia le long of rotation of the planet). The elements of
du Phasis est perdu et aussi ailleurs modifié the design that one finds sometimes isolated,
d’une manière qui ne peut être réelle, et se sometimes combined together, are ordinarily of
trouve d’ailleurs en pleine contradiction avec the form four points forming a square and
les dessins fait par tous les observateurs avec oriented in much the way that I said. To give a
le télescope à la manière ordinaire. Dans more exact idea, I will choose as an example
certains endroits de plusieurs disques la the different forms that I see in the air of what I
tendance au système perpendiculaire et à un have otherwise called Lacus Tithonius (under
certain carrelage de dessin uniforme est telle, the Solis Lacus) and that I do not know what to
qu’on croit voir un morceau de plaid écossais; call anymore.
un système de lignes est ordinairement vertical,
l’autre horizontal ou peu s’en fait (j’entend ici la
verticalité dans le sans du parallélisme à l’axe
de rotation de la planète). Les éléments
du dessin qu’on trouve quelques fois isolés,
d’autre fois combinés ensemble, sont
ordinairement de la forme quatre points
formant carré et orienté à peu près de la
manière que j’ai dit. Pour donner un idée
plus exacte je choisirai comme exemple les This lake has always seemed to me like a
différentes formes que je vois dans l’aire bulge ac of Agathodaemon combined with a
qu’autrefois j’appelai le Lacus Thitonius (sous lower connection of Chrysorrhoas, b. When
le Lac du Soleil) et que maintenant je ne sais Chrysorrhoas was single (as in A), Tithonius
plus comme nommer. was single as well; when Chrysorrhoas was
double (as in B), Tithonius was double as well.
On your frames, it is all different; one sees four,
five, eight, even 12 or 13 small, dark spots of
undecided shapes, all or almost all equal in
dimension and in color, usually united by
nebulous, but sometimes isolated, bands that
are related (it is not easy to say in what way)
laterally to Agathodaemon, which is always well
outlined on the left side, not as well on the
Ce lac m’avait toujours paru comme un right, often double to the right, less often to
renflement ac de l’Agathodaemon combiné the left. When Chrysorrhoas exists, there
avec une connexion inférieure du is a connection with Chrysorrhoas. I am
Chrysorrhoas, b. Lorsque le Chrysorrhoas était endeavoring to render these aspects (of which
simple (comme en A) le Tithonius était simple many belong to the same day) in the rough
aussi; lorsque le Chrysorrhoas était double sketches here: a is always Agathodaemon,
(comme en B) le Tithonius était double aussi. eastern extremity.
Sur vos photogrammes c’est tout different; on

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William Sheehan and Jennifer Putnam The Lowell –Schiaparelli Correspondence

voit quatre, cinq, huit, même 12 ou 13 petites 26 July, ω = 77°

taches sombres de contour indécis, toutes ou
presque toutes égales en dimension et en 26 July, ω = 88°. The
couleur, ordinairement réunies par de bandes dotted vertical line xx is
nébuleuses mais quelquefois aussi isolées qui beautiful and bright
se rattachent (il n’est pas aisé de dire en quel
manière) latéralement à l’Agathodémon qui
est toujours bien tracé du côté gauche, moins 26 July, ω = 88°. a =
bien du côté droit, souvent double à droit, Agathodémon double;
moins souvent à gauche. Lorsque le b = Chrysorrhoas, the
Chrysorrhoas existe, il y aussi connexion avec same
le Chrysorrhoas. Je me suis efforcé de rendre
ces aspects (dont plusieurs appartiennent au 26 July, ω = 60°.
même jour) dans les grossières esquisses
que voici: a est toujours l’Agathodémon, 26 July, ω = 60°.
extremitéorientale. b = Chrysorrhoas,
double

26 July, ω = 60°.

In all of the extensions that I have explored

so far, the number of dark spots is significant;
there is such a disk where one can count them
by the dozens. That is how the frames from
Flagstaff look: I have not yet examined those
from Alianza with the same care, but I believe it
possible to assert that the phenomena at
Alianza do not differ essentially from those from
Flagstaff, except for perhaps by some small
details. It is also necessary to consider that the
dates of the frames from Flagstaff are: July 26
and 28; those of the frames from Alianza, July
23 and 25; and that from one day to another one
often encounters delicate variations; even in the
space of a few hours during the same night.
Dans toute l’extension que j’ai explorée Now, what do you say about all of this?
jusqu’ici, le nombre des taches sombres est Have you found something similar? I feel very
très considérable; il y a tel disque où on reluctant to consider these strange images as
les compte par douzaines. Cela regarde actually existing on the planet. Maybe they are
les photogrammes de Falstaff:c je n’ai pas an effect of the particular molecular state of the
encore examiné ceux de Alianza avec le sensitive film, or even of the plate of glass
même soin, mais je crois pouvoir affirmer que that holds it. The pieces of glass that were
les phénomènes à Alianza ne différent pas reduced to small pieces of glass following two
essentiellement de ceux de Flagstaff, si non orthogonal directions between them, one of
peut-être par des menus détails. Il faut which is almost parallel to the diameter that
considérer aussi que les dates des represents the axis, must have undergone a
photogrammes de Flagstaff sont: Juillet 26 considerable violence during this process! It
et 28; celles de photogrammes d’Alianza, will be very easy to verify this by comparing
Juillet 23 et 25; et que d’un jour à l’autre on them with the plates in their natural state. I
rencontre souvent de variations sensibles; have already talked about the cracks in the
même dans l’espace de quelques heures sensitive film and the explanation for it. Again,
pendant la même nuit. one could think of the efflorescence and the
Maintenant, que dites-vous de tout crystallization that one notes on our window
cela? Avez-vous constaté quelque chose de panes during winter frosts: the beautiful
semblable? Je me sens très peu disposé blossoms are in part ruled by the different
à considérer ces étranges immages comme quantity of water vapor that condenses on
existant réellement sur planète. Peut-être elles the different regions of the plate. Similarly,
sont un effet de l’état moléculaire particulier de considering the different thicknesses of the
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William Sheehan and Jennifer Putnam The Lowell –Schiaparelli Correspondence

la couche sensible, ou même de la plaque de sensitive film on the different regions of the
verre qui la porte. Les morceaux de verre frame, one could explain these abundant
qu’ont été réduits en petits morceaux suivant flowers with four petals. A similar inequality of
deux directions orthogonales entre elles, dont thickness of the film could be the consequence
l’une est presque parallèle au diamètre qui of the vicious manner of preparing the sensitive
représente l’axe ont dû subir pendant ce procès plate, of the speed of drying, and of the
une violence considérable! Il sera bien aisé de variations of temperature. This would explain
vérifier cela en comparant avec des plaques à how it happens that some frames, taken a few
leur état naturel. J’ai déjà parlé de fissures de minutes (or even seconds) apart are very far
la couche sensible et de l’explication qu’on from producing identical images, as one would
pourrait en tirer. Encore on pourrait songer be able to expect and how it should happen, if
aux efflorescences et aux cristallisations all the conditions of equality are fulfilled exactly.
qu’on remarque sur les carreaux de nos By studying your positive on paper containing
fenêtres pendant nos gélées d’hiver: ces 40 images from 19 July 1907, I was astonished
belles floraisons sont en partie réglées par by the enormous differences, that it was
la différente quantité de vapeur d’eau qui se impossible to explain but only by the difference
condense dans les différentes régions de la of the duration of exposure.
plaque. De même en considérant la différente During the initial, perfunctory examination
épaisseur de la couche sensible dans les that I did of all of your frames, I seem to
différentes régions d’un photogramme, on have noted that in their number, there were
pourrait s’expliquer ces fleures si abondantes a lot that did not possess any of the above
à quatre pétales. Une semblable inégalité inconveniences. If this is so, we are saved.
d’épaisseur de la couche pourrait être la Such a plate, well and duly delineated and
conséquence de la vicieuse manière de measured, could provide work for several
préparer la plaque sensible, de la vitesse weeks, and put us in a position to give a degree
du desséchement, et des variations de of exactitude to Areography that it has never
température. Cela expliquerait comment il se had until this day. The direction of the axis of
fait que des photogrammes pris à peu de Mars, its diameter, maybe even its flattening,
minutes (ou même de secondes) d’intervalle the variations of every kind could be well
sont bien loin de donner des images identiques, studied: the Areographic Map could be rectified
ainsi qu’on pourrait s’y attendre et comme il provided that there are fixed points on the
devrait arriver, si toutes conditions d’égalité planet! That is what we do not yet know.
étaient exactement remplies. En étudiant votre In one of my previous letters, I asked you to
positive sur papier contenant 40 images du 19 record, nearly to the minute, the time of the
juillet 1907 j’ai été fort étonné de ces exposure of each negative. For the reasons
différences énormes, qu’il était impossible that I already indicated, it is essential to add that
d’expliquer par la seule différence de la durée this is absolutely necessary in order to be able
d’exposition. to extract from your frames the periods of the
Dans l’examen sommaire initial que j’ai fait passage of Aryn at the central meridian; this
de tous vos photogrammes il me parait is indispensable for the determination of the
d’avoir remarqué que dans leur nombre il y longitudes on Mars. One could thus perfect
en a beaucoup qui ne paraissent avoir aucun and complete my Catalog of positions taken
des inconvénients ci-dessus. Si cela est, nous from observations from 1877 and 1879, which
somme sauvés. Une telle plaque, bien et is deficient enough, and for the regions of the
dûment décrite et mesurée, pourra fournir du Boreal hemisphere, incomplete enough.
travail pour plusieurs semaines, et nous mettre I will add again another request, which is to
dans la position de donner à l’Aréographie un indicate to me the approximate geographical
degré d’exactitude qu’elle n’a pas eu jusqu’à longitude of the point called Alianza, which I
ce jour. La direction de l’axe de Mars, son cannot seem to find on any Map.
diamètre, peut-être encore son aplatissement, Finally, for what other research can be
les variations de toute espèce pourront être attempted with the aid of your frames (i), it
bien étudiées: la Carte Aréographique pourra will be essential that during the present-day
être rectifiée pourvu qu’on trouve sur la planète opposition of 1909 and during the successive
des pointes fixes! C’est ce que nous ne savons oppositions, each disk, or at least each plate (if
pas encore. there are several disks on the same plate),
Dans une de mes lettres précédentes je bears the trace (very visible and sufficiently
vous avais prié de marquer, à la minute près, long) of the celestial parallel in order to be able
l’époque de l’exposition de chaque négative. to measure the position angles.
Aux raisons que j’ai indiquées alors il faut
ajouter que cela est absolument nécessaire afin

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William Sheehan and Jennifer Putnam The Lowell –Schiaparelli Correspondence

de pouvoir tirer de vos photogrammes les I beg your forgiveness for such a long letter,
époques des passages d’Aryn au méridien and for so much more I must beg it of you, that
central: ce qui est indispensable pour la perhaps many things indicated above are
détermination des longitudes sur Mars. On probably not news to you, and that you have,
pourra ainsi perfectionner et compléter mon in this moment, very little time to lose. I will
Catalogue des positions tiré des observations continue my research, although at present I
de 1877 et 1879 qui est assez défectueux, find myself a bit disoriented. Farewell, may the
et pour les régions de l’hémisphère boréal, beautiful Gradiviuse be as favorable to you as it
assez incomplet. was in 1907.
J’ajouterai encore une autre prière, Your devoted
c’est de m’indiquer à peu près la longitude
géographique du point appelé Alianza, que je G. Schiaparelli
ne puis trouver sur aucune Carte. (until 1 November, Monticello (Como)
Enfin, pour que l’on puisse tenter d’autres Italy)
recherches à l’aide de vos photogrammes
(i) il sera nécessaire ched dans l’opposition P.S. I have just verified that almost all the bright
actuelle 1909 et dans les oppositions lines are almost parallel to the straight line that
consécutives chaque disque, ou du moins represents the central meridian by groups of
chaque plaque (s’il y a plusieurs disques sur la 1,2,3–4,5,6 equally spaced. Sometimes, one is
même plaque) porte la trace (bien visible et missing, but its place is taken by a dark line.
suffisamment longue) du parallèle celeste afin Must there be more evident proof that these
de pouvoir y mesurer des angles de position. lines have nothing to do with Mars? I think
that this depends on the fact that one almost
always instinctively places the axis of the
Je vous demande pardon de cette lettre si images parallel to one of the sides of the
longue, et d’autant plus je doit vous le rectangular plate, which is probably the
demander, que peut-être beaucoup de choses direction of the lines with the smallest or
indiquées ci-dessus ne seront probablement greatest resistance to breaking. But whatever
pas nouvelles pour vous, et que vous avez it is, the phenomenon is truly remarkable.
dans ce moment très peu de temps à perdre.
Je continuerai mes recherches, bien qu’à Ars longa, vita brevis! f
présent je me trouve un peu désorienté. Adieu,
que le beau Gradiviuse vous soit encore plus (1) By that I mean the number that one obtains
favorable qu’en 1907. from dividing the angle under which we
Votre dévoué see the diameter of Mars on the frame
placed in the microscopic field of my
G. Schiaparelli device by the apparent diameter of Mars
(jusqu’au 1 Novembre, Monticello (Como) given in the Ephemerides for the date
Italie. corresponding to the moment when the
photograph was taken. Such a magnitude
P.S. Je viens de vérifier que presque toutes les under good illumination is nothing
lignes brillantes sont à peu près parallèles à la excessive: the advantage given by the
droit qui réprésente le méridien central par stability of the object and the possibility of
groupes de 1,2,3–4,5,6 également espacées. prolonging the examination and of
Quelquefois il en manque une, alors sa place repeating it as much as one wants is, in
est occupée par une ligne sombre. comparison to telescopic vision, truly
Faut-il une preuve plus évidente que ces enormous. The photographic granulation
lignes n’ont rien à faire avec Mars? Je pense under this magnitude is hardly discernible.
cela dépend de ce qu’instinctivement nous (i) There is a lot to do, for example the
plaçons presque toujours l’axe de l’image direct measurement of the areographic
parallèlement à l’un des côtés de la plaque positions independent of the polar snow,
rectangulaire, qui est probablement la direction the study of the direction of the axis, be
des lignes de la plus petite ou de la plus grande it by means of the polar spot or by
résistance à la rupture. Mais quoiqu’il en soit, means of other spots distant from the
ce fait est bien remarquable. pole (particularly through the study of
latitudes), the apparent thicknessg of
Ars longa, vita brevis! f phases, the verification of the constant
or variable direction of certain canals,
(1) J’entends par là le nombre qu’on obtient the exact determination of the shape of
Endivisant l’angle sous le quell on voit le the polar snow, etc.

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William Sheehan and Jennifer Putnam The Lowell –Schiaparelli Correspondence

diamètre de Mars sur la photogramme

placé dans le champ microscopique de
mon appareil par le diamètre apparent
de Mars donné dans les Ephemerides
pour la date correspondante au moment
où la photographie a été prise. Un
tel grossissement sous une bonne
illumination, n’a rien d’excessif: l’avantage
que donne la stabilité de l’objet et la
possibilité de prolonger l’examen et de le
répéter tant qu’on veut, est par rapport à la
vision télescopique, réellement énorme.
La granulation photographique sous ce
grossissement est à peine sensible.
(i) Il y en a beaucoup à faire, par exemple
la mesure directe des positions
aréographiques indépendamment de la
neige polaire, l’étude de la direction
de l’axe soit par la tache polaire, soit
par d’autres taches éloignées du
pôle (particulièrement par l’étude des
latitudes), l’épaisseur g apparent des
phases, la vérification de la direction
constante ou variable de certains
canaux, la détermination exacte de la
figure de la neige polaire, etc.

a The original publishers of this collection of correspondence chose to include this letter, unsure of
whether it was meant for Lowell or not. Since beginning the translation of these letters, the letter
from 28 July 1909 has been rediscovered, confirming that the intended recipient of this letter was
indeed Lowell.
b There is no note of any work by Percival Lowell with this title.
c Schiaparelli presumably meant to write Flagstaff but accidentally wrote Falstaff, an opera that
premiered in 1893.
d ‘Che’ is an Italian word meaning ‘that’.
e ‘Gradivius’ is a possible mis-spelling of ‘Gradivus’.
f ‘Art is long, life is short!’: the first two lines of the Aphorismi by Hippocrates.
g It is unclear what he means by ‘épaisseur’, or ‘thickness’, here.

22 octobre 1909 22 October 1909

P. Lowell a G.V. Schiaparelli From Percival Lowell to Giovanni
Lowell Observatory Archives. Schiaparelli
Originale. Lowell Observatory Archives.
Original.
le 22 Octobre 1909
22 October 1909
Cher ami:
Il ne faut pas scruter les photographies trop Dear friend:
minutieusement. De la proviennent toutes les It is not necessary to scrutinize the
difficultés que vous me signalez – photographs too closely. From the start, all the
D’abord, l’écran peut avoir de la poussiere difficulties that you report to me –
dessus. C’est impossible de s’en défendre. First, the screen can have dust on top. It is
Nous l’évitons eu le changeant de place impossible to defend against. We avoid it by
plusieurs fois pendant l’exposition d’une plaque changing it several times during the exposure
de sorte que les diverses images n’ont pas les of a plate in such a way that the different images
mêmes défauts. will not have the same defects.
Ensuite le grain des plaques affecte des Next, the grain of the plates affects the
monstruosités, dont vous avez fait un si fine deformities, on which you have done a deft
étude. On doit se méfier de lignes nettement study. One should distrust sharp lines and all
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William Sheehan and Jennifer Putnam The Lowell –Schiaparelli Correspondence

dessinés, et de toutes lignes blanches. white lines.

Enfin puisque l’atmosphere change de Finally, because the atmosphere changes
moment en moment une image vous révèle from moment to moment, an image reveals to
un détail qui échappe à la seconde. Je vous you a detail that escapes in an instant. I am
envoie une épreuve d’une plaque que je viens sending you as an illustration a print of a plate
de prendre comme illustration. that I have just made.
A cause de tout cela il n’est pas praticable Because of all of this, it is not practicable to
de s’en servir pour les images, determination use it for the images, determination of the axis,
de l’axe etc. que vous me proposez, fort etc. that you propose to me, as interesting as
intéressants qu’ils seraient. they may be.
Par exemple dans l’épreuve que je vous For example, in the proof that I am
adresse, la calotte polaire, vue l’irradiation sur addressing to you, the polar cap, viewed in the
la plaque, s’étends jusque la limbe qui est irradiation on the plate, extends until the limb
contraire au fait. Non l’œil de l’observateur vaut that is contrary to the fact. No, the eye of the
encore beaucoup mieux que tout cliché. observer is much better than any image.
L’avancement des canaux, en apparence The advancement of the canals, apparently
de la calotte vers l’équateur, s’est montré cette from the cap towards the equator, showed this
opposition comme auparavent. La théorie tient. opposition as before. The theory holds. I will
Je vous enverrai sous peu des photographies send you shortly some photographs of my
de mes dessins. drawings.
De cœur From the heart
Votre dévoué Your devoted

Percival Lowell Percival Lowell

23 aprile 1910 23 April 1910

G.V. Schiaparelli a P. Lowell From Giovanni Schiaparelli to Percival
A.O.B., Fondo G.V. Schiaparelli, cart. 593, Lowell
fasc. 1, n. 58. Minuta. A.O.B., Fondo G.V. Schiaparelli, cart. 593,
fasc. 1, n. 58. Draft.
A M. Percival Lowell
23 Avril 1910 To Mr. Percival Lowell
23 April 1910
Monsieur et honoré collègue,
Je viens de lire le nouveau Volume sur Sir and honored colleague,
l’Evolution des Mondes dont vous venez de me I just read the new volume on The Evolution of
faire présent, et je vous remercie du plaisir que Worlds which you gave me, and I would like to
j’ai tiré de cette lecture si instructive et si thank you for the pleasure that I have drawn
attrayante, autant par la forme de l’exposition from this so instructive and inviting reading, as
que par les idées nouvelles dont vous avez much by the form of the exposition as by the
semé les germes partout. Il y a des personnes new ideas that you have sown the seeds of
qui n’aiment pas ces excursions dans le everywhere. There are people who do not like
domaine des possibilités et des probabilités, these excursions in the domain of possibilities
pour elles il n’existe d’autre science qu’entre les and probabilities, for them there does not
limites des démonstrations mathématiques et exist another science but between the
expérimentables portées au plus haut degré de limits of mathematical and experimental
rigueur et de certitude logique. C’est sans demonstrations carried out at the highest
doute un point de vue très justifiable et qui a degree of rigor and logical certainty. It is
son mérite, que celui de définir exactement les without a doubt a very justifiable point of view
bornes des champs où l’on peut dire: jusqu’à ce and that has its merit, that of defining exactly
point nous savons. Mais il arrive assez souvent the limits of the fields where one can say: up to
que les mêmes personnes ajoutent: au delà this point, we know. But it happens too often
nous ne savons plus, et il est inutile de s’en that the same people add: beyond that, we do
occuper. not know anymore, and it is useless to try.
Où en serions nous si une telle opinion Where would we be if such an opinion
devait servir de règle dans nos études? would serve as a rule in our studies? Was the
L’œuvre de Copernic elle-même n’était pas elle work of Copernicus, itself, not based on simple
fondée d’abord sur de simples probabilités? La probabilities? The certainty did not transpire
certitude n’est arrivée que 150 ans plus tard. until 150 years later. Thus, I find your efforts to
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William Sheehan and Jennifer Putnam The Lowell –Schiaparelli Correspondence

Ainsi je trouve bien dignes d’éloge vos efforts penetrate the domain of the unknown well
pour pénétrer dans le domaine de l’inconnu, worthy of praise, even when you have to make
même lorsque il faut faire une part à a contribution to a hypothesis.
l’hypothèse. I will be very happy to learn something
Je serais bien heureux d’apprendre about the results of your work on Mars during
quelque chose sur les résultats de vos travaux the campaign of 1909. As far as I am able to
sur Mars pendant la campagne de 1909. judge the publications of other observers, the
Autant que je puis juger par les publications phase of Mars during this opposition was
d’autres observateurs, l’aspect de Mars very different from the ordinary phase, and it
pendant cette opposition a été assez différent presents some resemblance with that which I
de l’ordinaire, et il a présenté quelque analogie observed in 1877 and in 1892.
avec ce que j’avais observé en 1877 et en The absence or the poor visibility of
1892. numerous details noted in other periods,
L’absence ou le peu de visibilité des could this be a periodic phenomenon linked
nombreux détails remarqués en d’autres to the revolution of the planet? Or perhaps
époques serait elle un phénomène périodique this absence should be attributed to a lack of
lié à la révolution de la planète? Ou bien cette attention or optical power?
absence doit elle être attribuée à un défaut There is, however, a recent upsurge of
d’attention et de pouvoir optique? skepticism towards the Martian configurations,
Il y a cependant les derniers temps un and it is for me a misfortune not to be in a
récrudescence de scepticisme à l’égard des position to assure myself through my own
configurations martiennes et c’est pour moi un observations of what is and what is not. I
malheur que de n’être plus en position de believe that all the contestation will be finished
m’assurer par mes propres observations de ce the day that we can obtain photographs of
qui est et de ce qui n’est pas. Je crois que toute Mars large enough to put an end to all
contestation sera finie le jour où l’on pourra the uncertainties stemming from photographic
obtenir des photographies de Mars assez granulation. It is also necessary to test
grandes pour mettre une fin aux incertitudes which processes one could use to reduce this
provenant de la granulation photographique. Il granulation to a more significant degree of
faudrait aussi essayer par quels procédés on sharpness. Otherwise, we will always obtain
pourrait arriver à reduire cette granulation à un images which, apart from the real details, will
degré de finesse plus considérable. Autrement contain other details about the reality of which
on obtiendra toujours des images qui à côté des it will be difficult to decide.
détails réels contiendront des autres détails sur You will receive (or you have received)
la réalité des quels il sera difficile de décider. a shipment of two volumes of observations
Vous recevrez (ou vous avez reçu) un of double stars that contain about 11,000
envoi de deux volumes d’observations d’étoiles measurements taken over 26 years, 1875–
doubles qui contiennent environs 11000 1900. This will be my penultimate publication.
mesures prises pendant 26 ans, 1875–1900. The last is in this moment in press: it contains
Ce sera mon avant-dernier publication. La my VIIa and last b Memoir on Mars, which is
dernière est en ce moment sous presse: elle written in the same form as the others and
contient mon VIIea et dernier b Mémoire sur contains some new results. Hic caestus
Mars qui est rédigé sous la même forme que artemque repono.c
les autres et contient quelques resultats In spite of this, I will always be very
nouveaux. Hic certus, artemque repono.c interested in the great progress that Astronomy
Malgré cela je m’intéresserai toujours makes every day and some of which will mark
vivement aux grands progrès que l’Astronomie the belle époque in the history of this science.
fait chaque jour, et dont quelques-unes Your devoted
marqueront une belle époque dans l’histoire de
cette science.
Votre dévoué

a This refers to the Seventh Recollection on Mars by G. Schiaparelli with the title: Astronomical and
Physical Observations on the Topography and Composition of the Planet Mars made at the Royal
Observatory of Brera in Milan with the Merz Equatorial during the Opposition of 1890. It is published
in the Acts of the Royal Academy of the Lincei, Year CCXCVI (1899). Series 5. Records of the
Class of Physical, Mathematical and Natural Sciences, Volume 8. Session of 16 June 1910, Rome.
b On 17 January1910 the President of the Academy of the Lincei sent Schiaparelli a telegram, kept
in the Archive of the Observatory, whose text is: “Academy grateful gift seventh Recollections on
Mars feeling itself proud to possess the entire series period Mars of Schiaparelli pure Italian glory.

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William Sheehan and Jennifer Putnam The Lowell –Schiaparelli Correspondence

President Blaserma.” This telegram follows by several days the letter from Schiaparelli to the
President of the Academy dated 11 January 1910, in which he presents the manuscript and the
drawings of his Seventh Recollection.
C Hic certa, artemque repono may be a misremembered version of Hic victor caestus artemque
repono from Virgil, Aeneid, Book 5, Line 484: “Here as victor I put down my boxing gloves and my
art.” This understanding was achieved with the help of Mary Post Chatfield, great niece of Percival
Lowell, and Professor Michael C.J. Putnam, Virgil scholar and great nephew of Percival Lowell.
This quote demonstrates Schiaparelli’s sentimentality for his career, as the Seventh Recollection
was Schiaparelli’s last.

14 giugno 1910 14 June 1910

P. Lowell a G.V. Schiaparelli From Percival Lowell to Giovanni
A.O.B., Fondo G.V. Schiaparelli, cart. 593, Schiaparelli
fasc. 1, n. 83. Originale. A.O.B., Fondo G.V. Schiaparelli, cart. 593,
fasc. 1, n. 83. Original.
Lowell Observatory, Flagstaff, A. T.
le 14 Juin 1910 Lowell Observatory, Flagstaff, A. T.
14 June 1910
Cher confrère et ami,
Ci-joint je vous envoi des positifs choisis de Dear colleague and friend,
parmi nos clichés de Mars 1909. L’opposition Attached, I am sending you some positives
n’a pas été bonne pour la photographie chosen from among our images of Mars
pour cause dont vous savez bien, le 1909. The opposition was not good for
nondevelopement à cette saison des canaux. imaging because, as you know well, of the
Deux d’entre ces clichés sont par mon nondevelopment at this season of the canals.
assistant M. E. C. Slipher, les trois autres par Two of these images are by my assistant,
moi. Parmi eux vous allez remarquer une qui Mr. E.C. Slipher, the other three by me. Among
montre les nouveaux canaux, à gauche du them you will note the one which shows the new
Sytrs Major, fait intéressant et important. canals, to the left of Syrtis Major, is interesting
De cœur. and important.
Votre dévoué From the heart.
Your devoted
Percival Lowell
Percival Lowell

6 CONCLUDING REMARKS tended to participate himself, as director of

When translating these ‘letters’ the first author the expedition and as an observer of the
of this paper (JP) found that she was drawn into planet (Strauss, 1994: 47).
the friendship between the two men, their 3. Its advantages included its altitude of 7000
mutual respect and affection, and their desire to feet, its location on the Santa Fe railroad,
know the truth about Mars. It has truly been a and, perhaps not least important as
pleasure to get to know Lowell and Schiaparelli Douglass confided late in life, the best
through these letters, to feel their highs and saloons.
lows, and to share their awe in their discoveries. 4. We now know that the colors were partly
We hope that you, the reader, will equally enjoy illusory and owing to simultaneous con-
the translations, in the light of the international trast in the eye; Schiaparelli, by the way,
scientific context of Lowell’s work, as outlined suffered from red–green color blindness.
by the second author (WS) in Sections 1-4 5. Critical to the latter were two discoveries by
above. his associates: Douglass had discovered
linear markings in the dark areas as well as
the light areas, and Pickering had used a
7 NOTES polariscope to show that the light from the
1. Henceforth, all Lowell references mention- dark areas was not polarized as it would
ed in this paper refer specifically to Percival have been were they bodies of water (Hoyt,
Lowell, unless indicated otherwise. 1976: 78).
2. At first it was assumed Lowell was simply 6. The meeting was a complete disaster, and
planning to be a Maecenas to the project; when the two men parted they were no long-
however, it soon became clear that he in- er on speaking terms.
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William Sheehan and Jennifer Putnam The Lowell –Schiaparelli Correspondence

7. This is why Barnard’s failure to make out great-great-niece of Percival Lowell, who made
canals was so remarkable and this the book accessible to us by translating the
probably also explains why he did not Italian footnotes and introductory texts and
publish his Mars observations at first. whose work was vital for this research.
8. Remember that Lowell and Antoniadi had The five remaining letters that were not
been estranged ever since the latter had
transcribed have been recently uncovered by
severely criticized Lowell’s Venus obser-
Lauren Amundson, archivist at Lowell Observa-
vations.
tory, to whom we owe many thanks.
9. And given his poor eyesight, examining
these plates through the eyepiece of a We would also like to thank Agnese Man-
microscope of low magnification must have drino, the historical librarian at the Brera Astro-
been excruciating. nomical Observatory for her help with acces-
sing the archives at Brera despite the distance
8 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS and difficult circumstances.
We wish to acknowledge the wonderful and We want to thank William Lowell Putnam
thorough work of Alessandro Manara and IV, current Sole Trustee of Lowell Observatory,
Franca Chlistovsky of Brera Astronomical Ob- whose interest in reading one of these letters
servatory for their publication of letters and inspired this project, and David Baron and Kev-
drafts. Of the 42 letters in this selection, 37 in Schindler, whose close readings of the man-
were transcribed in French in the book Giovanni uscript, and subsequent comments and sug-
Virgilio Schiaparelli – Percival Lowell Unpub- gestions, improved this project immeasurably.
lished Epistolary Exchange (1896–1910), which Finally, we are grateful to the Brera Astro-
is held in the archives at Brera in Milan. These nomical Observatory for kindly supplying Figure
transcriptions were a great help in deciphering 2; Historic New England for Figure 4; Museo
some of the more undeciperable passages in Scienza (Milan) for Figure 14; Leo Aerts (Bel-
Schiaparelli’s handwriting. gium) for Figure 16; and the Lowell Observatory
We would also like to thank Barbara Post, Archives for Figures 3, 5–7 and 9–13.

9 REFERENCES
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Bird, K., 1998. Color of Truth. New York, Touchstone.
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Heymann, C.D., 1980. American Aristocracy: The Lives and Times of James Russell Lowell, Amy Lowell, and
Robert Lowell. New York, Dodd, Mead & Co.
Hoyt, W.G., 1976. Lowell and Mars. Tucson, University of Arizona Press.
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(http://keatslettersproject.com/letters/negcapletter/; accessed 16 February 2021).
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University of Chicago Press.
Lowell, A.L., 1935. The Biography of Percival Lowell. New York, Macmillan.
Lowell, A., 1917. Tendencies of Modern American Poetry. New York, Macmillan.
Lowell, P., 1888. The Soul of the Far East. Boston, Houghton Mifflin.
Lowell, P., 1891. Noto: An Unexplored Corner of Japan. Boston, Houghton Mifflin.
Lowell, P., 1894. “Mars”. Unpublished poem. Lowell Observatory Archives.
Lowell, P., 1895a. Letter to A.E. Douglass, dated 25 March. Lowell Observatory Archives.
Lowell, P., 1895b. Mars. Boston, Houghton Mifflin.
Lowell, P., 1902. New observations of the Planet Mercury. (Presented 12 May 1897). Memoirs of the American
Academy of Arts and Sciences. New Series, 12, 433 – 466.
Lowell, P., 1904. Diary. MS Am 2018. Houghton Library, Harvard University.
Lowell, P., 1906. Mars and Its Canals. New York, Macmillan.
Lowell, P., 1908. Mars as the Abode of Life. New York, Macmillan.
Lowell, P., 1909. The Evolution of Worlds. New York, Macmillan.
Lowell, P., 1910. Schiaparelli. Popular Astronomy, 178, 456 – 467.
Lowell, P., 1916a. Great Discoveries and Their Reception. Unpublished lecture text. Lowell Observatory Archives.
Lowell, P., 1916b. Our Solar System. Popular Astronomy, 237, 419 – 427.
McKim, R.J., and Sheehan, W., 2009. Schiaparelli’s final words about Mars. Journal of the British Astronomical
Association, 119, 349 –350.
Pickering, W.H., 1921. Schiaparelli’s latest views regarding Mars. In Badger, R.G. (ed.), Mars. Boston, The Gorham

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Press. Pp. 63 – 96. [Pickering’s translation was an abridgement of Schiaparelli’s Il Pianeta Marte, Natura ed Arte
(15 Feb.1893), and had first appeared in Astronomy and Astro-Physics, 13, 635 – 640, 714 – 723 (1894).]
Schiaparelli, G.V., 1963. Corrispondenza su Marte, Volume 1. Pisa, Domus Galileaena (in Italian).
Schiaparelli, G.V., 1976. Corrispondenza su Marte, Volume 2. Pisa, Domus Galileanea (in Italian).
Sheehan, W., 1988. Planets and Perception: Telescopic Views and Interpretations, 1609 –1909. Tucson, University
of Arizona Press.
Sheehan, W., 1995. The Immortal Fire Within: The Life and Work of Edward Emerson Barnard. Cambridge,
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Strauss, D., 1994. Percival Lowell, W.H. Pickering and the founding of the Lowell Observatory. Annals of Science,
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Van Biesebroeck, G., 1934. E.E. Barnard’s visit to G. Schiaparelli. Popular Astronomy, 42, 553 – 558.

Jennifer Putnam is a linguist and historian of modern history at Birkbeck College, University of London. She is
the Bonnart–Braunthal Trust Scholar and a prior recipient of the Eric Hobsbawm Research
Scholarship for her MA in Modern History and Politics. Prior to studying at Birkbeck College,
she earned her MPhil in Linguistics from Trinity College Dublin. She speaks four languages
– Polish, French, Spanish, and English – and is learning three more – Yiddish, Hebrew, and
German.
Her latest publication involved analysing letters from the Auschwitz concentration camps
to better understand the role of the mail system in the Holocaust. She is currently study-
ing contemporary graffiti at sites of the Holocaust. Her wider research interests include
modern graffiti, comparative genocide research, philately, Jewish history, the history of
astronomy, and conflict archaeology.

William Sheehan is a retired psychiatrist and historian of astronomy, based in Flagstaff, Arizona, USA, whose
books include: Planets and Perception (1988), Worlds in the Sky (1992), The Immortal Fire Within: The Life and
Times of Edward Emerson Barnard (1995), The Planet Mars (1996), In Search of Planet
Vulcan (with Richard Baum, 1997), Epic Moon with Thomas A. Dobbins, 2001), Transits of
Venus (with John E. Westfall, 2004), Galactic Encounters (with Christopher Conselice,
2015), Celestial Shadows (with John E. Westfall, 2015), Discovering Pluto (with Dale P.
Cruikshank, 2018), Jupiter (with Thomas A. Hockey, 2018), Mercury (2018), Saturn (2019),
Neptune: From Grand Discovery to a World Revealed (co-edited by Robert W., Smith, Trudy
E. Bell and Carolyn Kennett, 2021) and Discovering Mars: A History of Observation and
Exploration of the Red Planet (with Jim Bell, 2021).
He is a past fellow of the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation, a recipient of
the Gold Medal of the Oriental Astronomical Association, and a member of the IAU Working
Group on Planetary System Nomenclature. The IAU has named asteroid 16037 after him.

227
 Journal of Astronomical History and Heritage, 24(1), 228 – 242 (2021).

BOOK REVIEWS
On Trial for Reason: Science, Religion & leo’s life written by Vincenzo Viviani, and fur-
Culture in the Galileo Affair, by Maurice ther texts by that author in 1659, 1674 and
Finocchiaro. (Oxford, Oxford University 1702. Viviani described himself as “The very
Press, 2019). Pp. ix + 289. ISBN 978-0-19- last disciple of so great a man.” (page 265)
879792-0 (hardback), 163 × 241 mm,
Gattei begins with a 58-page introduction
US$32.95.
that functions as a complete survey of all the
On the Life of Galileo: Viviani’s Historical biographies, which appear here in English for
Account and other early biographies, edit- the first time. The one by Viviani is the most
ed by Stefano Gattei. (Princeton, Princeton reliable, as Gattei makes clear in his scrupu-
University Press, 2019). Pp. lxvii + 348. lous study of all the errors of fact and omission
ISBN 978-0-691-17489-1 (hardback), 185 × in the works of ten other seventeenth century
260 mm, US$49.95. biographers. All texts in the original languages
(Latin, French and Italian) appear on the left,
Where Have all the Heavens Gone?: Gali-
with English on the right; positioning this as a
leo’s Letter to the Grand Duchess
major scholarly achievement and important
Christina, ed. by John P. McCarthy and
addition to Galileo studies. In addition to the
Edmondo F. Lupieri. (Cascade Books,
texts, Gattei offers extensive footnotes, some
Eugene, 2017). Pp. xv + 100. ISBN 978-1-
of them spanning more than a full page of
4982-9598-7 (paper-back), 140 × 215 mm,
small type; rich in original passages from
US$17.
Greek, Latin and Italian, they contain a treas-
According to Owen Gingerich, Galileo Galilei ure trove of information. Here I will just quote
has attracted more biographers than Coper- a couple of vivid passages from the main text.
nicus, Kepler, Newton and Einstein combined.
In the preface to his biography of Galileo,
Of the three books under review here, one is
Viviani encapsulates the lasting fame of his
entirely about the earliest biographies of Gali-
subject in words that have never been sur-
leo. On the Life of Galileo, edited by Stefano
passed:
Gattei (University of Trento), collects all the
biographical essays from 1633–1702. Domin- We can rightfully say Galileo’s discernment
ant amongst these is the 1654 Account of Gali- and fate were great and astonishing: as-
sisted by his divine intellect, they set their
foundations in the heavens. Thanks to his
amazing discoveries—which have no risk
of being diminished or worn out by time, or
hidden from sight and knowledge of mor-
tals, and are explained by his truly unique
wisdom—he has earned glorious and eter-
nal fame, for as long as the universe lasts.
(page 61).
In his 1654 biographical sketch, Niccolò
Gherardini wrote
Galileo claimed it was possible to walk
safely, without stumbling, on earth as well
as in heaven, as long as we remain in
Archimedes’ footsteps. (page 145).
Maurice Finocchiaro, author of On Trial for
Reason by (University of Nevada-Las Vegas),
is well known to Galileo scholars as the author
of Galileo and the Art of Reasoning from 1980,
and Defending Copernicus and Galileo from
2010. In the book under review here he has
distilled for a general readership both the bas-
ics of astronomical knowledge at it was known
in the early seventeenth century, and the es-
sence of Galileo’s discoveries and subsequent
tribulations with the Church. This is a truly
masterful presentation with a critical analysis
of the underlying issues; even though it is not
geared to the usual small scholarly audience,
228
 Book Reviews

it will be welcomed by those historians of ast- With views like these, it is no wonder the Cath-
ronomy who are not expert in the world of Gal- olic Church banned his book for so long (from
ileo. 1633 until Pope Benedict XIV allowed the Dia-
logue to be published again in 1744).
Finocchiaro examines Galileo’s 3-fold leg-
acy in science, religion and philosophy, from
the time he lived to the present. On the 1632
book which propelled Galileo into his final,
fateful clash with the Catholic Church and form-
er friend, Pope Urban VIII, Finocchiaro makes
it clear we are not just reading a scientific
work. The Dialogue on the Two Chief World
Systems
… also happens to be a great work of art
…The book is full of passages which are
best understood and appreciated in terms
of artistic inspiration, aesthetic imagination,
and poetic license. (page 151).
I especially welcome his study of Galileo’s use
of rhetoric in this regard as it leads the author
to identify these non-scientific aspects, which
reflected some form of “… literary vanity …”
(page 151) as a partial explanation for why the
book landed him in trouble.
In surveying all the criticism levelled at
Galileo by modern scholars, Finocchiaro bats
them away. “Galileo’s reasoning can be suc-
cessfully defended; indeed, it can be shown to
be a model of critical thinking.” (page 187). He
has little good to say about the statements of
Pope John Paul II with regard to Galileo (term-
ing it a muddled rehabilitation), and especially
decries the very recent efforts of some schol-
ars, who claim Galileo “… not only had no ob-
servations to prove his views and refute his
opponents, but did not even have good ar-
guments.” (page 223). The author describes
this as “A new myth about Galileo’s trial.”
(page 223). Clearly, Finocchiaro is not afraid
at ruffling academic feathers, which is an
especially refreshing approach; it gives his text
an edginess that makes this book eminently
readable and entirely fascinating.
A text he devotes 10 pages to is the
famous letter Galileo wrote to the Grand
Duchess Dowager Christina of Lorraine in
1615. Finocchiaro believes it to be a “…
threefold criticism of the argument that Coper-
nicanism is wrong because Scripture says so.”
(page 102). He identifies “One of the most
striking features …” of Galileo’s argument to
be
… that the literal interpretation of Scripture
is not binding in scientific investigation;
that theology is not the queen of the
sciences; that scriptural consensus is not a
sufficient condition for a literal interpret-
ation; and that the unanimity of Church A slim book that purports to be about the
Fathers is not necessarily decisive in phys- Letter to Christina has also been published,
ical questions. (page 105). with contributions by four authors. I was keen
229
 Book Reviews

to read the Letter here, but its text is absent! a wider readership. It has a foreword by
Of the five chapters in the book, only two deal Jocelyn Bell Burnell and its dust jacket has
with the Letter. One of these, by John Mc- quotes of praise from the likes of Billie Jean
Carthy (Loyola University), identifies a key un- King and Scott Kelly. There is clearly an ex-
derlying element that pervades the reason for pectation by Harvard University Press that this
the Letter: book will have some ‘reach’.
… he [Galileo] recognizes that debates Moore’s book excels at painting a picture
about evidence and demonstrations have for what life felt like for Cecilia Payne, particu-
left the realm of philosophical disputations
larly when she was young and ambitious. Re-
and become matters of honor, justice and
heresy. He understood himself to be the lying heavily on her own memoir, his vivid des-
focus of injustice, which, if left unaddres- criptions give us an eye into both her difficult-
sed, would threaten the kind of free inquiry ies and her joys. Her struggles for acceptance
that he believed ought to engage the Bible, and recognition, as well as her own natural
science, and tradition. (page 28). humility in the face of the greatest astrono-
In his chapter of Where Have all the Heavens mers of the day, are touching and sometimes
Gone?, Mauro Pesce (formerly at University of heart-rending. Her recollections about strugg-
Bologna) believes “… the whole theory of the ling to break down the social barriers that im-
letter to Christina gives the Bible a radically peded her, and the conversations that ensued
new cultural profile.” (page 54). By accepting when she succeeded, will ring true for other in-
Galileo’s thesis that the Bible was “… excluded troverts. And never have I been so aware of
from the domain of scientific inquiry …” (page how middle-class life in the first half of the
54), it opened up the possibility “… to distin- twentieth century felt for a woman, particularly
guish between the Bible and the theological one who bucked all trends of the time and
systems that are an interpretation of it.” (page eventually chose to maintain both a family and
55). a professional life.
While I find these two chapters in question What Moore’s book is missing, and what
to be a most valuable study of the Letter, it ap- any biography must naturally struggle to gain a
pears Finocchiaro disagrees, as the book is hold on, is a glimpse of the wider world that
not included in the extensive 7-page biblio- surrounded our heroine. While it is true that
graphy he provides. The book, co-edited by Moore drops most of the big names in the field
McCarthy, would certainly be a much more at the time, and includes anecdotes about their
relevant one if it had concentrated exclusively interactions with Cecilia Payne (including such
on the Letter, the absence of which in the book gatherings as Shapley’s ‘Hollow Squares’ in
is most regrettable. which these same big names “… treated her
as their equals …” (page 174)), the reader
Dr Clifford Cunningham may be left with the opinion, particularly after
University of Southern Queensland, Australia, reading Chapter 19, that Payne’s greatest and
and 5201 N. Spring View Drive, Tucson most controversial findings stood alone in a
AZ 85749, USA. field of much more moderate pursuits, and that
E-mail: Cliff.Cunningham@usq.edu.au much of the astronomical community gave her
short shrift on account of their own ignorance
What Stars Are Made Of: The Life of Cecilia
and prejudices. Prejudices, yes; but the hist-
Payne-Gaposchkin, by Donovan Moore.
ory of the discovery of the composition of the
(Cambridge (Mass.), Harvard University
stars is far more complicated than he pre-
Press, 2020). Pp. xix + 298. ISBN
sents, and the reader is given little information
9780674237377 (hardback), 140 × 215 mm,
about it beyond the ill feelings Cecilia Payne
US$29.95
initially felt towards Donald Menzel.
Portrait of a Binary, by Sylvia L. Boyd.
Astronomical knowledge was in its great-
(Penobscot, Penobscot Press, 2014). Pp.
est throes for the first four decades of the
507. ISBN 0-89725-942-4 (hardback), 155 ×
twentieth century, and old currents of thought
235 mm, available from author.
were becoming disused regularly. Such a time
It became evident after reading the introduct- of upheaval is hard to describe. We are
ory chapters of Moore’s book that this is not a luckier, however, with this time period than
novel piece of scholarship. It does not offer a with earlier ones, in that much that was written
new perspective on the life and work of Cecilia has been preserved and is now available dig-
Payne, and virtually all of the information it itally. Among the most important discoveries
contains can be found in the written record published while Cecilia Payne was at uni-
elsewhere. Instead, it is an organizing of that versity, we have digital access to Henry N.
record, a story crafted to engage and educate Russell’s words about the profound heat con-
230
 Book Reviews

tained within the stars (Russell, 1919: 208), There were other developments—too many
and Arthur S. Eddington’s inspiring surmise to count. But some names that might ring true
that the mass deficit between hydrogen and for astronomically-minded readers include
helium atoms discovered by F. W. Aston is the Paul W. Merrill (using Hα to identify emission-
source for starlight (Eddington, 1920: 353– line B-type stars, as well as work on the infra-
355). Or we can read about the interfero- red oxygen triplet), Meghnad Saha (applying
meter built on the Hooker 100-inch telescope, his own theories to studying the ionization of
and its first-ever measurement of the angular elements, such as silicon), Jan Oort (stars of
size of a star, Betelgeuse (Michelson and different spectral classes have different space
Pease, 1921). velocities), Adriaan van Maanen (measuring
During the years that Cecilia Payne was proper motions of stars), and J.S. Plaskett
working towards her thesis (1923–1925), (both he and Russell were actively working to
there are a plethora of discoveries that can be understand stellar evolution).
investigated easily using the NASA/ADS,1 and
that we can be confident were known to her, at
least peripherally. I provide the barest of high-
lights here without citation (the interested
reader will be able to find the requisite papers
without too much trouble), and in no particular
order. There is George E. Hale’s and Seth B.
Nicholson’s seminal paper on the magnetic
nature of the sunspots. Then there is A.E.
Douglass’ growing realization that the solar
cycle influenced weather on Earth; and Edwin
B. Frost, who was hard at work determining
the radial velocities of stars using spectro-
grams. Donald Menzel was using the Fowler-
Milne modification to Saha’s theory to meas-
ure the temperatures of stars, and to compare
the temperatures of dwarfs with those of
giants. Edward A. Milne was taking a number
of steps forward that we now take for granted
in stellar astrophysics, including studies of
rotating stars, limb darkening, applying the
photoelectric effect to ionziation equilibrium in
stellar atmospheres, and the determination of
the Rosseland mean opacity coefficient. Wal-
ter S. Adams confirmed that Sirius B, a white
dwarf, has extraordinary surface density, dis-
covered a number of single-lined spectro-
scopic binaries, determined that there was a
difference in brightness for B-type stars that Cecilia Payne’s was a complex world in
are fast rotators and slow rotators, and cal- which many people were working on an array
culated the radial velocities of a large number of problems and new, important discoveries
of stars, with obvious consequences for un- were being made at break-neck speed. It is
derstanding stellar dynamics. important to keep this in mind when consider-
Pure astronomy was not the only field that ing one of the most difficult passages to read
was producing results of astrophysical signifi- in Moore’s book. After turning in her thesis
cance, but I am nonetheless sure that Cecilia and traveling home for a vacation, Cecilia
Payne and her colleagues knew about these Payne excitedly told Arthur Eddington that she
important findings, too. Theodore Lyman was had found evidence that hydrogen was the
busy chugging away at producing spectra of most abundant element in the stars. She
the elements, and between 1923 and 1925 was speaking to a man who stands head and
wrote up his results for helium (which was the shoulders above absolutely everyone else I
most influential), aluminum, magnesium, neon, have previously mentioned, as he was at the
and argon. H.A. Kramers’ work using quan- forefront of a large number of developments in
tum theory to explain the fine structure lines astronomy and physics and knew the differ-
due to hydrogen (Kramers, 1920) was being ence between a true discovery and a tell-tale
used by Jane M. Dewey to quantify the fine sign. His response to her, that Moore quotes
structure lines for helium (Dewey, 1926). from Payne’s memoirs is: “You don’t mean in
231
 Book Reviews

the stars. You mean on the stars.” (Moore, only bothered by one minor aspect of the
pagr 187). It felt chilling to read it, and she author’s style, and that is the careless way that
herself felt silly about having had a “… burst of he sometimes deals with chronology. Relating
youthful enthusiasm …” in front of him. But on the loss of two of Cecilia’s closest friends, he
reflection, I have come to see it from Edding- begins with the death of Betty Leaf in May
ton’s point of view, too. His are the words of a 1933. “And then there was another tragedy
cool-headed person, someone who would not …” he continues, before recounting the death
jump the gun, and someone for whom there of Adelaide Ames in June of 1932 (page 209).
were other considerations. Therefore, Edding- His word choice, “And then,” suggests a
ton needed to be persuaded. And that illu- sequence that is in reverse of the actual order.
strates very well, if anecdotally, what it was The small mental reset that was required to
like to be a part of the scientific community in read and understand passages such as these
which the very greatest discoveries were being was, at most, an annoyance. The author ob-
made at the time. viously chose the order for emphasis, and I
only quibble with how he described it.
Regardless of how Cecilia Payne’s own
words make us feel toward her, there is abso- Whereas Moore wrote about a serious
lutely no question that she was discriminated subject in a manner that is palatable, Portrait
against throughout most of her career, and of a Binary was written in almost the opposite
was not given deserved recognition. But the fashion. It touts itself as a scholarly work, with
actions of the Harvard leadership do not re- a disquieting number of references and thick,
present the entire astronomical community. black, inscrutable text for a seemingly endless
The eminent astronomer Otto Struve was one number of pages. It is not even readily avail-
who took pains to read her book on stellar able—you will have to directly contact the
atmospheres (Payne, 1925) in great detail. It author for a copy.
is generally known that he thought it brilliant—
However, it is actually, when you strip
perhaps the best ever written in astronomy. It
away the robe académique, a love story that
is less well known that he had specific and
follows Cecilia Payne’s life with fellow astron-
honest criticisms that, when taken at face
omer Sergei Gaposchkin. I knew little about
value, shows that he noticed the overstate-
Gaposchkin before reading this book, probably
ment of several conclusions (Struve, 1926).
because Cecilia Payne throws such an enor-
Struve was a man who took Cecilia Payne’s
mous shadow. But Boyd’s love story is so
work seriously, and so gave her criticisms of
touching that I cannot help feeling that the
value that I can only imagine she took ser-
publisher has let us all down by keeping it
iously in her turn—she was too conscientious
hidden behind such an ugly façade. I would
not to.
dearly love to say that it is a book worth
These are the complexities within the ast- reading. But it badly needs a good copy ed-
ronomical community at the time that Moore’s itor. Its two single photographs, one a simple
storytelling has largely left out. Knowing headshot of Sergei (page 311) and the other,
something about the world around Cecilia thrown in after the Acknowledgements at the
Payne helps to engender a deeper appreciat- end of the text, a fuzzy picture of Cecilia while
ion for her work—to see her as a driven wo- she is lecturing (page 448), show us that se-
man in an unforgiving world, who made an lecting suitable photographs is not the author’s
important discovery at a time of important dis- forte. The book’s redeeming quality, and the
coveries in spite of the gender discrimination, reason that I wish it were in better shape, is
low pay, and lack of recognition to which she that it includes a number of details that are not
was subjected. It took courage; no wonder so easily found elsewhere. These include per-
many people remember her to be intimidating. sonal recollections by the author, and quota-
tions and paraphrases from various interviews
The highest praise for a book like Moore’s
with people close to either one or both of the
is that it ignites one’s desire to learn more. I
Gaposchkins.
now have such a desire to investigate this
book’s other unsung hero, Meghnad Saha, Anyone with a budding or abiding interest
without whose theory of thermal ionization, in the early years of astrophysics and the
Cecilia Payne’s work would have been impos- heroic people who made it possible will enjoy
sible. The reasons that this book is so ex- What Stars Are Made Of. Anyone who is
cellent to read besides its engaging writing is particularly in love with the Gaposchkins and
that it also has plenty of pictures of the notable wants to foster a deeper appreciation for them:
people being discussed, is very well edited (I well, you are probably stubborn enough to
have so far only found a single typographical wade through Portrait of a Binary, regardless of
error), and was thoroughly researched. I was what anyone has to say about it.
232
 Book Reviews

Note with light and shadow to those not having

visited these locations and to those who
1. https://ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/ would like to do so. (page xi).
References However, the book does much more than
Dewey, J.M., 1926. Intensities in the Stark Effect of that—it records direct observations and azi-
helium. Physical Review, 28, 1108 –1124. muthal measurements from 31 sites in and
Eddington, A.S., 1920. The internal constitution of near Cusco, in the Sacred Valley, and in the
the stars. The Observatory, 43, 341– 358. region of Machu Pichu, with photographs of
Kramers, H.A., 1920. Über den Einfluß eines elek-
every, or nearly every, one. To have per-
trischen feldes auf die feinstruktur der wasser-
stofflinien. Zeitschrift für Physik, 3, 199 – 223. sonally visited each of these sites to gather
Michelson, A.A., and Pease, F.G., 1921. Measure- documentation for this book is an achievement
ment of the diameter of α Orionis with the inter- of no small proportion and should be recogniz-
ferometer. Astrophysical Journal, 53, 249 – 259. ed and honored.
Payne, C.H., 1925. Stellar Atmospheres; A Contri-
bution to the Observational Study of High Tem-
perature in the Reversing Layers of Stars. Cam-
bridge (Mass.), Harvard University Press.
Russell, H.N., 1919. On the sources of stellar en-
ergy. Publications of the Astronomical Society of
the Pacific, 31, 205 – 211.
Struve, O., 1926. Review of Stellar Atmospheres. A
Contribution to the Study of High Temperature
Ionization in the Reversing Layers of Stars by
Cecilia H. Payne. Astrophysical Journal, 64, 204 –
207.
Dr David Whelan
Associate Professor of Physics, Austin College,
900 N. Grand Ave., Sherman, TX 75090, USA.
E-mail: dwhelan@austincollege.edu

Astronomy of the Inca Empire: Use and

Significance of the Sun and the Night Sky,
by Steven R. Gullberg. (Cham (Switzer-
land), Springer Nature, 2020). Pp. xvii + 370.
ISBN 978-3-030-48365-4 (hardback), ISBN
978-3-030-48366-1 (eBook) 162 × 240 mm,
135.19 Euros.
I must begin this review with the admission
that prior to reading this book I knew nothing
of Inca astronomy. I am well versed and
published in Mesoamerican astronomy, in
particular the ‘astronomy’ of the ancient Maya,
which I put in quotes because Maya astron-
omy is more astrology than astronomy and is
all about prognostics, auguries, and spirit In the end, though, I find the results less
forces in the sky and how they relate to the than satisfying. What constitutes an align-
people on the ground and how they effect ment? Sceptics and naysayers of archaeo-
crops, hunting, religious ceremonies, the astronomy are not wrong when they say that
weather, etc. Constellations, the Sun, the everything aligns with something, and Gull-
Moon, and Venus are tied to the 260-day div- berg’s definition of ‘astronomical’ does little to
inatory calendar, that mystical confluence of allay such criticism. In summarizing his find-
thirteen numbers and twenty named days that ings from 31 sites he declares a site to be
pervades and influences Maya daily life. ‘astronomical’ if it “… was found to have a
What does Steven Gullberg mean by Inca solar light and shadow effect or alignment
astronomy? The subtitle to the book tells us relating in any way to the Sun.” (page 306). I
he means the use and significance of the Sun was surprised to see there were some sites
and the night sky. His self-stated goal is that did not meet these loose criteria.
… to illustrate the light and shadow effects Gullberg begins his book, appropriately,
... [at] shrines, temples, and caves ... [and] with a background summary of the history of
to give illustration of the Inca’s prowess the Inca Empire gleaned from numerous ac-
233
 Book Reviews

cepted academic sources. The next chapter system of ancient calendars anywhere in the
introduces the reader to the Inca culture, the world, observing the play of light and shadow
cultural context of the sites, and site features on carved stone surfaces does not convince
to be explored. For the outsider, this chapter me that the Inca engineers and stone carvers
does a good service in introducing specific who created these sites had ‘astronomy’ in
terms and nomenclature: camac and camay, mind when they did so.
‘life force/energy’; intihuatanas, carved ‘power’
Bruce Love
stones, along with summaries of Inca social
Co-publisher, Contributions to
and religious organization.
Mesoamerican Studies
Chapter Four reviews the key physical E-mail: Brucelove9@gmail.com
archaeological features in Inca astronomy, the
ceques and huacas, ritual pathways leading Keeping Watch in Babylon: The Astronom-
out from Cusco uniting the Inca Empire and ical Diaries in Context, by Johannes Hau-
the sacred or ceremonial sites situated along bold, John Steele and Kathryn Stevens
these pathways. Gullberg’s book intends to (eds.). (Leiden, Brill, 2019). Pp. viii + 315.
investigate the astronomical linkages between ISBN 978-90-04-39775-0 (hardback), 160 ×
these archaeological sites and the Sun and 240 mm, US$192.
night sky.
Even for most historians of astronomy the
The next chapter introduces definitions of study of Babylonian astronomy is often ig-
terms and basic principles within the field of nored, not because it lacks importance, but
archaeoastronomy for the uninitiated reader, rather due to its seemingly forbidding nature.
and then, in Chapter Six, the author zeroes in With many of the researchers in this field writ-
on Inca specific astronomy, reviewing and pre- ing in French and German, combined with the
senting the work of previous important invest- original language of Babylonian which few
igators in the field. The Sun, Moon, Pleiades, understand, many in the English-only reading
and Milky Way played important roles in Inca world have only a sketchy knowledge of the
life and horizon stones marked their risings famed Astronomical Diaries. This book serves
and settings. I was fascinated to learn that the important purpose of making the contents
dark parts of the Milky Way were named as of the Diaries accessible to everyone.
‘constellations’ in their own right.
The 10 chapters of the book are written by
With these chapters as foreground and in-
experts in various aspects of the Diaries (un-
troduction, the reader is then taken on a tour
usually for such a multi-author work, there is
of huacas or ceremonial sites in three regions,
no list of authors with their academic affiliat-
each with its own chapter: at or near Cusco,
ions and backgrounds). As Mathieu Ossen-
the Sacred Valley, and at or near Machu
drijver writes, the
Pichu. These three chapters are the heart of
the book: they present photographs, drawings, Astronomical Diaries are attested between
and measurements of a multitude of huacas, ca. 652 and 61 BCE. Nearly all of them
most of which probably no reader will ever originate from Babylon, the main center of
Babylonian astronomy during that period.
have the opportunity to visit on their own, a
(page 58).
wealth of images perhaps found nowhere else
in a single volume. Not surprisingly, almost all Each Diary covers a period of 6 to 7 months,
express light and shadow phenomena, leading and while astronomical data occupy the bulk of
the author to present them as ‘astronomical’. each report, they also include financial data,
the level of the Euphrates River, and various
The book gives proper credit to previous
historical and ominous events. As several
work and presents a bibliography very useful
chapters in this book contain no astronomical
to the student of these matters. The book
content, they will not be considered in this re-
could be stronger on a number of fronts, in
view. The editors set out the basic questions
particular, the ethnographic one, but then that
the book is designed to answer: “What is the
was not the book’s intention. The primary
origin of the Diaries? Who wrote them and
focus is the author (with wife and son and
why? And to what extent did they change over
assistant[s]) visiting these numerous sites and
time?” (page 13).
presenting them for us, the reader, to view.
The tables of measurements and ‘alignments’ Ossendrijver enumerates the astronomical
could perhaps be useful to specialists in such data in the Diaries: lunar and planetary pos-
measurements. But for me, someone who has itions with respect to a suite of 32 bright stars
spent considerable time getting inside the along the ecliptic, appearances and positions
Maya mindset that produced lunar and planet- of the planets and the Moon, solstices and
ary tables and perhaps the most complex equinoxes, first and last appearances of Sirius,
234
 Book Reviews

eclipses (whether seen or merely expected), sessing visibility failed on that occasion, but
and on rare occasion meteors and comets. Robson writes the fact the scribes “… were
John Steele remarks the held accountable in this particular instance
strongly suggests that normally their prediction
… earliest dated astronomical observat- methods worked.” The Late Achaemenid Per-
ions known to us are a series of lunar
iod (484–331 BCE) was one of great turmoil.
eclipse observations beginning with the
eclipse of 6 February 747 BCE … (page It was a period “… deep and devastating for
37), cuneiform scholarship …” (page 132), but a
few scholars who had lost royal patronage
but observations dating from the eighth and continued to write the Diaries. In the final
early seventh centuries BCE “… does not nec- period, Hellenistic and Early Parthian (330–50
essarily imply the existence of Diaries at this BCE), Robson identifies “… a dozen or so
period.” (page 38). Rather than the night-by- men, from just three family groups …”, as
night accounts in the Diaries, the earliest ob- those who wrote “… dozens of extant, anon-
servations were restricted mostly to eclipses. ymous Diaries from the late second century
For those who wish or think the Diaries BCE.” Despite the passage of time, the
might contain much more ancient information, content of the Diaries remained remarkably
Ossendrijver offers a glimmer of hope: consistent.
The assumption of a correlation between
market rate developments and eclipses
can be traced back to divinatory traditions
from the second millennium BCE. (page
64).
As an example of such an omen-like state-
ment in the Diaries, we read that
If Jupiter is faint or it takes up a low pos-
ition or it disappears and Mars is bright or
takes up a high position or Mars is ‘bal-
anced’ (in conjunction/opposition) with Ju-
piter: the market rate will strongly decrease
and the people will experience a large
famine. (page 71).
Eleanor Robson tackles the vexed quest-
ion as to who wrote the Diaries. In the earliest
era under consideration, the Neo-Assyrian
period (709–627 BCE), she writes the “…
corpus of celestial observations reports and
associated letters from named scholars to
Assyrian kings comprises well over 600 items.”
(page 123). A letter from the year 670 BCE
reveals the practice of astronomy was full of
peril. The crown prince wrote to his father the
king “… to denounce three Babylonian schol-
ars.” Two of them were described as people
who “… observe the skies all night and day.”
(page 125). The crown prince states that they
defected to the Elam, the enemy of Assyria. The exact site of observations in Babylon
Their fate is unknown. The period from the fall is also of great interest—the Etemenanki zig-
of Assyria and the Persian repression of the gurat, begun in 604 BCE, was 91 m high. In
temple communities where many of the astro- the Late Achaemenid period, the removal of
nomical observations were made is termed the staircase to the observing platform of the
The Long Sixth Century (626–485 BCE). ziggurat signaled its demise, “… and by the
Robson writes that early third century,” writes Kathryn Stevens,
Just two Diaries survive from this period, “the superstructure had been levelled.” (page
plus a small but steady stream of eclipse 228). Her chapter is accompanied by eight
observations, mostly preserved in much maps that show the locations of people and
later manuscripts. (page 127). places mentioned in the Diaries. Others chap-
In this period certain families supplied all the ters include histograms and tables to help
scribes, and we learn of a mistimed lunar make sense of all the data in the Diaries,
eclipse ritual from 531 BCE. The rules for as- which, cautions Steele, are not be confused
235
 Book Reviews

with the Babylonian Chronicles, which are an- (Hannover) might be of specific interest to
nalistic historical accounts: historians of astronomy. Philip Beeley des-
… we cannot assume that the Diaries pro- cribes Scriba’s projects, works and efforts that
vided the material for the Chronicles, or were related to the life and work of the sev-
that the Diaries existed as an alternative enteenth-century English mathematician John
way of recording history in the eighth and Wallis (1616–1703) whereas Sigmund Probst
seventh centuries BCE. (page 49). gives a survey on recent publications and re-
Each chapter includes its own extensive search papers dealing with John Wallis and
footnotes (typically 60 to 120) and references; Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz (1646–1716). John
the book concludes with a triple index: Modern Wallis was appointed as Savilian Professor of
Authors; Sources; Names and Subjects. Geometry at the University of Oxford in 1649
and Edward Bernard, who later became the
Combining superior scholarship with finely Savilian Professor of Astronomy, was one of
written chapters, this book is an essential his students. Moreover, it is well known that
guide to the Astronomical Diaries of Babylon. the breadth and depth of the theoretical in-
Dr Clifford Cunningham terests and practical activities of Gottfried Wil-
University of Southern Queensland, Australia, helm Leibniz also covered the field of astron-
and 5201 N. Spring View Drive, Tucson omy.
AZ 85749, USA.
E-mail: Cliff.Cunningham@usq.edu.au

Festschrift – Proceedings of the Christoph

J. Scriba Memorial Meeting – History of
Mathematics (Nuncius Hamburgensis; Bd.
36), edited by Gudrun Wolfschmidt. (Tredit-
ion, Hamburg, 2017). Pp. 560. ISBN 978-3-
7345-5289-2 (hardback), 170 × 220 mm,
Euro 39.90.
The ‘Scriba Memorial Meeting – History of
Mathematics’ took place 12–17 May 2015 in
Hamburg. The conference was held to pay
tribute to the legacy of the historian of science
Christoph J. Scriba (1929–2013). Christoph J.
Scriba, whose scholarly work mainly covers
the history of mathematics, taught in both
North America and Germany. As a non-
insider, I knew his name as one of the authors
of the book 5000 Years of Geometry: Mathe-
matics in History and Culture by him and Peter
Schreiber. It is well known that geometry is
one of the most important foundations for a
mathematical understanding of astronomy and
also plays an essential role in its history.
In these thirty chapters Festschrift covers The second part of the volume is ded-
the history of mathematics from antiquity to icated to the history of mathematics in ant-
present days and addresses key elements of iquity and the Middle Ages. There are two
the history of mathematics including some contributions from this period that address
contributions to the history of astronomy, that astronomical topics. The first one is the paper
was regarded as a branch of mathematics by Ulrich Voigt (Hamburg). He discusses an
from Greek antiquity and at least up to the interesting detail of early calendrical computa-
seventeenth century. tion. In fact, the Introduction to Elementary
The volume, primarily in German, starts Astronomy written by the Greek astronomer
with a comprehensive presentation on the Geminos of Rhodes some decades before
scientific work of Christoph J. Scriba, including Julius Caesar’s calendar reform was imple-
an overview in chronological order as well as mented contains a chapter on computations of
comprehensive lists of reviewed dissertations, the length of a month as well as suggestions
publications and collections of editorial works. for a correction method, which turned out to be
Here, particularly the contributions by Philip an idea of Geminos that has not been ade-
Beeley (Oxford) and by Siegmund Probst quately communicated and appreciated over
236
 Book Reviews

time. The second one is by Harald Gropp Festschrift. It gives a broad and variously
(Heidelberg). Unfortunately, he just contribut- inspiring insight into specific questions and
ed the abstract of his talk on calendar cor- topics discussed in the history of mathematics.
relations between east and west in theory and The contributions to the history of astronomy,
praxis. The volume would certainly have ben- even if rare in number, make very interesting
efitted if this topic had also been treated with and sometimes unexpected connections and
an elaborated essay. attempts to illuminate their gems. Moreover,
they come up with original research. That is
The third part of the proceedings ranges
what makes it worth reading also for those
from the Renaissance to the Enlightenment.
who are interested in the history of astronomy.
Within this part, Menso Folkerts (München) in-
troduces the reader to Jost Bürgi’s ‘Kunstweg’, Dr Katharina Habermann
a new way for calculating values of the sine, Göttingen State and University Library,
that are essential in the context of trigonom- Faculty of Mathematics and Computer Science,
etry and its applications to astronomical calcu- Göttingen University, Platz der Göttinger
lations. Moreover, Thomas Krohn (Leipzig) Sieben 1, 37073 Göttingen, Germany.
deals with the development of the reception Email: habermann@sub.uni-goettingen.de
and the growing acceptance of the heliocentric
solar system at three German intellectually Early Greek Philosophies of Nature, by
central locations during the seventeenth cen- Andrew Gregory. (London, Bloomsbury,
tury. These three locations in focus are Jena, 2020). Pp. 241. ISBN 978-1-350-08097-3
Wittenberg and Dresden. In Jena, the univer- (hardback), 160 × 240 mm, US$61.20.
sity is located where the mathematician, ast- This important book is by Andrew Gregory,
ronomer and inventor Erhard Weigel (1625– Professor of History and Philosophy of Science
1699) had his sphere of action. Weigel is at University College London; its text extends
considered a key figure in the development aspects of his 2008 work Ancient Greek Cos-
and rise of Jena’s university during the second mogony.
half of the seventeenth century. He also was
an excellent academic educator and is partic- A pervading theme of the book is discredit-
ularly known as the teacher of the young Leib- ing the notion there is a direct link between the
niz. The University at Wittenberg was founded thoughts of early Greek philosophers and the
at the beginning of the sixteenth century and is mechanistic view of nature (popularly termed
known as the place where Martin Luther the ‘clockwork Universe’) that arose in the sev-
(1483–1546) started the Reformation. Finally, enteenth century:
Dresden was chosen to focus on due to its im- The popularity of the mechanical view
portance as the seat of the Saxonian elect- since the seventeenth century may have
orate. All these places played an important rendered other views of how particles might
interact implausible or redundant to us, but
role for astronomical research and scientific
that is not the case for the early Greeks.
discourse in central Europe during the seven- There is no machine analogy here. (page
teenth century. In a further chapter of the vol- 143)
ume under review, Silvia Schöneburg (Leipzig)
compares the two mathematicians Ambrosius Gregory identifies two terms in Greek (ku-
Rhodius (1577–1633) and Erasmus Schmidt bernan: to steer; kratein: to control) that have
(1570–1637) from seventeenth-century Witten- hitherto been neglected in trying to understand
berg with their contemporaries. Both publish- those ancient views of the cosmos:
ed academic writings on the third comet in These verbs were used in critical cosmog-
1618. Just as a reminder: in 1618, three onical and cosmological passages. The
comets appeared, that were visible to the nak- cosmos acquired its order, maintained its
ed eye and were interpreted and considered, order and behaved in a lawlike manner
through steering or control. (page 185).
among the common people, as a harbinger of
the Thirty Years’ War in Central Europe from Gregory identifies intelligence rather than mē-
1618 to 1648. chanē as the
The topic of the fourth part is the history of … paradigm of regularity, an interesting re-
versal of modern suppositions ...This trad-
mathematics during the nineteenth century
ition has been marginalized by scholars
and part five of this Festschrift covers the who have sought to find mechanism wher-
twentieth century. Here, we do not find any ever they could and valued only direct af-
further readings from the history of astronomy. finities with modern science. (page 185).
A documentation of the conference sched- A particular example of this deals with
ule, a list of participants and short profiles of Laplace’s Demon, which states that if one
the authors of this volume complete this knowns everything about particles at any one
237
 Book Reviews

moment, all past and future states can be single and eternal with several arguments (as
calculated. “The common assumption is that the original work of Anaximander no longer
the system of the early atomists is indeed exists, detective work is required). One of
amenable to Laplace's Demon. I disagree.” these arguments rests on Aristotle, who was
(page 152). One reason he adduces is the “… keen to attack the idea of multiple cosmoi.”
fact the early atomists Leucippus and Dem- (page 85). While some have construed
ocritus “… did not envisage a beginning to the Aristotle (in On the Heavens, III/5) as referring
universe where nature is set in motion.” (page to multiple-co-existent worlds when he wrote
155). Gregory admits “The move away from that some philosophers (likely alluding to
universal determinism ... may seem quite rad- Anaximander) hypothesize air or fire “…
ical …” (page 156), but I find his arguments surrounds all the heavens …”, Gregory makes
here quite persuasive, especially as he sug- a crucial doxo-graphical point:
gests a new translation of apeiros to be Aristotle separated three senses of ouran-
'unlimited' rather than ‘infinite’. Instead of as- os (heaven) in On the Heavens, and he
serting an infinite number of atoms in an in- may only have intended to attribute ‘heav-
finite space, the author questions “Do we ens’ in the sense of multiple rings, of stars,
overly modernize Leucippus and Democritus moon and sun …
by taking apieros in relation to them to mean rather than multiple cosmoi. This brings us to
infinite?” (page 158). the view of Anaximander that the most distant
object from Earth are not the stars, but the
Sun!
According to Anaximander, the Earth is a
flat disk like a column drum, floating in space.
Farthest away is the ring of the Sun, com-
posed of fire enclosed by air or mist, which
contains a “… breathing hole …” through
which we see the Sun (page 89). Closer to
the central Earth is the Moon, with stars even
closer. In this scheme, the heavenly bodies
are wheels, but Gregory cautions against
thinking of them in any solid or mechanical
way, as they are composed of air and fire;
nevertheless, the key point that Anaximander
“… gives depth to the heavens, as opposed to
all the heavenly bodies being the same
distance …” (page 91) was a major advance in
thought.
The author gets to the core of the issue in
direct prose, which I much prefer to the usual
academic feint ‘I suggest’. Gregory writes,
When we reconstruct Anaximander on the
heavens, we have a choice. We can give
him the best astronomy the evidence al-
Another especially pernicious application lows, or the best cosmology. These do not
of modern thought in the ancient Greek con- result in the same system! (page 90)
text involves the multiverse, or many world Gregory opts for the latter, as the price for
hypothesis. The multiverse in now envisioned adopting the former “… is losing significant
as many (perhaps an infinite number) of Uni- amounts of symmetry and taxis (order), and
verses. In terms of the work of Anaximander the stability of the earth is lost too.” (page 90).
(610–546 BCE), “… the more mechanical The author concludes “… it is quite possible
view has been associated with the multiple co- that the early Greeks valued cosmological
existent cosmoi view …” one that Gregory re- principle over astronomical precision …” (page
jects. The other two candidates in the “… 90), a strong potentially with far-reaching
running debate about the number of cosmoi in implications that must be borne in mind in any
Anaximander …” are a “… single, eternal cos- future history of astronomy studies in this
mos … [and] successive cosmoi with only one period.
cosmos existing at a time.” (page 81). Unfortunately, the book contains several
Gregory supports his view that Anaximan- typos including on page 55, “suggests” should
der understood the cosmos (Universe) as read “suggest”; page 85, “in way” should be “in
238
 Book Reviews

a way”; page 145, “There is any Platonic form” telescope would confuse and embarrass their
should read “is not any”; page 188, “if using” whole mission.”
should be “of using.” The worst of the lot is on Screech explains how it would do this
page 70, where the Hippocratic author of On (page 73):
Regimen is misquoted: “This steers all things
though all (panta dia pantos kuberna)” should Here is the crux: telescopes allowed any
read “through all”. Most annoyingly, the very careful observer to see that Copernicus
was correct. The instrument made it pos-
same error is repeated on page 71. sible to detect with one’s own eyes—never
This book is a much-needed corrective to mind abstruse calculations in Latin—that
the imposition of mechanistic interpretations of the earth does revolve around the sun. To
nature onto early Greek thought. Combined maintain the opposite view, after 1608,
was to persist in wilful error.
with his cautionary warning “… that the doxo-
graphy can be wrong on cosmogony …” (page
84), Gregory has convincingly developed a
scholarly challenge that historians of astron-
omy and classicists alike cannot ignore.
Dr Clifford Cunningham
University of Southern Queensland, Australia,
and 5201 N. Spring View Drive, Tucson
AZ 85749, USA.
E-mail: Cliff.Cunningham@usq.edu.au

The Shogun’s Silver Telescope: God, Art,

and Money in the English Quest for Japan,
1600–1625, by Timon Screech. (Oxford,
Oxford University Press, 2020). Pp. xviii +
306, ISBN 978-0-19-883203-4 (hardback),
152 × 228 mm, US$35.
Were this book by Timon Screech titled The
Shogun and the Clove: God, Art, and Money in
the English Quest for Japan, 1600 –1625, it
would not catch the interest of historians of
astronomy, and it would not be reviewed in
JAHH. But the words “Silver Telescope” and
the fifteen pages of so of the book that pertain
to those two words both make the book of
interest to JAHH and turn what might have
been a good book about the history of England
and Japan into something highly problematic.
The Shogun’s Silver Telescope tells the But this is wholly incorrect. Prior to the advent
story of English efforts to sell their wares in of the telescope, Tycho Brahe had introduced
Japan in the early seventeenth century. The his hybrid geocentric, or geoheliocentric syst-
title refers to a telescope that was to be a gift em, which was mathematically and observat-
for the Shogun, which was taken to Japan ionally identical to the system of Copernicus
aboard a ship called the Clove. The ship left in-sofar as the Sun, the Moon, and the planets
England in 1611. were concerned. No telescopic observation of
Screech proposes that the purpose of this those bodies could show that Copernicus was
telescope was to help the English gain access correct. Observations of the fixed stars would
to Japan by discrediting the members of the have done the job in theory, but practically
Society of Jesus who had already been there speaking, the ability to observe annual par-
for some time. The telescope would do this, allax in the fixed stars, or to observe the
according to Screech, by showing that the aberration of starlight, was still a long way off
geocentric astronomy that the Jesuits taught in 1611.
was wrong. “The Japanese were thirsty for And, practically speaking, an observer not
scientific knowledge, and the Jesuits taught as experienced with a 1611 telescope was un-
much astronomy as theology …” he writes likely to be able to detect anything at all with
(page 74). “A telescope could be used to turn such an instrument. Telescopes in 1611 were
the tables …” [against the Jesuits, because] a not user-friendly. There is actually a tangential
239
 Book Reviews

reference to this in the book. Screech des- was “… preparing to launch the papacy’s
cribes (page 180) how two Japanese gentle- devastating attack on Galileo …” (page 235),
men hear about the silver telescope, and in- or that the “… terrible findings …” of tele-
quire about getting a telescope of their own. scopes in general “… were shaking the pap-
An English merchant had one, Screech writes, acy.” (page 236).
and
Screech’s overall characterization of the
This he was willing to give, though having Jesuits and the Church as being shaken by
experimented with it, the gentlemen graci- the telescope, and even wanting to conceal its
ously handed it back. There is no further existence (page 234) is a third example. in
record, but the two Japanese lords must
have gone away with many new ideas.
1611 Jesuit astronomers confirmed Galileo’s
discoveries with their own telescopic obser-
Any observer today who has used a replica of vations, and honored Galileo in Rome. Jesuits
a telescope from that era will tell you what one went on to do more telescopic work. For ex-
new idea those two lords most likely went ample, Christoph Scheiner published his Math-
away with: the same idea that was why they ematical Disquisitions in 1614, which featured
handed it back—namely, that it was almost precision telescopic observations, praise for
impossible to see anything through that tube. Galileo, and support for a hybrid geocentric
Thus, the Silver Telescope’s title thesis, system (a 2017 translation of this work was
that the English took a silver telescope to recently reviewed here in JAHH—see Cun-
Japan as a gift for the Shogun so that “… the ningham, 2020). Scheiner went on to conduct
astronomical notions conveyed with the tele- a years-long telescopic study of the Sun.
scope …” (page 182) would undermine the Here are two final examples of very basic
Jesuits, is based on a misunderstanding of errors: (1) mis-spelling the title of Galileo’s
what a telescope in 1611 could possibly re- work as Sideris Nuncius (on page 101) instead
veal, and of what a person using a 1611 tele- of Sidereus Nuncius; and (2) the remarkable
scope could actually see. absence of the words ‘telescope’ and ‘astron-
There are other basic errors about the omy’ in the book’s substantial index.
history of astronomy in this book, although These examples by no means comprise
they do not so directly undermine the book’s an exhaustive list, and it is difficult to under-
central thesis. For example, Screech writes stand how such an abundance of basic errors
that could be present in a book written by an
Galileo undertook his researches in Pad- accomplished historian and published by one
ua, but his patron was in Florence, the of the world’s best-regarded academic pres-
Grand Duke of Tuscany, Cosimo II de ses. This should be of concern to many.
Medici. In thanks for his support Galileo
sent Duke Cosimo a copy of his book These errors are, however, confined to a
[Starry Messenger ] upon publication in very limited number of pages. The book is
1610. The Duke reciprocated by awarding 306 pages long, and there are only two sect-
Galileo a professorship at Pisa. (page 74). ions where telescopes and astronomy are
Then, once in Pisa, “… Galileo continued with discussed at any length: pages 72–82 and
his work.” (page 77). But Galileo taught at the 233–237. Otherwise, there are only scattered
University of Pisa for a few years starting in isolated references to the telescope (e.g. “The
1589, then at the University of Padua until arrival of the telescope was recorded …”, on
1610. After publishing Starry Messenger he page 223). Screech cites records of the tele-
was made philosopher and chief mathemat- scope going to Japan and being given to the
ician to the Grand Duke, not a professor at Shogun, but he does not provide any evidence
Pisa again. that the telescope was used. It is true that the
shogunate did turn against the Jesuit missions
A second example is Screech’s timeline
after the arrival of the English, but the idea that
on events relating to heliocentrism. For ex-
the telescope contributed to this seems to be
ample, he says “Having let [Copernicus’s] De
mere speculation, based upon erroneous not-
orbium sit in the Vatican library for two gen-
ions about telescopes.
erations, Rome had now banned the book.”
(page 73), but what “now” refers to is uncertain Were the words “Silver Telescope” absent
as Screech makes frequent jumps in topics from the title, and the afore-mentioned two
and dates, and since the Clove sailed for Jap- short sections omitted, with the silver tele-
an in 1611 and Rome took no action against scope simply mentioned as an interesting item
the book until 1615–1616 (and even then did that was given to the Shogun, then this would
not fully ban it), this statement is problematic. be a nicely illustrated informative book about
So is the statement that by 1611 Bellarmine England and Japan, and trade and politics.
240
 Book Reviews

Reference obvious how an astronomical object can be

Cunningham, C., 2020. Review of Mathematical Dis- calm. The fact there is no index entry for any
quisitions: The Booklet of Theses Immortalized by of these four attributes does not help the read-
Galileo, by Christopher Graney. Journal of Astro- er, nor does the fact that when the qualities
nomical History and Heritage, 23, 414– 415. are reiterated on page 71 she omits ‘calm’. In
the conclusion to the book, she writes
Dr Christopher M. Graney
Vatican Observatory & Vatican Observatory I suggest that in Ptolemy’s philosophical
Foundation, Castel Gandolfo, Vatican City system both astronomy and harmonics
& Tucson, Arizona, USA. produce the virtuous transformation of the
human soul. (page 204).
Email: c.graney@vaticanobservatory.org

Ptolemy’s Philosophy: Mathematics as a

Way of Life, by Jacqueline Feke. (Prince-
ton, Princeton University Press, 2018). Pp.
xi + 234. ISBN 978-0-691-17958-2 (hard-
back), 160 × 240 mm, U.S. $39.50.
Most reviews of this important book have dealt
with its theological, philosophical and mathe-
matical aspects. Here I will focus on those
elements most closely associated with history
of astronomy, which is an integral part of the
elucidation of the philosophy of Ptolemy by
author Jacqueline Feke. She is Assistant Pro-
fessor of Philosophy at the University of Wat-
erloo (Canada), where I earned my degrees in
physics and classics.
Feke identifies “Franz Boll, a nineteenth-
century philologist … [as] the only scholar be-
sides myself to attempt a complete study of
Ptolemy’s philosophy.” (page 15). Considering
all the subsequent scholarship on Ptolemy,
that is indeed a sobering realisation, but in the
few instances in which Feke mentions Boll’s
analysis, it is only to agree with him. This may
be a testament to the genius of Boll, although I
find it perplexing she did not engage more fully
with what he wrote, or express any divergence An entire chapter is devoted to harmonia,
between his findings and hers. Certainly, in which she quotes the third century novelist
Feke’s scholarship on Ptolemy’s philosophy Antonius Diogenes “… who depicts Pythagor-
extends that of Boll, but in what areas and to as as singing paeans at dawn in order to calm
what extent are left for the reader to imagine. the soul.” (page 76). Relying on a novelist
This is all the more regrettable as “Boll was a who lived some eight centuries after Pythag-
scholar of great originality, with that rare ability oras to support the attribution of calmness to
to combine astronomy, religion, and literature astronomical objects in the philosophy of Ptol-
…” (Weinstock, 1951), the very elements Feke emy strikes me as a bit tenuous. Nonetheless,
has shown such proficiency in with this book. I found her statement that for Ptolemy “…
none of the stars make music …” to be of
A key argument of the book can be found great moment. Rather
on page 70:
… the same ratios that describe the relat-
According to Ptolemy, the study of mathe- ions in musical systems exist in the move-
matics and, in particular, the contemplation ments and configurations of heavenly bod-
of the constancy, good order, commensur- ies. (page 112).
ability and calm of astronomical objects
makes makes the individual a lover of Feke’s study of rays from the stars is
divine beauty and transforms his soul to a masterful, and culminates in an unexpected
state similar to the one contemplated. way. First, she interprets the stars’ rays to be
material: “As rays act upon material objects,
While the relationships between constancy,
bodies and souls, they too must be material.”
good order and commensurability are quite
(page 181). This leads her to examine the
intuitive and well explained by Feke, it is not
movement of the rays, concluding “… the
241
 Book Reviews

stars’ rays leave their proper system and move epicyclic, exist in the heavens, but the de-
rectilinearly through the heavens. This inter- termination of these spheres’ sizes and
pretation is highly unorthodox ...” she admits, period depends on observation alone. The
but can “… explain how stars’ rays move certainty of astronomy extends only as far
as the existence of the spheres. (page
throughout the entire cosmos.” (page 183). 137).
Only by abandoning the idea that rays move in
a circular motion can one explain what Ptol- (Ptolemy’s claim that physics is conjectural
emy intends. was not confirmed until the rise of quantum
theory in the twentieth century.) This leads
She also makes a powerful point against Feke to dip a toe into the perennial con-
modern scholars who have over-interpreted troversy surrounding Ptolemy’s observations
the overthrow of Pierre Duhem’s 1969 ‘instru- reported in the Almagest (which, by the way,
mentalist interpretation’ of Ptolemy, which does not contain the word astronomia). She
stated that “Ptolemy did not believe that his suggests that
astronomical models corresponded to what ex-
The uncertainty Ptolemy discovered in the
ists in the heavens.” (page 130). Historians quantitative aspects of his astronomical
now, she states, models may have been a contributing
… make quick work of arguing for Ptol- factor to the notorious fabrication of some
emy’s realism with the simple observation of his observations. (page 141).
that he wrote the Planetary Hypothesis, In this book that places Ptolemy’s oeuvre
which renders his astronomical models in a new light, Feke succeeds in showing that
physical.
by integrating ideas from both the Platonic and
Feke demolishes this scholarly short-cut by Aristotelian traditions, he produced “… a philo-
noting “… that Ptolemy’s astronomical and, in sophical system that upended the entire edi-
general, mathematical realism is not depend- fice of ancient philosophy.” She goes so far as
ent on his physical realism.” (page 130). to characterise this seamless blending as pos-
A key understanding that animates this sessing a “… radical and even subversive
study is Ptolemy’s argument character.” (page 4). Like all important books,
this one is quite likely to establish a new tra-
… that both physics and theology are con- jectory in scholarship.
jectural and that mathematics alone yields
knowledge. This complex claim … is un- Reference
precedented in the history of philosophy Weinstock, S. (1951). Review of Franz Boll, Kleine
and would have been extraordinarily con- Schriften zur Sternkunde des Altertums. The
troversial in the ancient Greek philosoph- Journal of Roman Studies, 41, 167.
ical milieu. (page 26)
Dr Clifford Cunningham
The implication for astronomy is that certainty University of Southern Queensland, Australia
is conditional: 5201 N. Spring View Drive, Tucson
Astronomy … utilizes reason and percept- AZ 85749, USA.
ion to establish that spheres, eccentric and E-mail: Cliff.Cunningham@usq.edu.au

242
 Journal of Astronomical History and Heritage, 24(1), 243 – 244 (2021).

LETTER TO THE EDITOR

Re: The Shogun’s Silver Telescope: God, Art, and Money in the English Quest for Japan, 1600–
1625, by Timon Screech.

As an astronomer who is interested in the hist- To encourage the Japanese to expand their
orical situation in Japan during the early seven- overseas trade, visiting Europeans brought
teenth century, I’d like to make some comments various novel Western gadgets to Japan as
about Professor Timon Screech’s new book. I gifts for the Shogun and high-ranking warlords.
have not yet had a chance to read The Sho- Telescopes were among these gifts, as repre-
gun’s Silver Telescope: God, Art, and Money in sented by the silver telescope that was given to
the English Quest for Japan, 1600–1625. How- the first Shogun, Tokugawa Iyeyasu, in 1613.
ever, after reading the review by Christopher M. In his review of The Shogun’s Silver Tele-
Graney published in this issue of JAHH (pp. scope Graney cites from the book:
239–241), I feel that his criticism of Screech’s
understanding of the role of the silver telescope … telescopes allowed any careful observer
to see that Copernicus was correct. The
as a gift to the Shogun is reasonable and
instrument made it possible to detect with
correct, and I agree with his opinions. one’s own eyes that the earth does revolve
If the table of contents in the book’s advert- around the sun.
isement is scanned, we understand that what Screech’s view may have been affected by the
Screech intended exists in the subtitle, namely following anecdote relating to Galileo Galilei’s
that this book tells the story of English efforts to discovery of four small satellites orbiting Jup-
sell their wares in Japan in the early seven- iter: Galileo considered that this satellite system
teenth century. But perhaps the author could demonstrated that heliocentrism was correct.
not resist the temptation to add some symbolic
item (such as a silver telescope) as the eye- However, it would have been impossible to
catching primary title, and it is this title and his actually see Jupiter’s four small satellites with a
misunderstanding of the historical role of the Galilean-type telescope made in the 1610s that
telescope that has invited criticism from re- had a magnifying power of less than 10. This
viewers of this book with any knowledge of inference is supported by a description in the
astronomy. diary that a Dejima captain of the Dutch East
India Company kept. It says that in 1647 at the
After Japan first encountered the Portu- request of the Christianity regulation officer in
guese in 1543, the Spanish and Jesuit mis- Nagasaki he imported a special kind of tele-
sionaries soon came to Japan with the intention scope that enabled one to observe Galilean
of propagating Christianity. They established a satellites. Probably the officer ordered the tele-
few colleges and seminaries in Japan to nurture scope not for any scientific interest but out of
domestic Christian priests, and in order to im- layman’s curiosity.
press the Japanese with the superiority of Euro-
pean culture and civilization they also taught This is the only story connecting telescopes
Western astronomy in their schools. Through with astronomy before the Japanese astrono-
such education the Japanese learned about the mer Harumi Shibukawa first started using a
spherical nature of the Earth, which they never telescope for astronomical observations in about
encountered in traditional Chinese astronomy. the 1680s. Otherwise telescopes were gener-
But the cosmic vision that the Jesuits taught the ally used for keeping watch on foreign ships and
Japanese was a geocentric, not a heliocentric, distant signals, for catching whales, for sight-
Universe. seeing, and by ‘peeping Toms’. Moreover, for
the ordinary people at that time, whether the
The Spanish were followed by the Dutch geocentric view of the Universe was correct or
and the British, but their primary interests were not was not important.
in the export and import business, and not the
promotion of Western culture and religion. Nev- Therefore, Screech’s claim that the main
ertheless, the shogunal government eventually reason telescopes were imported into Japan in
worried that the Christian missionaries might be the 1610s was to discredit the geocentric view
the vanguard of armed forces that would oc- of the Universe taught to the Japanese by the
cupy Japan. As a result, Japan closed its doors Jesuits is groundless speculation and irrele-
to the West in 1639, beginning a period of vant.
seclusion when initially only the Dutch East Finally, let me speculate about the current
India Company was allowed to stay, confined to status of the silver telescope of 1613. At present
tiny Dejima Island in Nagasaki Bay; all other its whereabouts is unknown. However, it may
Western nationals were expelled. be possible to recover it in the future. Toku-
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 Letter to the Editor

gawa Yoshinao, the eighth son of the first in this same museum that one of the world’s
shogun, was a scholar, and he inherited most earliest-known Schyrlean telescopes (with four
of valuable books and other property—likely convex lenses) was discovered back in the
including the silver telescope—from the first 1960s (see Nakamura, 2008).
shogun, Iyeyasu, who died in 1616. Reference
Yoshinao’s collection, including the Iyeyasu Nakamura, T., 2008. The earliest telescope
inheritance, is now preserved at the Tokugawa preserved in Japan. Journal of Astronomical
Art Museum in Nagoya city, where the col- History and Heritage, 11, 203–212.
lections have survived wars, natural disasters
and fires for about 400 years. Hence, it is Professor Tsuko Nakamura
possible that the silver telescope is still there, in Institute for Oriental Studies
an unexplored corner of one of the storage Daito-bunka University, Tokumaru 2-19-10
rooms, lost and long forgotten. In fact, it was Itabashi, Tokyo 175-0083, Japan
Email: tsukonk@yahoo.co.jp

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