History of Astronomy

 

 

What was the contribution of Pierre Laplace, the French Astronomer and Mathematician, to the science of astronomy?

Pierre Laplace is famous for his application of applied mathematics to practical astronomy. He published his work Mecanique Celeste in the years 1799-1825. It was an attempt to explain the mechanical problems presented by the Solar System.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Name the astronomer who is acclaimed as the father of modern practical astronomy.

John Flamsteed, first Astronomer-Royal of England. In 1676, when Greenwich Observatory was built, he began observations which really began modern practical astronomy. The first reliable catalogue of fixed stars was compiled by him, and he wrote the great book Historia Coelestis Britannica, published in 1725. His work supplied the background for some of Newton’s theories.