Marie-Charles Damoiseau
Encyclopedia
Baron Marie-Charles-Théodore de Damoiseau de Montfort (April 6, 1768 in Besançon
. – August 6, 1846) was a French astronomer
.
Damoiseau left France
during the French Revolution
and worked as assistant director of the Lisbon Observatory. He returned to France in 1807.
In 1825, he was elected a member of the French Academy of Sciences
. He was a member of the Bureau des Longitudes
.
He is best known for publishing lunar tables (positions of the Moon
) between 1824–1828.
proposed that the Académie des Sciences in Paris set up a prize to be awarded to whoever succeeded in constructing lunar tables based solely on the law of universal gravity. In 1820 the prize was awarded to Carlini
and Plana and to Damoiseau by a committee of which Laplace
was a member.
Besançon
Besançon , is the capital and principal city of the Franche-Comté region in eastern France. It had a population of about 237,000 inhabitants in the metropolitan area in 2008...
. – August 6, 1846) was a French astronomer
Astronomer
An astronomer is a scientist who studies celestial bodies such as planets, stars and galaxies.Historically, astronomy was more concerned with the classification and description of phenomena in the sky, while astrophysics attempted to explain these phenomena and the differences between them using...
.
Damoiseau left France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
during the French Revolution
French Revolution
The French Revolution , sometimes distinguished as the 'Great French Revolution' , was a period of radical social and political upheaval in France and Europe. The absolute monarchy that had ruled France for centuries collapsed in three years...
and worked as assistant director of the Lisbon Observatory. He returned to France in 1807.
In 1825, he was elected a member of the French Academy of Sciences
French Academy of Sciences
The French Academy of Sciences is a learned society, founded in 1666 by Louis XIV at the suggestion of Jean-Baptiste Colbert, to encourage and protect the spirit of French scientific research...
. He was a member of the Bureau des Longitudes
Bureau des Longitudes
The Bureau des Longitudes is a French scientific institution, founded by decree of 25 June 1795 and charged with the improvement of nautical navigation, standardisation of time-keeping, geodesy and astronomical observation. During the 19th century, it was responsible for synchronizing clocks...
.
He is best known for publishing lunar tables (positions of the Moon
Moon
The Moon is Earth's only known natural satellite,There are a number of near-Earth asteroids including 3753 Cruithne that are co-orbital with Earth: their orbits bring them close to Earth for periods of time but then alter in the long term . These are quasi-satellites and not true moons. For more...
) between 1824–1828.
Theory of the Moon
In 1818 LaplacePierre-Simon Laplace
Pierre-Simon, marquis de Laplace was a French mathematician and astronomer whose work was pivotal to the development of mathematical astronomy and statistics. He summarized and extended the work of his predecessors in his five volume Mécanique Céleste...
proposed that the Académie des Sciences in Paris set up a prize to be awarded to whoever succeeded in constructing lunar tables based solely on the law of universal gravity. In 1820 the prize was awarded to Carlini
Francesco Carlini
Francesco Carlini was an Italian astronomer. Born in Milan, he became director of the observatory there in 1832. He published Nuove tavole de moti apparenti del sole in 1832. In 1810, he had already published Esposizione di un nuovo metodo di construire le taole astronomiche applicato alle...
and Plana and to Damoiseau by a committee of which Laplace
Pierre-Simon Laplace
Pierre-Simon, marquis de Laplace was a French mathematician and astronomer whose work was pivotal to the development of mathematical astronomy and statistics. He summarized and extended the work of his predecessors in his five volume Mécanique Céleste...
was a member.
Satellites of Jupiter
See also- David P. Todd, A continuation of de Damoiseau's tables of the satellites of Jupiter, to the year 1900, 1876
- John Couch Adams, Continuation of Tables I. and III. of Damoiseau's Tables of Jupiter's satellites, 1877
Honors
- He won the Gold Medal of the Royal Astronomical SocietyGold Medal of the Royal Astronomical Society-History:In the early years, more than one medal was often awarded in a year, but by 1833 only one medal was being awarded per year. This caused a problem when Neptune was discovered in 1846, because many felt an award should jointly be made to John Couch Adams and Urbain Le Verrier...
in 1831. - The crater DamoiseauDamoiseau (crater)Damoiseau is a lunar crater that is located just to the west of the Oceanus Procellarum, in the western part of the Moon's near side. It lies due east of the prominent crater Grimaldi, a walled plain with a distinctive dark floor...
on the MoonMoonThe Moon is Earth's only known natural satellite,There are a number of near-Earth asteroids including 3753 Cruithne that are co-orbital with Earth: their orbits bring them close to Earth for periods of time but then alter in the long term . These are quasi-satellites and not true moons. For more...
is named after him.
Manuscripts
The Paris observatory holds a large set of manuscripts from Damoiseau. See Manuscrits Damoiseau on http://alidade.obspm.frPublications
- Éphémérides nauticas, ou Diario astronomico para 1799 [-1805] calculado no Observatorio real da marinha (8 volumes, 1798–1802)
- Memoria relativa aos eclipses do sol visiveis em Lisboa, desde 1800 até 1900 inclusivamente (1801)
- Tables de la lune, formées par la seule théorie de l'attraction et suivant la division de la circonférence en 400 degrés (1824)
- Tables de la lune, formées par la seule théorie de l'attraction et suivant la division de la circonférence en 360 degrés (1828)
- Tables écliptiques des satellites de Jupiter, d'après la théorie de leurs attractions mutuelles et les constantes déduites des observations (1836), http://books.google.fr/books?id=E-gRAAAAYAAJ