Hi/lory of AJlrommy for the Year 1799. ^^ 



telefcopes, the tubes of which always remain horizontal, and 

 in which the image of the objeft is thrown on the eye-glafs 

 by means of a plain fpeculum. 



The Minifter of the Marine has augmented the falary of 

 the AUronomers of the Marine at Marfeilles, and C. Thulis 

 has refumed his obfervations with new zeal. The obferva- 

 tories of C. Darquier at Touloufe, Duc-la-Chapelle at Mon- 

 tauban, and Flaugergues at Vivicrs, have furniflied us with 

 many ufeful obfervations. 



The grand and important work of C. Laplace, entitled 

 La Mecatiique Celejle, expected with fo much impatience, 

 appeared on the 6th of September. In that work will be 

 found the methods and noble analyfis which led the author 

 to the important difcoveries which I have feveral times an- 

 nounced and extolled in this hiftory, 



C. Burckhardt tranflated it into German with explanatory 

 notes, at the fame time that he read the proofs of the French 

 edition, and went over all the calculations. No author ever 

 had, or was more worthy of having, a tranflator of fo great 

 merit. The Bureau dcs Longitudes, who had long known 

 the zeal and ability of C. Burckhardt, have unanimoufly 

 clcfted him to a place vacant three years, though it had 

 been foliclted for by feveral men of letters, of approved ta- 

 lents, and natives of France. But C. Burckhardt has got 

 himfelf adopted by France; he has preferred it to his own 

 country, which he will no lefs honour by labouring with us. 

 In the laft century, Caffini, Huyghens, Romer, and Maraldi, 

 rame in like manner to reinforce aftronomy in France ; but 

 at that period it had more need of fuch afliflance. There 

 were then only two or three French aflronomers j at prefent 

 we have fevcn or eight, 



M. Schubert has publiflied in German, at Peterfburgh, a 

 work on Phyfical Aftronomy in two volumes quarto, in which 

 are found calculations of the perturbations of all the planets. 



C. Cauffin has finiflied the tranflation of the Arabic ma- 

 nufcript of Ibn lunis. In this work there are more than a, 

 hundred obfervations, thirty of which are of eclipfes. I had 

 found a fragment of it among the manufcripts of Jofeph dq 

 I^ifle, my old nia(l( r. 



V% Thq 



