MEMBER OF THE ACADEMY OF SCIENCES. 103 



ing point for any person occupying himself with the 

 lunar theory; finally, also the reduction of 515 zodiacal 

 stars, observed by Lacaille in 1760 and 1761. 



BAILLY A MEMBER OF THE ACADEMY OF SCIENCES. 



HIS RESEARCHES ON JUPITER'S SATELLITES. 



Bailly was named member of the Academy of Sciences 

 the 29th January, 1763. From that moment his- astro- 

 nomical zeal no longer knew any bounds. The laborious 

 life of our fellow-academician might, on occasion, be set 

 up against a line, more fanciful than true, by which an 

 ill-natured poet stigmatized academical honours. Cer- 

 tainly no one would say of Bailly, that after his election, 



" II s'endormit et ne fit qu'un somme." 

 " He fell asleep and made but one nap (or sum)." 



On the contrary, we cannot but be surprised at the 

 multitude of literary and scientific labours that he accom- 

 plished in a few years. 



Bailly's earliest researches on Jupiter's satellites began 

 in 1763. 



The subject was happily chosen. Studying it in all its 

 generalities, he showed himself both an indefatigable 

 computer, a clear-sighted geometer, and an industrious 

 and able observer. Bailly's researches on the satellites 

 of Jupiter, will always be his first and chief claim to 

 scientific glory. Before him, the Maraldis, the Bradleys, 

 the Wargentins had discovered empirically some of the 

 principal perturbations that those bodies undergo, in their 

 revolving motions around the powerful planet that rules 

 them ; but they had not been traced up to the principles 

 of universal attraction. The initiative honour in this re- 

 spect belongs to Bailly. Nor is this honour decreased by 



