H E V 



Hesse, mers to the Georgium Sidus. See ASTBONOMY, vol. ii. 

 iK-veliiu. p. G}<), and URANUS. 



"""V*"' HKSSE, a principality of Germany, is bounded on 

 the south by the bishopric of Fulda, the principalities 

 and the counties of Irenburg, Nidda, and Sohns ; on 

 the east, by Brunswick 'Eichsfeld and Thuringia; on 

 the west, by Sohns, Nassau, Westphalia, and Waldeck ; 

 and on the north, by Wahleck, Fadenborn, and Uruns- 

 wick. Its figure is irregularly oval, and it extends 

 about 60 miles from north to south, and from 50 to 70 

 from west to east. It occupies 2760 square miles, and 

 contains 750,000 inhabitants. 



The greater part of this principality was annexed by 

 Bonaparte to the new kingdom of Westphalia ; and 

 the grand duchy of Hesse, which was one of the states 

 of the Confederation of the Rhine, was formed out of 

 new territories. Before the peace of Presburg it con- 

 tained 151 square German miles, and had a population 

 of 319,000 ; after the peace of Presburg, its extent was 

 202 square miles, its population 478,800, its military 

 contingent 4000, and its revenue in rixdollars 1 ,660,000. 

 An account of this principality will be found in our ar- 

 ticle on the circle of the RHINE, of which it forms a 

 part. See CASSEL and DARMSTADT. 



HEVELIUS, or HOEVELKE, JOHN, a celebrated Po- 

 lish astronomer, was born at Dantzic on the 28th Ja- 

 nuary 161 1, and was the son of a brewer of that city. 

 After studying mathematics under Peter Cruger, he 

 travelled through Holland, Germany, England, and 

 France, between the years 1630 and 1634; and upon 

 his return to his native place, he was principally em- 

 ployed in the affairs of the republic of Dantzic, of which 

 he was made consul in 1651. About the year iCtiO, by 

 the advice of his former master, he devoted himself 

 -wholly to the study of astronomy. In the year Itiil, he 

 built an observatory at his own expence, and furnished 

 it with excellent telescopes and graduated instruments, 

 which he constructed with his own hands. With these 

 instruments, which consisted of a sextant, a quad- 

 rant ti ; | feet radius, and very large telescopes, he made 

 numerous observations, the result of which appear- 

 ed at Dantzic in the year 16'47, in his work entitled 

 " Selenographia, sive Lunae descriptio, atque accu- 

 rata, tarn maculorum ejus, quam motuum di verso- 

 rum, aliarumque omnium vicissitudinum phasiumque 

 telescopii ope deprehensarum, delineatio : in qua simul 

 cseterorum omnium planetarum nativa facies, variaeque 

 observationes, presertim autem macularum solarium et 

 jovialium tubo specillo acquisihc, figuris sub aspectum 

 pnnuntur ; necnon quam plurimae astronomicas, opticse, 

 physicaeque quarstiones resolvuntur. Addita est nova 

 ratio lentes expoliendi, telescopia construendi, et ho- 

 rum adminiculo varias observationes exquisite insti- 

 tuendi." 



In 1650, he published an epistle to his friend Eich- 

 stad, on the eclipse of the sun, on Nov. 4th 1649 ; and 

 in 1652, appeared another epistle on the solar eclipse, 

 addressed to Gassendi and Bullialdus. 



About this time, Hevelius made the important dis- 

 covery of the moon's libration, of which he gave an 

 account in a letter to Riccioli, which was published in 

 1654, and entitled De motu Luna; libratorio in certasta- 

 liulas rcdacto. In 1656 he published his Dissertatio le 

 Nativa Salurni facie, fjusque varO* phaiibus, certa pe- 

 riodo rcdeuntibus citi addita est Ec/ipsis Solis anni 1656, 

 ol/servatio el diametri solis apparentis accurata dimensio. 



48 



H E V 



In 1661, Hevelius had the good fortune to observe Hevelhu. 

 the transit of Mercury on the sun's disc; and in 1662, ** "V^ 

 he published his observations, entitled, " Mercurius in 

 sole visus anno 1661, cum aliis quibusdam rerum coe- 

 lestium observationibus, rarisque phenomenis ; cui an- 

 nexa est Venus in sole pariter visa 1639, Liverpoliae a 

 Jeremia Horroxio, nunc primum edita, notisque illus. 

 trata. Accedit succincta historiola novae ac mirae stellae 

 in collo Ceti certis anni temporibus clare admodum ef- 

 fulgentis, rarsus omnine evanescentis ; necnon genuina 

 delineatio paraselenarum et parheliorum * quorundam 

 rarissimorum." 



The reputation of Hevelius was now so great, that 

 the illustrious Colbert recommended him to the notice 

 of Louis XIV. who granted him a pension. A copy of 

 the letter, in which Colbert announced this act of liber- 

 ality to Hevelius, is preserved in the Royal Library at 

 Paris. Hevelius shewed his gratitude by dedicating to 

 Colbert his " Prodromus Cometicus, quo Historia Come- 

 tre anno 1664 exorti cursum, faciesque diversas capitis ac 

 caudae accurate delineatas complectens, necnon disserta- 

 tio de cometarum omnium motu, generatione variisque 

 phenomenis exhibetur," Dantz. 1665. A supplement 

 to this work appeared in 1666, entitled, " Descriptio 

 Comctte anno 1665, exorti cum genuinis observationi- 

 bus tarn nudis quam enodatis mense Aprili habitis ; cui 

 addita est mantissa Prodromi Cornelia, observationes 

 omnes prioris Cometas 1664, ex iisque genuinum motuin 

 accurate deductum, cum notis et anirnadversionibus, ex- 

 hibens." 



In the year 1668, he published in folio, his great 

 work on comets, under the title of " Cometographia, 

 totam naturam Cometarum, utpote sedem, parallaxes, 

 distantias, ortum et interitum, capitum cauclarumque 

 diversas facies, affectionesque, necnon motum eorum 

 summe admirandum, beneficio unius, ejusque fixae et 

 convenientis hypotheseos, exhibens ; in qua universa 

 insuper phenomena, questionesque de cometis omnes 

 rationibus evidentibus deducuntur, demonstrantur, ac 

 iconibus aeri incisis plurimis illustrantur ; cumprimis 

 vero Cometo? annorum 1652, 1661, 1664, 1665, abipso 

 auctore summo studio observati. Accessit omnium 

 Cometarum, a mundo condito hue usque, ab historicis 

 philosophis et astronomis annotatorum, historia, notis 

 et annotationibus locupletata, cum peculiar! tabula Co* 

 metarum Universal!." 



When this work was completed, Hevelius sent a 

 copy of it to Dr Hooke, and to other distinguished 

 members of the Royal Society. In return for this work, 

 Dr Hooke presented Hevelius with a Description of 

 the Dioptric Telescope, and the method of using it ; 

 and recommended it as preferable to the use of plain 

 sights in astronomical instruments. In this way com- 

 menced the celebrated controversy respecting the use 

 of plain and telescopic sights. Hooke maintained, that 

 with an instrument of a span radius, the distances and 

 altitudes of celestial objects could be measured to a se- 

 cond by telescopic sights ; and Hevelius insisted in his 

 reply, that with a gocd eye, and great experience, 

 he had obtained the same accuracy in the use of 

 his instruments ; and he sent eight distances between 

 stars, for the purpose of being examined by Dr 

 Hooke. Here the controversy was for the present ter- 

 minated. 



In the year 1673, Hevelius published in folio, the 

 first part of his " Machina Celestis, organographiam, 



* These Paraselene and Parhelia are described in our article HALO, Vol. X. p, 611, and represented in Plate CCLXXXVII. Figs. 4, 

 , 6. 



