Search Results: traite de la comete qui a by cheseaux jean philippe loys

Lausanne, Genève, Marc Michel Bousquet, 1744. *** Première édition. La comète dite "de Cheseaux" se caractérisait par des queues multiples et a sans doute été la plus belle du XVIIIème siècle. Chesaux est le premier scientifique qui a calculé l'orbite d'une comète en s'appuyant sur la mécanique de Newton. Illustré par 6 planches dépliantes, dont une jolie planche qui montre la comète telle qu'elle est apparue et une autre qui montre des instruments. 3 tableaux dont 2 hors-texte. Astronome et physicien, Jean-Philippe Loys de Cheseaux (Lausanne, 1718-Paris, 1751) était selon Hoefer, un savant presque universel. Il avait écrit son premier ouvrages, des "Essais de physique" à l'âge de dix-sept ans. Il a été un des premiers à formuler la version moderne du paradoxe d'Olbers. Papier un peu bruni avec une légère trace brune en bas de certaines pages, coins frottés, n'en demeure pas moins un bel exemplaire. Ex-libris Noël Hermet. Lalande 425. *** In-8 de (2), 308 pp, 2 tableaux et 6… Read More

Six folding engraved plates. Title in red & black. 1 p.l., 308 pp. 8vo, cont. mottled sheep, flat spine nicely gilt, contrasting leather lettering piece on spine. Lausanne & Geneva: M.M. Bousquet, 1744. First edition of this important book in which Cheseaux (1718-51), grandson of Crouzas and a fellow the Royal Society of London, first stated what was to become known as "the paradox of Cheseaux": "With an infinite and uniform distribution of stars throughout space, the night sky should shine with a brightness corresponding to their average surface brightness." A number of notable astronomers have struggled with this problem, including Halley, Olbers, Struve, and Herschel. "The magnificent comet of 1744 was both bright and unusual in that it was reliably reported that it had multiple tails spread out like a fan. The Swiss astronomer Jean Philippe Loys de Cheseaux, after whom the comet is often named, began his observations on December 13, 1743, and computed a… Read More

Lausanne & Geneva:: Chez Marc-Michel Bousquet, 1744., 1744. 8vo. [2], 308 pp. Title printed in red and black, woodcut title vignette, woodcut headpiece, initial letter, 1 folding table (p. 166), 2 double-page folding tables of lunar observations (between pp. 266(a), 267(b)), 6 folding engraved plates, errata; small repair on verso of title, 2 leaves with waterstaining. Tiny manuscript note on title, recording the author's death date, larger ink ms. also on foot of title: "1744". Original full mottled calf, leather gilt-stamped spine label, raised bands; joints cracked. Very good. Extremely rare. First edition. Cheseaux was a Swiss astronomer who was the first to observe a number of nebulae. Loys de Cheseaux "earned his European reputation as an astronomer thanks to his Traite de la Comete (1744, in which he defends Newton's physics and discusses Olbers' Paradox." – Historical Dictionary of Switzerland. / Halley, having banked his reputation on the predicted return of his comet's return in 1758… Read More