Skip to main content

Astrometric Observations of Hevelius and Derived Values of ΔT (Dynamical time — Universal time)

  • Conference paper
Earth’s Rotation from Eons to Days
  • 104 Accesses

Abstract

About 1500 meridian altitudes of the sun observed by Johannes Hevelius (1611–1687) at Danzig in the years 1652–1679 and about 1160 distances of fixed stars from the lunar limb obtained in 1658–1679 as well as 48 occultations of stars by the moon were analyzed with the aim to obtain a value of the time difference d ΔT = ET—UT between ephemeris time and universal time for the time of Hevelius. This time difference is a measure of the “clock error” of the rotation of the Earth caused mainly by secular deceleration due to tidal friction.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Chapter
USD 29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD 84.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
USD 109.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

Preview

Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.

Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.

References

  • Brockhaus Texte und Tabellen (1983) Länder und Klima. Europa, UdSSR. Zsstellung d. Tab.: Grünewald G, Höller E, Stranz D, Wiesbaden

    Google Scholar 

  • Hevelius J (1673, 1679 ) Machina Coelestis, Danzig. Nachdruck: Schmeidler, Osnabrück 1969

    Google Scholar 

  • Hevelius J (1685) Annus Climactericus. Danzig

    Google Scholar 

  • Krasinsky GA, Saramonova EY, Sveshinkov ML, Sveshnikova ES (1985) Universal time, lunar tidal deceleration and relativistic effects from observations of transits, eclipses and occultations in the XVIII — XX centuries. Astron Astrophys 145: 90

    Google Scholar 

  • Lambeck K (1980) The earth’s variable rotation. Geophysical causes and consequences. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Martin CF (1969) A study of the rate of rotation of the Earth from occultations of stars by the Moon 1627 —1860. Ph.D. thesis, Yale Univ

    Google Scholar 

  • Newcomb S (1878) Researches on the motion of the moon. I. Astron Met Obsery Washington

    Google Scholar 

  • Newhall XX, Standish EM Jr, Williams JG (1983) DE 102: a numerically integrated ephemeris of the Moon and planets spanning forty-four centuries. Astron Astrophys 125: 150

    Google Scholar 

  • Repsold JA (1908) Geschichte der astronomischen Meßwerkzeuge I. W. Engelmann, Leipzig

    Google Scholar 

  • Rybka P (1984) Katalog Gwiazdowy Heweliusza. Monografie z dziejów nauki i techniki, Tom CXXXII. Wroclaw, Warszawa

    Google Scholar 

  • Schmeidler F (1965) Methods in meridian astronomy. Vistas Astron 6: 69

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Schmeidler F (1969) Nachdruck von: Hevelius, Machina Coelestis. Verlag Otto Zeller, Osnabrück

    Google Scholar 

  • Spencer Jones H (1939) The rotation of the Earth, and the secular accelerations of the Sun, Moon and Planets. M N R Astron Soc 99: 541

    Google Scholar 

  • Stephenson FR, Morrison LV (1984) Long-term changes in the rotation of the Earth: 700 BC to AD 1980. Phil Trans R Soc Lond A 313: 47

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Tupman GL (1900) A comparison of Tycho Brahe’s meridian observations of the Sun with Leverrier’s solar tables. The Observatory 23: 132; 165

    Google Scholar 

  • Wittmann A (1984) On the variation of the obliquity of the ecliptic. Mitt AG 62: 201

    Google Scholar 

  • Wünsch J (1987) Die Auswertung der Sonnen-und Mondbeobachtungen des Danziger Astronomen Johannes Hevelius. Dissertation, Ludwig Maximilians Univ, München

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 1990 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg

About this paper

Cite this paper

Wünsch, J. (1990). Astrometric Observations of Hevelius and Derived Values of ΔT (Dynamical time — Universal time). In: Brosche, P., Sündermann, J. (eds) Earth’s Rotation from Eons to Days. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-75587-3_3

Download citation

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-75587-3_3

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-642-75589-7

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-642-75587-3

  • eBook Packages: Springer Book Archive

Publish with us

Policies and ethics