The first edition of the `Principia'
bears testimony to the assistance afforded by Flamsteed to Newton in
these inquiries; although the former considers that the
acknowledgment is not so ample as it ought to have been."
Although Flamsteed's observations can hardly be said to possess the
accuracy of those made in more recent times, when instruments so much
superior to his have been available, yet they possess an interest of
a special kind from their very antiquity. This circumstance renders
them of particular importance to the astronomer, inasmuch as they are
calculated to throw light on the proper motions of the stars.
Flamsteed's work may, indeed, be regarded as the origin of all
subsequent catalogues, and the nomenclature which he adopted, though
in some respects it can hardly be said to be very defensible, is,
nevertheless, that which has been adopted by all subsequent
astronomers. There were also a great many errors, as might be
expected in a work of such extent, composed almost entirely of
numerical detail. Many of these errors have been corrected by Baily
himself, the assiduous editor of "Flamsteed's Life and Works," for
Flamsteed was so harassed from various causes in the latter part of
his life, and was so subject to infirmities all through his career,
that he was unable to revise his computations with the care that
would have been necessary.
Pages:
157
158
159
160
161
162
163
164
165
166
167
168
169
170
171
172
173
174
175
176
177
178
179
180
181