Synopses & Reviews
Described by one reviewer as 'one of the most perfect books ever written on theoretical astronomy', this work in Latin by the German mathematician Carl Friedrich Gauss (1777-1855), the 'Prince of Mathematicians', derived from his attempt to solve an astronomical puzzle: where in the heavens would the dwarf planet Ceres, first sighted in 1801, reappear? Gauss' predicted position was correct to within half a degree, and this led him to develop a streamlined and sophisticated method of calculating the effect of the larger planets and the sun on the orbits of planetoids, which he published in 1809. As well as providing a tool for astronomers, Gauss' method also offered a way of reducing inaccuracy of calculations arising from measurement error; the primacy of this discovery was however disputed between him and the French mathematician Legendre, whose Essai sur la théorie des nombres is also reissued in this series.
Synopsis
A major work of theoretical astronomy, published in Latin in 1809, that has continuing relevance.
Synopsis
This 1809 Latin work by the German mathematician Carl Friedrich Gauss (1777-1855) offered a streamlined and sophisticated method of calculating the effect of the larger planets and the sun on the orbits of planetoids, and a way of reducing inaccuracy of calculations arising from measurement error.
Table of Contents
Liber I. Relationes Generales Inter Quantitates, per quas Corporum Coelestium Motus Circa Solem Definiuntur: 1. Relationes ad locum simplicem in orbita spectantes; 2. Relationes ad locum simplicem in spatio spectantes; 3. Relationes inter locos plures in orbita; 4. Relationes inter locos plures in spatio; Liber II. Investigatio Orbitarum Corporum Coelestium ex Observationibus Geocentricis: 1. Determinatio orbitae e tribus observationibus completis; 2. Determinatio orbitae e quatuor observationibus, quarum duae tantum completae sunt; 3. Determinatio orbitae observationibus quoteunque quam proxime satisfacientis; 4. De determinatione orbitarum, habita ratione perturbationum; Tabulae.