Monteiro da Rocha and the international debate in the 1760s on astronomical methods to find the longitude at sea: his proposals and criticisms to Lacaille's lunar-distance method.

In the 1760s, the international debate on the solution to determining longitude at sea is at its acme. Two solutions emerge, the mechanical and the astronomical ones. The Portuguese mathematician and astronomer José Monteiro da Rocha (1734–1819) is well aware of that debate. For him, Harrison's No....

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Publicado en:Annals of Science Vol. 79; no. 2; pp. 215 - 259
Autores principales: Figueiredo, Fernando B., Boistel, Guy
Formato: Artículo
Publicado: Taylor & Francis Ltd Apr2022
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Acceso en línea:Ver este registro en EBSCOhost
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        atl: Monteiro da Rocha and the international debate in the 1760s on astronomical methods to find the longitude at sea: his proposals and criticisms to Lacaille's lunar-distance method.
      aug:
        au:
          Figueiredo, Fernando B.
          Boistel, Guy
        affil:
          University of Coimbra, CITEUC, Department of Mathematics, Coimbra, Portugal
          University of Nantes, CFV, Nantes, France
      su:
        Astronomical research
        La Caille, Nicolas Louis de, 1713-1762
        Astronomers
        Mathematicians
        Classical historiography
        Mythology
      sug:
        subj:
          Astronomical research
          La Caille, Nicolas Louis de, 1713-1762
          Astronomers
          Mathematicians
          Classical historiography
          Mythology
      keyword:
        lacaille
        Longitude
        lunar-distance methods
        maskelyne
        Monteiro da rocha
      ab: In the 1760s, the international debate on the solution to determining longitude at sea is at its acme. Two solutions emerge, the mechanical and the astronomical ones. The Portuguese mathematician and astronomer José Monteiro da Rocha (1734–1819) is well aware of that debate. For him, Harrison's No. 4 marine timekeeper cannot be seen as a solution. The desirable solution could only be astronomical. In a manuscript from c. 1765, which unfortunately he fails to publish, Monteiro da Rocha is very critical of Lacaille's lunar-distance method (1759) and proposes another one. In this paper, we intend to analyse Monteiro da Rocha's criticisms and proposals, trying to understand how this manuscript fits into the international longitude debate and the Portuguese scientific scenario at the time. Concurrently, we will re-examine the classical historiography around the English vs. French priority proposal of the lunar-distance method, purging it from its mythologies to shift it towards a more open, less linear history.
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