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Adrien Auzout ronounced in French somewhat like o-zoo(28 January 1622 – 23 May 1691) was a French
Articles by or mentions of Auzout in the ''Histoire de l'Académie royale des sciences'', Volume 1, Volume 7, Paris, 1729
{{DEFAULTSORT:Auzout, Adrien 1622 births 1691 deaths French Roman Catholics 17th-century French astronomers German scientific instrument makers Members of the French Academy of Sciences Fellows of the Royal Society
Adrien Auzout ronounced in French somewhat like o-zoo(28 January 1622 – 23 May 1691) was a French astronomer
An astronomer is a scientist in the field of astronomy who focuses their studies on a specific question or field outside the scope of Earth. They observe astronomical objects such as stars, planets, moons, comets and galaxies – in either ...
.
He was born in Rouen, France
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...
, the eldest child of a clerk in the court of Rouen. His educational background is unknown, although he may have attended the Jesuit college in Rouen. Adrien left for Paris during the 1640s, where he developed an interest in astronomy and became well known in academic circles. In 1664–1665 he made observations of comet
A comet is an icy, small Solar System body that, when passing close to the Sun, warms and begins to release gases, a process that is called outgassing. This produces a visible atmosphere or coma, and sometimes also a tail. These phenomena ...
s, and argued in favor of their following elliptical or parabolic orbit
In celestial mechanics, an orbit is the curved trajectory of an object such as the trajectory of a planet around a star, or of a natural satellite around a planet, or of an artificial satellite around an object or position in space such as ...
s (in this he was opposed by his rival Johannes Hevelius
Johannes Hevelius
Some sources refer to Hevelius as Polish:
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Some sources refer to Hevelius as German:
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*of the Royal Society
* (in German also known as ''Hevel''; pl, Jan Heweliusz; – 28 January 1687) was a councillor ...
). Adrien was briefly a member of the Académie Royale des Sciences
The French Academy of Sciences (French: ''Académie des sciences'') is a learned society, founded in 1666 by Louis XIV at the suggestion of Jean-Baptiste Colbert, to encourage and protect the spirit of French scientific research. It was at the ...
from 1666 to 1668 (he may have left due to a dispute) and a founding member of the Paris Observatory. He was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society
Fellowship of the Royal Society (FRS, ForMemRS and HonFRS) is an award granted by the judges of the Royal Society of London to individuals who have made a "substantial contribution to the improvement of natural knowledge, including mathemat ...
of London in 1666. He then left for Italy
Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...
and spent the next 20 years in that country, finally dying in Rome
, established_title = Founded
, established_date = 753 BC
, founder = King Romulus (legendary)
, image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg
, map_caption ...
in 1691. Little is known about his activities during this last period.
He was described as a good optician and maker of telescopes. He is also said to have had poor health through much of his life.''The Cyclopaedia of Useful Knowledge'', Vol II, London, Charles Knight (1847) p.544.
Auzout made contributions in telescope
A telescope is a device used to observe distant objects by their emission, absorption, or reflection of electromagnetic radiation. Originally meaning only an optical instrument using lenses, curved mirrors, or a combination of both to observ ...
observations, including perfecting the use of the micrometer Micrometer can mean:
* Micrometer (device), used for accurate measurements by means of a calibrated screw
* American spelling of micrometre
The micrometre ( international spelling as used by the International Bureau of Weights and Measures; ...
. He made many observations with large aerial telescope
An aerial telescope is a type of very long focal length refracting telescope, built in the second half of the 17th century, that did not use a tube. Instead, the objective was mounted on a pole, tree, tower, building or other structure on a swive ...
s and he is noted for briefly considering the construction of a huge aerial telescope 1,000 feet in length that he would use to observe animal
Animals are multicellular, eukaryotic organisms in the Kingdom (biology), biological kingdom Animalia. With few exceptions, animals Heterotroph, consume organic material, Cellular respiration#Aerobic respiration, breathe oxygen, are Motilit ...
s on the Moon
The Moon is Earth's only natural satellite. It is the fifth largest satellite in the Solar System and the largest and most massive relative to its parent planet, with a diameter about one-quarter that of Earth (comparable to the width of ...
. In 1647 he performed an experiment that demonstrated the role of air pressure in function of the mercury barometer
A barometer is a scientific instrument that is used to measure air pressure in a certain environment. Pressure tendency can forecast short term changes in the weather. Many measurements of air pressure are used within surface weather analysis ...
. In 1667–68, Auzout and Jean Picard attached a telescopic sight to a 38-inch quadrant, and used it to accurately determine positions on the Earth
Earth is the third planet from the Sun and the only astronomical object known to harbor life. While large volumes of water can be found throughout the Solar System, only Earth sustains liquid surface water. About 71% of Earth's surfa ...
.
Auzout, the Moon crater, is named after him.
Works
* *References
Further reading
* *External links
Articles by or mentions of Auzout in the ''Histoire de l'Académie royale des sciences'', Volume 1, Volume 7, Paris, 1729
{{DEFAULTSORT:Auzout, Adrien 1622 births 1691 deaths French Roman Catholics 17th-century French astronomers German scientific instrument makers Members of the French Academy of Sciences Fellows of the Royal Society