The journal AUC Historia Universitatis Carolinae Pragensis, subtitled “Příspěvky k dějinám Univerzity Karlovy” (Papers on the History of Charles University), is a periodical devoted not only to the history of the Prague university but also to the history of education and student movement in the Czech lands. The journal, published since 1960 as part of the Acta Universitatis Carolinae series, also publishes essays presenting original historical sources (all texts are accompanied by summaries in foreign languages, mainly in English and German). It regularly publishes reviews and annotations of works on the history of education and annals of research activities.
The journal is archived in Portico.
AUC HISTORIA UNIVERSITATIS CAROLINAE PRAGENSIS, Vol 57 No 2 (2017), 91–106
Josef Stepling (1716–1778) a určování geografické délky Prahy
[Josef Stepling (1716–1778) and Measurements of the Longitude of Prague]
Josef Smolka, Zdislav Šíma
DOI: https://doi.org/10.14712/23365730.2018.53
published online: 25. 02. 2019
abstract
Joseph Stepling was interested in determining the longitude of Prague throughout his life. He dedicated to this subject four scientific studies: two at the very beginning of his career, the third some fifteen years later, and the last just two years before his death. The original motivation to engage in this enterprise came from a call issued by the Berlin Academy of Sciences. Attempts to measure the precise longitude of Prague also accompanied the construction of the well-known astronomic tower in the Prague Clementinum, where Stepling carried out important observations of lunar eclipse. In the end, Stepling managed to measure the differences in longitude between Prague, Vienna, and Paris with admirable accuracy. His works on measuring the longitude formed the basis of a tradition which was in late eighteenth and early nineteenth century taken up by astronomers František Gerstner and especially Alois Martin David. This subject was also included in the programme of scientific exploration of Bohemia by the newly formed Royal Bohemian Society of Sciences.
keywords: the longitude of Prague; Clementinum; astronomic tower; lunar eclipse
references (10)
1. <bez popisu>
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Josef Stepling (1716–1778) a určování geografické délky Prahy is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
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ISSN: 0323-0562
E-ISSN: 2336-5730
