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Journal for the History of Astronomy

Clairaut's Calculation of the Eighteenth-Century Return of Halley's

Comet
Curtis Wilson
First Published February 1, 1993 Research Article
https://doi.org/10.1177/002182869302400101

®
JH '

CL IRA- 10 OF TH I HT ENTH-CE -- RY
OF HALLEY'S CO ET

RTI IL O . St John olleg Annapoli

Th I ul ti n by ud lairaut 171 - 6 ) th Fr n h ma.them ti~

cian and me im pr di. , f a p rih Ii n dat · C r the return f Halley _
, omet in th late 1750 in ol d the fir t large- cale numerical integration ever
performed. or the · heer magnitude .f th _ und -rtaking and the accurac of the
final re ult th al ul ion ha b en much prai ed. It component proc...->~·... ->·
how r ha e r ceived little in th wa of e aluati n. Th onl detailed
de cr·pti n f th ma Hab1 i tha gi . n b lairau him elr in hi Theori - du
mou m nt .d, om t s.1
In hat fi 1l w I de ribe 1 iraut calculati n in n ugh d -tail t indicate
the character f the appr imation in ol ed and th n undertake lo arri e at
an timate - unavoidabl appr imat,e - of the a uracy of the component
part of the cal ulation. n a final ecfon I briefl re iew and comment on a
contro r that ar e among memb r of h Pari Academy f i nc ,ft r
th • m · t r turn ~ t ho th err m lairaut alculation ·hould b
e a1u t d.
In June 1757 wh n lairaut et out to det rmine how the perturbation due to
Jupit r might affect the date of r urn f Halle · omet he had re ntly
completed t o ucce ·ful applicati n f h' lution of th 'three•b prob-
1:em: ht alculati •n of th in qualitie of th n including it ap idal
m ti n in hi Th ' orie d la un ; nd a omputaf n f the plan -tar and lunar
p rturbat'on r the rth hich as c mp1 ted in mid-1757 and which
acaille made u of in hi lar tabl s - th fi · t o'lar table t incorporate
plan tar perturbation .4 he probl m of al1e ' omet loom d for Cl irau
a a third p ible triumph - · ne pr f f th · orrec n f th
t ni n th r a w II · f the ffi acy f hi n luti n f th
pr bl. m .
At fi.r t ut b lie ed that i. w uld b - nec-e ary only t
perturbati n f th comet · n it n ar approache to Jupit r. s Thi
e ap rated . V r light chang . in the comet peed n ar perihelion produced
1arge chan , in th comet p riod. ven wh n the comet wa far from both
Jupit r and th Sun Jupiter ti n wa han ing the un' place and a _ a
con · qu n It ring c n id rabl th time requir d r, r th c met to reach
rih Ji n. r r aturn ith b u1 third fJupit r m c uld n be
ignor ·d. The p rturbati n indu d by b th plan ts mu.t be al ulat d for

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References
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