astro.wikisort.org - Researcher

Edmond Modeste Lescarbault (1814, Châteaudun - 1894), was a French doctor and an amateur astronomer, best remembered for his 1859 supposed observation of the non-existent planet Vulcan.

He graduated and obtained his diploma in 1848. He then started to work as a doctor in Orgères-en-Beauce and worked there until 1872 (the street where he worked is now named after him). A keen astronomer, he built an observatory with a 3.75 inches (95 mm) refractor by his house and began correspondence with various scientific societies. On 26 March 1859 he saw a small object transiting the Sun[1] and having heard of Le Verrier's theory of an intramercurial planet named Vulcan, he wrote a letter to the astronomer and was consequently visited by him in December 1859.[2] Le Verrier announced the discovery on 2 January 1860. Lescarbault became Chevalier of the Légion d'honneur[3] and was invited to appear before numerous learned societies.

His manuscripts, including correspondence with Camille Flammarion, are kept in Bibliothèque Municipale in Châteaudun. He died in 1894.

See also

• Vulcan (hypothetical planet)
• Urbain Le Verrier

References

External links

• About E. M. Lescarbault, with photos, in French

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