Jean-Philippe Loys de Cheseaux, also written "Loÿs de Cheseaux" (French pronunciation: [ʒɑ̃ filip lois də ʃezo]; 4 May 1718 – 30 November 1751) was a Swiss astronomer.
In 1746 he presented a list of nebulae, eight of which were his own new discoveries, to the Académie Française des Sciences. The list was noted privately by Le Gentil in 1759, but only made public in 1892 by Guillaume Bigourdan. De Cheseaux was among the first to state, in its modern form, what would later be known as Olbers' paradox (that, if the universe is infinite, the night sky should be bright).
De Cheseaux discovered two comets:[1]
De Cheseaux also did some little-known research into Biblical chronology, attempting to date the crucifixion of Jesus of Nazareth by analysing astronomical observations in the Book of Daniel. This work was published posthumously in Mémoires posthumes de M. de Cheseaux (1754).
He was the brother of Charles-Louis Loys de Cheseaux.[2]
The spelling "Chéseaux" (with the accent) is incorrect: "Cheseaux" refers to the village of the same name, near Lausanne.[3]
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)General | |
---|---|
National libraries | |
Biographical dictionaries | |
Other |
|
![]() | This article about a Swiss scientist is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |
![]() | This European astronomer-related article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |