
A concise yet thorough guide to the heavens, this classic work invites students to explore the sky with the same curiosity that filled 19th‑century classrooms. Written by a seasoned mathematics professor, the text blends clear explanations with detailed copper‑engraved diagrams, making complex ideas about celestial motion surprisingly accessible. Readers are led step by step through the fundamentals of cosmography, from the apparent dance of the stars to the tools astronomers use, such as the lunette and theodolite.
The book then turns its gaze toward our own planet, the Sun, the Moon, and the wandering planets, unpacking topics like the Earth’s shape, time‑keeping, eclipses, and the changing seasons. Each chapter balances theory with practical observations, encouraging learners to measure angles, chart constellations, and understand the forces that shape our world. Listening to this guide feels like joining a timeless lecture hall, where the mysteries of the cosmos are revealed with clarity and a touch of historical charm.
Full title
Leçons de cosmographie à l'usage des lycées et collèges et de tous les établissements d'instruction publique
Language
fr
Duration
~11 hours (656K characters)
Publisher of text edition
Project Gutenberg
Credits
Produced by Mireille Harmelin, Rénald Lévesque and the Online Distributed Proofreaders Europe at http://dp.rastko.net. This file was produced from images generously made available by the Bibliothèque nationale de France (BnF/Gallica)
Release date
2007-10-08
Rights
Public domain in the USA.
Subjects
1812–1884
A 19th-century French mathematics teacher who turned his classroom experience into practical textbooks, he wrote clear instructional works on arithmetic, geometry, cosmography, and applied mathematics. His books were widely used in schools and reissued many times.
View all books