Open Daily: 10am - 10pm | Alley door pickup 10am - 7pm 3038 Hennepin Ave Minneapolis, MN
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  • Open Daily: 10am - 10pm
    Alley-side Pickup: 10am - 7pm

    3038 Hennepin Ave Minneapolis, MN
    612-822-4611

Open Daily: 10am - 10pm | Alley-side Pickup: 10am - 7pm
3038 Hennepin Ave Minneapolis, MN
612-822-4611
Le Gentil: An 18th Century French Astronomer in Pondicherry

Le Gentil: An 18th Century French Astronomer in Pondicherry

Muthukumar, Sumitra

Hardcover

AstrologyGeneral World History

Currently unavailable to order

ISBN10: 9374515997
ISBN13: 9789374515990
Publisher: Manohar Books
Pages: 244
Language: English
India is a country filled with, so to speak, magic and enchantments. Those who set foot in it are metamorphosed, if I may say so. This country would appear to resemble Circe's enchanted island and palace, from?which?Ulysses?managed?to?get?away?with?difficulty.'

So writes Le Gentil, a French astronomer who came to Pondicherry on the Coromandel Coast in the eighteenth century, chasing a rare and famous transit across the Sun of Venus, the Shepherd's Star! It is believed that the destiny of every man is written in the stars!What becomes of Le Gentil who dedicated eleven years, six months, and thirteen days to observe an astronomical event that lasted about six hours? The pleasure lies not in the trip itself but in the telling of tales after returning home and he immortalized his experiences in a journal couched?in?French?which?can?now?be?read?by?Anglophones?too.

Le Gentil's book is a mine of information for historians, astronomers or even the casual reader! Besides being a personal record of scientific travails and observation, the pages record minute details of Indian society of yore seen through the telescopic vision of a French astronomer!

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