Horrocks, Jeremiah

Japanese: ホロックス（英語表記）Horrocks， Jeremiah

Born 1617/1618 in Lancashire
Died January 13, 1641, Toxteth Park. British astronomer and clergyman. Said to have been born to a clockmaker. Studied at Cambridge University as a scholarship student (1632-35). Self-taught in astronomy, he engaged in astronomical observations while working as a parish curate. He was devoted to J. Kepler's theory of planetary orbits, and aimed to improve the Rudolph Tables, a calendar table based on Kepler's theory. He is best known for being the first to accurately predict the date and time of the transit of Venus across the Sun in 1639. He also revealed that irregularities in the elliptical motion of the Moon are due to the influence of the Sun, and revealed the lunar periodic perturbation, now called ephemeris, which was of great significance in the subsequent development of celestial mechanics. He also made precise observations of the perturbations of Jupiter and Saturn, tides, the apparent diameters of the planets, and solar parallax.

Source: Encyclopaedia Britannica Concise Encyclopedia About Encyclopaedia Britannica Concise Encyclopedia Information

Japanese:

[生]1617/1618. ランカシャー
[没]1641.1.13. トクステスパーク
イギリスの天文学者，聖職者。時計職人の子として生れたといわれている。ケンブリッジ大学に給費生として学ぶ (1632～35) 。独学で天文学を学び，教区の副牧師をつとめるかたわら天文観測に従事。 J.ケプラーの惑星軌道論に傾倒し，ケプラー理論に基づいてつくられた暦表『ルドルフ表』の改良を志した。なかでも 1639年に初めて金星の太陽面通過の日時を正確に予言したことは有名。また月の楕円運動の不規則性が太陽の影響によるものであり，現在出差と呼ばれている月の周期摂動を明らかにしたことは，その後の天体力学の発展に重要な意義をもつものであった。ほかに木星と土星の摂動，潮汐，諸惑星の視直径，太陽視差などの精密観測を行なった。

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