Anders Celsius Determining the Shape of the Earth"). Celsius' participation in the Lapland expedition won him much respect in Sweden with the government and his peers, and played a key role in generating interest from the Swedish authorities in donating the resources required to construct a new modern observatory in Uppsala. He was successful in the request, and Celsius founded the Uppsala Astronomical Observatory in 1741. The observatory was equipped with instruments purchased during his long voyage abroad, comprising the most modern instrumental technology of the period. In astronomy, Celsius began a series of observations using colored glass plates to record the
Christian Mayer (astronomer) able to continue his astronomical observations and studies. He applied for and was granted in December 1765 a Fellowship of the Royal Society. He is most noted for pioneering the study of binary stars, although his equipment was ill-suitable for distinguishing between true binaries and coincident star alignments. In 1777-78 he compiled a catalog of 80 double stars, which he published in 1781. During his lifetime he became a member of numerous learned societies. He died in Heidelberg. Christian Mayer (astronomer) Christian Mayer (August 20, 1719 – April 16, 1783) was a Czech-German Catholic priest, astronomer and teacher. He was