GODIN Louis (1704-1760) astronome.

L.A.S. "Godin", to Petit Goave 28 October 1735; 2 pages and a half in-4. Interesting letter written from Saint-Domingue, at the beginning of the expedition for the measurement of the meridian. He speaks of the memoirs read at the Academy, in particular that of MAUPERTUIS. "M. BOUGUER had done the same thing as far as I can judge having seen only one, from the time we were in Rochefort. He showed me during the first 8 days of the Crossing what he had found on it and we postponed to a further reading on the occasion. We therefore know what degree of accuracy we must expect by taking all possible precautions. The memorandum of Mr. CASSINI, we had made it between us from Paris itself and we had to look for an opportunity to practice it. I had proposed this method to our Gentlemen and named an island very suitable for the execution; but the difference in the inclinations is not nearly the one that you mark that M. Cassini found and it is necessary that one draws from this observation the precision that one will have besides. I have only thought of practicing it like some others which are not very precise but which must nevertheless be examined according to the convenience of the place. There are like that some other designs that could be taken away from me, which makes me repent of not having published or at least given to the Secretariat of the Academy the different ideas that I had on the occasion of this voyage. I have already lost something that was worth more than that [...] I have written a memoir on the length of the Pendulum with seconds as I have experimented it in Paris and here"; he sends it to Maurepas, asking his correspondent to have it read at the Academy, hoping that it will be published. "I had continued another Memoir begun in Paris on another subject", but he had to stop it because of strong chest pains. BOUGUER "began the examination that we must make of refractions in these Climates: they are different from those that we experience in France and their course is also different but to judge them more exactly it is necessary to make some preparations that we have not been able to do", and that they will do in Quito. "All the astronomical observations that we have been able to make during a stay of three months are reduced to the meridian heights of the stars and the eclipses of the satellites of [Jupiter]. We did not always have favorable weather. The Eclipse of the [Moon] of the 2nd of this month was not visible to us. For the other particular astronomical observatories we were not well enough placed to work on them and we waited every day for a departure which was furiously postponed but we leave this night " for Porto Belo....