Home > Benjamin Baillaud

Baillard studied at the École Normale Supérieure and the University of Paris. He worked as an assistant at the Paris Observatory beginning in 1872. Later he was director of the Toulouse Observatory from 1878 to 1907, during much of this time serving as Dean of Toulouse University Faculty of Science.

He greatly expanded the observatory and enthusiastically supported the Carte du Ciel project. He specialized in celestial mechanics, in particular the motions of the satellites of SaturnSaturn is the sixth planet from the Sun. It is a gas giant, the second-largest planet in the solar system after Jupiter. It was named after the Roman god Saturn. Its symbol is a stylized representation of the god's sickle ( Unicode: ♄). Physical ch.

In 19031903 has the latest occurring solstices and equinoxes for 400 years, because the Gregorian calendar hasn't had a leap year for seven years or a century leap year since 1600. Events January 1 Edward VII of the United Kingdom is proclaimed Emperor of India, the observatory took over a facility on the Pic du Midi in the PyreneesFor other meanings see: Pyrenees, Victoria and Montes Pyrenaeus. The Pyrenees ( Spanish Pirineos French Pyrenees Catalan Pirineus Basque Aunamendi are a range of mountains in southwest Europe that form a natural border between France and Spain. They separ that had been founded by amateurs in the 1850sEvents and Trends Crimean war ( 1854 1856) fought between Imperial Russia and an alliance consisting of the United Kingdom, the Second French Empire, the Kingdom of Sardinia and the Ottoman Empire. The majority of the conflict takes place around Crimea, o with the goal of putting a telescopeNice Observatory. A telescope is perhaps the most important astronomical tool; such technology gathers (and focuses) electromagnetic radiation. Telescopes increase the apparent angular size of objects, as well as their apparent brightness. Galileo Galilei there. However, the height of 2865 metreFor other uses of "metre" and "meter", see Metre (disambiguation). The metre is the basic unit of length in the International System of Units (SI: Systeme International d'Unites). It is defined as the length of the path travelled by light in absolute vacus (9400 feetA foot is a non- SI unit of distance or length. The popular belief is that original standard was the length of a man's foot. The average foot length is about 240 mm (9. 4 in) for current Europeans. About 996 of 1000 British men have a foot that is less th) posed formidable logistical challenges and the ambition had remained unrealised though a meteorological observatory had operated from 1873Events The United Kingdom declares war against Ghana's King Kofi KariKari, who was involved in the trading of slaves. The war ended by July and the British established the Gold Coast Colony. January 17 Indian Wars: First Battle of the Stronghold during th to 1880. Baillaud organised a team of soldiers to erect a 0.5 metre (20 inch) reflecting telescope, and 0.25 metre refracting telescope on the summit.

In 1907, he became director of the Paris Observatory where he immediately set to work to relaunch the stalled Carte du Ciel project with a conference held at the observatory, entertained by singers from the Paris Opera and refreshed by wine provided by the director of the Bordeaux Observatory . Though the French government agreed to fund the project, it was becoming increasingly clear that its objectives were hopelessly unrealistic.

Baillard was active in time standardisation, becoming the founding president of the International Time Bureau and initiating the transmission of a time signal from the Eiffel Tower. Baillard maintained the observatory and the time signal throughout World War I, even though the German howitzer Big Bertha was targeted on the nominal co-ordinates of Paris, the location of the observatory! Baillard's concern for the astronomical time standard led him to be an outspoken opponent of daylight saving time.

Baillaud became founding president of the International Astronomical Union in 1919. He retired as director of the Paris Observatory in 1926.

He won the Bruce Medal in 1923.

A crater on the Moon is named after him. Note however asteroid 1280 Baillauda is named after his son Jules Baillaud rather than for him.