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Between theory and observations: Tobias Mayer's strive for accurate lunar tables.
Tobias Mayer (1723--1762) was working as a cartographer and astronomer in Nürnberg
before he was called to Göttingen University in 1751, where he would teach
mathematics and astronomy and do research at the new observatory. One of the most
urgent topics in astronomy was the improvement of the theory of the moon's motion.
Mayer's efforts in lunar theory, from 1750 onwards, resulted in three published versions
of lunar tables. His labour was (posthumously) rewarded when he shared in the
Longitude Prize with the clockmaker John Harrison.
Mayer's lunar tables were by far the most accurate of his time. They superseded the then
common tables based on a kinematic theory of Newton, and they were in use for half a
century until the advent of new tables based on advanced mathematics of Laplace.
The reason for Mayer's success lay primarily in his ability to fit the numbers in the tables
to observations. Mayer was impelled by the need for practically useful results. I will
emphasise that his research must be seen as an early example of large-scale numerical work.
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