Ruđer Josip Bošković was a physicist, an astronomer, a mathematician, a philosopher, a diplomat, a poet, a theologian and a Jesuit priest, who lived between 1711 and 1787. He was born in Dubrovnik. He lived most of his life in Italy and France, but he also spent time in other parts of Europe, including the Romanian territories. In 1756 he began a long career as a diplomat. He spent the winter of 1761-62 in Constantinople, the Ottoman capital. He then moved to Poland, after crossing Bulgaria, Dobruja and Moldova. More information about his journey through the Romanian territories can be found in the Giornale di un viaggio da Constantinopoli in Polonia published in 1762. This is a 323-page book that contains a detailed description of the journey, which started on the 24th of May 1762 and finished on the 15th of July of the same year. Boscovich, the astronomer, took advantage of the opportunity to carry out astronomical measurements which are now of greatest importance to Romanians. After numerous calculations, he established a latitude of 45°23' for Galaţi, which is very close to the correct one of 46°40'. In order to determine the longitude, Boscovich measured various distances between the Sun and the Moon with the aid of a clock that counted the seconds by means of the Sun’s height determined thanks to its reflection on the water. A few days later, he established the latitude of another city, Iassy. The centre was almost one minute ahead of the Prince’s residence, that is, 47°10', which is a very accurate figure. But two observations of the Moon at its passage at the meridian gave him a different result: 47°12', which Boscovich considered to be closer to reality, since this time he observed the Moon both directly and through its reflection on the lake.This presentation will consider his rich astronomical calculations in more detail and will also give a taste of his colourful descriptions of the places he visited.
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