Verniana — Jules Verne Studies / Etudes Jules Verne — Volume 6 (2013–2014) — 93–110
Géodésiens et astronomes réels ou fictifs dans les Aventures de trois Russes et de trois Anglais dans l'Afrique Australe
The celebration of the tricentennial of the birth of astronomer La Caille (1713–1762), who was the first geodesist to measure an arc of meridian in South Africa, is an opportunity to come back to The Adventures of three Englishmen and three Russians in South Africa and to try to answer some questions: Were there real persons behind the characters? Who was the true Palander? Was there really an error in his table of logarithms? How realistic is the measurement made by Jules Verne's heroes ?
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