John Flamsteed

Record year1725

summaryCompiled Greenwich telescope observations into a public catalogue of approximately three thousand stars and presented them in an atlas; Margaret and the collaborative team completed key publication delivery after the author's death.

M rationaleThe independent increment is transforming private/disputed observational material into a large-scale, disseminable, precise star catalogue and celestial atlas final state, forming a data production–public delivery relationship with the original observations. Magnitude M5.9 is assigned based on coverage, lasting reuse, and publication labor of a scientific reference work, not by accumulating star counts, edition counts, or later renown.

attribution rationaleFlamsteed 0.33; Margaret 0.18; editors and assistants 0.17; printing and engraving dissemination 0.08; prior development 0.12; institutions 0.05; unresolved 0.07.

overlap boundaryThe compilation, selection, computational verification, and public publication chain from the 1712 disputed edition to the complete three-volume star catalogue of 1725 and the 1729 celestial atlas; value counts only the residual of transforming existing observations into a searchable, disseminable catalogue and atlas, not re-claiming the original observation value from the previous point. The 1712 Halley edition, being unauthorized, is only recorded as a disputed publication fact; the complete final state or full share is not attributed to Flamsteed, Halley, or Newton based on it.

Evidence gapsThe specific editors, calculators, draftsmen, and publishers for the 1725 and 1729 versions still require decomposition by version archives. The actual editorial increments, lack of authorization, and how subsequent editions drew on this work of Halley and Newton in the 1712 disputed edition are not fully resolved.

Record year1675

summaryContinuous accumulation of high-density observations at a fixed site, with repeated observations and improved instrument control errors, forming a computable, compilable, and citable Greenwich data corpus.

M rationaleAccording to a unified scale across eras, this is a long-term verifiable scientific infrastructure and observation method delivery: spanning decades, with reusable data and explicit precision control, assigned M5.8. The point value reflects the independent civilizational utility of the corpus and methods, not summed by the first title, number of observation entries, or all subsequent uses.

attribution rationaleFlamsteed 0.36; contemporary assistants 0.19; instrument and calibration collaborators 0.13; observation and star catalog antecedents 0.14; Royal/Greenwich institution 0.08; unresolved 0.10.

overlap boundaryVerifiable positional astronomical observation records, repeated observation screening, and instrument calibration practices formed at Greenwich from 1675–1719; the final state is the raw observation corpus and precision control, excluding the 1725 star catalog editing and publication, the 1729 atlas visual arrangement, or subsequent Greenwich achievements.

Evidence gapsThe annual roster and labor division of assistants and instrument makers remain unresolved; different instruments, computational corrections, and observation quality in the records have not yet been sampled and reviewed item by item.