astronomy

Raymond Augustin Mailhat

Raymond Augustin Mailhat is a astronomy topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Raymond Augustin Mailhat rather than just read about it. In short: Raymond Augustin Jean-Baptiste Mailhat (28 March 1862 – 22 April 1923) was a French manufacturer of telescopes and precision optical instruments. Biography Raymond Mailhat was born on 28 March 1862 in Saurat (Ariège), the son of Jean Benjamin Mailhat, an illiterate shoemaker.

Key takeaways

Raymond Augustin Mailhat belongs to astronomy; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Raymond Augustin Mailhat to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Raymond Augustin Mailhat from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Raymond Augustin Jean-Baptiste Mailhat (28 March 1862 – 22 April 1923) was a French manufacturer of telescopes and precision optical instruments.

Biography Raymond Mailhat was born on 28 March 1862 in Saurat (Ariège), the son of Jean Benjamin Mailhat, an illiterate shoemaker. After studying under Paul Gautier (1842-1909), Raymond became the director of the Secrétan company’s optics workshop in Paris on 1 January 1889. In 1894, Mailhat bought part of those workshops and established his own business. The Maison Mailhat manufactured a wide variety of equipment for both scientists and amateurs:

Astronomical and photographic lenses Mirrors (flat, spherical and parabolic) Equatorial mount refractor telescopes and photographic telescopes Meridian circles (fixed and portable) Astronomical and geodesical equipment for scientific missions and explorers Simple refractor and equatorial telescopes for amateur comet hunters Equipment for physicists Coelostats Siderostats Heliostats Astronomical domes and metallic shelters Complete installations of observatories Instruments for geodesy and meteorology The company furnished optical instruments to the Paris Observatory, the Faculté des Sciences de Paris, the Bureau des Longitudes, the Camille Flammarion Observatory in Juvisy, the Société Astronomique de France, French government ministries, several observatories in France and in other countries, meteorological stations, bridge and road engineers, railroads, and mines. It won a gold medal at the Exposition Universelle in Paris in 1900. Mailhat became a member of the Société astronomique de France in 1888 (only one year after it was established). At the time when he joined, he was a constructor-mechanic, residing at 5, passage Stanislas, Paris. Mailhat served on the society's management council in 1894 (and again in 1912) Advertisements for his company's telescopes appeared regularly in the pages of the society’s bulletin. The Maison Mailhat and its fellow Paris-based competitors the Secrétan and Bardou companies were among the leading French precision optics manufacturers of the early twentieth century. Mailhat telescopes and optical products were widely exported to Europe, the United States and even further afield. Ferdinand Quénisset used Mailhat lenses for early photographs of Mars in 1899 at the Camille Flammarion Observatory in Juvisy. On 1 April 1908, the company’s offices and workshops moved to 10, rue Emile-Dubois Paris, close to the Paris Observatory. The following year, Mailhat sold his company to Francis Mouronval (1881-1954). Mouronval continued to produce and sell telescopes under the Maison Mailhat name for seven years. Following Mouronval's mobilisation during the World War II, he publicly announced in 1916 that the Mailhat-Mouronval company was closed "for the duration of the war". This closure appears to have been definitive. During the war, Mailhat served as ‘’Officier de l’administration de 3e classe territorial’’ in the Service des fabrications de l'aviation (military aircraft manufacturing). For his contribution to the war effort, he received the Légion d’Honneur in 1918. Mailhat died on 22 April 1923 at his home at 13, rue Boileau in Montrouge (Seine).

Notable Mailhat instruments

Equatorial refractor of 190 mm diameter in the second astronomical dome of the Observatory of the Société Astronomique de France at its former headquarters on rue Serpente in Paris. Mailhat’s telescope was exclusively reserved for scientific research. Astro-photographic double equatorial refractor of 380 mm diameter at the Fabra Observatory in Barcelona. This telescope was used by Josep Comas i Solà to observe the moons of Mars, Deimos and Phobos, in 1909, and to photograph Halley’s comet in 1910. Meridian circle at the Rouen Popular Observatory. Astro-photographic equatorial mount refractors constructed for the Ebro Observatory in Tortosa, Spain and the Puebla Observatory. Astro-photographic double equatorial refractor of 127mm diameter at the San José Observatory in Buenos Aires, Argentina.

Equatorial refractor of 325 mm diameter and 6 m focal length at the Lille Observatory.

Honors and awards 1906 – Prix des Dames by the Société astronomique de France 1911 – Officier de l’Instruction publique by the Ministry of Education 1911 – Founding Member (Membre Fondateur) of the Société astronomique de France because of his donation of many valuable telescopes to the society over the years. 1918 – Chevalier of the Légion d’Honneur

References

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Raymond Augustin Mailhat

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Raymond Augustin Mailhat claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In astronomy, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Raymond Augustin Mailhat before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Raymond Augustin Mailhat ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Raymond Augustin Mailhat

In research: Raymond Augustin Mailhat appears in astronomy research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Raymond Augustin Mailhat in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Raymond Augustin Mailhat is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics 1862 births, 1923 deaths, Telescope manufacturers, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Raymond Augustin Mailhat outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Raymond Augustin Mailhat in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Raymond Augustin Mailhat means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Raymond Augustin Mailhat out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Raymond Augustin Mailhat in simple terms?

Raymond Augustin Jean-Baptiste Mailhat (28 March 1862 – 22 April 1923) was a French manufacturer of telescopes and precision optical instruments. Biography Raymond Mailhat was born on 28 March 1862 in Saurat (Ariège), the son of Jean Benjamin Mailhat, an illiterate shoemaker.

Why does Raymond Augustin Mailhat matter?

Because it connects several astronomy ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Raymond Augustin Mailhat?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Raymond Augustin Mailhat.