The correspondence between Gottfried Kirch and Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz (Q1267390)

Between June 1702 and December 1708 the Berlin astronomer Gottfried Kirch (1639-1710) and G. W. Leibniz (1646-1716) in Hanover exchanged letters, mostly on astronomical topics. While 11 letters from Leibniz were published in 1900, there was some confusion about Kirch's replies: only drafts had been publicly known. The author shows that the letters by Kirch kept in the Leibniz archives in Hanover are indeed the originals sent by Kirch. While in total 22 letters are preserved, at least two seem to be lost. Some missing or incorrect dates are corrected by the author. -- He presents excerpts of Kirch's letters, together with a facsimile of the letter of 24 June 1704, and explanatory comments. On behalf of Edmond Halley (who had visited the philosopher in Hanover on his way to Vienna) Leibniz asked for Kirch's observations of a comet of 1680, and also for his observations of sun spots. Other themes touched upon are the publication of the first volume of the ``Miscellanea'' of the Berlin academy, Kirch's work on a calendar, and the acquisition of a piece of land for the academy.