Francisco Zarzoso
(Cella, Teruel, late 15th century-1556) Spanish scientist.Probably the formative years of Zarzoso should also place them in Paris, among the group of Spanish and Portuguese who at the end of the 15th century and the first decades of the 16th century made up the most important nucleus of philosophers and mathematicians of the Parisian University.From 1530 until his death, Zarzoso lived uninterruptedly in Cella, where he set up an astronomical observatory where he continued his research.
The only known work of Zarzoso, In aequatorem , is dedicated to Juan de Lanuza, viceroy of Aragon, and consists of two parts.The first corresponds to the instructions to build the equatorium.Starting from the Ptolemaic scheme of the decomposition of the movements of the stars into eccentrics and epicycles, the objective of this type of instrument was to simplify as much as possible and even eliminate the calculations related to the positions of the planets in the celestial sphere.Zarzoso specifies the parts of the instrument, how to proceed for the marking of the various elements and the linear and angular measurements as well as the dimensions of the entire equatorium and its various elements.
Given Since the study of the movements of a planet in the geocentric system is fundamentally affected by two eccentric elements (deferent and equant) linked to a third with independent movement (epicycle), the success of the equator lies in its simplicity.All its elements are conjugated in a circular plane so that the eccentricity is concealed, which has been achieved thanks to the particular configuration of the equator.
Another notable aspect is the elimination, in practice, of the graduation of the Zodiac, thus avoiding the risk of the intervention of the access and recess movement of the ninth sphere through the procedure of starting from a point fixed on a specific date: the booms for 1530.However, the simplicity of the Zarzoso equatorium offers the disadvantage that its use cannot take place without the assistance of astronomical tables that provide the mean movement and the mean argument.In this sense it does not belong to the category of the most perfected.
The second part of the work deals with the use of the equatorium.It includes the necessary tables for this purpose, as well as for the resolution of other problems such as determining the latitude of the planets, which the equator does not solve.The astronomical tables of Zarzoso are not established from the Alphonsine Tables without reproducing them as is, but are extrapolated from them.Among the authors cited by Zarzoso are Claudio Ptolomeo, Regiomontano and Abraham Zacut.His contribution, in short, lies in the improvement and description of the instrument, the theory of its use and its dissemination.
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