L

Joseph Jérôme Le Français de Lalande (1732-1807)
  • Born in France.
  • He studied the Moon's parallax.
  • He produced the most comprehensive star catalogue of his time.

Pierre Laplace (1749-1827)

  • Born in France.
  • He established the nebular hypothesis for the creation of Earth, a theory that was accepted for most of the 19th century.

Urbain Jean Joseph Leverrier (1811-1877)

  • Born in France.
  • From the results of his study of the irregular movements of Uranus, he predicted the existence of an undiscovered planet (Neptune) and calculated where it would be.

Mikhail Lomonosov (1711-1765)

  • Born in Russia.
  • In his study of Venus, he discovered that the planet is surrounded by a dense atmosphere.
  • He supported the Copernican system, while most Russian astronomers did not.
  • He was a pioneer in the kinetic theory of gases.
  • He investigated aurora and electrical phenomena.

Percy Lowell (1855-1916)

  • Born in USA.
  • He had an observatory built in Arizona.
  • He believed that there were irrigation canals on Mars.
  • His work led to the discovery of Pluto after his death.