Consider the following statements about Sawai Jai Singh’s astronomical work: 1. He learnt of the accuracy of European observations, and obtained de La Hire’s tables from which he reproduced a terrace. 2. His astronomers also developed a telescope of their own to observe the lunar phases of Venus. Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

Sawai Jai Singh II was a prominent 18th-century astronomer who sought to improve the accuracy of astronomical data. He was aware of European advancements and obtained the astronomical tables of Philippe de La Hire [1]. Statement 1 is correct as he utilized these tables and reproduced a terrace (the 'Tabulae Astronomicae') to compare observations [1]. However, statement 2 is incorrect. While Jai Singh was aware of the telescope, he deliberately chose to build massive masonry instruments for naked-eye observations to ensure stability and precision over time. Although some records suggest he may have possessed or used a rudimentary telescope to observe Saturn's shape or Venus's phases, his primary scientific legacy and the Jantar Mantar observatories were fundamentally designed for naked-eye positional astronomy rather than telescopic development.

Sources

1. [1] https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/1338/