Bobis and Lequeux (2008) tentatively attribute the translation to Edmond Halley (1656–1742), who would become English Astronomer Royal and who is best known for his calculations concerning Halley's comet. However, other sources – not least his own Catalogus Stellarum Australium published in 1679 – suggest that Halley was on the island of St. Helena in the South Atlantic Ocean at the time.
