Kenneth Chang

I don't know who made the 1713 observation, so I was hedging a bit.

I guess some affiliation may be required for "successor." If their observation didn't overlap, you could just say that he observed it until his death in 1712, and someone else observed it in 1713.

Pretty soon, you're back to "Cassini and others observed the spot until 1713."

One way to defeat the implication (I think it's more than that) that Cassini observed through 1713 would be the addition of "collectively."

Ya know, the parenthetical about him dying in 1712 does that too.

That just retracts the literal statement that he observed through 1713, like my "Cassini and his friends stayed at the party until midnight (Cassini went home at 8 and promptly died)" example.

In this context, I think it's clear that the "others" were not huddled around Cassini and his telescope in 1665 and during every other observation. Thus, it's not essential that Cassini be present at every one, either. English isn't always precise.

allows Bob and Tim to miss Lakers games, but it's false if Bob actually left the Lakers in 2003 or died. (2/2)