Tycho Brahe’s observatory at Uraniborg Image removed ... · Tycho Brahe and Uraniborg – the...

Issue 9 – December 2005

In 1576 Tycho Brahe (1546-1601) established the firstmodern European observatory at Uraniborg on the islandof Hven, close to Copenhagen, and subsequently did hismost important work there, including pursuing anextensive programme of stellar and planetary

observations. This view of the observatory appeared inTycho’s Astronomiae Instauratae Mechanicae,published in 1602. Dr Allan Chapman presented thestory of Uraniborg at the Society’s recent AutumnConference. A report appears inside.

Tycho Brahe’s observatory at Uraniborg

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SHA Newsletter – Issue 9 December 2005

Earlier this year we published inNewsletter (no. 7, June 2005, pp 9-11) Jim Smith’s article, The Cape toCairo survey arc wherein Jimenvisaged that the surviving stationsof a triangulation net stretching fromthe Black Sea to the top of Norwaymight be given UNESCOrecognition as a World HeritageSite. Known as the Struve GeodeticArc, the remaining elements haveindeed been granted WHS status andin this issue of the Newsletter webring Jim’s revelations about thisportion of a survey arc that in total

covers nearly 105º of latitude andalmost 30 countries in length.

We also bring you CliveDavenhall’s report on the SHAAutumn Conference includingsnippets from Allan Chapman’s talk,Tycho Brahe and Uraniborg – theFirst Modern Observatory. WayneOrchiston brings news of distancelearning from the James CookUniversity, Australia that wouldallow one to graduate with a historyof astronomy ‘major’. Also in thisissue Roger Jones takes us on a trip

from Mars Hill to Mt Hamilton, andthere is much more in the followingpages too. Sadly, all good thingscome to an end and even afterbuilding this into another bumperissue we have had to carry quite abit of material over.

With luck, sweat and probably, thetears of a number of SHAvolunteers, this issue should be withyou before the Christmas holiday.Find a comfortable chair, yourreading glasses and a glass of yourfavourite seasonal tipple and enjoy.

All of us on the SHA team wish youa very enjoyable holiday and ahappy and prosperous New Year.

Remarkable Councilmeeting in Selsey

The Council of the SHA met onSaturday 12 November 2005 in amarathon six hour meeting at thehome of Sir Patrick Moore, one ofthe Society’s Honorary VicePresidents. Sir Patrick, arguably thebest-known and most popularastronomy broadcaster and authorever, very kindly invited Councilinto his home, ‘Farthings’, in Selsey,West Sussex, for its last meeting ofthe year.

The ‘star’ of The Sky at Night andauthor of more than seventy bookswhich have inspired and supportedmany thousands of astronomerssince the early 1950s hosted themeeting in his study, the location ofso many recent televisionbroadcasts. Those attending themeeting also had the privilege ofmeeting Sir Patrick’s cats and ofseeing his famous telescopes in thegarden of Farthings, not to mentionthe historic three inch brass refractorwhich was the first telescope ownedby the now legendary amateurastronomer. Council has met severaltimes at historic professionalobservatories. Now they have met atthe cornerstone of British amateurastronomy, an historic event in

itself. Council cannot thank SirPatrick too much for his welcome,his hospitality, and his presence atthe meeting, which was greatlyappreciated.

New Councillor co-opted

SHA member Bill Barton has beenco-opted to the SHA Council toassist Ken Goward following Ken’srecent illness. Enthusiasticallywelcomed onto Council during themeeting in Selsey, Bill is an amateurastronomer and historian of many

EditorialDavid Rayner

Society newsStuart Williams and Clive Davenhall

SHA Council in Sir Patrick Moore's study at ‘Farthings’, Selsey.Left to right (rear): Reg Withey, Roger Jones, Peter Hingley, Mark Hurn, Ken Goward

and Bill Barton. Left to right (front): Stuart Williams, Sir Patrick Moore, GilbertSatterthwaite and Madeline Cox.

Newly co-opted SHA CouncillorBill Barton


years standing and is well known inthe SHA. Subject to workcommitments, Bill, who joins theother recent additions to Council, DrReg Withey and Peter Hingley,hopes to take on additional dutiesfor the Society in due course.

Generous donation byHonorary Vice President

Sir Patrick Moore, Honorary VicePresident of the SHA has made agenerous donation of £100 to theSociety, which has supported themailing of this issue of the SHANewsletter. Sir Patrick made thespontaneous donation during theSHA Council meeting at his home inSelsey (see above). The highproduction and mailing costs of theSHA’s publications take up most ofthe Society’s income and it issometimes difficult to meet thesecosts from the Society’s modest

subscriptions. Council unanimouslythanked Sir Patrick for both hisfinancial support on this occasion,and his even more valuable moralsupport, the latter of which inparticular has helped greatly inmaintaining the morale of Counciland the Society in its formativeyears.

The Antiquarian Astronomerissue 2

As you read this you should havereceived issue 2 of the Society’sacclaimed annual journal TheAntiquarian Astronomer, which willbe distributed with this issue of theNewsletter. Editor Dr Reg Withey

has reported regularly to Council onprogress with the second issue andhas received their full support. Withthe aid of Assistant Editor KevinJohnson, and a series of excellentpapers contributed by members, Regaims to meet the high standardalready set by issue 1, which wasedited by Callum Potter and JohnWoodruff.

Autumn Conference 2005

The SHA Autumn Conference,Astronomers and Observatories,held at the Birmingham & MidlandInstitute on 8 October was a greatsuccess as an event, with someexcellent research presented andspeakers on a wide variety of topicstypifying the kind of work theSociety was set up to encourage andsupport. A full report appears laterin this Newsletter. It was, however,not as well supported by members as

last year andconsequently made asmall loss financially.This deficit isunfortunate, as suchevents must be self-supporting if they areto continue. SadlySHA Treasurer KenGoward was unableto attend due toillness but is now onthe mend. Manythanks to all thosewho were able toattend, those whoassisted with running

the event, our speakers and thosebooksellers, the BMI and othersocieties and organisations who alsosupported the SHA on what was anexcellent day at the BMI.

Advance announcement ofevents for 2006

Council has decided to stage thefollowing events for 2006, subject toconfirmation of venues and dateswhere noted. Further informationwill be given in the next issue of theNewsletter.

Saturday 20 May 2006: AnnualGeneral Meeting and Spring

Conference. Theme: Women inAstronomy. Venue: Institute ofAstronomy, University ofCambridge. Date and venue TBC.

End of May/Beginning of July:SHA Summer Picnic. A venue iscurrently being negotiated and thedate is therefore dependent on that,but as usual should be a Saturdaynear our founding date. There is apossibility of an extra eventcontingent on the above.

Saturday 7 October 2006: AutumnConference. Theme: Instrumentsand Imaging. Venue: John LeeLecture Theatre and Gallery Room,Birmingham & Midland Institute, 9Margaret Street, Birmingham. Dateand venue confirmed, times TBA.

Council meetings in 2006

In addition to the AGM, Councilproposes to meet on the followingdates and locations, at 1 pm, subjectto confirmation of venues.

Saturday 11 February 2006, RoyalAstronomical Society, BurlingtonHouse, Piccadilly, London.

Saturday 29 July 2006, YorkshireMuseum, Museum Gardens, York.

Saturday 11 November, Sir RobertBall Library, Birmingham &Midland Institute, 9 Margaret Street,Birmingham.

While Council meetings are notSociety events as such, any memberwho wishes to speak to Councilformally on a matter relating to theSociety is welcome to attend,subject to prior arrangement with theSecretary. Due to the small size ofmeeting rooms, numbers of visitorsmay be restricted. Members are ofcourse also welcome to speak toCouncillors at any time during ournormal events, and are encouragedto write c/o The Secretary or directto individual Councillors if theyhave any comments, complaints,compliments, suggestions, questionsor information they would like todraw to the attention of Council.

Sir Patrick Moore presents SHA Chairman GilbertSatterthwaite with a cheque for £100


SHA introduced to Duke ofEdinburgh

By the time you read this, SHASecretary Stuart Williams will havemet Prince Philip during a specialRoyal Visit to the Birmingham &Midland Institute. The visit on 22November is taking place as theBMI celebrates the one hundred andfiftieth Anniversary of the laying ofthe foundation stone of the originalbuilding by Prince Albert, PrinceConsort and husband to QueenVictoria. Groups working with andwithin the BMI, including the SHA,have been invited to lay on a smallexhibit at the Institute on the day,and individual representatives willbe seen by the Duke of Edinburghand his entourage. Pictures of theSHA at work and at play, as well asbooks and documents from theSociety’s Sir Robert Ball Library atthe BMI, will be on display, and it ishoped that Prince Philip will accepta complimentary copy of TheAntiquarian Astronomer.

BMI continues specialrelationship with SHA

The Birmingham & MidlandInstitute, to which the SHA isaffiliated, will continue to supportthe Society in 2006 and for theforeseeable future. The Instituteprovides the SHA with free premisesto house the Sir Robert Ball Library,

and supports our AutumnConference by special arrangementsfor the use of rooms and facilities. Inreturn, the Society has enabled theInstitute to begin a return to some ofthe scientific activities that wereonce a major part of its work in thenineteenth and early twentiethcenturies, complementing theimportant musical and cultural workof the modern BMI. The SHA isdelighted to be associated with theBMI and strongly supports the aimsof the Institute.

JAH2

You are reminded that the discounton subscriptions to the Journal ofAstronomical History and Heritage(JAH2) which was previouslyoffered to SHA members is nolonger available, following the take-over of the journal by James CookUniversity (JCU), Queensland.Anyone who availed themselves ofthe discount is asked to let CliveDavenhall know (contact details areon the back page) as it will assist indiscussions with the JAH2 editors. Inthe meantime, some information onJAH2 and other history of astronomyactivities at JCU appears later in thisNewsletter. We also carry anobituary for John Perdrix, foundingeditor of JAH2.

History of astronomy inWales…

SHA member Bryn Jones maintainssome excellent Web pages about thehistory of astronomy in Wales.These pages include a great deal ofuseful information, including aversion of Chapter 24 of the RevdJ.S. Evans’ Seryddiaeth aSeryddwyr, published in Welsh in1923. This chapter is the best sourcefor the history of astronomy in thePrincipality up to this date. AnEnglish translation by Rhys Morrisof the University of Bristol is alsoprovided. See URL:http://brynjones.members.beeb.net/wastronhist/astronwaleshist.html

… and in South Africa

The historical section of theAstronomical Society of SouthernAfrica maintains an extensive set ofWeb pages about the developmentof astronomy in southern Africa. SeeURL:http://assa.saao.ac.za/html/39_historicalsection.html. Also, the AfricanAstronomical History Symposiumwas recently held at the headquartersof the South African AstronomicalObservatory (formerly the RoyalObservatory of the Cape) in CapeTown as part of the celebrations ofthe opening of the South AfricanLarge Telescope (SALT). We hopeto carry a report in a future issue ofthe Newsletter.

Roger Jones has produced a rathersplendid map (opposite) showing thegeographical distribution of theSociety’s members in the UK. Themap was exhibited at the recentAutumn Conference and has alsobeen displayed at various otherevents. It is current for 6 October2005. In addition to those shownthere are members in the ChannelIsles, Australia, Canada, Eire,Holland, Japan, Portugal, South

Africa and the United States. Asusual, a list of members who haverecently joined appears on the backpage.

The distribution of SHA membersClive Davenhall

The distribution of SHA members in the UKon 6 October 2005. Councillors and

Honorary Presidents are shown with blackpins and other members with red (grey

here) ones


Nicholas Copernicus (1473-1543)spent most of his life as a canon ofthe cathedral chapter of Frauenberg(now Frombork) in Poland. He wasburied in the cathedral precincts, butthe precise location of his grave was

lost. Now a team led by JerzyGassowski, head of the Institute ofArchaeology and Anthropology inPultusk, central Poland, believe thatthey have found Copernicus’remains, following a year-longsearch of tombs under the cathedralfloor.

The grave was in a poor conditionand only the skull and some remainshave been preserved. However, arestoration by police forensicexperts at the central crimelaboratory in Warsaw hasestablished that the skull is of a manof approximately the correct age.They have also produced areconstruction that closely resemblesCopernicus’ self-portrait, includinga broken nose and scar above the lefteye. Gassowski’s team are now

attempting to locate descendants ofrelatives of Copernicus foradditional DNA identification. Seeinter alia URL:http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/em/fr/-/1/hi/world/europe/4405958.stm

The Journal of AstronomicalHistory and Heritage (JAH2) waslaunched in 1998, and is nowproduced by the Centre forAstronomy at James CookUniversity (Townsville, Australia).It is published twice-yearly, in Juneand December.

JAH2 features review papers,research papers, shortcommunications, IAU reports, andbook reviews. All papers arerefereed prior to publication. Whilsta wide range of papers have beenpublished since 1998, those likely tobe of special interest to SHAmembers include:

Brück, M.T, 1998. Mary AckworthEvershed née Orr (1867-1949),solar physicist and Dante scholar.1(1): 45-59.

Brück, M.T, 2003. An astronomercalls: extracts from the diaries ofCharles Piazzi Smyth. 6(1): 37-45.

Chapman, A, 2003. Porters,watchmen, and the crime of WilliamSayers: the non-scientific staff of theRoyal Observatory, Greenwich, inVictorian times. 6(1): 27-36.

Dick, S.J, 1998. Observation andinterpretation of the Leonid meteorsover the last millennium. 1(1): 1-20.

Hughes, D.W, 1998. The historicalinvestigation of cometarybrightness. 1(2): 123-133.

Hughes, D.W, 2001. Six stages inthe history of the astronomical unit.4(1): 15-28.

Hughes, D.W, 2004. Bright starsand the history of stellar astronomy.7(2): 103-114

Mestel, L, 2004. Arthur StanleyEddington: pioneer of stellarstructure theory. 7(1): 65-73.

Orchiston, W, 2001. The Englishequatorial mounting and the history

of the Fletcher Telescope. 4(1): 29-42.

Pasachoff, J.M, 1999. Halley as aneclipse pioneer: his maps andobservations of the total eclipses of1715 and 1724. 2(1): 39-54.

Perkins, A, 2001. ‘Extraneousgovernment business’: theAstronomer Royal as governmentscientist: George Airy and his workon the commissions of state andother bodies, 1838-1880. 4(2): 143-154.

Satterthwaite, G.E, 2001. Airy andpositional astronomy. 4(2): 101-113.

Satterthwaite, G.E, 2001. Airy’stransit circle. 4(2): 115-141.

Satterthwaite, G.E, 2003. Airy’szenith telescopes and ‘the birth-starof modern astronomy’. 6(1): 13-26.

Stephenson, F.R., and Green, D.A,2003. Was the supernova of AD

Copernicus’ grave found?Clive Davenhall

Nicholas Copernicus

A reconstruction of the face of the manfound beneath Frauenberg cathedral

The Journal of Astronomical History and HeritageWayne Orchiston, Editor, JAH 2


1054 reported in European history.6(1): 46-52.

In addition, SHA stalwarts, MaryBrück and Clive Davenhall regularlycontribute book reviews.

Overseeing the production of JAH2

is an international Editorial Boardwhose members include David

Andrews, Mary Brück, AllanChapman and Richard Stephenson.Unsolicited papers and book reviewsare always welcome, but whenpreparing them please refer to the‘Guide to Authors’ on our Web site:www.jcu.edu.au/astronomy/JAH2

The 2006 annual subscription isAU$44:00 for individuals and

AU$77 for institutions. Asubscription form is available on theweb site. All journals are airmailedto overseas subscribers. For furtherdetails please refer to our Web siteor feel free to contact the author [email protected]

The Centre for Astronomy at JamesCook University (JCU), Australia,was founded in 2003, and is anexciting new initiative in worldastronomy. With a rapidly-growingstaff, it offers a range ofpostgraduate astronomyqualifications that can be obtainedby off-campus, part-time, Internet-based study. See www.jcu.edu.au/astronomy

Of most interest to SHA members isthe Master of Astronomy, acoursework degree that involves sixsemesters of part-time study. From2006, students can select history ofastronomy for their final unit. Thiscombination of coursework and tworesearch projects allows them tograduate with a history of astronomy‘major’. For those who wish toproceed further, the JCU Mastersprovides entry to the JCU doctoralprogramme in history of astronomy.

History of astronomy was onlyintroduced as a JCU doctoral option

in 2005, and we already have ninestudents enrolled in this area, fourfrom the USA, four from Australiaand one from Lebanon. The JCUdoctorate is a research degree, andthe current students are researchinga variety of topics.

Three staff members are presentlyinvolved in the history of astronomyarea: Associate-Professor GraemeWhite (Head of the Centre forAstronomy), Professor RichardStephenson (Adjunct appointment)and Dr Wayne Orchiston (SeniorLecturer). However, we can also callon an extensive network ofinternational colleagues to serve asadvisors for research projects, and inthis way we are able toaccommodate a wide range ofdifferent thesis topics.

Whilst the JCU masters and doctoralprogrammes are designed for part-time off-campus studies, full-timeon-campus enrolment is alsopossible. In this context, the Centre

for Astronomy is located at JCU’smain campus in Townsville, thethird-largest city in the state ofQueensland. A vibrant, attractive,coastal centre, Townsville is theadministrative capital of thenorthern half of Queensland, and inaddition to the University and stateand federal governmentdepartments, it hosts air force andarmy bases. It is close to the GreatBarrier Reef, sugar cane plantations,tropical rain forest and historicmining towns, and offers a widerange of sporting and culturalactivities for enthusiasts.

Apart from its postgraduate historyof astronomy programmes, theCentre for Astronomy at JCU nowhosts the Journal of AstronomicalHistory and Heritage (seewww.jcu.edu.au/astronomy/JAH2).For further information feel free tocontact the author [email protected].

The second SHA AutumnConference was held on 8 Octoberthis year at the Birmingham &Midland Institute (BMI) in centralBirmingham. The theme of thisyear’s conference was Astronomersand Observatories (a title whichirresistibly recalls the definition ofan observatory in Ambrose Bierce’sThe Devil’s Dictionary as: ‘a placewhere astronomers conjecture awaythe guesses of their predecessors’). I

made my usual early start fromEdinburgh and the day was overcastand damp with drizzle. However, ina welcome break with tradition Iarrived in time for the pre-meetingrefreshments, despite my flightbeing delayed by half an hour. Themeeting opened at 11:00 am, withthe programme proper starting at11:30. The talks were given in theJohn Lee Lecture Theatre in thebasement, with refreshments and

exhibitors in the nearby GalleryRoom, both conveniently close tothe Society’s Sir Robert BallLibrary. This year the meeting wasattended by just shy of forty people.

Proceedings began with anintroduction and welcome by theSHA Chairman GilbertSatterthwaite. He noted that theAstronomer Royal, Sir Martin Rees,had recently been made a Peer of the

History of astronomy at James Cook UniversityWayne Orchiston

SHA autumn conferenceClive Davenhall


Realm, which was welcomerecognition for astronomy. Turningto Society matters, he expressedthanks to the Treasurer, KennethGoward, who unfortunately couldnot be present because of illness,both for his efforts in organising themeeting and more generally for theSociety. He thanked Stuart Williamsfor shouldering much of theadditional burden of organising themeeting and Reg Withey forstepping in to assist with theorganisation. He announced that,following the constitutional changesagreed at the Spring AGM, two newCouncillors had now been co-opted:Reg Withey and Bill Barton (theircontact details appear on the backpage). Finally he thanked the BMIfor their hospitality.

The first talk was by Jerry Workmanwho spoke on the HampsteadObservatory and LoughtonObservatory. Mr Workman had longties with both observatories and wasnow a demonstrator at both sites.Loughton Astronomical Society,based in Loughton on the outskirtsof London, was founded in 1968 bya group of people who had attendeda mirror-making class. This groupbuilt a sixteen-inch NewtonianCassegrain telescope and then anObservatory to house it (the domewas lifted into place by members ofa local weightlifting class). TheObservatory is in the grounds ofLoughton Hall, a historical listedbuilding which used to be owned byEssex County Council but is now inthe hands of Loughton College andis little used. In May 1980 an annexewas added, which gave additionalwork and storage space.

Recently the sixteen-inch has beenreplaced with an equatoriallymounted six-inch refractor. Thoughthe new telescope has a substantiallysmaller light-grasp, it producessharper images and is much easier touse. It is ideal for planetary work.

The Hampstead Scientific Societyhas a rather longer history, havingbeen founded in 1899. It wasinterested in astronomy from thebeginning; ‘The November Meteors’

(now usually known as the Leonids)being discussed at the first meeting.The Society built an Observatory in1909. It is located just offHampstead Heath, some 350 footabove sea level. The Observatoryoriginally housed an eight-inchreflector, though in 1928 this wasreplaced with a six-inch Cookerefractor, which is still in use and,again, is excellent for planetarywork. An annexe was added to theObservatory in 1934.

Throughout its lifetime theObservatory has had an activeobserving programme and hostedpublic events. Membership hasdeclined since the 1980s, but theObservatory remains active. Indeed,Loughton and Hampstead are thetwo most active observatories in theLondon region in terms of thenumber of public observing sessionsthey hold.

The next talk was Astronomy in theFamily – J.G. Barclay and the 1860ten-inch Cooke by Charles Barclay.Mr Barclay taught physics atMarlborough College, havingpreviously pursued astrophysicsresearch. At Marlborough he hadbeen involved in attempts to restorethe Blackett Observatory, belongingto the College, and the ten-inchCooke refractor which it contains.

During this work he hadunexpectedly discovered that he wasrelated to previous owners of thetelescope. Many of Mr Barclay’sancestors had been Quakers, and ittranspired that several of them hadbeen astronomers. He had not yetresearched all the figures, but oneexample was Robert Barclay (born1758) who, with his wife Ann, madea couple considered glamorous byQuaker standards. He constructed anobservatory adjacent to his house inClapham, from which he made hisown observations. Robert Barclay’scousin Thomas Colinsoncorresponded with William Herscheland was obviously at the heart ofastronomical developments duringhis time.

However, most of the talk was aboutJoseph Gurney Barclay (1816-1898), a banker who was one of thefounders of Barclay’s Bank. In 1860he bought a ten-inch refractor byThomas Cooke and Sons, which heused to observe from his home inLeyton, Essex. In addition toobserving himself he also employedtwo professional astronomers,Hermann Romberg and CharlesTalmage. In 1885 the ten-inch wasgiven to the Radcliffe Observatoryin Oxford. It was used for double-star, comet and planetary work inboth Leyton and Oxford. Indeed, at

Joseph Barclay’s ten-inch Cooke refractor, now restored, in its dome at the BlackettObservatory, Marlborough College


Leyton Joseph Barclay completedStruve’s catalogue of double stars.

In 1935 the Radcliffe Observatoryrelocated to the clearer skies ofSouth Africa. The ten-inch wasdonated to Marlborough College,where it was housed in its presentdome, known as the ‘BlackettObservatory’, and used for manyyears. In 1997 the telescope wasrenovated by Norman Walker(retired from the Royal GreenwichObservatory). The Observatoryreopened in 2002 and now has anextensive public outreachprogramme.

Following Mr Barclay’s talk therewas an extended break for lunch,with opportunities to inspect boththe Sir Robert Ball Library and thestands of the various exhibitors.

After lunch the meeting resumedwith another speaker who was adescendent of his subject. JerryGrover spoke on his great, greatgrandfather, Charles Grover – Sixty-Three Years an AstronomicalObserver. The principal sourcematerial for Charles Grover was hisautobiography (from whose title thetalk’s title was derived): Fifty Yearsan Astronomical Observer. Thissource is complemented by volumetwo of his observing log, which wasdiscovered by chance in 2002.(Strictly speaking this volume is afair copy written up after the event,rather than notes made at thetelescope.)

Charles Grover was born in 1842 inChesham, Buckinghamshire, the sonof a shoemaker. However, both hisparents died when he was young andhe was apprenticed to a brush-maker. His interest in astronomywas stimulated by Donati’s comet of1858. Shortly afterwards he boughthis first telescope, from Josiah T.Slugg. Slugg specialised inaffordable telescopes and Grovermay have seen his advertisement inthe monthly periodical TheAstronomical Register. Groverbecame an enthusiastic observer anda regular correspondent of TheAstronomical Register and the

English Mechanic newspaper. Healso corresponded with the RevdT.W. Webb and other astronomersof the day. In 1860 he moved toClapham in London to work withthe instrument maker JohnBrowning. He was invited to join aRoyal Geographical Societyexpedition led by Captain WilliamMorris of the Royal Engineers toBrisbane in Queensland, Australia toobserve the 1882 transit of Venus.This expedition was to beaccompanied by Mr Cuthbert Peekas an independent observer andGrover was invited to join as MrPeek’s assistant. The expedition wasclouded out, but Grover madeseveral useful contacts. On hisreturn to the UK he was appointedastronomer at Peek’s privateobservatory on his estate atRousdon, Devon. At Rousdon heundertook an extensive observingprogramme, particularlyconcentrating on variable stars,whose brightness he estimated usingArgelander’s method. The results ofthe first fifteen years of Rousdonvariable star observations wereedited and published by H.H. Turnerin 1904. Grover had some thirty-twoletters published in the EnglishMechanic. He died in 1921. Hispapers and the Rousdon Observatorytelescope were acquired by DurhamUniversity.

The next talk was a presidentialaddress by Allan Chapman, whogave his usual eloquent andinformed presentation on TychoBrahe and Uraniborg – the FirstModern Observatory. Tycho Brahe(1546-1601), the last great naked-eye observer, was one of theprincipal figures of Renaissanceastronomy and his story is well-known. Both his parents weredescended from eminent Danisharistocratic families. Unusually forsomeone of his background, he wasinterested in astronomy from anearly age. In the sixteenth centuryaristocrats did not attend universityand, as was normal amongst hispeers, he was educated by tutors anda tour of the Courts of Europe.Tycho became convinced of thedesirability of founding a permanentastronomical observatory, wheresystematic observations could beconducted. The usefulness of suchan enterprise was reinforced by hisobservation of a ‘new star’ on 11February 1572. This object is nowusually known as ‘Tycho’s nova’.

Perhaps surprisingly, Tycho foundbacking for his idea. He persuadedKing Frederic of Denmark, apersonal friend, to found anObservatory. In 1576 Frederic gaveTycho the island of Hven, nearCopenhagen in the Sound, as a fief.There Tycho established hisObservatory, Uraniborg (a mixtureof Latin and Danish meaning ‘startown’). Frederic remained agenerous patron and the Observatory

Charles Grover and the Merz telescopeat the Rousdon Observatory in about

1910. Grover observed with thistelescope for thirty-six years

Tycho Brahe (1546-1601)


undertook an extensive programmeof both stellar and planetaryobservations. It observed the firstcomplete new western star cataloguesince Ptolemy’s Almagest over athousand years earlier (thoughUlugh Begh in Samarkand hadcompiled an independent cataloguebetween 1420 and 1437, seeNewsletters no. 2, May 2003, pp7-8and no. 7, June 2005, pp14-15).

However, when Frederic died in1588 the patronage ceased, and theObservatory closed shortlyafterwards. Tycho left Denmark in1597 and two years later found anew patron in the Holy RomanEmperor, Rudolph II. Tycho wasappointed Imperial Mathematicianto Rudolph’s Court in Prague, whereKepler became his assistant. Tychodied unexpectedly in 1601. Keplersucceeded to the post of ImperialMathematician and produced theRudolphine Tables from Tycho’sobservations.

Tycho’s contributions to astronomywere enormous. In Uraniborg heessentially invented the modernEuropean observatory as a workinginstitution with a systematicapproach to astronomicalobservation and a continuousprogramme of work. Previouslyobservations were carried outwherever the observer lived andwere made on a one-off, ad hoc,basis, as needed. Similarly Tychohad a systematic approach to theanalysis of observational errors. Hewas also responsible forimprovements in instrumentation,such as the parallax-free sight.

Moreover, his contributions alsoextended to more theoretical orphilosophical matters. Specifically,he was the first astronomer toaddress the Copernican debateobservationally rather thanphilosophically. The ‘Tychonicsystem’ (in which the Sun and Moonrevolve around the Earth, but theother planets revolve around theSun) is often treated dismissivelythese days as an uncomfortablecompromise between the Ptolemaicand Copernican systems. However,

it was actually a significantachievement which reconciledcontemporary astronomicalobservations with Aristotelianphysics. Tycho’s system only reallybecame untenable with the work ofCassini, Huygens and others as lateas the 1660s.

At Uraniborg Tycho basically ran aCourt. In addition to makingastronomical observations, hisassistants were expected to have theusual run of courtlyaccomplishments, such as beingskilled dancers or lutanists. In allabout sixty assistants passed throughUraniborg and they subsequentlydisseminated Tycho’s ideasthroughout Europe. For example,one would later become CourtPhysician to James VI and I.

Most of the instruments used atUraniborg are lost: they were largelydestroyed or dispersed when theobservatory closed. Some ofTycho’s instruments do survive, butthey are mostly smaller, portableones from his time in Prague. Thereis a postscript to the story ofUraniborg. In the seventeenthcentury the Jesuits established amission to China. Father FerdinandVerbiest, SJ (1623-1688) replicatedTycho’s Observatory at the ChineseImperial Court. By 1670 Tycho’sastronomy was well-established inChina and used to reform theChinese calendar. Unlike Uraniborg,the instruments of the ImperialObservatory still survive.

Following Dr Chapman’s talk therewas a break for refreshments. Themeeting then resumed with the finalcontribution, The Lost Gardens ofFireside, by Kevin Kilburn. Thistalk was about the Scottish engineerand astronomer James Nasmyth(1808-1890) and particularly MrKilburn’s attempt to track down theexact location of his home, Fireside,in Patricroft, Manchester, whereNasmyth lived between 1836 and1856.

Nasmyth is a well-known figure. Hewas one of the four ‘grand amateur’astronomers who built their own

large telescopes in the nineteenthcentury. In Nasmyth’s case it was atwenty-inch telescope, built around1845, from which he observed at hishome, Fireside. In 1849 Nasmythhad plans for a five-foot telescopewhich would have been the secondlargest in the world. However, heabandoned the project when heretired to Kent in 1856.

Nasmyth grew up at 47, York Place,Edinburgh, the youngest child of alarge family. He was apprenticed inLondon and Edinburgh, and laterstarted his own engineering businessin Manchester. Later he moved toPatricroft, then on the outskirts ofManchester.

Mr Kilburn presented considerableresearch which convincingly locatedFireside immediately adjacent toNasmyth’s factory at Patricroft. Thiswork also revealed that Nasmyth’sbiography is not always reliable. Forexample, it downplays the role of hisbrother and family in his earlycareer. Also, Mr Kilburn hadgleaned much information bycontact and collaboration with local,and other, historians outside theastronomy tradition, and heemphasised the usefulness of suchcontacts.

A drawing of James Nasmyth’s twenty-inch telescope


Following Mr Kilburn’s talk GilbertSatterthwaite closed the meeting. Hethanked Stuart Williams again,particularly for his efforts during themeeting. He also thanked all thespeakers, whose presentations haduniformly been extremelyinteresting, and the exhibitors.Finally, as ever, the Society isgrateful to the BMI for theirhospitality and support.

Further information

Loughton Astronomical Society:http://las-astro.org.uk/

Hampstead Scientific Society:http://www.hampsteadscience.ac.uk/

The Blackett Observatory atMarlborough College:http://www.blackettobservatory.org

For further information on JosephBarclay see also:http://www.ast.cam.ac.uk/~ipswich/Observatory/Leyton.htm

Barbara Slater has recentlypublished a biography of CharlesGrover, The Astronomer of Rousdon(2005, Courseware Publications:Bury St Edmunds). We hope tocarry a review in the March 2006issue of the Newsletter.

A paper by Kevin Kilburndescribing his researches into thelocation of James Nasmyth’s home‘Fireside’ appears in issue 2 of TheAntiquarian Astronomer.

James Nasmyth’s Autobiography isavailable on-line at several locations(including one contributed by SHAmember Eric Hutton), for example:http://www.naesmyth.com/bio/.There is also a print copy in theSociety’s Library.

Ambrose Bierce’s The Devil’sDictionary was first published in1911 and is still in print. Several on-line versions are also available,including one at:http://www.alcyone.com/max/lit/devils/

The Division of Planetary Sciencesand Historical Astronomy Division(HAD) of the AmericanAstronomical Society (AAS) met inCambridge (England) during 2005September 4 – 9. The meeting wasin association with the RoyalAstronomical Society and severalSociety for the History ofAstronomy members were present.The total attendance was over 700,the great majority being planetaryscientists.

From the SHA point of view thehigh points were the historical talksat the daily plenary sessions, whichwere intended for both planetaryscientists and historians.

A. van Helden (Utrecht) spoke onSaturn Through the Telescope: theFirst Century. Early telescopescould show the ring but thepreconceptions of the observers didnot allow them to see it. Huygens

arrived at the solution in 1655-56.His ring theory was elegant but hadseveral shortcomings.

R.J. McKim (RAS and BAA) gaveA History of the Martian Dust

Barbara and Keith Slater at the Autumn Conference, promoting Mrs Slater’s recentbiography of Charles Grover, The Astronomer of Rousdon. Behind them are (left to

right) Jerry Grover, Kevin Kilburn and Martin Lunn (with Lanyard). Behind Jerry Groverand in a white shirt is Sam George (Federation of Astronomical Societies)

AAS HAD meeting in CambridgeDerek Jones and Eric Hutton

A diagram illustrating how Christiaan Huygens’ hypothesis that Saturn is a sphericalplanet surrounded by a thin, flat ring which nowhere touches it explains the varioustelescopic appearances of the planet. From Huygens’ Systema Saturnium (1659)


Storms. The earliest record was in1704 but the daily evolution of duststorms was not studied until 1911.The telescopic literature is litteredwith errors of fact and interpretation.

M.A. Hoskin (Cambridge) spoke onCaroline Herschel as an Observer.She made an immense contributionto astronomy as amanuensis to herbrother William but she was also anobserver on her own account anddiscovered a number of nebulae. In1786 she discovered her first cometand went on to discover seven more,including Encke’s comet.

P.H. Schulz (Brown University)spoke on Shooting the Moon: APersonal Look at Hypotheses on theOrigin of the Lunar Craters. Most ofthe requisite physics was known bythe 1870s but impact cratering wasnot a favoured hypothesis. Stereoimages of the Moon at the 1851Great Exhibition brought the cratersto the attention of a wide public. Asa result, the mystery of cratering wasno longer the domain of those withtelescopes.

There were separate sessions forHAD contributed papers and

posters, which were attended byboth historians and planetaryscientists. The papers ranged over awide selection of topics; the mostnoteworthy were on the history ofradio astronomy. The rifle rangeswhere the early Cambridge RadioTelescopes were sited were only afew hundred yards from themeeting. Several radio astronomerswhose careers had started in the1940s were present. Two aspects ofthe work of the early radioastronomers made a particularimpression. Firstly there were nostandard textbooks on the subject;everything had to be tried andinvented. The second was thedifferent approach to building radioequipment adopted in England andon the Continent. Here in Englandthe scientists had to literally ‘muckin’, and having a PhD meant youwhere a qualified ‘Post HoleDigger’. Very different from abroad,where the manual work was not theremit of the scientists. Of the otherHAD session talks, B.E. Schaefergave a talk on A New Synthesis forthe Origin of the GreekConstellations, showing plagiarismis nothing new. The earliestsurviving written description of the

Greek constellations, Aratus’Phaenomena, which is a copy ofEudoxus’ lost book of the samename, was in fact taken fromobservations made at two earliertimes, about 650 BC and 1130 BC.

The HAD meeting concluded with atour of the Cambridge UniversityObservatory, where participantswere shown the Northumberlandtelescope, the three-mirror telescope,the original Mead building and thelibrary. They continued to themuseum at the CavendishLaboratory, which covers the wholehistory of the Cavendish Laboratorybut is rarely open to visitors. Thetour finished with a visit to theMullard Radio AstronomyObservatory to see the buildings bythe railway line and the old andmodern instruments.

The programme and abstracts ofpapers at the conference can befound in the Bulletin of theAmerican Astronomical Society, 37,(3), 2005 or online at http://www.aas.org/publications/baas/v37n3/dps2005/had2005block.html

On 15 July 2005 the UNESCOWorld Heritage Committeeinscribed a new name on its list ofimportant sites: the Struve GeodeticArc. This site is a triangulationnetwork observed between 1816 and1855 that stretched from near NorthCape in Norway to the Black Sea. Intoday’s geography it passes throughten countries, namely Norway,Sweden, Finland, the RussianFederation, Estonia, Latvia,Lithuania, Belarus, the Republic ofMoldova and the Ukraine.

The Struve Geodetic Arc is the firstsurvey scheme and also the firstsuch scientific and technologicallandmark to be entered on the WorldHeritage List, and it joins a selectlist of less than 900 such listed sitesaround the world. Whereas one is

used to seeing ancient buildings,stunning scenery and famousarchaeological sites as Heritagemonuments, the Struve Arc is but aseries of marks in the ground barelycovering a square metre or so each.However, taken as a whole the Arcwas, for its time, a major scientificachievement using state-of-the-artinstrumentation to achieve amazingaccuracies straddling such a vastdistant and several countries. Muchsmaller similar schemes preceded itand longer and more accurate onessucceeded it, but it was a veritablemilestone in the quest to determineaccurate values for the parameters ofthe earth.

Arc measurement is thedetermination of the linear length ofa section of meridian (line of

A first for surveyors and for world heritageJim Smith and Jan de Graeve

The old Tartu Observatory, which wasthe origin of Struve’s survey


longitude) on the earth together with the astronomicaldetermination of the positions of the two end points. Whilst itshould theoretically follow exactly along such a line oflongitude in practice this is not essential, and indeed would beimpractical, and appropriate corrections can be made. Theterminal points of the Struve Arc are at Fuglenaes, latitude 70º40’ 12” N and longitude 23º 39’ 48” E, and Staro-Nekrassowka, latitude 45º 19’ 54” N and longitude 28º 55’ 41”E. Hence it is said to run more or less along the 26º E line oflongitude for a distance of 2820 km. The use of such a schemewas particularly designed to assist in the accuratedetermination of the size and shape of the earth. It was anextraordinary example of scientific collaborationamong scientists from different countries and of collaborationbetween monarchs for a scientific cause. Additionally itformed the basis upon which the long-required accuratemapping of the areas concerned could be based.

The historic monument is defined by the initial preservation of34 of the 265 main survey stations involved. The ten countriesinvolved, with encouragement and help from the InternationalInstitution for the History of Surveying & Measurement(IIHSM), a Permanent Group within the InternationalFederation of Surveyors (FIG), have co-operated since 1954 inthe recovery, verification, and documentation of the selectedpoints and in establishing these points as monuments. Pointswere chosen to (a) give a spread of preserved points along thewhole Arc, (b) be representative of all countries, (c) beverifiable as original points, (d) be reasonably accessible to thepublic, (e) be in positions that, if restored, they would not beliable to imminent destruction by building developments and(f) be generally in areas where the local population were keento take such a monument under their wing for its upkeep.

Where possible the most prominent sites have been selected,including the obelisks at each terminal, the Tartu Observatoryin Estonia (known at the time as Dorpat) which served as theorigin of the scheme and the point in the tower of Alatorniochurch. This church itself has remained unchanged since thetime of the measurements. Other points take a variety of formssuch as drill holes in rock, cairns and crosses chiselled in rock.

F.G.W. Struve (1793-1864), after whom the Arc gets its name,was born in Altona, Holstein and died in Pulkova, Russia. Hemarried twice and had 18 children. By age 20 he becameProfessor of Mathematics and Astronomy at Dorpat. Hisinvolvement in the survey of Livonia was the start of almost 40years work on the Meridian Arc. He founded Pulkovaastronomical observatory, then the best in the world, and theRussian Geographical Society. The other principal nameassociated with the Arc was that of the Russian military officerCarl F. Tenner (1783-1859). In 1816 he became Head of thevast Russian triangulation work in the western provinces of theEmpire. He had started in 1817, on his own initiative, atriangulation scheme to the south of Livonia. After Struve andTenner became acquainted with each other’s activities theyjoined forces. Some of the route in the northern parts coveredsimilar territory to that surveyed in 1735 by Maupertuis whenobserving his much shorter scheme that was is particularlyremembered, with a similar expedition to Peru in 1735-1745, Map of the Struve Arc from near North Cape to the Black

Sea


for solving once and for all thecontroversy between Newton inEngland and the Cassinis in France,regarding the shape of the earth, thatis, was it a prolate (flattened at theEquator) or oblate (flattened at the

Poles) spheroid. The latter versionwas proven to be correct.

With the achievement of WorldHeritage Monument status for thisArc what enhancements arepossible? Monuments can beextended at any later date and a‘monument’ such as the Struve Arccan be extended southwards as far asSouth Africa. This extension isfeasible because (a) in the 1930s ajoin was made from the Struve Arcin Belarus to Crete and (b) the Arcof the 30th Meridian through EastAfrica stretches from near PortElizabeth to near Cairo but in the1950s a connection was made acrossthe Mediterranean Sea to Crete.Hence there exists a connection thatwould extend the whole arc to oneof 105º (see the Newsletter no. 7,June 2005, pp9-11 for an article onthe African Arc). Such an extensionwould though involve a further 20 orso countries and would be no smalltask.

Other related activities are alsoenvisaged:

(i) the restoration of the OldObservatory (now owned by TartuUniversity) to become a StruveMuseum,

(ii) for the Struve archival material,presently in several locations, to beproperly indexed – a task alreadywell under way with the assistanceof Vitali Kaptjug and the IIHSM,

(iii) for there to be scientificexperiments across the 34 points thatcould in the future be archivematerial for tectonic and otherinvestigations,

(iv) the translation of Struve’svolumes into English.

Further information can be obtainedfrom J.R. Smith, 24, WoodburyAve, Petersfield, Hants GU32 2EE,UK or Professor Jan de Graeve, 5Ave de Meysse, 1020 Brussel,Belgium. Also the IIHSM has ahome page at URL:http://www.fig.net/hsm/index.htm.

A three week fly-drive trip to the USto see the National Parks of Arizona,Utah and California is somethingone would normally plan and bookmonths ahead of departure. Not somy recent trip, which was plannedand booked in a little over a month,with the final arrangements madeonly days before leaving for LA.Despite that, I managed to visit 8Parks, see San Francisco, Big Sur,and the Hoover Dam, travel along4000 miles of US Interstate andhighways including part of oldRoute 66, and not forgetting the twomajor observatories hinted at in thetitle of this article.

The very first thing I saw ofastronomical significance, apartfrom the blazing sun whilst crossingthe Mojave Desert was at theHoover Dam on the Arizona /Nevada border. At the top of thedam, two ‘Winged Figures of the

Republic’ dominate the Nevadaapproach. They are the work ofsculptor Oskar J.W. Hansen.

Surrounding the base of the statuesis a terrazzo pavement, inlaid with acelestial map, which was created byHansen in collaboration with TheSmithsonian Institution and the USNaval Observatory. The chartpreserves for future generations thedate on which President Franklin D.Roosevelt dedicated Hoover Dam,September 30, 1935. The celestialmap pinpoints the preciseastronomical time – September 30,1935, 8:56 p.m. – when FDRdedicated the dam.

The apparent magnitudes of stars onthe chart are shown as they wouldappear to the naked eye at a distanceof about 190 trillion miles fromearth. In reality, the distance to mostof the stars is more than 950 trillion

miles. In this celestial map, thebodies of the solar system are placedso exactly that those versed inastronomy could calculate theprecession of the Pole Star forapproximately the next 14,000years. Conversely, futuregenerations could look upon thismonument and determine, if noother means were available, theexact date on which Hoover Damwas dedicated.

The obelisk at the southern end of theArc at Staro-Nekrassowka in the

Ukraine

From Mars Hill to Mt HamiltonRoger Jones

Detail from the Hoover Dam celestialmap


Three days into our trip, my son andI were in Flagstaff and beingSaturday were lucky enough to beable to visit the Lowell Observatoryfor one of their open evenings. I wassurprised by the large crowd ofpeople gathered outside the visitorcentre waiting for the 7:30 opening.It had been a long day as we hadrisen at 4:30 a.m. and driven 60miles to see the Sun rise over theGrand Canyon; and what a fabulousexperience that was. Nevertheless Iwas wide awake as I queued outsidethe darkened dome of the 24-inchClark refractor. When my turn camethe object in the eyepiece was one ofthe sky’s brightest globular clusters,M15. This fine instrument is, alas,feeling its age and experiencingproblems with the RA slow motiondrive. Time at the eyepiece wasshort as the queue stretched back outof the building and down the path tothe visitor centre. I then entered mydetails on the visitor’s centre PC andsigned up for their e-mail newsletter,which was waiting in my inboxwhen I got back home. There wereall the usual astro goodies in theshop, but I resisted temptation until Isaw The Explorers of Mars Hill inthe book section. This book was a‘must have’ and is the centennialhistory of Lowell Observatory. Ourextended visit to the Grand Canyonprevented us from visiting andexploring the Observatory duringdaylight hours.

Flagstaff is a small town, and therailroad runs right through thecentre, with 100 car freight trainsthundering through every fewminutes, horns blaring at everycrossing. The Observatory is justoutside the town centre on MarsHill, but there is little light pollutionas the local authority makesmaximum use of low pressuresodium lighting (LPS) andrigorously enforces its outdoorlighting ordinance; one of thestrictest in the US. Percival Lowellbuilt the Observatory on Mars Hill(7257 feet) in the 1890s to study the‘canals’ of Mars. In addition to the24-inch refractor, the Alvan ClarkCo. also supplied a 40-inch reflectorand the 13-inch refractor used by

Clyde Tombaugh to discover Pluto.I was told that just 12 miles to theSE of Flagstaff is Anderson Mesa,where naked eye seeing is aroundmagnitude 8, and where several newtelescopes have been positioned.And a few miles further east isMeteor Crater, but no time to sparefor a detour as we were headingnorth.

From Arizona into Utah, where wevisited Zion, Bryce, Cedar Breaksand Capital Reef National Parks,plus a spectacular drive on Highway12 over Boulder Mountain. Anotherreason for visiting Utah was that Ihave Mormon ancestors whoemigrated there in the 1840s – truepioneers. Following a meeting withsome recently found descendants inFillmore and Payson, we drovenorth to Salt Lake City. On a tour ofthe Mormon Tabernacle andassociated buildings the next astrorelated item came into view. Thiswas in the North Visitor’s Centreand in the atrium, behind a statue ofChrist, was a magnificent muraldepicting the vastness of theUniverse.

Driving on Highway 6 across thevast wilderness that is Nevada, withnot a soul to be seen except a lonecoyote at the side of the road, is aBureau of Land Management signbearing the legend: ‘Lunar Crater’.But time was short; it was another200-mile drive over the Californiaborder to our next destination,

Yosemite, and so the 20-mile roundtrip on dirt roads to the crater wasout of the question.

In all the National Parks we visited,the visitor centre shops carried agood range of astronomy books andstar atlases. Many of them hold starparties, where park rangers point outthe glories of the night sky. Themonthly schedule of events in thePark announced ‘Starry Skies overYosemite Valley’. Unfortunatelyalthough these ranger led eventsoccur 2 or 3 times a week, they didnot coincide with our 2 days in thepark. I mentioned sunrise at theGrand Canyon; at Yosemite we sawsunset with the valley’s lengtheningshadows and the alpenglow on theHigh Sierras in the background.Then moonrise a day after full; allthis from Glacier Point, over 3000feet above the Yosemite Valleyfloor. Awesome! If you visit in thespring during snow-melt, you mightbe lucky enough to see a lunarrainbow as the full Moon hits LowerYosemite or Vernal Falls. By lateSeptember the falls are little morethan a trickle.

Next, the world’s greatest livingtree; a giant sequoia called theGeneral Sherman in Sequoia NP,and believe me it is huge. Whilst notas tall as some redwoods it iscertainly the most massive objectliving today. Nothing astronomicalhere apart from the size of the trees,so on to San Francisco, viaCalifornia's ‘Old Faithful’ geyser(not to be confused withYellowstone’s) and the PetrifiedForest, near Calistoga, immortalisedin Robert Louis Stevenson’s TheSilverado Squatters, following hisvisit there in 1880.

Little to report from San Francisco,apart from cable car rides, a nightvisit to Alcatraz and a walk acrossthe Golden Gate Bridge… oh andclam chowder at Fisherman’sWharf! Then an early start for thejourney to Mt Hamilton. We joinedthe hectic rush hour traffic indowntown San Francisco and acrossthe Oakland Bay Bridge and down I-880 to San Jose. From there heading

Percival Lowell at the eyepiece of the24-inch Clark refractor


east we see the mountains on thehorizon. We get lost among theendless acres of fruit farms, but soonwe see the sign for Mt Hamilton.From there it is a 19-mile climb with365 hairpins to the 4000-footsummit. We arrive at the top to findthat it doesn't admit visitors until 12noon. We stroll around, not a soulin sight. Many people live up there,even a sheriff and the US mailman.By opening time there are 3 morevisitors. Surprisingly theObservatory is staffed by only oneperson, who dashes between theshop and the dome of the 36-inchrefractor. First we head for the TVroom and watch the video of thebuilding and early history of theObservatory.

Later we get an exclusive tour of the36-inch by visitor assistant and MtHamilton resident, Wendy Hanson.She was very well informed aboutthe telescope and its history with theexception of Howard Grubb’sinvolvement with the initial plans,and the $600 the Lick Trustees paidhim for using his rising floordesigns. The scope itself was amarvel to look at and it stretches theimagination to consider the effortrequired in building the very firstmountain-top observatory back inthe 1880s. Initially there was noroad and the top of the peak had tobe rendered flat by blasting. Theroad was built in 10 months, but the

Observatory, whilst started in 1881was not completed until 1888,mainly due to the Clark’s long waitfor suitable glass blanks fromFrance.

The man responsible for bringingthe whole project to fruition wasCaptain Richard S. Floyd, Presidentof the Lick Trustees. Here is anaccount of the time the telescopewas first used:

“On a bitterly cold January night in1888, the telescope saw ‘first light.’The lens had been carried from its

place in the observatory safe andinstalled in the telescope onDecember 31, but stormy weatherprevented observing until, onJanuary 3, a break in the cloudsprovided the first chance to putnearly fifteen years of planning andhard work to the test. One can onlyimagine the shock and distress thatthe small party in the dome musthave felt when they found theycould not focus the telescope – andtheir relief when it was discoveredthat an error in the estimate of thefocal length had caused the tube tobe built too long. A hacksaw wassent for and the tubeunceremoniously shortened. Theimage of a ‘blazing red sun’ – thebright star Aldebaran – came intofocus.

“Again clouds and snow descendedon the mountain, and another fourdays passed before the dome couldbe opened again. A build-up of iceprevented the dome from rotating,but with patience born of a decadeof slow progress, Floyd and his menwaited for the earth’s rotation tobring a planet in sight of thetelescope:

‘In jittery handwriting, caused bythe cold working on his unglovedfingers, Floyd wrote “We are allwaiting in this office (next to the bigDome) for Saturn to come by ourshutter, which will be in about 2hours.” When Saturn arrived atabout midnight, the group gave upthe relative warmth of the office forthe frigid dome interior. The sight ofthe ringed planet rewarded them fortheir patience. “The definition wasexquisite,” Floyd wrote, “[Saturn]has the silvery brightness of themoon. All hands were delighted…There is no doubt that we have themost powerful optical instrument inthe world.’”

(from Eye on the Sky, Osterbrock,Gustafson, and Unruh, 1992,California Univ. Press).

There are of course several otherlarge telescopes on Mt Hamiltonincluding the Shane 120-inch (nowwith adaptive optics), the CrossleyThe main Lick Observatory buildings built in the 1890s with the 36-inch dome in the

background

The Lick 36-inch telescope. The world’ssecond largest refractor built by Warner

and Swassey with Alvan Clark optics


36-inch, the Nickel 40-inch and theTauchmann 22-inch reflectors.These instruments all continue to doexcellent research work.

We head west, onto the final leg ofour journey, to Monterey, and the300 miles of Pacific coastline downto LA. Big Sur, Pfeiffer Beach, adistant glimpse of Hearst Castle,Morro Bay, and all the wildlife youcould wish to see on a day’s drive:deer, turkey vultures, pelicans, sealions, and dolphins.

Back in LA with a fewhours to spare, I thoughtof visiting Griffith Parkand its Observatory, butthen remembered it wasclosed for renovationuntil 2006. My son couldsee the Hollywood signin the distance, so weparked and spent an hourreading the names on the‘Walk of Fame’. More‘stars’ but of a differentkind.

Sir Robert Ball

I was not able to attend the historicalastronomy session at the NAMmeeting in Birmingham in April2005, and have only the briefest ofsummaries of Mark Butterworth’slecture on the career of Ball inpopular education in astronomy (1).I share his admiration of Ball’scontribution to what is now calledPUS (the Public Understanding ofScience). I have a copy of apublished article by H. SpencerJones (Astronomer Royal) in about1953 in which he writes of his‘memory… at the age of 10…of aChristmas present of Sir RobertBall’s Story of the Heavens… Thisbook was my introduction toastronomy and through it my interestin what was destined to become mylife’s work was first aroused.’

The penultimate sentence of theprécis of the lecture (p12) seems alittle unfair, suggesting that Ballheld professorships in Dublin andCambridge despite the fact that hismain scientific research programme(on stellar parallaxes) ‘was acomplete failure.’

Through the nineteenth (and indeedmost of the twentieth) centuries the

practical determination oftrigonometrical parallax, requiringthe measurement of thedisplacement of the positions ofstars at six-month intervals to anaccuracy of better than one-tenth ofan arc second, was on the limits ofwhat was technically possible, andmany others failed.

Like most of the directors ofuniversity observatories in the sameperiod Ball was primarily amathematician; the professor-director guided the staff, who did thework with the telescopes.

In Cambridge from about 1820 theDirector of the Observatory wasusually the Plumian Professor. Byan accident of history in the latenineteenth century the directorshipfell to the Lowndean Professor ofAstronomy and Geometry (the laterin its proper meaning of the study ofthe properties of space, not the ruler-and-protractor of one’s schooldays).Ball succeeded John Couch Adamsin the Lowndean Chair in 1892.

He continued his interest in stellarparallax and in partnership with thetelescope maker Grubb of Dublindesigned a twelve-inch refractor oflong focal length with the

photographic measurement oftrigonometrical parallaxes in mind.This was the Sheepshanks telescope(named after the benefactor) whichremained one of the majortelescopes of the Observatory forfifty years. Ball encouraged a youngAmerican astronomer fromPrinceton called Henry NorrisRussell (we should now call him apost-doc) who learned from Ball’sChief Assistant A.R. Hinks how touse the telescope, and with it Russelland Hinks measured some reliablestellar parallaxes, which Russellincorporated into his firstHertzsprung-Russell diagram of1913.

Ball’s role in this brief historydeserves to be remembered.

David Dewhirst,Institute of Astronomy, Cambridge.

(1) SHA Newsletter, 8, September2005 p11.

[Both Mark Butterworth and PeterHingley, who wrote the NAM report,are happy to accept Dr Dewhirst’sclarification and amplification –Ed.]

Beneath the Lick 36-inch refractor, and below therising floor is the tomb of the founder of the

observatory. The inscription simply reads ‘Here liesthe body of James Lick’

A professor of what?

Mark Hurn and Roger Jones have noticed that in the on-line version of the1901 UK census Sir Robert Ball is described as a ‘Professor of Glomshy.’No doubt it should have read ‘Geometry,’ unless you prefer to think it wasBall trying to humour the enumerator with his Irish wit.


Burley, Jeffery and Plenderleith,Kristina (Eds.) A History of theRadcliffe Observatory Oxford: TheBiography of a Building. Softback,Green College at RadcliffeObservatory, Oxford, 2005, ISBN 0-9509394-1-2, £14.50 + p&p.

Despite a ponderous title, whichhardly grabs the reader, this smallwork provides a much overdueaccount of one of history’s forgottenobservatories. It is organised as aseries of essays that outline thehistory and artistic merits of thebuilding, the work and activities ofthe observatory, and finally the lateruse of the site by the RadcliffeInfirmary and then Green College.To historians of astronomy, thechapters by Roger Hutchins andGeoffrey Tyack are the mostrelevant as they provide aninstitutional history from itsestablishment in 1773 until removalto South Africa in 1934.

To readers unfamiliar with theRadcliffe Observatory, it may come

as a surprise to learn that in the lateeighteenth century, Britain’s best-equipped observatory lay not atGreenwich, near London, but ratherin the dreaming spires of Oxford. Itsorigins lie with the foresight, energyand tenacity of Thomas Hornsby(1733-1810), Savilian Professor ofAstronomy at Oxford. Like previousillustrious incumbents of this post,such as James Bradley, he wasexpected to be a practising observerwho would also give lectures onNatural Philosophy. Finding theCollege and University facilitieswanting, Hornsby successfullyapproached the Radcliffe Trust tofund a new observatory to be sitedon the edge of Oxford. The trust hadalready financed a new library inOxford, now known as the RadcliffeCamera, along with the infirmarythat bears its name. Provided withrooms for lecturing and two wingsfor making meridian observations,the building finally cost the thenenormous sum of £31,661, with abudget of £2,500 for instruments.

The arrangement whereby OxfordUniversity paid Hornsby’s salary,while the Radcliffe Trust paid theentire running costs of theobservatory, suited the former, butsowed the seed for future wrangles.These management shortcomingsare expanded upon when Hutchinslater describes the subsequenttroubled history of the observatory.This account gives an interestinginsight into how politics, patronageand other influences affected thestaffing of the observatory in thenineteenth century. The role of theAstronomer Royal, George BiddellAiry (1801-1892), as kingmaker, inthe appointment of new RadcliffeObservers, is intriguing and an eye-opener. Hutchins summarises thedeficiencies of the observatory as

inadequate funding, with theconsequent lack of capability topursue research that was both firstrank and useful. The Observatorywas founded on the ‘EnlightenmentPrinciple’ that its work should haveutility, in this case meridianastronomy, which has application inimproving the Nautical Almanacused by mariners to determinelongitude at sea. However, thisprinciple was subverted by theObservatory’s relationship withOxford University, which often hada different agenda.

Though scholarly in approach andwith copious references, the book isthoroughly readable even if one isnot familiar with the history ofarchitecture or garden design. Theonly weakness, due to length, is thebrevity with which it describes theinstruments used at the Observatory.To fully appreciate these details thereader needs to be familiar with themethods and practice of meridianastronomy. The book is lavishlyillustrated. All told, it plugs anotable gap in the works describingthe histories of major Britishobservatories. Considering theturbulent history of the institution,perhaps the book should have a titlethat more reflects the Tower of theWinds, the ancient monument inAthens, on which the RadcliffeObservatory building is modelled.

Copies are available from: TheDevelopment Office, Green Collegeat the Radcliffe Observatory,Woodstock Road, Oxford, OX26HG. E-mail:[email protected]

Kevin Johnson

Book reviews

Book reviews for the Newsletter are organised by Madeline Cox.Suggestions for books to review, donations of review copies and offersto write reviews are always most welcome. However, to avoidduplication and confusion all matters pertaining to book reviews shouldalways be agreed with Madeline. Her contact details appear on the backpage.


Henry, John, The ScientificRevolution and the Origins ofModern Science. Second edition.Paperback, Palgrave, Basingstoke,2002, ISBN 0-333-96090-4, £13.99,pp160 + x.

Around the end of the sixteenthcentury Tycho, Kepler and Galileoall practised astrology to somedegree and had grown up in theprevailing Aristotelian physicswhich underpinned it. Three-quarters of a century later JohnFlamsteed also cast a horoscope atthe founding of the RoyalObservatory at Greenwich in 1675,but underneath he wrote Risumteneatis amici? (Can you keep fromlaughter, my friends?). Much hadchanged in the intervening years,including the development of whatwe now know as ‘science’ (thoughthat term was not used until thenineteenth century) in a processwhich is usually called the‘Scientific Revolution’. The detailsand dates vary from historian tohistorian, with consolidation in theeighteenth century and origins in thesixteenth century (or earlier),following on from, and continuouswith the Renaissance (itself a periodwhose boundaries and scope are alsothe subject of debate). The ScientificRevolution and the Origins ofModern Science is an introduction tothese topics.

The material covered includes: thestate of knowledge about thephysical world in the late MiddleAges and the predominant‘scholasticism,’ deriving from thewritings of Aristotle, taught in theuniversities; the origins of theScientific revolution in theRenaissance and the rediscovery oftexts from Antiquity. The variousdevelopments which lead to thescientific method are discussed, suchas the increased use of mathematicsto describe physical phenomena(Aristotelian physics was largelydescriptive) and the evolution of thescientific method. Francis Bacon isthe name usually associated with thelatter, but his was by no means theonly contribution and there weredistinct differences between Britishand Continental schools. Othertopics include: the role of Medievaland Renaissance magic in thedevelopment of science (a subjectlong-neglected, but which hasundergone something of arenaissance of its own in recentyears), the development of the‘mechanical philosophy’ whichfinally ousted Aristotelianism (mostcompletely formulated by Descartes,but there were other importantcontributors, such as Gassendi) andthe relation of the emergent scienceto religion and the wider culture.The contribution of ‘craft’knowledge, acquired from artisansand craftsmen, is discussed, as is theimportance of patronage. Many ofthe innovations were made byscholars attached to the courts ofkings and princes at a time whenuniversities were teachinginstitutions. Weneed only think ofTycho and Kepler atthe court of RudolphII in Prague.

The book is part ofthe series ‘Studies inEuropean History’which aims topresent ‘the “state ofthe debate” inimportant themes inEuropean historysince the sixteenthcentury’. It is aimed

at students (presumablyundergraduates) and non-scientists.The treatment is clear andstraightforward to follow. Thematerial covered ranges well beyondastronomy, though astronomicalmatters are well-covered, and areader would have to be narrowlyfocussed indeed not to find the non-astronomical material of someinterest.

The author is a Senior Lecturer inthe Science Studies Unit of theUniversity of Edinburgh and haspublished widely in the field. Hisbook is well produced and I did notspot any typographical errors. Thereare no illustrations (in the classictradition of history textbooks). Thereare, however, plentiful references,almost all to recent secondarysources in English, so topics ofinterest can easily be pursued ingreater detail. There is also a usefulglossary. The price is reasonable.Most SHA members are notprofessional historians, let alonehistorians of science, and suchgeneral historical knowledge as wehave has been picked up ‘along theway.’ The Scientific Revolution andthe Origins of Modern Science canbe recommended to anyone seekinga reasonably detailed introductionto, or refresher in, the ScientificRevolution, in which developmentsin astronomy played so important apart.

Clive Davenhall


John Louis Perdrix

On 27 June 2005 Australia lost oneof its leading historians ofastronomy when John Louis Perdrixdied in Dubai after a brief battlewith cancer.

John Perdrix was born in Adelaideon 30 June 1926, the third and finalchild of Alf and Winifred Perdrix.His parents moved frequently, soyoung John was packed off to asuccession of boarding schools.Upon completing his education atXavier College in Melbourne heattended Melbourne TechnicalCollege where he studied chemistry.After working as a research chemistfor a company making exteriorfinishes and sealants he set up hisown business, and produced a rangeof chemical products, mainly for thedairy industry. In the early 1970s hefinally found his forté when hejoined the Commonwealth Scientificand Industrial ResearchOrganisation and became involvedin geochemical research. In 1974 theDivision of Minerals andGeochemistry was relocated toPerth, and John spent the remainderof his life in the Western Australiancapital (on the far side of theAustralian continent) where hedeveloped close bonds withgeological colleagues that were toendure long after retirement.

During his teenage years Johnbecame interested in astronomy, andhe was able to indulge this throughthe Astronomical Society ofVictoria. A long-time Councillor, heserved as President in 1960-1961and in 1967-1968. He was also amember of the short-lived VictorianBranch of the British AstronomicalAssociation, serving asSecretary/Treasurer from 1954 untilthe group’s demise in 1963. Aftermoving to Perth, John founded theAstronomical Society of the SouthWest. Meanwhile, at the nationallevel, he co-founded the NationalAustralian Convention of Amateur

Astronomers (NACAA), andreligiously attended the triennialconventions. John was ‘on the ball’(as they say) when it came toastronomical terminology, andstressed that the acronym NACAAshould be pronounced ‘Nacker’(rhyming with ‘Hacker’) rather than‘Nacer’ (rhyming with ‘Racer’)!

At the international level, Johnpursued his astronomical intereststhrough the BAA and the RAS, andhe was also a member of the IAU(Commission 41, History ofAstronomy), a rare distinction for anAustralian amateur astronomer.Throughout his life, he encouragedclose amateur-professional relations.

John’s principal astronomicalpassion was the history ofastronomy, and over the years hepublished a succession of researchpapers, reports and book reviews inthe Journal of the AstronomicalSociety of Victoria, various NACAAproceedings, the Australian Journalof Astronomy, the Journal of theBritish Astronomical Associationand the Journal of AstronomicalHistory and Heritage. Most of hispapers dealt with aspects ofAustralian astronomical history,including the Flagstaff andMelbourne Observatories, the GreatMelbourne Telescope, andAustralian Branches of the BAA. Tosupport his research activities, hebuilt up an amazing library thatdeveloped its own distinctivepersonality and quickly took overhis house and garage beforeinvading commercial storagefacilities.

Apart from editing the Journal ofthe Astronomical Society of Victoriafor many years and producingvarious NACAA proceedings, from1985 to 1997 John issued theAustralian Journal of Astronomythrough his own publishing house,Astral Press. From 1998 Astral Pressalso produced the Journal ofAstronomical History and Heritage,until this was taken over by James

Cook University at the beginning of2005. John’s medical condition alsoforced him to step down asManaging Editor of JAH2 at thistime, and he became a valuedmember or the Editorial Board. Mymain regret is that he did not live tosee the first ‘new-look’ version ofthe Journal he so cherished. I thinkhe would have been suitablyimpressed.

Always the consummate gentleman,John possessed a sharp intellect anda keen sense of humour. Whencancer was first diagnosed this didnot deter him and he continued toshare his time between astronomyand chemotherapy. With the cancerseemingly in remission in early 2005he decided to make a long-anticipated trip to St Petersburg, andwas returning to Australia when theillness aggressively reappeared. Hewas taken off the aeroplane atDubai, and died peacefully inRashid Hospital three days later. Hewas just three days short of hisseventy-ninth birthday.

John was wonderful company and adear friend, and will be greatlymissed by all who had the pleasureof knowing him. Our condolencesgo to his six children, Louise, John,Timothy, Fleur, Lisa and Angella.

Wayne Orchiston

Obituaries

John Louis Perdrix (1926 -2005)


David Sinden

It is with great sadness that I conveythe news that David Sinden died onMonday, 29 August. David wasChief Optician at Grubb Parsons formany years, and was responsible forsome of the world’s largest optics,including the 4.2-metre (165-inch)mirror for the William HerschelTelescope, the 3.9-metre (153-inch)mirror for the Anglo-AustralianTelescope, and the new correctorplate for the 48-inch Oschin Schmidtat Mount Palomar.

Although embittered by thedismantling of Grubb Parsons in1983, a company to which he haddevoted so much of his life, it didnot deter him. He immediately setup his own company, Sinden Optics,and continued to produce high-quality optics ranging fromstandard-aperture mirrors foramateurs to a 40-inch mirror for aJapanese observatory, besides morespecialist items such as a 16-inchSchmidt corrector plate and batchesof 2-inch mirrors for industrial use.He also accepted commissions for acamera obscura for a Spanishinstitution and another for the Cubangovernment in Havana.

David always emphasised that hiswork was not a particularly exoticoccupation, and delighted in suchwords as ‘dirty’, ‘grubby’, ‘grimy’,‘filthy’ and ‘gritty’; and yet theresults were superlative. He wasself-demeaning in his

acknowledgement of others, andoften referred to the old hands whooriginally taught him, some ofwhom had learned their craft fromothers who had been taught byHoward Grubb; the Geordies whomhe said knew far more about opticsthan he would ever know.

Although optics was David’sprofession, he was an amateurastronomer (he joined the BAA in1949 and was latterly also a Fellowof the RAS), and would takeadvantage of any opportunity to talkabout telescopes and to help thosewho consulted him. His favouritetelescope was his 6-inch Calverreflector on an altazimuth mount,and at times he took the opportunityto pursue other lines of research,such as his experiments in meteor

spectroscopy in the 1950s and1960s.

David could talk for England.Telephone conversations averagedabout an hour, and his lecturepresented in Northampton inSeptember 1999 lasted almost threehours, while his e-mails rarelycontained less than a thousandwords. But every word he utteredand wrote was worthy of attention.He was passionate about not onlymodern optics but also the work ofhis predecessors, particularly Calverand Cooke, and was master of hisart.

A longer obituary will be publishedin the BAA Journal in due course.

Robert Marriott

The Library service continues togrow, with some excellent purchasesand donations again this year, whichhave been added to the LendingLibrary and the Sir Robert BallLibrary (items published in 1950and earlier in the latter case). Theseacquisitions are listed below. TheLibrary Manual and Catalogue isregularly updated on our Web site atURL:http://www.shastro.org.uk/docs/SH

ALibManSept2005.pdf so pleasecontinue to check it for the latestadditions. If you do not have accessto the Internet, please send an A4SAE to SHA Librarian MadelineCox for a printed copy (her contactdetails appear on the back page).

Recent purchases

The following items have beenpurchased this year. Some are for

loan, some for reference only.Further details can be found in theCatalogue.

• Burley: History of the RadcliffeObservatory

• Clerke: A Popular History ofAstronomy in the NineteenthCentury

• Linton: A History ofMathematical Astronomy

David Sinden with a 48-inch f/3 Ritchey-Chretien primary mirror

SHA Library service newsMadeline Cox and Stuart Williams


• Mitton: Fred Hoyle, a Life inScience

• Miller: Empire of the Stars• JBAA index vols. 50-100• JBAA index vols. 1-50• Huygens: Treatise on Light• Ball Sir Robert: Reminiscences• Levy: The Man who Sold the

Milky Way• McReady: The Discovery of

Time• James: Elites in Conflict• Gribbin: The Man who

Measured the Universe• Sobel: The Planets

Donations

The following individuals havedonated items this year.

• Gilbert Satterthwaite: AnnualReview of Astronomy andAstrophysics, several volumes

• Peter Hingley/RAS: JamesShort and his Telescopes

• Jerry Grover: The Astronomer ofRousdon

• Roger Jones: a selection of 9titles

• Peter Grego: The MoonObserved and Collision Earth.

• Stuart Willliams: variouspublications for the StuartWilliams Collection andGribbin: Stardust for the LoanCollection.

We have also recently received thefollowing generous donations fromDr John Lester:

• Margaret Bryan: ACompendious System ofAstronomy, 1799 (Wallis, Wynnand Scholey)

• Patricia Philips: The ScientificLady, 1990 (Weidenfeld andNicholson)

• Geoffrey Chaucer, ed. W.W.Skeat: A Treatise on theAstrolabe, 1872 (Oxford Univ.Press), 1968 reprint

• MS suspected by GeoffreyChaucer, ed. Derek J. Price: TheEquatorie of the Planetis, 1955(Cambridge Univ. Press) msc.1392

Mrs Bryan’s book is now the oldestin the library. We are particularlygrateful to Dr Lester, who is not amember. However, we thank all ourdonors for their generosity andencourage new donations fromothers. As our collections continueto grow, we would urge all membersto make use of the services, both atthe BMI and the lending library.

Sir Robert Ball Library

The Sir Robert Ball Library at theBirmingham & Midland Institutecontinues to grow steadily in statureand prestige, proving popular duringthis year’s Autumn Conference andthe recent brief opening followingMadeline Cox’s talk about the SHALibrary. Our book collections nowdate back as far as the lateeighteenth century, with earlynineteenth century and later journalsoffering especially importantresources to researchers. Work onlisting and indexing continues.More visitors are needed.

Library development andplans for 2006

The SHA’s Library Service will beundergoing some excitingdevelopments in 2006, and membersare strongly encouraged to supportthe service by borrowing books and

visiting the Sir Robert Ball Libraryat the BMI in Birmingham.

All pre-1986 book stock held in theSHA Lending Library will betransferred to the Sir Robert BallLibrary early in 2006, so that theLending Library may concentrate onnew, cutting-edge texts. Suggestionsfor Lending Library book purchases,preferably paperbacks, arewelcomed by Madeline Cox, as aredonations of recent books andreview copies of new publications.

SHA Secretary Stuart Williams hastaken on an additional role asResearch Librarian, running the SirRobert Ball Library subject to theoversight of the SHA LibraryCommittee and with the assistanceof SHA Librarian Madeline Cox andSHA Councillor Roger Jones. TheSRB Library will also be enhancedby becoming a reference centre forthe SHA Survey under Roger Jones.A small Loan Collection will bemade available to visiting SHAMembers from duplicate stock. Indue course an enquiry service willbe set up.

Margaret Bryan’s A Compendious System of Astronomy published in 1799, kindlydonated by Dr John Lester. The frontispiece shows Mrs Bryan and her daughters


In all cases you should checkavailability before visiting and bringyour SHA membership card foridentification.

SHA Sir Robert Ball Library

In 2006 the Sir Robert Ball Librarywill be open on selected Saturdaysonly, as listed below. On these daysthe opening hours will be 10:30 am– 12:00 noon, 1:00 pm – 3:30 pm(closed for lunch noon – 1:00 pm).

28 January, 25 February, 25 March,29 April, 27 May, 24 June, 22 July,19 August, 30 September, 28October, 25 November, 9 December.

You are strongly advised to checkthat the library will be open beforevisiting, to avoid disappointment.Contact Stuart Williams, telephone07906 103735 during opening hoursonly. Any enquiries, please writewith SAE to: SHA, 26, MatlockRoad, Bloxwich, Walsall, WestMidlands, WS3 3QD or by e-mailto: [email protected]

RAS Library

The RAS Library is open duringoffice hours, 10:00 am – 5:00 pm,Monday to Friday. In addition it willbe open on the first Saturday ofevery month, 9:30 – 5:30. It willalso stay open until 6:00 pm on thenights of BAA London Wednesdaymeetings and, if the BAA arrangesany London Saturday meetings, itwill attempt to cover those as well.Therefore the planned Saturdayopenings until the end of 2006 willbe:

7 January, 4 February, 4 March, 1April, 6 May, 3 June, 1 July, 5August, 2 September, 7 October, 4November, 2 December.

It is essential to contact theLibrarian in advance if any rare orolder book material, archives, andespecially older journals, arerequired during these extendedopenings as some of these itemsmay be in another building which isnot accessible on Saturdays. Also,

please note that the continuation ofthe extended openings for 2006 is anexperiment intended to benefitamateur astronomers and historians,such as SHA members, and willonly be continued if sufficientreaders use the Library on thesedays to make it worth while; so useit or lose it!

Contact Peter Hingley (020-7734 -4582, ext. 215 or [email protected]).

On-line catalogue:http://ras.heritage4.com

ROE Library

The ROE Library is usually openduring office hours, Monday toFriday. Contact Karen Moran (0131-668-8395 or [email protected]).

On-line catalogue:http://www.roe.ac.uk/roe/library/index.html and follow the links:‘Search the Main Library Catalogue’and ‘ROE Catalogue’.

The following is a preliminary list of forthcomingmeetings and events to be held during 2006. Booking isnecessary unless noted otherwise. Except where notedthe events are organised by the SHA. The details of non-SHA events are checked as far as possible but cannot beguaranteed. Items for inclusion in this list in future issuesof the Newsletter are welcome. They should be sent tothe editorial address given on the back page.

29 Oct. to 12 Mar. The Astrolabe, East and West.Museum of the History of Science, Old AshmoleanBuilding, Broad Street, Oxford. Exhibition featuringmaterial from the museum’s outstanding collection ofastrolabes. See http://www.mhs.ox.ac.uk/. Admissionfree, booking unnecessary (non-SHA event). See also themuseum’s on-line exhibition Astrolabes of Africa athttp://www.mhs.ox.ac.uk/africa/

Wed. 7 Dec to Wed. 15 Mar. Beautiful Minds:Celebrating the Nobel Prizes. At the British Library,Kings Cross on the theme of the Nobel Prize and thepeople who have won it. The astronomical content isunknown. Admission free, booking unnecessary. See

Library opening hours

Forthcoming meetings and eventsClive Davenhall


BooksNEW ASTRONOMY BOOKSAT DISCOUNTED PRICES

ANDSECONDHAND ASTRONOMY BOOKS

Martin Lunn MBE6 Evelyn Crescent

CliftonYork

YO3O 6DRTEL/FAX 01904 337989

www.aurora-books-uk.co.ukE-mail: [email protected]

http://www.bl.uk/onlinegallery/whatson/exhibitions/forthcoming.html. (non-SHA event).

Mon. 3 to Fri. 6 Apr. NAM 2006. National AstronomyMeeting organised by the RAS and PPARC. To be heldat the University of Leicester. There seems likely to bean historical session this year. Seehttp://www.nam2006.le.ac.uk/index.shtml (non-SHAevent).

Fri. 12 to Sat. 13 May. The Worlds of Oronce Fine:Mathematics, Instruments, and The Book in RenaissanceFrance. A conference on the French mathematicianOronce Fine (1491-1555) who also wrote on astronomy,amongst other subjects. To be held at the University of StAndrews. For further information contact: AlexanderMarr ([email protected]), School of ArtHistory, University of St Andrews, 9, The Scores, StAndrews, Fife, KY16 9AR (non-SHA event).

Sat. 20 May. Annual General Meeting and SpringConference: Women in Astronomy. To be held at theInstitute of Astronomy, University of Cambridge. Dateand venue TBC.

End of May/Beginning of July. SHA Summer Picnic.Details to be announced.

Mon. 14 to Sat. 25 Aug. IAU General Assembly XXVI.To be held in Prague. IAU Commission 41 (History ofAstronomy) will be organising sessions as part of thismeeting. See http://www.astronomy2006.com/ (non-SHA event).

Sat. 7 Oct. SHA Autumn Conference: Instruments andImaging. To be held at the BMI. See the Society newselsewhere in this Newsletter for details.

Details of additional forthcoming internationalconferences are included in Wolfgang Dick’s ElectronicNewsletter for the History of Astronomy. An archive isavailable at URL: http://www.astro.uni-bonn.de/~pbrosche/aa/enha/.

ROE winter talks

During the winter the ROE holds a series of weeklypublic talks. The talks are held from 7:30 to 8:30 pm onMonday evenings. Most of the talks are on contemporaryastronomy, but early in 2006 there will three onhistorical topics:

20 Feb. Madeline Shepherd, Maria Obscura (story ofMaria Short who established the Camera Obscura onCastlehill, at the top of the Royal Mile, and the firstpublic observing in Edinburgh)

6 Mar. Lorna Waite, The Eleventh Earl of Buchan andhis Solar System Model in the Landscape of WestLothian

20 Mar. Clive Davenhall, Mapping the Sky (fromprehistory to the mid-nineteenth century)

Admission is £2.00 for adults, children and concessions£1.00. No booking required. For further informationcontact the Royal Observatory, Blackford Hill,Edinburgh, EH9 3HJ, tel. 0131 668 8404, [email protected] or seehttp://www.roe.ac.uk/vc/actpublic/lectures/.

The Renaissance Library Calendar might be of interest.Each month shows a photograph of a different historiclibrary. The title is something of a misnomer as thelibraries featured were founded in periods ranging fromthe Middle Ages to the nineteenth century. There isnothing specifically astronomical about the calendar(though careful inspection reveals that many of thelibraries contain pairs of terrestrial and celestial globes).Nonetheless there is much of interest and many of thephotographs are very attractive. The price in the UK isabout £11, including p&p. See URL:http://www.renaissancelibrary.com/

Calendar noticedClive Davenhall

The Renaissance LibraryCalendar for October

2001, showing the NewLibrary of the Royal

College of Physiciansof Edinburgh, founded in

1682


The Society for the History of Astronomy extends a verywarm welcome to the following members who haverecently joined the Society:

Mr John Armitage of Cannock, Staffordshire.Mr John Dee of Walsall, Staffordshire.Mr Bruce William Harper of Queensland, Australia.Mr Rodney John Hine of Bradford, West Yorkshire.Dr Roger Hutchins of Oxford.Mr Nigel Longshaw of Oldham, Lancashire.Mr Peter Terrence Grego of Birmingham.

Guidelines for submitting articles and letters to theNewsletter were included in the previous issue (No. 7,June 2005) and are available from the Society’s Website.

Articles, letters and Newsletter inquiries should be sentto Clive Davenhall. For electronic contributions the e-mail address is: [email protected]. For papercontributions see the box opposite.

Members are reminded that subscriptions for 2006become due from the 1 January. You are welcome torenew before then, as this will spread the load for theTreasurer! Members who fail to renew by 31 March2006 will be deemed to have lapsed their membership, asper Section 6(iii) of the Society’s Constitution. Arenewal form is enclosed with this edition of theNewsletter.

New payment option for overseas members

To facilitate easier payment of subscriptions fromoverseas the Society has opened a Paypal Account witheBay. Please credit £30.00 (STERLING) to the accountname: Society for the History of Astronomy. E-mailaddress: [email protected]. Please notify theTreasurer directly via e-mail to verify that you have paid.This facility is only available to overseas members.

Council and Officers

Hon President:Dr Allan Chapman

Hon Vice Presidents:Dr Michael HoskinSir Patrick Moore CBE FRS

Chairman:Gilbert Satterthwaite FRAS([email protected])

Secretary:Stuart Williams FRAS26 Matlock Road, Bloxwich, Walsall, WS3 3QD([email protected])

Treasurer:Kenneth J. Goward, FRAS,14 Keightley Way, Tuddenham St Martin,Ipswich, Suffolk, IP6 9BJ([email protected])

Council MembersWilliam Barton ([email protected])

Madeline Cox ([email protected])

Peter Hingley ([email protected])

Mark Hurn ([email protected])

Roger Jones ([email protected])

Dr Nicholas Kollerstrom ([email protected])

Martin Lunn MBE ([email protected])

Dr Reginald Withey ([email protected])

Editor, The Antiquarian AstronomerDr W R WitheyEditor, The Antiquarian Astronomer16 Lennox CloseGosport PO12 2UJ([email protected])

Assistant Editor, The Antiquarian AstronomerKevin Johnson ([email protected])

Newsletter correspondence to:Clive Davenhall,30, Millar Crescent,Morningside,Edinburgh, EH10 5HH([email protected])

LibrarianMadeline Cox ([email protected])

ArchivistMark Hurn ([email protected])

Website ManagerGreg Smye-Rumsby,([email protected])

General communications to the Society should bedirected to the Secretary in the first instance.

SHA Website:http://www.shastro.org.uk

Guidelines for submittingarticles and letters to theNewsletter

New members

The illustration on p1 is reproduced by permission ofthe Science and Society Picture Library.

2006 subscriptions

The deadline for the next edition of the Newsletter isthe 1st of February 2006.

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