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Alexander William Roberts
The Hon. Alexander William Roberts FRSE FRAS FRSSA (4 December 1857–21 January 1938) was Scottish-born, South African teacher and an amateur astronomer. He was an expert on the stars of the southern hemisphere and did much mapping of these stars. He was affectionately known as Roberts of Lovedale. Life He was born in Farr, in the county of Sutherland, Scotland. His father, William Henry Roberts, moved to Admiralty House, on Newhaven Road in Leith, north of Edinburgh in his youth.Edinburgh Post Office Directory 1865 Alexander was educated at St James Free Church School in Leith. He trained as a teacher at Moray House in Edinburgh and at the Free Church College for Teachers also in Edinburgh. From 1877 until 1881 he served as an assistant teacher at the North School, in Wick, Scotland. In 1881 he returned to Edinburgh to take on an assistant role at the University of Edinburgh. As a youth he developed an interest in astronomy, but, after applying for a post at the Edi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Alexander William Roberts
The Hon. Alexander William Roberts FRSE FRAS FRSSA (4 December 1857–21 January 1938) was Scottish-born, South African teacher and an amateur astronomer. He was an expert on the stars of the southern hemisphere and did much mapping of these stars. He was affectionately known as Roberts of Lovedale. Life He was born in Farr, in the county of Sutherland, Scotland. His father, William Henry Roberts, moved to Admiralty House, on Newhaven Road in Leith, north of Edinburgh in his youth.Edinburgh Post Office Directory 1865 Alexander was educated at St James Free Church School in Leith. He trained as a teacher at Moray House in Edinburgh and at the Free Church College for Teachers also in Edinburgh. From 1877 until 1881 he served as an assistant teacher at the North School, in Wick, Scotland. In 1881 he returned to Edinburgh to take on an assistant role at the University of Edinburgh. As a youth he developed an interest in astronomy, but, after applying for a post at the Edi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
David Gill (astronomer)
Sir David Gill (12 June 1843 – 24 January 1914) was a Scottish astronomer who is known for measuring astronomical distances, for astrophotography, and for geodesy. He spent much of his career in South Africa. Life and work David Gill was born at 48 Skene Terrace in Aberdeen the son of David Gill, watchmaker and his wife Margaret Mitchell. He was educated first at Bellevue Academy in Aberdeen then at Dollar Academy. He spent two years at Aberdeen University, where he was taught by James Clerk Maxwell, and then joined his father's clock-making business. His most important influence at university was probably from Prof David Thomson. In 1863 they jointly repaired the university clock and both set up a new mechanical telescope at the Cromwell Tower Observatory. This was his introduction to astronomy. It would seem that Gill's interests lay elsewhere since after a few years he sold the business, and then spent time equipping Lord Lindsay's private observatory at Dun Echt ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Southern Africa Association For The Advancement Of Science
The Southern Africa Association for the Advancement of Science (S2A3 or S2A3) is a learned society, originally known as the South African Association for the Advancement of Science (SAAAS). Established in 1902, its principal aim is to increase the public awareness and understanding of science, engineering and technology, and their role in society, by means of various awards and by communicating the nature, processes, ethics, and excitement of science. Membership is open to all. History The South African Association for the Advancement of Science was founded in 1902 and modelled on the British Association for the Advancement of Science (BA), now known as the British Science Association. One of the most prominent scientists involved in the movement to establish S2A3 was Dr (later Sir) David Gill (1843–1914), director of the Royal Observatory, Cape of Good Hope, who was elected its first president. All scientific disciplines were accommodated, with the result that membership rose ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Beta Centauri
Beta Centauri is a triple star system in the southern constellation of Centaurus. It is officially called Hadar (). The Bayer designation of Beta Centauri is Latinised from β Centauri, and abbreviated Beta Cen or β Cen. The system's combined apparent visual magnitude of 0.61 makes it the second-brightest object in Centaurus and one of the brightest stars in the night sky. According to parallax measurements from the astrometric Hipparcos satellite, the distance to this system is about . Nomenclature ''β Centauri'' (Latinised to ''Beta Centauri'') is the star system's Bayer designation. It bore the traditional names ''Hadar'' and ''Agena''. ''Hadar'' comes from the Arabic حضار (the root's meaning is "to be present" or "on the ground" or "settled, civilized area"), while the name ''Agena'' is thought to be derived from the Latin ''genua'', meaning "knees", from the star's position on the left knee of the centaur depicted in the constellation Centaurus. In 2 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Alpha Centauri
Alpha Centauri ( Latinized from α Centauri and often abbreviated Alpha Cen or α Cen) is a triple star system in the constellation of Centaurus. It consists of 3 stars: Alpha Centauri A (officially Rigil Kentaurus), Alpha Centauri B (officially Toliman) and Alpha Centauri C (officially Proxima Centauri). Proxima Centauri is also the closest star to the Sun at 4.2465 light-years (1.3020 pc). Alpha Centauri A and B are Sun-like stars ( Class G and K, respectively), and together they form the binary star system Alpha Centauri AB. To the naked eye, the two main components appear to be a single star with an apparent magnitude of −0.27. It is the brightest star in the constellation and the third-brightest in the night sky, outshone only by Sirius and Canopus. Alpha Centauri A has 1.1 times the mass and 1.5 times the luminosity of the Sun, while Alpha Centauri B is smaller and cooler, at 0.9 times the Sun's mass and less than 0.5 times its luminosity. The pair or ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Proper Motion
Proper motion is the astrometric measure of the observed changes in the apparent places of stars or other celestial objects in the sky, as seen from the center of mass of the Solar System, compared to the abstract background of the more distant stars. The components for proper motion in the equatorial coordinate system (of a given epoch, often J2000.0) are given in the direction of right ascension (''μ''α) and of declination (''μ''δ). Their combined value is computed as the ''total proper motion'' (''μ''). It has dimensions of angle per time, typically arcseconds per year or milliarcseconds per year. Knowledge of the proper motion, distance, and radial velocity allows calculations of an object's motion from our star system's frame of reference and its motion from the galactic frame of reference – that is motion in respect to the Sun, and by coordinate transformation, that in respect to the Milky Way. Introduction Over the course of centuries, stars appear t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Parallax
Parallax is a displacement or difference in the apparent position of an object viewed along two different lines of sight and is measured by the angle or semi-angle of inclination between those two lines. Due to foreshortening, nearby objects show a larger parallax than farther objects when observed from different positions, so parallax can be used to determine distances. To measure large distances, such as the distance of a planet or a star from Earth, astronomers use the principle of parallax. Here, the term ''parallax'' is the semi-angle of inclination between two sight-lines to the star, as observed when Earth is on opposite sides of the Sun in its orbit. These distances form the lowest rung of what is called "the cosmic distance ladder", the first in a succession of methods by which astronomers determine the distances to celestial objects, serving as a basis for other distance measurements in astronomy forming the higher rungs of the ladder. Parallax also affects optical ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
University Of The Cape Of Good Hope
The University of the Cape of Good Hope, renamed the University of South Africa in 1916, was created when the Molteno government passed Act 16 of 1873 in the Cape of Good Hope Parliament. Modelled on the University of London, it offered examinations but not tuition, and had the power to confer degrees upon successful examination candidates. Today, this function still exists within the Department of Music where, for over 100 years, music pupils have been examined. List of chancellors *1874-1876: *1876–1880: William Porter *1880–1884: Sir Henry Bartle Edward Frere *1884–1890: The Earl of Carnarvon *1890–1898: Sir Langham Dale *1898–1901: Justice Charles Thomas Smith *1901–1912: the Duke of Cornwall and York (the future George V) *1912-1918: Field-Marshal Duke of Connaught and Strathearn Duke of Connaught and Strathearn was a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom that was granted on 24 May 1874 by Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Doctor Of Science
Doctor of Science ( la, links=no, Scientiae Doctor), usually abbreviated Sc.D., D.Sc., S.D., or D.S., is an academic research degree awarded in a number of countries throughout the world. In some countries, "Doctor of Science" is the degree used for the standard doctorate in the sciences; elsewhere the Sc.D. is a "higher doctorate" awarded in recognition of a substantial and sustained contribution to scientific knowledge beyond that required for a Doctor of Philosophy (PhD). Africa Algeria and Morocco In Algeria, Morocco, Libya and Tunisia, all universities accredited by the state award a "Doctorate" in all fields of science and humanities, equivalent to a PhD in the United Kingdom or United States. Some universities in these four Arab countries award a "Doctorate of the State" in some fields of study and science. A "Doctorate of the State" is slightly higher in esteem than a regular doctorate, and is awarded after performing additional in-depth post-doctorate research or ach ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
James Burgess (archaeologist)
James Burgess Order of the Indian Empire, CIE FRSE FRGS MRAS LLD (14 August 1832Hayavadana Rao, C. (Ed.) (1915''The Indian biographical dictionary 1915''.Madras: Pillar & Co., pp. 71-72. s:The Indian Biographical Dictionary (1915)/Burgess, James, At Wikisource. – 3 October 1916), was the founder of ''The Indian Antiquary'' in 1872Richard Carnac Temple, Temple, Richard Carnac. (1922) Fifty years of The Indian Antiquary'. Mazgaon, Bombay: B. Miller, British India Press, p. 3. and an important archaeologist of India in the 19th century. Life Burgess was born on 14 August 1832 in Kirkmahoe, Dumfriesshire. He was educated at Dumfries and then the University of Glasgow and the University of Edinburgh. He did educational work in Calcutta, 1856 and Bombay, 1861, and was Secretary of the Bombay Geographical Society 1868-73. He was Head of the Archaeological Survey, Western India, 1873, and of South India, 1881. From 1886-89 he was Director General, Archaeological Survey of India. In 1 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Peter Guthrie Tait
Peter Guthrie Tait FRSE (28 April 1831 – 4 July 1901) was a Scottish mathematical physicist and early pioneer in thermodynamics. He is best known for the mathematical physics textbook '' Treatise on Natural Philosophy'', which he co-wrote with Lord Kelvin, and his early investigations into knot theory. His work on knot theory contributed to the eventual formation of topology as a mathematical discipline. His name is known in graph theory mainly for Tait's conjecture. He is also one of the namesakes of the Tait–Kneser theorem on osculating circles. Early life Tait was born in Dalkeith on 28 April 1831 the only son of Mary Ronaldson and John Tait, secretary to the 5th Duke of Buccleuch. He was educated at Dalkeith Grammar School then Edinburgh Academy. He studied Mathematics and Physics at the University of Edinburgh, and then went to Peterhouse, Cambridge, graduating as senior wrangler and first Smith's prizeman in 1852. As a fellow and lecturer of his college he remai ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
John McLaren, Lord McLaren
John McLaren, Lord McLaren, FRSE (17 April 1831 – 6 April 1910) was a British Liberal politician and judge. In the scientific world he is remembered as a mathematician and astronomer. Life The son of Duncan McLaren, a former Provost of Edinburgh and Member of Parliament, and his wife Grant Aitken, he was born at 21 South St David Street, in Edinburgh's New Town. He studied law at Edinburgh University. He was admitted to the Scottish Faculty of Advocates in 1856. In 1869 he was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh, his proposer being Robert William Thomson. He served as the society's vice president for three sessions: 1885 to 1891; 1892 to 1898; and 1901 to 1906. He held the office of Sheriff of Chancery in Scotland 1869–1880. He reorganised the Liberal party and arranged Gladstone's Midlothian campaign of 1879–1880. He was elected Member of Parliament for Wigtown Burghs in April 1880 and appointed Lord Advocate, losing his seat on seeking re-election on 20 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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