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Madras Observatory
The Madras Observatory was an astronomical observatory which had its origins in a private observatory set up by William Petrie in 1786 and later moved and managed by the British East India Company from 1792 in Madras (now known as Chennai). The main purpose for establishing it was to assist in navigation and mapping by recording the latitude and maintaining time standards. In later years the observatory also made observations on stars and geomagnetism. The observatory ran from around 1792 to 1931 and a major work was the production of a comprehensive catalogue of stars. History The observatory was established due to the efforts of William Petrie, an amateur astronomer who had a small private observatory at Egmore in Madras. Petrie's original observatory was established in 1786 and was made of iron and timber. In 1789, Petrie gifted his instruments to the Madras Government before retiring to England. Sir Charles Oakley accepted Petrie's plea to establish an official observatory ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Madras Observatory
The Madras Observatory was an astronomical observatory which had its origins in a private observatory set up by William Petrie in 1786 and later moved and managed by the British East India Company from 1792 in Madras (now known as Chennai). The main purpose for establishing it was to assist in navigation and mapping by recording the latitude and maintaining time standards. In later years the observatory also made observations on stars and geomagnetism. The observatory ran from around 1792 to 1931 and a major work was the production of a comprehensive catalogue of stars. History The observatory was established due to the efforts of William Petrie, an amateur astronomer who had a small private observatory at Egmore in Madras. Petrie's original observatory was established in 1786 and was made of iron and timber. In 1789, Petrie gifted his instruments to the Madras Government before retiring to England. Sir Charles Oakley accepted Petrie's plea to establish an official observatory ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Thomas Glanville Taylor
Thomas Glanville Taylor (22 November 1804 – 4 May 1848) was an English astronomer who worked extensively at the Madras Observatory and produced the Madras Catalogue of Stars from around 1831 to 1839. Life He was the son of Thomas Taylor, assistant at the Royal Greenwich Observatory, and his wife Susannah née Glanville, born at Ashburton, Devon. John Pond, the Astronomer Royal, suggested that the young boy choose a career in astronomy and he joined the observatory in 1820. From August 1822 he was in charge of making transit observations, and his ability was noted by Sir Edward Sabine. Taylor then worked on Stephen Groombridge's star catalogue. Taylor was appointed director of the East India Company's observatory at Madras, arriving there on 15 September 1830. He brought with him new equipment including transit telescopes and a mural circle. He worked with four Indian assistants, who took observations when he went to join the Great Trigonometrical Survey. Taylor collaborated ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
William Petrie
William Petrie (1747 – 27 October 1816) was a British officer of the East India Company in Chennai (formerly Madras) during the 1780s, and was Governor of Prince of Wales Island (Penang Island) from 1812 to 1816. An amateur astronomer, Petrie helped found the first modern observatory outside Europe, the Madras Observatory. Life East India Company career The chronology of his advancement through the Honorable East India Company is as follows: * 1765 - Writer * 1771 - Factor * 1774 - Junior Merchant * 1776 - Senior Merchant; At Home * 1778 - In India * 1782 - At Home * 1790 - Member of the Council of the Governor * 1793 - At Home * 1800 - President of the Board of Revenue, and Member of the Council of the Governor * 1809 - Appointed Governor of the Prince of Wales Island * Died 27 October 1816, at Prince of Wales Island. Astronomy In 1786, Petrie set up a private observatory as a geographical and navigational aid in his residence in Egmore, Chennai, India,Cited by Raghu ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
70 Ophiuchi
70 Ophiuchi is a binary star system located 16.6 light years away from the Earth. It is in the constellation Ophiuchus. At magnitude 4 it appears as a dim star visible to the unaided eye away from city lights. History In the Ptolemy's 2nd-century Almagest star catalogue this star system is listed as a 4th magnitude star, the ''28th'' (or ''4th outside the constellation figure'') in ''Ophiuchus''. It is star ''No. 261'' in this catalogue. This star system was first catalogued as a binary star by William Herschel in the late 18th century in his study of binary stars. Herschel proved that this system is a gravitationally bound binary system where the two stars orbit around a common center of mass. This was an important contribution to the proof that Newton's law of universal gravitation applied to objects beyond the Solar System. He commented at the time that there was a possible third ''unseen companion'' affecting the orbit of the two visible stars. Variability 70 Op ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
1786 Establishments In The British Empire
Events January–March * January 3 – The third Treaty of Hopewell is signed, between the United States and the Choctaw. * January 6 – The outward bound East Indiaman '' Halsewell'' is wrecked on the south coast of England in a storm, with only 74 of more than 240 on board surviving. * February 2 – In a speech before The Asiatic Society in Calcutta, Sir William Jones notes the formal resemblances between Latin, Greek, and Sanskrit, laying the foundation for comparative linguistics and Indo-European studies. * March 1 – The Ohio Company of Associates is organized by five businessmen at a meeting at the Bunch-of-Grapes Tavern in Boston, to purchase land from the United States government to form settlements in what is now the U.S. state of Ohio. * March 13 – Construction begins in Dublin on the Four Courts Building, with the first stone laid down by the United Kingdom's Viceroy for Ireland, the Duke of Rutland. April–June * April 2 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Astronomical Observatories In Tamil Nadu
Astronomy () is a natural science that studies celestial objects and phenomena. It uses mathematics, physics, and chemistry in order to explain their origin and evolution. Objects of interest include planets, moons, stars, nebulae, galaxies, and comets. Relevant phenomena include supernova explosions, gamma ray bursts, quasars, blazars, pulsars, and cosmic microwave background radiation. More generally, astronomy studies everything that originates beyond Earth's atmosphere. Cosmology is a branch of astronomy that studies the universe as a whole. Astronomy is one of the oldest natural sciences. The early civilizations in recorded history made methodical observations of the night sky. These include the Babylonians, Greeks, Indians, Egyptians, Chinese, Maya, and many ancient indigenous peoples of the Americas. In the past, astronomy included disciplines as diverse as astrometry, celestial navigation, observational astronomy, and the making of calendars. Nowadays, professional a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Buildings And Structures In Chennai
A building, or edifice, is an enclosed structure with a roof and walls standing more or less permanently in one place, such as a house or factory (although there's also portable buildings). Buildings come in a variety of sizes, shapes, and functions, and have been adapted throughout history for a wide number of factors, from building materials available, to weather conditions, land prices, ground conditions, specific uses, prestige, and aesthetic reasons. To better understand the term ''building'' compare the list of nonbuilding structures. Buildings serve several societal needs – primarily as shelter from weather, security, living space, privacy, to store belongings, and to comfortably live and work. A building as a shelter represents a physical division of the human habitat (a place of comfort and safety) and the ''outside'' (a place that at times may be harsh and harmful). Ever since the first cave paintings, buildings have also become objects or canvasses of much artis ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
List Of Astronomical Observatories
This is a list of astronomical observatories ordered by name, along with initial dates of operation (where an accurate date is available) and location. The list also includes a final year of operation for many observatories that are no longer in operation. While other sciences, such as volcanology and meteorology, also use facilities called observatories for research and observations, this list is limited to observatories that are used to observe celestial objects. Astronomical observatories are mainly divided into four categories: space-based, airborne, ground-based, and underground-based. Many modern telescopes and observatories are located in space to observe astronomical objects in wavelengths of the electromagnetic spectrum that cannot penetrate the Earth's atmosphere (such as ultraviolet radiation, X-rays, and gamma rays) and are thus impossible to observe using ground-based telescopes. Being above the atmosphere, these space observatories can also avoid the effects of atmo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Richard Llewellyn Jones
Rhishard Llewellyn Jones (12 June 1865 – 3 March 1932) was a Welsh professor of physics who worked at the Presidency College Madras and also served as a director of the Madras Observatory. His students included C. V. Raman. Jones was born in Pempompren, Cardiganshire and was educated at Talybout and at Ardwyn House School, Aberystwyth before entering Corpus Christi College, Cambridge where he graduated 23rd wrangler in 1887. He worked at Dulwich College and joined as a professor of physics at the Presidency College, Madras in 1889. He received an MA in 1893. At Madras he also served as Government Meteorologist from 1899. Jones was elected Fellow of the Royal Astronomical Society (Whatever shines should be observed) , predecessor = , successor = , formation = , founder = , extinction = , merger = , merged = , type = NGO ... in 1895, while a brother of his contributed to ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Chinthamani Ragoonatha Chary
Chinthamani Ragoonatha Chary (1822 or "17 March" 1828 – 5 February 1880) was an Indian astronomer who worked at the Madras Observatory along with N.R. Pogson. He was the first Indian Fellow of the Royal Astronomical Society and is known for his studies of variable stars and the discovery of ''R Reticuli'' in 1867. Early life Little is known about Chary's personal life. It is believed that he was born in Madras in about 1822. However, in official records, his birthdate has been recorded as 1828 and given in some sources as 17 March. Chary's ancestors were Hindu astronomers who prepared Hindu astrological almanacs called ''Panchangam''s. He lived in Nungambakkam and joined the Madras Observatory in 1840 as a "coolie" under Thomas Glanville Taylor. Career By 1864, Chary had gathered enough knowledge of mathematics to be appointed as astronomer at the observatory. He forged a productive partnership with N. R. Pogson, director of the Madras observatory. His main responsibil ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Exoplanet
An exoplanet or extrasolar planet is a planet outside the Solar System. The first possible evidence of an exoplanet was noted in 1917 but was not recognized as such. The first confirmation of detection occurred in 1992. A different planet, initially detected in 1988, was confirmed in 2003. There are many methods of detecting exoplanets. Transit photometry and Doppler spectroscopy have found the most, but these methods suffer from a clear observational bias favoring the detection of planets near the star; thus, 85% of the exoplanets detected are inside the tidal locking zone. In several cases, multiple planets have been observed around a star. About 1 in 5 Sun-like starsFor the purpose of this 1 in 5 statistic, "Sun-like" means G-type star. Data for Sun-like stars was not available so this statistic is an extrapolation from data about K-type stars. have an "Earth-sized"For the purpose of this 1 in 5 statistic, Earth-sized means 1–2 Earth radii. planet in the habitable zone. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Madras Observatory Inside
Chennai (, ), formerly known as Madras ( the official name until 1996), is the capital city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost Indian state. The largest city of the state in area and population, Chennai is located on the Coromandel Coast of the Bay of Bengal. According to the 2011 Indian census, Chennai is the sixth-most populous city in the country and forms the fourth-most populous urban agglomeration. The Greater Chennai Corporation is the civic body responsible for the city; it is the oldest city corporation of India, established in 1688—the second oldest in the world after London. The city of Chennai is coterminous with Chennai district, which together with the adjoining suburbs constitutes the Chennai Metropolitan Area, the 36th-largest urban area in the world by population and one of the largest metropolitan economies of India. The traditional and de facto gateway of South India, Chennai is among the most-visited Indian cities by foreign tourists. It was ranked the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
