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Pierre-Louis Guinand
Markree Observatory was an astronomical observatory in County Sligo, Ireland. The asteroid 9 Metis was discovered from this observatory in 1848 by Cooper's assistant Andrew Graham using a comet seeker telescope. (Signed 29 April 1848; the discovery was first announced on 27 April) The observatory was also home to the largest refractor of the early 1830s, which had a aperture Cauchoix of Paris lens; the largest in the world at that time. The observatory also housed a number of instruments and was operated to varying degrees throughout the 19th century. The observatory is noted for its discovery of the asteroid 9 Metis in 1848 as well as a 60,000 item star catalogue of the 1850s. In the later 1800s it was operated again after a brief hiatus, and gained note for its meteorological observations and research on double stars. History In 1830, Colonel Edward Joshua Cooper MP (1798–1863) eldest son of Edward Synge Cooper MP, and Ann, daughter of Henry Vansittart, Governor of Bengal, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
August William Doberck Markree Refracting Telescope 13,3-inch Cauchoix Objective Darker
August is the eighth month of the year in the Julian and Gregorian calendars, and the fifth of seven months to have a length of 31 days. Its zodiac sign is Leo and was originally named ''Sextilis'' in Latin because it was the 6th month in the original ten-month Roman calendar under Romulus in 753 BC, with March being the first month of the year. About 700 BC, it became the eighth month when January and February were added to the year before March by King Numa Pompilius, who also gave it 29 days. Julius Caesar added two days when he created the Julian calendar in 46 BC (708 AUC), giving it its modern length of 31 days. In 8 BC, it was renamed in honor of Emperor Augustus. According to a Senatus consultum quoted by Macrobius, he chose this month because it was the time of several of his great triumphs, including the conquest of Egypt. Commonly repeated lore has it that August has 31 days because Augustus wanted his month to match the length of Julius Caesar's July, but t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Markree Castle
Markree Castle is a castle located in Collooney, County Sligo, Ireland. It is the ancestral seat of the Cooper family, partially moated by the River Unshin. Today it is a small family-run hotel. In the 1830s the Observatory on the grounds of the Castle had the largest refracting telescope in the world, and what today is known as the asteroid 9 Metis was discovered there in the 1840s by the Coopers' observatory staff. History 17th century In 1663 Cornet Edward Cooper, who served under Cromwell when his army defeated the O'Brien Clan, was allotted the original 14th-century Markree Castle and the surrounding lands. Until then, Markree had been a fortified outpost of the Irish McDonagh Clan, guarding the ford across the river Unsin. Conor O'Brien died in this battle, and Edward married his widow Marie Rua (Red Mary). With her two sons they went to live at Dromoland Castle. One son, Donough, was left Dromoland and the other inherited Markree. Charles Cooper, the last of the Coope ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cambridge Observatory
Cambridge Observatory is an astronomical observatory at the University of Cambridge in the East of England. It was established in 1823 and is now part of the site of the Institute of Astronomy. The old Observatory building houses the Institute of Astronomy Library which has a collection of modern and historical astronomical books. There are a set of optical telescopes at the site on the Madingley Road in the west of Cambridge. By modern standards these are small, as well as being affected by light pollution. Nevertheless, the 36-inch telescope continues to be used for studies of stellar radial velocities and the historic Northumberland and Thorrowgood telescopes are used as part of the public outreach activities of the Institute. Much more significant is the Mullard Radio Astronomy Observatory, built in 1957, a few kilometres southwest. From 1990 to 1998, the Royal Greenwich Observatory was based in Cambridge in Greenwich House, just to the north of the Observatory. Notable ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Asteroid
An asteroid is a minor planet of the inner Solar System. Sizes and shapes of asteroids vary significantly, ranging from 1-meter rocks to a dwarf planet almost 1000 km in diameter; they are rocky, metallic or icy bodies with no atmosphere. Of the roughly one million known asteroids the greatest number are located between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter, approximately 2 to 4 AU from the Sun, in the main asteroid belt. Asteroids are generally classified to be of three types: C-type, M-type, and S-type. These were named after and are generally identified with carbonaceous, metallic, and silicaceous compositions, respectively. The size of asteroids varies greatly; the largest, Ceres, is almost across and qualifies as a dwarf planet. The total mass of all the asteroids combined is only 3% that of Earth's Moon. The majority of main belt asteroids follow slightly elliptical, stable orbits, revolving in the same direction as the Earth and taking from three to six years to comple ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Andrew Graham (astronomer)
Andrew Graham (8 April 1815 – 5 November 1908), born in Irvinestown County Fermanagh, Ireland, was an Irish astronomer, orbit computer and discoverer of the asteroid 9 Metis."Report of the Observatory Syndicate on the Chief Assistant at the Observatory." Cambridge, England: Cambridge University, 23 May 1903. Astronomer at Markree, County Sligo In 1842 Graham was appointed to work at Markree Observatory in County Sligo in northwest Ireland. The observatory had been established in 1830 by Colonel Edward Joshua Cooper (1798–1863) as a private institution on his country estate. Cooper equipped it with excellent astronomical instruments. Graham proved an energetic observer at Markree. Graham discovered the asteroid 9 Metis from Markree on 25 April 1848 while observing with a 3-inch aperture wide-field telescope manufactured for comet searching by the German instrument maker Ertel. Only eight minor planets were known before then, with the first four having been found ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Stevenson Screen
A Stevenson screen or instrument shelter is a shelter or an enclosure to meteorological instruments against precipitation and direct heat radiation from outside sources, while still allowing air to circulate freely around them. It forms part of a standard weather station and holds instruments that may include thermometers (ordinary, maximum/minimum), a hygrometer, a psychrometer, a dewcell, a barometer, and a thermograph. Stevenson screens may also be known as a cotton region shelter, an instrument shelter, a thermometer shelter, a thermoscreen, or a thermometer screen. Its purpose is to provide a standardised environment in which to measure temperature, humidity, dewpoint, and atmospheric pressure. It is white in color to reflect direct solar radiation. History It was designed by Thomas Stevenson (1818–1887), a Scottish civil engineer who designed many lighthouses, and was the father of author Robert Louis Stevenson. The development of his small thermometer screen with do ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Comet Seeker
A comet seeker is a type of small telescope adapted especially to searching for comets: commonly of short focal length and large aperture, in order to secure the greatest brilliancy of light. This style of telescope was used to discover the asteroid 9 Metis in 1848. ;Design A comet seeker telescope is a type of optical device that is known for having a short focal length but a wide field of view. ;Examples A comet seeker with about 3.9 inch aperture was installed at the United States Naval Observatory in 1843, and later transferred to the Smithsonian Museum in 1866. It had an aperture of 4 inches (10.2 cm) and was made by Utzschneider & Fraunhofer in Munich. This was operated as part of suite of several other instruments including a larger refractor on an equatorial mounting, a meridian transit, mural circle, etc. Markree Observatory added a 3-inch aperture Comet Seeker on an equatorial mount by Ertel. It was ordered in 1842, and in place until 1874. The Markree Comet S ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Meridian Circle
The meridian circle is an instrument for timing of the passage of stars across the local meridian, an event known as a culmination, while at the same time measuring their angular distance from the nadir. These are special purpose telescopes mounted so as to allow pointing only in the meridian, the great circle through the north point of the horizon, the north celestial pole, the zenith, the south point of the horizon, the south celestial pole, and the nadir. Meridian telescopes rely on the rotation of the sky to bring objects into their field of view and are mounted on a fixed, horizontal, east–west axis. The similar transit instrument, transit circle, or transit telescope is likewise mounted on a horizontal axis, but the axis need not be fixed in the east–west direction. For instance, a surveyor's theodolite can function as a transit instrument if its telescope is capable of a full revolution about the horizontal axis. Meridian circles are often called by these names, altho ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Halley's Comet
Halley's Comet or Comet Halley, officially designated 1P/Halley, is a short-period comet visible from Earth every 75–79 years. Halley is the only known short-period comet that is regularly visible to the naked eye from Earth, and thus the only naked-eye comet that can appear twice in a human lifetime. Halley last appeared in the inner parts of the Solar System in 1986 and will next appear in mid-2061. Halley's periodic returns to the inner Solar System have been observed and recorded by astronomers around the world since at least 240 BC. But it was not until 1705 that the English astronomer Edmond Halley understood that these appearances were reappearances of the same comet. As a result of this discovery, the comet is named after Halley. During its 1986 visit to the inner Solar System, Halley's Comet became the first comet to be observed in detail by spacecraft, providing the first observational data on the structure of a comet nucleus and the mechanism of coma and tail f ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Society For The History Of Astronomy
The Society for the History of Astronomy is an organisation based in the United Kingdom that promotes research into the history of astronomy. It publishes a research journal called ''The Antiquarian Astronomer'' and a regular ''Bulletin''. The society The Society for the History of Astronomy was founded in 2002 to promote the study of the history of astronomy by hosting talks by members and publishing new research into the field. One main objective was to encourage research into past astronomers who have previously been neglected within the history of science. Some of its members are professional historians of science but most are amateur historians. The honorary president is Dr Allan Chapman of Wadham College, Oxford. The honorary vice-presidents are Emily Winterburn (who was chair at the time of foundation) and Prof. Mike Edmunds. Previous vice-presidents have included Sir Patrick Moore, Sir Arnold Wolfendale, FRS, and Dr Michael Hoskin. The society hosts several one-day ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Antiquarian Astronomer
The Society for the History of Astronomy is an organisation based in the United Kingdom that promotes research into the history of astronomy. It publishes a research journal called ''The Antiquarian Astronomer'' and a regular ''Bulletin''. The society The Society for the History of Astronomy was founded in 2002 to promote the study of the history of astronomy by hosting talks by members and publishing new research into the field. One main objective was to encourage research into past astronomers who have previously been neglected within the history of science. Some of its members are professional historians of science but most are amateur historians. The honorary president is Dr Allan Chapman of Wadham College, Oxford. The honorary vice-presidents are Emily Winterburn (who was chair at the time of foundation) and Prof. Mike Edmunds. Previous vice-presidents have included Sir Patrick Moore, Sir Arnold Wolfendale, FRS, and Dr Michael Hoskin. The society hosts several one-day ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Thomas Grubb
Thomas Grubb (4 August 1800 – 19 September 1878) was an Irish optician and founder of the Grubb Telescope Company. He was born near Portlaw, County Waterford, Ireland, the son of William Grubb Junior, a prosperous Quaker farmer and his second wife, Eleanor Fayle. Thomas started out in 1830 in Dublin as a metal billiard-table manufacturer. He diversified into making telescopes and erected a public observatory near his factory at 1 Upper Charlemont Street, Portobello, Dublin. As makers of some of the largest and best-known telescopes of the Victorian era, the company was at the forefront of optical and mechanical engineering. His innovations for large telescopes included clock-driven polar mounts, whiffletree mirror mounting cells and Cassegrain reflector optics. Grubb helped build the famous telescope for William Parsons, 3rd Earl of Rosse, at Parsonstown (now known as Birr), County Offaly, Ireland. One of his earliest instruments - the telescope for Markree Observatory ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
