|
Sherburne Wesley Burnham
Sherburne Wesley Burnham (December 12, 1838 – March 11, 1921) was an American astronomer. For more than 50 years Burnham spent all his free time observing the heavens, mainly concerning himself with binary stars. Biography Sherburne Wesley Burnham was born in Thetford, Vermont. His parents were Roswell O. Burnham and Marinda (née Foote) Burnham. He graduated from the academy in Thetford, and that was the extent of his schooling. He taught himself shorthand, and by 1858 was in New York City. Burnham was a reporter for the Union Army in New Orleans during the Civil War. While in New Orleans, he bought a copy of a popular book ''Geography of the Heavens'', which piqued his interest in astronomy. After the war, he moved to Chicago and worked as a court reporter for over 20 years. At night Burnham was an amateur astronomer, except for four years (1888–1892) he worked as a professional astronomer at Lick Observatory. He left court reporting in 1902, but remained ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Astronomer
An astronomer is a scientist in the field of astronomy who focuses their studies on a specific question or field outside the scope of Earth. They observe astronomical objects such as stars, planets, natural satellite, moons, comets and galaxy, galaxies – in either observational astronomy, observational (by analyzing the data) or theoretical astronomy. Examples of topics or fields astronomers study include planetary science, Sun, solar astronomy, the Star formation, origin or stellar evolution, evolution of stars, or the galaxy formation and evolution, formation of galaxies. A related but distinct subject is physical cosmology, which studies the Universe as a whole. Types Astronomers usually fall under either of two main types: observational astronomy, observational and theoretical astronomy, theoretical. Observational astronomers make direct observations of Astronomical object, celestial objects and analyze the data. In contrast, theoretical astronomers create and investigate C ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Double Star
In observational astronomy, a double star or visual double is a pair of stars that appear close to each other as viewed from Earth, especially with the aid of optical telescopes. This occurs because the pair either forms a binary star (i.e. a binary system of stars in mutual orbit, gravitationally bound to each other) or is an ''optical double'', a chance line-of-sight alignment of two stars at different distances from the observer. Binary stars are important to stellar astronomers as knowledge of their motions allows direct calculation of stellar mass and other stellar parameters. The only (possible) case of "binary star" whose two components are separately visible to the naked eye is the case of Mizar and Alcor (though actually a multiple-star system), but it is not known for sure whether Mizar and Alcor are gravitationally bound. Since the beginning of the 1780s, both professional and amateur double star observers have telescopically measured the distances and angles between d ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
834 Burnhamia
834 Burnhamia ( ''prov. designation'': ''or'' ) is a large background asteroid, approximately in diameter, that is located in the outer region of the asteroid belt. It was discovered on 20 September 1916, by German astronomer Max Wolf at the Heidelberg Observatory in southwest Germany. The X-type asteroid (GS) has a rotation period of 13.9 hours. It was named after American astronomer Sherburne Wesley Burnham (1838–1921). Orbit and classification ''Burnhamia'' is a non-family asteroid of the main belt's background population when applying the hierarchical clustering method to its proper orbital elements. It orbits the Sun in the outer main-belt at a distance of 2.5–3.8 AU once every 5 years and 8 months (2,076 days; semi-major axis of 3.18 AU). Its orbit has an eccentricity of 0.20 and an inclination of 4 ° with respect to the ecliptic. The asteroid's observation arc begins with its first observation as at Heidelberg Observatory on 26 October 1905, almost 11 ... [...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] |
Burnham (crater)
Burnham is a small crater located to the southeast of the crater Albategnius, in a relatively smooth area of the lunar surface. It was named after American astronomer Sherburne W. Burnham. To the southwest is Vogel. The irregular tooth-like shape of the rim of Burnham protrudes to the southwest, giving the wall a distorted, asymmetric appearance. There are breaks in the rim to the northwest and southwest, the later forming a valley running about 15 km. The interior floor is rough and irregular, and lacks anything resembling a central peak. The abundance of small hills covering the crater floor from rim to rim makes it unusual. Views File:Burnham crater LRO WAC.jpg, LRO WAC mosaic File:Burnham crater AS16-P-4630.jpg, Oblique view from Apollo 16 Apollo 16 (April 1627, 1972) was the tenth crewed mission in the United States Apollo space program, administered by NASA, and the fifth and penultimate to land on the Moon. It was the second of Apollo's " J missions", wi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lunar Crater
Lunar craters are impact craters on Earth's Moon. The Moon's surface has many craters, all of which were formed by impacts. The International Astronomical Union currently recognizes 9,137 craters, of which 1,675 have been dated. History The word ''crater'' was adopted from the Greek word for "vessel" (, a Greek vessel used to mix wine and water). Galileo built his first telescope in late 1609, and turned it to the Moon for the first time on November 30, 1609. He discovered that, contrary to general opinion at that time, the Moon was not a perfect sphere, but had both mountains and cup-like depressions. These were named craters by Johann Hieronymus Schröter (1791), extending its previous use with volcanoes. Robert Hooke in ''Micrographia'' (1665) proposed two hypotheses for lunar crater formation: one, that the craters were caused by projectile bombardment from space, the other, that they were the products of subterranean lunar volcanism. Scientific opinion as to the origin ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Le Moniteur Scientifique
Gustave-Augustin Quesneville (January 1, 1810 - November 14, 1889"Dr. Quesneville" obituary, ''Journal of the Society of Chemical Industry'', Volume 8, 1889, p. 867) was a French chemist, chemical manufacturer, and journal editor, best known for the monthly ''Moniteur Scientifique Du Docteur Quesneville''.Josette Fournier "Auguste Laurent (1807-1853) dans la ''Revue scientifique'' du Dr. Quesneville"< ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lalande Prize
The Lalande Prize (French: ''Prix Lalande'' also known as Lalande Medal) was an award for scientific advances in astronomy, given from 1802 until 1970 by the French Academy of Sciences. The prize was endowed by astronomer Jérôme Lalande in 1801, a few years before his death in 1807, to enable the Academy of Sciences to make an annual award "to the person who makes the most unusual observation or writes the most useful paper to further the progress of Astronomy, in France or elsewhere." The awarded amount grew in time: in 1918 the amount awarded was 1000 Francs, and by 1950, it was 10,000 francs. It was combined with the Valz Prize ''(Prix Valz)'' in 1970 to create the Lalande-Valz Prize and then with a further 122 foundation prizes in 1997, resulting in the establishment of the Grande Médaille. The Grande Medaille is not limited to the field of astronomy. Winners See also * List of astronomy awards * List of Nobel laureates—Nobel Prize The Nobel Prizes ( ; sv, No ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
French Academy Of Sciences
The French Academy of Sciences (French: ''Académie des sciences'') is a learned society, founded in 1666 by Louis XIV of France, Louis XIV at the suggestion of Jean-Baptiste Colbert, to encourage and protect the spirit of French Scientific method, scientific research. It was at the forefront of scientific developments in Europe in the 17th and 18th centuries, and is one of the earliest Academy of Sciences, Academies of Sciences. Currently headed by Patrick Flandrin (President of the Academy), it is one of the five Academies of the Institut de France. History The Academy of Sciences traces its origin to Colbert's plan to create a general academy. He chose a small group of scholars who met on 22 December 1666 in the King's library, near the present-day Bibliothèque nationale de France, Bibliothèque Nationals, and thereafter held twice-weekly working meetings there in the two rooms assigned to the group. The first 30 years of the Academy's existence were relatively informal ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Gold Medal Of The Royal Astronomical Society
The Gold Medal of the Royal Astronomical Society is the highest award given by the Royal Astronomical Society (RAS). The RAS Council have "complete freedom as to the grounds on which it is awarded" and it can be awarded for any reason. Past awards have been given for "outstanding personal researches in the fields of astronomy and geophysics" as well as general contributions to astronomy and geophysics "that may be made through leadership in research programmes, through education and through scientific administration". It has been awarded both for research that has taken a lifetime (it has most frequently been given to recognise an extraordinary lifetime achievement), and for specific pieces of research. History The RAS was founded in 1820 and the first Gold Medals were awarded in 1824. Silver medals were also awarded in 1824 and 1827, but that practice was quickly abandoned, instead the RAS established other awards. In the early years, more than one medal was often awarded in a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
T Tauri
T Tauri is a variable star in the constellation Taurus, the prototype of the T Tauri stars. It was discovered in October 1852 by John Russell Hind. T Tauri appears from Earth amongst the Hyades cluster, not far from ε Tauri, but it is actually 420 light-years behind it and was not formed with the rest of them. The cloud to the west of the system is NGC 1555, known more commonly as Hind's Variable Nebula. Although this system is considered to be the prototype of T Tauri stars, a later phase in a protostar's formation, it is a very atypical T Tauri star. Orbital characteristics and mass The system has three stars: T Tauri North (T Tau N), T Tauri South A (T Tau Sa), and T Tauri South B (T Tau Sb). T Tau N is estimated to be approximately 300 AU away from the southern binary, with the separation of the binary believed to be approximately 7 AU with an orbital period of 27.2±0.7 years. The orbit of T Tau N about the southern binary is poorly constrained, with the perio ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Burnham's Nebula
T Tauri is a variable star in the constellation Taurus, the prototype of the T Tauri stars. It was discovered in October 1852 by John Russell Hind. T Tauri appears from Earth amongst the Hyades cluster, not far from ε Tauri, but it is actually 420 light-years behind it and was not formed with the rest of them. The cloud to the west of the system is NGC 1555, known more commonly as Hind's Variable Nebula. Although this system is considered to be the prototype of T Tauri stars, a later phase in a protostar's formation, it is a very atypical T Tauri star. Orbital characteristics and mass The system has three stars: T Tauri North (T Tau N), T Tauri South A (T Tau Sa), and T Tauri South B (T Tau Sb). T Tau N is estimated to be approximately 300 AU away from the southern binary, with the separation of the binary believed to be approximately 7 AU with an orbital period of 27.2±0.7 years. The orbit of T Tau N about the southern binary is poorly constrained, with the perio ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
