Brian George William Manning (14 May 1926 – 10 November 2011) was an English
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, g ...
who discovered 19
minor planet
According to the International Astronomical Union (IAU), a minor planet is an astronomical object in direct orbit around the Sun that is exclusively classified as neither a planet nor a comet. Before 2006, the IAU officially used the term ''minor ...
s.
He was born in 1926 in
Birmingham
Birmingham ( ) is a city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1.145 million in the city proper, 2.92 million in the West ...
. He constructed his first mirror from a piece of glass that a World War II bomb blew out of the roof of the factory where his father worked. He began as an engineering draughtsman but later became a
metrologist
Metrology is the scientific study of measurement. It establishes a common understanding of units, crucial in linking human activities. Modern metrology has its roots in the French Revolution's political motivation to standardise units in Fran ...
at the
University of Birmingham
, mottoeng = Through efforts to heights
, established = 1825 – Birmingham School of Medicine and Surgery1836 – Birmingham Royal School of Medicine and Surgery1843 – Queen's College1875 – Mason Science College1898 – Mason Univers ...
. In the late 1950s, he constructed an interference-controlled ruling machine in a home workshop, which was able to rule high-quality 3 by 2 inch gratings.
In 1990, he received the
H. E. Dall prize of the BAA.
[EBSCOhost Connection]
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Discoveries
Brian Manning is credited by the Minor Planet Center
The Minor Planet Center (MPC) is the official body for observing and reporting on minor planets under the auspices of the International Astronomical Union (IAU). Founded in 1947, it operates at the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory.
Function
...
with the discovery of 19 minor planets he made at Stakenbridge Observatory (494
__NOTOC__
Year 494 ( CDXCIV) was a common year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Rufius and Praesidius (or, less frequently, year 1247 ' ...
), near Kidderminster, England, between 1989 and 1997.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.
...
s of the main-belt:
References
* Hurst, Guy M. 'Brian George William Manning' in the Journal of the British Astronomical Association, April 2012, Volume 22, Number 2.
External links
IAUC 3104
periodic comet Chernykh (1977l),
1926 births
2011 deaths
20th-century British astronomers
Academics of the University of Birmingham
Discoverers of minor planets
Discoveries by Brian G. W. Manning
Metrologists
People from Handsworth, West Midlands
{{UK-astronomer-stub