Edward Skinner King (1861-1931) was an American

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 ...

. In 1887 he graduated from

Hamilton College Hamilton College is a private liberal arts college in Clinton, Oneida County, New York. It was founded as Hamilton-Oneida Academy in 1793 and was chartered as Hamilton College in 1812 in honor of inaugural trustee Alexander Hamilton, following ...

and joined the staff of the

Harvard Observatory The Harvard College Observatory (HCO) is an institution managing a complex of buildings and multiple instruments used for astronomical research by the Harvard University Department of Astronomy. It is located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United St ...

, where he supervised the photographic imaging and related work. He became a pioneer and authority on the process of photographic

photometry Photometry can refer to: * Photometry (optics), the science of measurement of visible light in terms of its perceived brightness to human vision * Photometry (astronomy), the measurement of the flux or intensity of an astronomical object's electrom ...

. In 1912 he noticed that some types of

films A film also called a movie, motion picture, moving picture, picture, photoplay or (slang) flick is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, feelings, beauty, or atmosphere ...

appeared to perform better during the winter months, which led to the use of the so-called " cold camera" where the temperature is lowered to around -40 °C. From 1926 until his death he was the ''Phillips Professor of Astronomy'' at

Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher le ...

. King developed the algorithm known as the ''King Tracking Rate'', which corrects the tracking rate of a telescope to account for atmospheric

refraction In physics, refraction is the redirection of a wave as it passes from one medium to another. The redirection can be caused by the wave's change in speed or by a change in the medium. Refraction of light is the most commonly observed phenomeno ...

."The Effect of the Earth's Atmosphere", University of Florida
His reference work "A Manual of Celestial Photography: Principles and Practice for Those Interested In Photographing the Heavens" was published in 1931. This volume was reprinted as recently as 1988. The crater

King King is the title given to a male monarch in a variety of contexts. The female equivalent is queen, which title is also given to the consort of a king. *In the context of prehistory, antiquity and contemporary indigenous peoples, the tit ...

on the

far side ''The Far Side'' is a single-panel comic created by Gary Larson and syndicated by Chronicle Features and then Universal Press Syndicate, which ran from December 31, 1979, to January 1, 1995 (when Larson retired as a cartoonist). Its surrealis ...

of the

Moon The Moon is Earth's only natural satellite. It is the fifth largest satellite in the Solar System and the largest and most massive relative to its parent planet, with a diameter about one-quarter that of Earth (comparable to the width of ...

is co-named after him and Arthur S. King.

References

* "Solon Irving Bailey (1854-1931); Edward Skinner King(1861-1931)", ''Annual Report of the Maria Mitchell Association'', 1932, vol. 30, p. 10.

External links

Cold cameras
1861 births 1931 deaths Hamilton College (New York) alumni American astronomers Harvard University faculty Scientists from New York (state) Harvard College Observatory people {{US-astronomer-stub