James Breen (5 July 1826 – 25 August 1866) was an

Irish Irish may refer to: Common meanings * Someone or something of, from, or related to: ** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe ***Éire, Irish language name for the isle ** Northern Ireland, a constituent unit ...

astronomer. Breen was the second son of Hugh Breen, senior, who superintended the lunar reductions at the

Royal Observatory, Greenwich The Royal Observatory, Greenwich (ROG; known as the Old Royal Observatory from 1957 to 1998, when the working Royal Greenwich Observatory, RGO, temporarily moved south from Greenwich to Herstmonceux) is an observatory situated on a hill in ...

. He was born at

Armagh Armagh ( ; ga, Ard Mhacha, , "Macha's height") is the county town of County Armagh and a city in Northern Ireland, as well as a civil parish. It is the ecclesiastical capital of Ireland – the seat of the Archbishops of Armagh, the Pri ...

, in Ireland, 5 July 1826, was engaged at the age of sixteen as a calculator at Greenwich, and exchanged the post for that of assistant in the

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 o ...

in August 1846. In 1854 he published ''The Planetary Worlds: the Topography and Telescopic Appearance of the Sun, Planets, Moon, and Comets'', a useful little work suggested by discussions on the plurality of worlds, showing considerable acquaintance with the history of the subject, as well as the practical familiarity conferred by the use of one of the finest refractors then in existence. After twelve years' zealous cooperation with

James Challis James Challis FRS (12 December 1803 – 3 December 1882) was an English clergyman, physicist and astronomer. Plumian Professor of Astronomy and Experimental Philosophy and the director of the Cambridge Observatory, he investigated a wide ra ...

, he resigned his appointment towards the close of 1858, and cultivated literature in

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until 1860, when he went to

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

, and observed the total

solar eclipse of July 18, 1860 A total solar eclipse occurred on July 18, 1860. A solar eclipse occurs when the Moon passes between Earth and the Sun, thereby totally or partly obscuring the image of the Sun for a viewer on Earth. A total solar eclipse occurs when the Moon's ap ...

at Camuesa, with Messrs. Wray and Buckingham of the Himalaya expedition. In the following year, after some months in

Switzerland ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...

, he settled in London, and devoted himself to literary and linguistic studies, reading much at the

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, and contributing regularly, but for the most part anonymously, to the ''Popular Science Review'' and other periodicals. He had made arrangements for the publication of a work on stars,

nebula A nebula ('cloud' or 'fog' in Latin; pl. nebulae, nebulæ or nebulas) is a distinct luminescent part of interstellar medium, which can consist of ionized, neutral or molecular hydrogen and also cosmic dust. Nebulae are often star-forming regio ...

e, and

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s, of which two sheets were already printed, when his strength finally gave way before the ravages of slow

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. He died at noon, 25 August 1866, aged 40, and was buried with his father at

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. He had been elected a fellow of the

Royal Astronomical Society (Whatever shines should be observed) , predecessor = , successor = , formation = , founder = , extinction = , merger = , merged = , type = NGO ...

on 10 June 1862. Extracts from his observations at Cambridge 1851-8 appeared in the ''

Astronomische Nachrichten ''Astronomische Nachrichten'' (''Astronomical Notes''), one of the first international journals in the field of astronomy, was established in 1821 by the German astronomer Heinrich Christian Schumacher. It claims to be the oldest astronomical jour ...

'' and ''

Monthly Notices ''Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society'' (MNRAS) is a peer-reviewed scientific journal covering research in astronomy and astrophysics. It has been in continuous existence since 1827 and publishes letters and papers reporting orig ...

.'' He calculated the orbit of the

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 bi ...

ξ Ursæ Majoris, assigning it a

period Period may refer to: Common uses * Era, a length or span of time * Full stop (or period), a punctuation mark Arts, entertainment, and media * Period (music), a concept in musical composition * Periodic sentence (or rhetorical period), a concept ...

of 63.14 years, as well as those of Petersen's third (1850) and Brorsen's (1851, iii.) comets.

Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society ''Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society'' (MNRAS) is a peer-reviewed scientific journal covering research in astronomy and astrophysics. It has been in continuous existence since 1827 and publishes letters and papers reporting orig ...

x. 155, xxii. 158; Astr. Nach. No. 786 His observations of

Comet Donati :''There are three Donati comets: C/1855 L1 (a.k.a. 1855 II), C/1858 L1 (this one), and C/1864 R1 (a.k.a. 1864 I).'' Comet Donati, or Donati's Comet, formally designated C/1858 L1 and 1858 VI, is a long-period comet named after the Italian ast ...

with the Northumberland Equatorial were printed in the 'Memoirs of the R. A. Soc.' xxx. 68.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Breen, James (astronomer) 1826 births 1866 deaths Astronomers from Northern Ireland Fellows of the Royal Astronomical Society