John Ellard Gore (1845–1910) was an Irish

amateur astronomer Amateur astronomy is a hobby where participants enjoy observing or imaging celestial objects in the sky using the unaided eye, binoculars, or telescopes. Even though scientific research may not be their primary goal, some amateur astronomers ...

and prolific author, and a founding member of the

British Astronomical Association The British Astronomical Association (BAA) was formed in 1890 as a national body to support the UK's amateur astronomers. Throughout its history, the BAA has encouraged observers to make scientifically valuable observations, often in collaborati ...

. He was mainly interested in

variable star A variable star is a star whose brightness as seen from Earth (its apparent magnitude) changes with time. This variation may be caused by a change in emitted light or by something partly blocking the light, so variable stars are classified as e ...

s of which he discovered several, most notably W Cygni in 1884,

U Orionis U Orionis (abbreviated U Ori) is a Mira variable, Mira-type variable star in the constellation Orion (constellation), Orion. It is a classical long period variable star that has been well observed for over 120 years. Discovery It wa ...

in 1885, and independently discovered Nova Persei. In 2009, the

IAU The International Astronomical Union (IAU; french: link=yes, Union astronomique internationale, UAI) is a nongovernmental organisation with the objective of advancing astronomy in all aspects, including promoting astronomical research, outreach ...

named a

lunar Lunar most commonly means "of or relating to the Moon". Lunar may also refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Lunar'' (series), a series of video games * "Lunar" (song), by David Guetta * "Lunar", a song by Priestess from the 2009 album ''Prior t ...

impact crater An impact crater is a circular depression in the surface of a solid astronomical object formed by the hypervelocity impact of a smaller object. In contrast to volcanic craters, which result from explosion or internal collapse, impact crater ...

after

Gore Gore may refer to: Places Australia * Gore, Queensland * Gore Creek (New South Wales) * Gore Island (Queensland) Canada * Gore, Nova Scotia, a rural community * Gore, Quebec, a township municipality * Gore Bay, Ontario, a township on Manitouli ...

Early life

Gore was born in Athlone, County Westmeath, in 1845, the eldest son of the Venerable John Ribton Gore and Frances Brabazon Ellard. He had 3 brothers and one sister. The Gore family descended from

Sir Paul Gore, 1st Baronet Sir Paul Gore, 1st Baronet (1567 – September 1629) was an Anglo-Irish politician, soldier and baronet. Born in London, he was the eldest son of Gerard Gore and his wife Helen Davenant, daughter of Ralph Davenant. Gore had come to Ireland a ...

and John's great grandfather was

Sir Arthur Gore, 1st Baronet Sir Arthur Gore, 1st Baronet (c. 1640 – 20 December 1697) was an Irish soldier and politician. Gore was the second son of Sir Paul Gore, 1st Baronet and his wife Isabella Wycliffe, daughter of Francis Wycliffe. In 1656, he was High Sheriff ...

. He studied at Trinity College and received a diploma in Civil Engineering in 1865.

Professional career

Gore worked as a railway engineer in Ireland for over two years before being appointed as an assistant engineer with the Indian Public Works Department on the Sirhind Canal project. In 1877 he returned to Ireland on two years leave of absence and lived in

Ballysadare Ballysadare (), locally also Ballisodare, is a town in County Sligo, Ireland. It is about 7 kilometres (4 miles) south of Sligo town. The town developed on an important crossing of the Owenmore River. History Toponymy The Ox Mountains () ar ...

County Sligo County Sligo ( , gle, Contae Shligigh) is a county in Ireland. It is located in the Border Region and is part of the province A province is almost always an administrative division within a country or state. The term derives from the an ...

with his father. In 1879, he retired after 11 years of service with a pension and after the death of his father in 1894, moved to Dublin where he spent the rest of his life devoted to astronomy.

Astronomy

Gore had no formal training in astronomy, and began to study the sky while working in India. While there, he relied on his naked eyes, binoculars, a three-inch telescope and a ten centimeter telescope on an equatorial mount. His first book "Southern Stellar Objects for Small Telescopes" was published in India in 1877. On his return to Ireland in 1877, he used a three-inch telescope and binoculars. He set up an observatory in Sligo, and later set up at 3 Nortumberland Street, Dublin. His greatest contribution was his studies of double and variable stars, and he published catalogues of variables and binary stars., see p. 50 Gore died on the 18th of July 1910 when struck by a horse and car whilst crossing Grafton St.,

Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of the Wicklow Mountains range. At the 2016 c ...

Books

* * * * * * * * * *

Legacy

In 2009, the

named a

located on the lunar near side near the northern pole after Gore.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Gore, John Ellard 1910 deaths People from County Westmeath 20th-century Irish writers 20th-century male writers Amateur astronomers Fellows of the Royal Astronomical Society Irish astronomers Alumni of Trinity College Dublin Irish non-fiction writers Irish male non-fiction writers 19th-century British astronomers 1845 births Irish writers