The Liverpool Astronomical Society was founded in 1881 in

Liverpool Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a popul ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

, as a society to promote and coordinate amateur astronomy. In 1893 the Society was gifted a 5" (125mm) aperture

Cooke Cooke is a surname derived from the occupation of cook. Notable people with the surname include: * Alexander Cooke (died 1614), English actor * Alfred Tyrone Cooke, of the Indo-Pakistani wars * Alistair Cooke KBE (1908–2004), British-American j ...

equatorial Equatorial may refer to something related to: *Earth's equator **the tropics, the Earth's equatorial region **tropical climate *the Celestial equator ** equatorial orbit **equatorial coordinate system ** equatorial mount, of telescopes * equatorial ...

telescope and a 2” (50mm) transit telescope by Thomas Rylands. An observatory was built for it on the roof of the William Brown building in central Liverpool. However from around 1899 the society ceased activities, only for it to be revived in July 1901. Four Liverpool Astronomical Society Members joined 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 ...

expedition to observe the total solar eclipse of 30 August 1905. A second period of inactivity occurred during and after the First World War from 1914 until 1922. The Cooke telescope is still owned by the society, but is currently unused. The Society’s current observatory, known as the Leighton Observatory, is at Pex Hill,

Cronton Cronton is a village and civil parish within the Metropolitan Borough of Knowsley, Merseyside, in England. The village is surrounded by green belt land. Over the county border in Cheshire, Widnes town centre is to the south-southeast. History H ...

Merseyside Merseyside ( ) is a metropolitan county, metropolitan and ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in North West England, with a population of List of ceremonial counties of England, 1.38 million. It encompasses both banks of the Merse ...

outside Liverpool. It was formerly known as Pex Hill Observatory and Visitors' Centre.

Presidents

Partial list 1881 to 1925. *1881–1882, unknown *1882–1884, Richard Coward Johnson *1884–1885, Thomas Henry Espinall Compton Espin *1885–1886,

Isaac Roberts Isaac Roberts FRS (27 January 1829 – 17 July 1904) was a Welsh people, Welsh engineer and businessman best known for his work as an amateur astronomer, pioneering the field of astrophotography of nebulae. He was a member of the Liverpool A ...

*1887–1888,

William Frederick Denning William Frederick Denning (25 November 1848 – 9 June 1931) was a British amateur astronomer who achieved considerable success without formal scientific training. He is known for his catalogues of meteor radiants, observations of Jupiter's re ...

*1888–1889,

Thomas Gwyn Elger Thomas Gwyn Empy Elger FRAS (27 October 1836 – 9 January 1897) was a British selenographer and one of the preeminent lunar observers of the Victorian age, best known for his lunar map, which was regarded as one of the best available until ...

*1889–1890,

Stephen Joseph Perry Stephen Joseph Perry SJ FRS (26 August 1833, in London – 27 December 1889) was an English Jesuit and astronomer, known as a participant in scientific expeditions. Life He belonged to a well-known Catholic family. His schooling was firs ...

*1890–1893, William Benjamin Hutchinson *1893–1894, James Gill *1894–1897, William Edward Plummer *1897–1899, George Higgs *1899–1901, society inactive *1901–1914, William Edward Plummer *1914–1922, society inactive *1923–1925, Harold Whichello

Special Observer

The laws of the Society provided for a ‘Special Observer’. The Observer was to have control of the Society’s Observatory to *1 Corroborate the observations of Society Members. *2 Assist Members requiring practical help in observational Astronomy. *3 Undertake systematic observations on behalf of the Society. T H E C Espin was appointed as special observer while living at

West Kirby West Kirby is a resort town on the north-west corner of the Wirral Peninsula in Merseyside, England, at the mouth of the River Dee, Wales, River Dee. Within the boundaries of the Historic counties of England, historic county of Cheshire, to th ...

. To show compliance with task 3 Espin published ‘A Catalogue of the Magnitudes of 500 Stars in Auriga, Gemini and Leo Minor’ in volume three of the LAS Transactions in 1884. He also published ‘circulars’ to the membership of the society advising on objects suitable for observation. He retained the title despite moving to

Wolsingham Wolsingham is a market town in Weardale, County Durham, England. It is situated by the River Wear, between Crook and Stanhope. History Wolsingham sits at the confluence of the River Wear and Waskerley Beck. It is a small settlement and one of ...

in 1885 and

Tow Law Tow Law is a town and civil parish in County Durham, England. It is situated a few miles to the south of Consett and 5 miles to the north west of Crook. According to the 2001 census it had a population of 1,952, increasing to 2,138 at the 2011 ...

in 1888. However the title was rescinded when he resigned from the LAS in 1890.

References

External links

LAS Website
{{Authority control Culture in Liverpool Amateur astronomy organizations British astronomy organisations Organisations based in Liverpool Organizations established in 1881 1881 establishments in England

Presidents

Special Observer

See also

References

External links