Ralph Copeland

FRSE Fellowship of the Royal Society of Edinburgh (FRSE) is an award granted to individuals that the Royal Society of Edinburgh, Scotland's national academy of science and letters, judged to be "eminently distinguished in their subject". This soci ...

FRAS FRAS may refer to: * Fellow of the Royal Astronomical Society, post-nominal letters * Fellow of the Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland Fellows of the Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland are individuals who have bee ...

(3 September 1837 – 27 October 1905) was an

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

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 ...

and the third

Astronomer Royal for Scotland Astronomer Royal for Scotland was the title of the director of the Royal Observatory, Edinburgh until 1995. It has since been an honorary title. Astronomers Royal for Scotland See also * Edinburgh Astronomical Institution * City Observatory * R ...

Life

Copeland was born at Moorside Farm, near

Woodplumpton Woodplumpton is a village and civil parish in the City of Preston, Lancashire, England, located north of Preston. Geography It is part of the Fylde, a flat area of land between the Forest of Bowland and the Lancashire coast. Community The vi ...

Lancashire Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated Lancs) is the name of a historic county, ceremonial county, and non-metropolitan county in North West England. The boundaries of these three areas differ significantly. The non-metropolitan county of Lancashi ...

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 ...

the son of Robert Copeland, yeoman, and his wife, Elizabeth Milner, and attended

Kirkham Grammar School Kirkham Grammar School is a selective, co-educational independent school in Kirkham, Lancashire, England. It was founded in 1549. Its roots can be traced back to the chantry school attached to St Michael's Church in the 13th century. The sc ...

. He spent five years in

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

where he discovered his interest in astronomy. He returned in 1858 to pursue a career in engineering. Eager to pursue his astronomical interests, Copeland built a small observatory, gave up engineering, and then travelled to

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

to study astronomy at the

University of Göttingen The University of Göttingen, officially the Georg August University of Göttingen, (german: Georg-August-Universität Göttingen, known informally as Georgia Augusta) is a public research university in the city of Göttingen, Germany. Founded ...

. When he returned to

, as a patron of

Lord Rosse William Parsons, 3rd Earl of Rosse (17 June 1800 – 31 October 1867), was an Irish astronomer, naturalist, and engineer. He was president of the Royal Society (UK), the most important association of naturalists in the world in the nineteenth ...

, Copeland brought back German methods of astronomy. Later he appointed many German astronomers as assistants, such as

Oswald Lohse Wilhelm Oswald Lohse (13 February 1845 – 14 May 1915) was a German astronomer. He first worked at the private Bothkamp Observatory, and starting in 1874 at the Potsdam Astrophysical Observatory, being its Chief Astronomer at the time of hi ...

. Copeland then worked at the Dun Echt Observatory owned by the 26th Earl of Crawford. Copeland was a frequent traveler on worldwide expeditions and observed the 1874 and 1882 transits of

Venus Venus is the second planet from the Sun. It is sometimes called Earth's "sister" or "twin" planet as it is almost as large and has a similar composition. As an interior planet to Earth, Venus (like Mercury) appears in Earth's sky never fa ...

from

Mauritius Mauritius ( ; french: Maurice, link=no ; mfe, label=Mauritian Creole, Moris ), officially the Republic of Mauritius, is an island nation in the Indian Ocean about off the southeast coast of the African continent, east of Madagascar. It incl ...

and

Jamaica Jamaica (; ) is an island country situated in the Caribbean Sea. Spanning in area, it is the third-largest island of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean (after Cuba and Hispaniola). Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, and west of His ...

, respectively, and undertook other astronomical observations from

Greenland Greenland ( kl, Kalaallit Nunaat, ; da, Grønland, ) is an island country in North America that is part of the Kingdom of Denmark. It is located between the Arctic and Atlantic oceans, east of the Canadian Arctic Archipelago. Greenland is t ...

. On 29 January 1889, Copeland became

, whereupon he first worked at the Calton Hill Observatory, Edinburgh. He was tasked to select a site for a new observatory, eventually choosing Blackford Hill, Edinburgh. Lord Crawford, his former benefactor, donated the astronomical collection from Dun Echt to the new site, which was opened in 1896. He was elected a Fellow of the

Royal Society of Edinburgh The Royal Society of Edinburgh is Scotland's national academy of science and letters. It is a registered charity that operates on a wholly independent and non-partisan basis and provides public benefit throughout Scotland. It was established i ...

in 1889, his proposers were

John McLaren, Lord McLaren John McLaren, Lord McLaren, FRSE (17 April 1831 – 6 April 1910) was a British Liberal politician and judge. In the scientific world he is remembered as a mathematician and astronomer. Life The son of Duncan McLaren, a former Provost of Edin ...

Alexander Forbes Irvine Alexander Forbes Irvine, 20th Laird of Drum FRSE JP DL LLD (1818–1892) was a Scottish landowner, advocate, philosopher and amateur astronomer. He was a prominent member of Clan Irvine and held the family seat of Drum Castle until his death. Life ...

, Alexander Buchan and P.G. Tait. He served as the Society's Vice President 1892–96 and 1898–1903. Copeland discovered 35 NGC objects, most of them with Lord Rosse's 72" reflector. Planetary nebulae were found by visual spectroscopy at Dun Echt and during an Andes expedition. Seven of the galaxies in the constellation Leo form the famous "

Copeland Septet The Copeland Septet (also Copeland's Septet, Hickson Compact Group 57) is a group of galaxies in the constellation Leo that includes NGC 3748, NGC 3754, NGC 3750, NGC 3751, NGC 3745, NGC 3753 and NGC 3746. The group was discovered by Britis ...

": NGC 3745, 3746, 3748, 3750, 3751, 3753, and 3754. Copeland was married twice, firstly in 1859 to Susannah Milner, and secondly in 1871 to Theodora Benfey (1847–1937). He had six children, one of whom was Fanny Susan Copeland. They lived on site at the

Blackford Hill Blackford Hill is a hill in Edinburgh, the capital city of Scotland. It is in the area of Blackford, between Morningside, and the Braid Hills. Together with the Hermitage of Braid, it comprises the Hermitage of Braid and Blackford Hill Loca ...

Observatory. He was fluent in French, German and Persian. He died in

Edinburgh Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian ...

on 27 October 1905. He was buried in

Morningside Cemetery, Edinburgh Morningside Cemetery is a cemetery in south Edinburgh. It was established in 1878 by the Metropolitan Cemetery Company, originally just outwith the then city boundary, the nearest suburb then being Morningside. It extends to just over 13 ac ...

. He is buried with his second wife, Theodara, and his daughters Paula Theodora Copeland and Agnes Copeland MD. The grave lies in the south-west section of the cemetery.

Legacy

Mount Copeland Mount Copeland is a summit in the Monashee Mountains to the northwest of Revelstoke, British Columbia, Canada. It was named in 1939, along with Copeland Creek (aka Wildgoose Creek) and Copeland Ridge, of which it is the summit, for Ralph Copela ...

, in the

Monashee Mountains The Monashee Mountains are a mountain range lying mostly in British Columbia, Canada, extending into the U.S. state of Washington. They stretch from north to south and from east to west. They are a sub-range of the Columbia Mountains. The highes ...

to the northwest of

Revelstoke, British Columbia Revelstoke () is a city in southeastern British Columbia, Canada, with a census population of 8,275 in 2021. Revelstoke is located east of Vancouver, and west of Calgary, Alberta. The city is situated on the banks of the Columbia River just sout ...

, was named for him in 1939, as was Copeland Ridge (which Mount Copeland is the summit of) and nearby Copeland Creek. Mount Copeland is the site of the highest recorded snowfall in Canada in one season (1 July 1971 – 30 June 1972).Greatest Snowfalls in North America (reference), teachervision.com
/ref>

Life

Legacy

References

Further reading