Issue 11 – July 2006 The Revd William Pearson and family · PDF fileon the Revd William Pearson, an ... extraordinary man. ... and provided the SHA with its fine logos. Sadly,

Issue 11 – July 2006

This portrait hangs in the Council Room of the Royal Astronomical Society in Burlington House. It shows the RevdWilliam Pearson (1767-1847) demonstrating an orrery of his own design to his first wife Frances and daughter, alsoFrances. The Revd Pearson was the Rector of the Leicestershire village of South Kilworth and the observatory thathe built there still survives, though it is now a private house. A report by Mike Frost appears inside.

Amongst many other achievements, the Revd Pearson was, with Francis Baily, one of the two original founders ofthe RAS. It is particularly appropriate that we should carry an article about him in this issue of the Newsletter as theSHA has recently affiliated to the RAS. An announcement is included in the Society news, overleaf. (Portraitcourtesy of the Royal Astronomical Society.)

The Revd William Pearson and family

SHA Newsletter – Issue 11 Page 2 July 2006

Welcome to the eleventh issue of theNewsletter, another bumper copy forwhich once again we have to thankcontributors for the quality andquantity of their submissions.

Although this issue arrives with youa little later than expected, theeditorial team trust you will bearwith us and enjoy it now it finallyhas arrived. We have plenty to temptyou with. A ‘further’ news section,new to this issue, carries threearchaeoastronomical reports as wellas wonderful news concerning the

return of early manuscripts to theRoyal Society. Mike Frost’s articleon the Revd William Pearson, aninnovative designer of astronomicalequipment and leading member ofthe astronomical community as wellas a founder member of the RoyalAstronomical Society, illustrates theenergy and prolific achievements ofa man who for the most part hasbeen forgotten. As well as reportingon a visit to the Revd’s observatory,Mike Frost shows us some of theaccomplishments of thisextraordinary man.

At the risk of making a rather fragilelink to some of the work of thetalented Revd, the Society’s AutumnConference will be held at theBirmingham & Midland Institute onSaturday 7 October and we areurgently calling for papers on thetheme Instruments and Imaging,which can be from earliest times tothe present day. Further details maybe found in Stuart Williams’ Societynews section.

AGM and SpringConference success

The Society’s Annual GeneralMeeting and Spring Conference,with the theme Women inAstronomy, was held at the Instituteof Astronomy, Cambridge on 20May. The meeting was a greatsuccess, with more than 40 membersattending. A full report appears onp7. Apart from the excellentspeakers and businesslike AGM, amain highlight was the presence ofTreasurer Ken Goward, who despitehis recent severe illness and early

stage of recuperation, made aproductive appearance thanks to hiswife Lorraine. Special thanks aredue to the Institute of Astronomy fortheir support in hosting the event,and of course to IOA Librarian andSHA Archivist Mark Hurn forfacilitating the meeting and his workbehind the scenes.

Council election results

There were some changes to theCouncil of the Society during theelection held at the AGM. Thefollowing Council Members were

re-elected unopposed andunanimously: Chairman GilbertSatterthwaite, Secretary StuartWilliams, Treasurer Ken Goward,Councillors Madeline Cox, PeterHingley, Mark Hurn, Roger Jonesand Martin Lunn. Councillor RegWithey, who had been co-opted bythe previous Council, was electedformally and unanimously. DrNicholas Kollerstrom had resignedfrom Council but intended to remaina member of the SHA. He wasformally thanked for his past serviceto the Society. The vacancy left bythis resignation was filled by theunanimous election of KevinKilburn, a former Councillor fromour founding year who wasenthusiastically welcomed back onthe team. Gilbert Satterthwaitereported that in accordance with theConstitution the Council wished tocontinue the appointments of DrAllan Chapman as HonoraryPresident, and of Dr Michael Hoskinand Sir Patrick Moore as HonoraryVice-Presidents, and this wasapproved with acclamation by themeeting.

RAS affiliation

It has always been one of theSociety’s hopes, from its foundationin 2002, to be able to affiliate to the

Society newsStuart Williams

Ken and Lorraine Goward at the recent Spring Conference

EditorialDavid Rayner


Royal Astronomical Society, andindeed many SHA members areFellows of the RAS. However, untilrecently there has been no practicaland mutually beneficial mechanismfor accomplishing this aim, despitefriendly fraternal relations betweenthe two societies. Nonetheless, for awhile Council has been negotiatingwith the RAS about affiliation. Weare now pleased to report thatagreement has been reached and theSHA will affiliate with the RAS. Apreliminary announcement wasmade at the AGM (see p7) and moredetails will be issued onceformalities have been concluded.

SHA Council meetings in2006

SHA Council meetings for the restof 2006 will take place as follows:29 July 1pm Yorkshire Museum, 25November 1pm Sir Robert BallLibrary, Birmingham. Apart fromthe AGM, space is very limited atthese meetings, which are notgeneral Society meetings, so if anymember wishes to present a matterto Council in person, they shouldapply in advance to the Secretary,Stuart Williams. Anyone wishing totable an agenda item at a Councilmeeting should contact theChairman, Gilbert Satterthwaite.

Urgent call for papers – SHAAutumn Conference

The Autumn Conference will beheld at the Birmingham & MidlandInstitute on Saturday 7 October. Thetheme is Instruments and Imaging,and may include any appropriatetopic on telescopes, their optics,mounts and mechanisms, and otherastronomical instruments, or on anyimaging processes applied toastronomy, from earliest times to thepresent day. Initial offers of papersfrom members, including a shortabstract and suggested length(twenty minutes, thirty minutes orone hour including question time) aswell as audio-visual requirements,are urgently invited by post only,with SAE to the Secretary, StuartWilliams, 26, Matlock Road,Bloxwich, WS3 3QD.

Society Web site

The SHA’s Web site was updated intime for the AGM and SpringConference by our webmaster, GregSmye-Rumsby, who as aprofessional designer had inprevious years completelyredesigned and upgraded our siteand provided the SHA with its finelogos. Sadly, this update will be thelast carried out by Greg as he hasbeen forced by illness and pressureof work to step down as webmaster.Council formally thanks him for hispast service to the Society. It is

seeking a new webmaster as well asconsidering changes to reduce thecost of the Web site and simplify itsoperation. A potential volunteer hasalready come forward andnegotiations are underway.

SHA Publicity leaflet nowavailable on-line

A new publicity leaflet bearing anencouraging message from SirPatrick Moore together with aphotograph of him and variousSociety activities has been designedby Stuart Williams and is aimed atrecruiting new members across theUK. It is now available fordownload from the SHA Web site asa PDF file.

Early manuscripts returnedto the Royal Society

Important manuscripts which throwlight on the early history of theRoyal Society and the work ofRobert Hooke (1635-1703), its firstCurator of Experiments, were due tobe auctioned at Bonhams on 28March (see the Newsletter for March2006, no. 10, p16). However, theywere sold to the Royal Society for£940,000 in a last-minute deal onthe day before the auction. The

documents returned to the RoyalSociety’s premises on 17 May.

The purchase was made possible bya generous grant of £469,000 by theWellcome Trust, with additionalcontributions from 150 other donors,including several SHA Councillors.The Society is extremely pleased tohave made even a small contributionto securing these historic documents.

The manuscripts comprise Hooke’spersonal copies of the minutes ofmeetings of the Royal Society for

several decades from 1661. Thereare two sets of manuscripts. Thefirst, covering the period 1661-1677,consists of ‘fair copies’ of theminutes with (sometimes acerbic)comments inserted by Hooke. In1677 Hooke became the RoyalSociety’s second Secretary. Thesecond set of manuscripts dates fromafter this appointment and consistsof Hooke’s own rough notes of theSociety’s meetings. The manuscriptsthrow important new light on thedevelopment of microscopy,

Kevin Kilburn speaking at last year’sAutumn Conference

Further newsCompiled by Clive Davenhall


astronomy and the theory ofuniversal gravitation.

Following their return thedocuments will now undergocomprehensive preservation andanalysis. The preservation willinclude rebinding, transcription anddigitisation. The Royal Society iscollaborating with Prof. LisaJardine, a biographer of Hooke, inthe study of the manuscripts.

The Royal Society hopes toeventually make digitised versionsof the documents available from itsWeb site. In the meantime themanuscripts were displayed as partof its Summer Science Exhibition(3-6 July).

Further reading

Royal Society press release:http://www.royalsoc.ac.uk/news.asp?year=&id=4701

Harrison memorial atWestminster Abbey

On 24 March a memorial to JohnHarrison (1693-1776), theclockmaker who developed the firstsuccessful marine chronometer, wasunveiled at Westminster Abbey.Harrison’s chronometers were madein response to the Government’s‘Longitude Prize’ of 1714 whichoffered a reward of £10,000 for theconstruction of a chronometercapable of maintaining sufficient

accuracy whilst at sea to allow thedetermination of longitude.

The memorial was organised by theWorshipful Company ofClockmakers with support from theRAS and Sir Arnold Wolfendale,Astronomer Royal 1991-95. Theceremony was performed by HRHthe Duke of Edinburgh and wasattended by about 600 people,including the Master of theWorshipful Company ofClockmakers, Dava Sobel, author ofthe best-selling book Longitudeabout Harrison, and Sir Arnold.

The memorial is set in the floor ofthe nave of the Abbey, close to thegrave of Thomas Tompion (1639-1713), the ‘father of Englishclockmaking’ and his partner andsuccessor George Graham (1674?-1751), who assisted Harrison earlyin his career.

The stone (below) is of Purbeck

Limestone, like the rest of the floor.A bimetallic strip (itself an inventionof Harrison’s) bisects his name andis stamped with the memorial’slongitude, 00º 7’ 35”. The strip isset obliquely in order to accuratelyfollow the meridian, the Abbeybeing not quite aligned due north.

The Worshipful Company ofClockmakers has produced abooklet, Harrison in the Abbey, tocommemorate the event. It is editedby Sir Arnold Wolfendale and isgenerously sponsored by the Smithof Derby Group, clockmakers.

In total Harrison produced fivechronometers, now designated H1 toH5. H1 to H4 are on display at theNational Maritime Museum and H5is displayed in the WorshipfulCompany of Clockmakers’ ownMuseum in the Guildhall, London.

Further reading

Worshipful Company ofClockmakers press release:http://www.clockmakers.org/page5.html

See the Worshipful Company ofClockmakers’ Web site for details oftheir museum and also how to obtainHarrison in the Abbey:http://www.clockmakers.org/

Wikipedia entry for John Harrison:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Harrison

Reprieve for Thornboroughhenges

On 21 February 2006 NorthYorkshire County Council rejected aplanning application by Tarmac Ltdto extend its quarrying operation toLadybridge Farm close to theThornborough Henges. The hengestake their name from theneighbouring village ofThornborough, which is about tenmiles from Ripon in NorthYorkshire. Though not widelyknown, they are some of the mostimportant Neolithic monuments inBritain.

The rediscovered manuscripts of early Royal Society meetings

The new memorial to John Harrison inWestminster Abbey


The group dates from around 3500-2500 BC in the mid-Neolithic andcomprises three similar circular,banked henges, each about 800 ft indiameter and equally spaced about800 yards apart. The whole structureis over one and a half miles long. Itis aligned northwest to southeast,but lies in a crooked ‘dogleg’ ratherthan being completely straight.Moreover the henges do not exist inisolation. They are all that remainsof a group originally of eight, whichitself was part of an extensiveNeolithic ‘sacred landscape’ spreadover twenty miles across NorthYorkshire.

The archaeoastronomical aspects ofthe henges are that they seem tohave been a representation of thethree central stars of Orion’s belt.This suggestion is doubly unusualamongst the many and variedimaginative proposals for ‘ancientstar maps’ in that it seems to havebeen both accepted byarchaeologists and ignored by thepseudoscientific fringe. The centralhenge is built on top of an earliercursus monument that also seems tohave been aligned with Orion’s belt.The henges have other alignmentswith the winter solsticial sunrise andwith Sirius. In the context of thehenges as a star map it might be alsobe significant that they wereoriginally covered with gypsum,giving them a striking whiteappearance.

Though they were previouslydamaged by ploughing, all threehenges, and the strip of landconnecting them, are now ScheduledAncient Monuments and notthreatened. However, the whole areacontains valuable gravel depositsand quarrying by Tarmac Ltd hasdestroyed much of the surroundinglandscape. It is this landscape whichgives the henges their archaeologicalcontext. The decision by NorthYorkshire County Council shouldprevent further expansion of thequarrying, though Tarmac intend toappeal. The ‘Friends ofThornborough Henges’ is avoluntary group that campaigns topreserve the henges and their locale.

They welcome public support anddetails of how to contact them areincluded below.

Further reading

Paul Devereux, June 2006, ForteanTimes, no. 210, p16.

Jan Harding and Ben Johnson,March 2004, British Archaeology,no. 75, pp26-31.

Thornborough Henges wikipediaentry:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thornborough_Henges

Friends of Thornborough Henges:http:www.friendsofthornborough.org.uk

Dr Jan Harding of NewcastleUniversity has studied the hengesextensively. He maintains a siteabout them athttp://thornborough.ncl.ac.uk/index.htm. He has been instrumental ininvestigating their astronomicalalignments. A report is planned fornext year.

Ancient observatorydiscovered in Peru…

The oldest ancient observatoryknown in the New World hasrecently been discovered on a barrenhillside near Buena Vista, a fewmiles north of Lima in the PeruvianAndes. It is believed to date fromabout 2200 BC, making it

substantially older than any similarcomplexes hitherto known.The discovery was made by RobertBenfer of the University of Missouriand a number of Peruviancolleagues. The site has becomeknown as the ‘Temple of the Fox’after a mural of a fox found there.

In the context of archaeoastronomyan ‘observatory’ is a building orother structure deliberatelyconstructed with astronomicalalignments. The twenty acre Templeof the Fox site contains a number ofsculptures and features with suchalignments matching times criticalfor regulating agricultural activities.

Several alignments involving pointson the temple entrance, offeringchamber, sculptures and surroundingridges indicate the solstices,equinoxes and other significantdates. For example an alignmentfrom the offering chamber to amodified rock indicates sunrise onthe (southern hemisphere) summersolstice of 21 December. This dateindicates the start of the floodseason when crops are planted. Onthe other side of the site a scowlingclay head frowns at the setting sunon 21 June, around the start ofharvest time.

The finds at the site reveal a level ofsophistication that was not believedto have developed in the region forthe best part of another millennium.They add support for the recent ideathat a sophisticated civilisationdeveloped in the region during the‘pre-ceramic’ era before the

An aerial view of the Thornborough henges seen from the south. The flooded area tothe top of the picture is the result of current quarrying


Ancient observatory discovered near toCalcoene in northern Brazil

development of fired pottery afterabout 1500 BC.

Further reading

There are numerous versions of thereport on the Web. See for example:

University of Missouri-Columbia:http://www.missouri.edu/captions/benfer.htm

Newswise:http://www.newswise.com/articles/view/520388/

National Geographic:http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2006/05/observatory-peru.html

… and in Brazil

Another site which was probably anancient observatory has beendiscovered in the far north of Brazilclose to the border with FrenchGuyana. It is near to Calcoene in theState of Amapa, some 240 milesfrom the state capital, Macapa. Thediscovery was made byarchaeologists from the AmapaInstitute of Scientific andTechnological Research. The age ofthe site is uncertain, but estimatesrange from around the first centuryAD to about 500 years ago.

The site consists of some 127 blocksof granite, each about ten feet high.They are set upright and evenly-spaced into circles. Theastronomical significance is that theblocks are positioned so as to markthe winter solstice. In particular,during December sunlight shinesthrough a hole in one of the blocks.The site seems likely to have serveda ritual as well as a calendrical

purpose.

Traditionally the pre-ColumbianAmazon rain forest has been thoughtto have been inhabited by only asparse and unsophisticatedpopulation. However, the discoverylends support to a recent idea that itactually supported advanced cultureswith sedentary populations.

Further reading

Again there are numerous versionsof the report on the Web. Forexample:

BBC:http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/4767717.stm

Mongabay:http://news.mongabay.com/2006/0514-amazon.html

The flying saucer nowstanding…

Over thirty years ago British Rail(the then nationalised Britishrailway system) had plans todevelop nuclear-poweredflying saucers forinterplanetary travel. No,seriously. Though quitehow an organisation thatstruggled for years with

the tilt mechanism of its AdvancedPassenger Train would havemanaged space flight is hard toimagine. However, a studentbrowsing the European PatentOffice Web site recently happenedon a patent for a nuclear-poweredspacecraft that the organisationsubmitted in the early 1970s.

The idea of a ‘Lifting Platform’ wasdeveloped by Charles OsmondFrederick and the design was firstfiled with the Patent Office by theLondon-based company Jensen andSon acting on behalf of the BritishRailways Board. The firstsubmission was made on 11December 1970 and the patent wascompleted on 21 March 1973.

The design envisaged a saucer-shaped craft with a passengercompartment on its upper deck.Rather alarmingly, it was to havebeen powered by controlledthermonuclear fusion ignited bylaser beams, a technology still aselusive now as it was thirty yearsago.

The scowling clay head in the Temple of the Fox observatory complex outside Lima.It is flanked by foxes and marks a significant astronomical alignment around the end

of harvest on 21 June. It may represent the Andean god Pacha Mamma

The plans for British Rail’s nuclear powered flyingsaucer


Eric Hutton has completed theproject to prepare a facsimile editionof The English Mechanic newspaperon DVD ahead of schedule (see theNewsletter passim and especiallySeptember 2005, no. 8, pp7-8). Aflyer is included with this issue ofthe Newsletter. The EnglishMechanic was published from 1865to 1926 and the complete editioncomprises fourteen DVDs. Itcontains 72,269 pages, and includes

about 78,000 letters and 160,000queries.

As an example of the usefulness ofThe English Mechanic newspaper, asearch for the name of Dr WilliamDoberck, (see Newsletter, no.10,p15) returned 93 matches, amongstthese a letter on double starobserving, in which Dr Doberckgives the time taken to measuredouble stars with various telescopes,

and the description of an observingchair of his own design.

Copies of the DVDs are availablefor reference use in the SHA’s SirRobert Ball Library at the BMI, andthe RAS Library, London. Copiesare also available for purchase (forSHA members at £18 each or £252for the set). For further details Ericcan be contacted by e-mail [email protected].

Gilbert Satterthwaite opened themeeting, expressing our pleasurethat Ken Goward, still recoveringfrom heart surgery, was able to bepresent. He reported that during theprevious twenty-four hours he hadbeen informed that the Council ofthe Royal Astronomical Society hadagreed that the SHA be affiliated tothe RAS. In conveying his apologiesfor not being present our HonoraryPresident, Dr Allan Chapman, hadsent his good wishes for a successfulday.

The Minutes of the 2005 AGM werepresented and approved. StuartWilliams then presented hisSecretary’s Report. In this he paidtribute to the tremendouscontribution Lorraine Goward hadmade to keeping the Society’s

affairs running smoothly duringKen’s enforced absence, in additionto caring for him and their family;Gilbert called upon Stuart to make asmall presentation to Lorraine toexpress Council’s gratitude, andproposed a vote of thanks to herwhich was carried with acclamation.Ken then presented his Treasurer’sReport on the accounts andmembership, noting that the Societycurrently had 118 Members and 4Institutional Members. TheLibrarian’s, Archivist’s, Survey,Publicity and Publications reportswere then received and approved.Gilbert reported that the webmaster,Greg Smye-Rumsby, had beenforced by illness and pressure ofbusiness to step down. Council wereseeking a new webmaster, and alsoconsidering changes to improve the

Web site and its operation in thefuture.

The meeting then proceeded to electCouncil for the coming year. GilbertSatterthwaite (Chairman), StuartWilliams (Secretary) and KenGoward (Treasurer) were re-electedto their current posts. Madeline Cox,Peter Hingley, Mark Hurn, RogerJones, Kevin Kilburn, Martin Lunnand Reg Withey were electedCouncillors.

Gilbert then thanked our host for theday, Dr David Dewhirst, theInstitute of Astronomy for theexcellent facilities provided, andMark Hurn for all his work inpreparing for the AGM andConference, and adjourned themeeting at 15:30.

The fourth AGM and SpringConference took place on Saturday20 May 2006, kindly hosted by theInstitute of Astronomy (IOA),University of Cambridge. Its themewas Women in Astronomy, animportant subject that we willcontinue to highlight in the futurework of the Society. The business ofthe Annual General Meeting isreported elsewhere (above) so thisreport will concentrate on the SpringConference itself, and the rest of theproceedings.

Registration andrefreshments began at11am in thecomfortable andspacious foyer of theInstitute, wheredelegates were alsoable to peruse theexcellent commercialofferings of AuroraBooks andHemispherium (replica sundials andsuch) as well as information on theSHA’s Survey of Astronomical

History, the SHA Library Serviceand our publications TheAntiquarian Astronomer and this

AGM ReportGilbert Satterthwaite, SHA Chairman

The English Mechanic on DVDEric Hutton

SHA spring conferenceStuart Williams

On the behalf of the Society SHA Chairman GilbertSatterthwaite presents Dr David Dewhirst with a

fountain pen to mark his eightieth birthday


Newsletter. A showcased display ofbooks on the Conference theme wasprovided by IOA Librarian/SHAArchivist Mark Hurn.

At 11:30am, the programme properbegan in the Institute’s LectureTheatre, where an introduction andwarm welcome were given by SHAChairman Gilbert Satterthwaite andDr David Dewhirst of the IOA. Theoccasion was also an informalcelebration of Dr Dewhirst’seightieth birthday, which had takenplace six months previously.

At 11:50am, the first paper of theday, Women in Astronomy, was ablypresented by Madeline Cox.Madeline’s talk concentrated on pre-twentieth century women,highlighting some of the mostfamous females in astronomicalhistory, and asked how the Societycan increase knowledge in this area,as well as attracting more femalemembers. Caroline Herschel, MarySomerville, Elizabeth Hevelius,Agnes Mary Clerke and Hypatia ofAlexandria were of particular note,as well as several others, includingastronomers, writers, teachers and‘lady computers’.

It was made clear that while muchimportant work was done by earlyfemale astronomers both asassistants and in their own right, andby women in associated specialities,their tenacity and talents were oftensadly under-used and under-appreciated in their own day, withfew exceptions. The work ofMargaret Flamsteed in assisting herhusband John as the firstAstronomer Royal at Greenwich hasalso been rediscovered recently withthe finding of her notebooks.

Attention was also drawn to thework of astronomy writer MargaretBryan, whose A CompendiousSystem of Astronomy (Pub: J. Wallis,Wynn & Scholey, 1799) is now theoldest book in the SHA’s Library(see p16).

The United States of America wasahead of its time in offeringopportunities to women, includingthe first female professorship. Evenin the 1960’s, despite the ‘liberated’times, newspapers and TV had moreinterest in the femininity of femaleastronomers than in their scientificachievements (i.e. pulsar discovererJocelyn Bell was asked by reportersif she had a boyfriend).

However today women have manyopportunities in astronomy at everylevel, their skills being wellrecognised, and this is to beapplauded. The Society willcontinue to seek to ensure that theachievements of past femaleastronomers are properly recognisedand to seek more female members.

At 12:20pm,-Dr George Wilkinsspoke on the subject of The LockyerLadies. Sir Joseph Norman Lockyer,FRS (1836-1920) was an Englishscientist and astronomer, born atRugby.

A keen amateur astronomer with aparticular interest in the sun,Lockyer eventually became directorof the Solar Physics Observatory inSouth Kensington, London. Hemarried Winifred James in 1858,who went on to help him with hisobserving, notably in reporting ‘redflames’ on the sun. She alsoaccompanied him on solar eclipseexpeditions as well as translatingastronomical works, including in1866 The Heavens by French authorAmédée Guillemin.

In the 1860s Norman Lockyerbecame fascinated byelectromagnetic spectroscopy as ananalytical tool for determining thegas composition of heavenly bodies.He identified a previously unknownelement in the solar spectrum that henamed ‘helium’ after the Greek sungod. This discovery was eventuallyconfirmed in the 1890s.

To facilitate the transmission ofideas between scientific disciplinesLockyer established the generalscience journal Nature in 1869. Heremained its editor until shortlybefore his death. After his retirementin 1911, Lockyer established anobservatory near his home inSalcombe Regis, Devon. Originallyknown as the Hill Observatory, thesite was renamed the NormanLockyer Observatory after his death.For a time the observatory was apart of the University of Exeter, butis now owned by the East Devon

Attendees at the 2006 AGM and Spring Conference. The honorary attendee at the extreme right is Sir Fred Hoyle

Mary Somerville (1780-1872)


District Council, andrun by the NormanLockyer ObservatorySociety.

Winifred Lockyer (néeJames) died in 1879.Winifred LucasLockyer (1873-1934),the second daughter ofWinifred and NormanLockyer, was AssistantHon. Secretary andLibrarian of theNorman LockyerObservatory and hadvarious observations reported inletters to Nature.

Lady (Thomazine) Mary Lockyer(1852-1953) became NormanLockyer’s second wife in 1903. Shewas a ‘vacation student’ at the SolarPhysics Observatory in 1882, andparticipated in the 1905 eclipseexpedition. A skilled photographer,she performed this duty onexpeditions. Elected FRAS in 1923,she provided financial support forthe Norman Lockyer Observatoryand administrative support as itsAssistant Hon. Treasurer.

Sir Joseph Norman Lockyer died athis home in Salcombe Regis in1920. William James StewartLockyer (1868-1936) was the fifthson of Norman Lockyer. Hecontinued the family astronomicaltradition as Director of the NormanLockyer Observatory 1920-1936.

At 12:50pm the conference brokefor lunch, which included aneightieth Birthday buffet courtesy ofDr David Dewhirst. During thebreak Mark Hurn organised informaltours of the observatory.

The Conference reconvened at 2pmfor the AGM (see above), afterwhich refreshments were madeavailable in the foyer. Theafternoon’s lectures continued alittle later than planned with MrAnthony Kinder speaking on AnnieMaunder. Mr Kinder is the Directorof the Historical Section of the BAAand the Association’s Librarian. Hehas been researching the lives and

careers of two of the principalfounding members of the BAA,Edward Walter Maunder and hiswife Annie, for some time and hopesto publish a biographical paper inthe near future.

Edward Walter Maunder (1851-1928) is best remembered for hissolar studies, though he was also anesteemed biblical scholar. Afterstudying at King’s College Londonhe joined the Royal Observatory in1873 as a spectroscopic assistant.His job involved photographing andmeasuring sunspots. As part of thiswork he made a number ofimportant discoveries, including in1904 the famous ‘butterfly diagram’showing how the latitudes ofsunspots change during the solarcycle and the ‘Maunder Minimum’of 1645 to 1715 when few sunspotswere seen. He was also a Marsobserver and was sceptical about thecanals.

After 1891, he was ably and closelyassisted in his work by his secondwife, Annie Scott Dill Maunder néeRussell (1868-1947), amathematician educated at GirtonCollege in Cambridge. Born inStrabane, Co. Tyrone, Ireland (thenpart of Great Britain), she was oneof the ‘lady computers’ who wereworking at the Royal ObservatoryGreenwich from 1890 to 1895.

Although full degrees were notavailable to women studying atCambridge until after the 1920s,Annie Russell had nonetheless‘graduated’ as a ‘Senior Optime’

(one who has achieved asecond class in themathematical tripos,roughly equivalent to a2:1 degree) and laterbecame an assistantmathematics mistress atLeyton’s College,Jersey, before moving tothe Royal Observatory,where she experienced adrop in salary and waspaid £48 per annum.She was encouraged bythe Astronomer Royal,Sir William Christie, and

was appointed to do night observingbut went into solar observing. TheMaunders went on several eclipseexpeditions.

In 1890, Edward Maunder was adriving force in the foundation ofthe BAA. Although himself aFellow of the RAS since 1875, hewanted an association ofastronomers open to everyoneinterested in astronomy from everyclass of society and especially openfor women. Later on, his wifeAnnie, also a BAA member, wasone of the first women accepted bythe RAS in 1916. She served as theBAA’s Vice President 1896-99,1900-1903, and 1942-44 and onCouncil 1893-4 (as Russell), 1904-07, 1908-11, 1912-15, 1916-17, and1944-42.

Edward Maunder was the first editorof the Journal of the BAA, an officelater taken by his wife in 1894-96and 1917-30. His older brotherThomas Frid Maunder (1841-1935)was cofounder and for 38 yearssecretary of the Association.

Edward and Annie worked soclosely together that theircontributions are indivisible attimes, an example being their bookThe Heavens & Their Story (1909).But the only book Annie publishedexclusively in her own name is theCatalogue of Current Groups ofSunspots for the years 1874-1906.

Princess Arthur of Connaught cuts the first sod for the dome for theNorman Lockyer Observatory 30-inch telescope in 1914. Othersfrom left to right: Lady Mary Lockyer, Sir Norman Lockyer, Miss

Winifred Lockyer and Prince Arthur of Connaught


The final lecture was presented byDr Mary Brück on the subject ofAgnes Mary Clerke.

Now retired, Dr Brück was formerlya lecturer in the Department ofAstronomy, University ofEdinburgh. She is the author of therecent biography Agnes Mary Clerke& the Rise of Astrophysics (2002).

Agnes Mary Clerke (1842-1907)was an astronomer and writer,mainly in the field of astronomy.She was born at Skibbereen, CountyCork, Ireland, and died in London.Self-taught from books from anearly age, she never attendeduniversity but in later years shebecame a prolific writer andcommentator on astrophysics,spectroscopy and photometry aswell as many other subjectsincluding literature.

Her father, a local bank manager,had studied at Trinity CollegeDublin and was keen on science andmathematics, being an amateurastronomer and owning a portabletransit telescope. Agnes’ favouritesubjects were music andmathematics. She was alsointerested in astronomy from anearly age, and had begun to writeabout it before the age of fifteen.

In 1861 her family moved to Dublin,and in 1863 to Queenstown. In 1867Agnes went to Italy with her sisterEllen, where they stayed until 1877,chiefly in Florence, studying at thepublic library and preparing forliterary work. Ellen studiedRenaissance poetry and amongstother things Agnes studied Galileo.History of astronomy was to becomeanother of her special interests.

In 1877 she settled in London. Herfirst important article, Copernicus inItaly, was published in theEdinburgh Review in October of thatyear. Extensively published in thatmagazine, with 55 articles largelybut not exclusively on astrophysics,she went on to achieve a world-widereputation in 1885, on theappearance of her exhaustivetreatise, A Popular History of

Astronomy During the NineteenthCentury. This book was indeedpopular: the second edition sold outand it was also published inAmerica.

Clerke was not a practicalastronomer, instead collating,interpreting and summarising theresults of astronomical research.Nevertheless, fascinated by the ‘newastronomy’ including spectroscopy,in 1888 she spent three months atthe Cape Observatory as the guest ofthe director, Sir David Gill, and hiswife, and there became sufficientlyfamiliar with spectroscopic work tobe able to write about this newerbranch of the science with increasedclarity and confidence.

She corresponded widely withprominent astronomers whoappreciated her talents, and alsobecame a regular attendee of theRoyal Institution lectures, eventuallybeing invited into the circle of itsDirector Prof. James Dewar, whoasked her to write the history of hisexperiments with freezing gases.Eventually, she helped record therise of astrophysics, radioactivityand radio physics.

In 1892 Clerke was awarded theActonian Prize of 100 guineas bythe Royal Institution. As a memberof the BAA she attended itsmeetings regularly, as well as those

of the RAS. In 1903, with LadyHuggins, she was elected anhonorary member of the RAS, arank previously held only by twoother women, Caroline Herschel andMary Somerville.

Agnes Mary Clerke’s personalbooks and papers have never beenfound. The only letters surviving arein observatory correspondence. Ifher own papers could be found, itwould be a great discovery indeed.

Finally, at around 6pm, theconference was concluded by SHAChairman Gilbert Satterthwaite withthe presentation of a fountain pen toDr David Dewhirst as an eightiethbirthday gift from the Society.Members then cleared up and madetheir way home after a successfulmeeting. It only remains to thank theIOA for their hospitality, which ismuch appreciated.

Audio recording ofconference

Michael Oates kindly made an audiorecording of the conference. A CDof this recording will shortly beavailable for loan from the Society’sLending Library. Contact MadelineCox for further details.

Further reading

The Astronomical Society of thePacific maintains a Web page aboutfemale astronomers at:http://www.astrosociety.org/education/resources/womenast_bib.html

Agnes Clerke (1842-1907), fromLady Margaret Huggins’ Agnes

Mary Clerke and Ellen MaryClerke : an Appreciation, printed

for private circulation in 1907

Mike Oates making the audiorecording of the conference


On the wall of the Council Room ofthe Royal Astronomical Society inBurlington House, off Piccadilly,there hangs a portrait of one of theSociety’s founders, the ReverendWilliam Pearson (see p1). He isshown with his family (his first wifeFrances and daughter, also Frances).Beside the happy family sits one ofthe astronomical instruments thatPearson designed, an orrery, orclockwork model of the solarsystem.

William Pearson is not well knownnowadays, but in his day he was aleading member of the astronomicalcommunity. As well as being aninnovative designer of astronomicalequipment, and the writer of one ofthe most important astronomicaltextbooks of the nineteenth century,he carried out a decades-longprogramme of positional astronomy.The observatory from which hecarried out these observations was ina small Leicestershire village wherePearson was the incumbent minister,and the building that housed hisobservatory stands to this day and isnow a private house. This article isthe story of the Rector of SouthKilworth.

William Pearson was born inWhitbeck, Cumberland, on 23 April1767, into a family of yeomenfarmers. He went to school at thegrammar school in Hawkshead,Cumberland, where one of hisschoolmates was WilliamWordsworth, who was three yearsyounger than Pearson. Wordsworthlater wrote ‘His manners when hecame to Hawkshead were uncouthas well could be, but he had goodabilities, with skill to turn them toaccount: … I often used to smile atthe tales which reached me of thesuccess of this quondam clown, forsuch he was in manner andappearance before he was polished alittle by attrition with gentlemen’ssons trained at Hawkshead, roughand rude as many of our Juvenileswere.’

In 1790 Pearson began his adultcareer as an assistant schoolmasterat Hawkshead grammar. He did notinitially attend university (though hewas later awarded an honorarydoctorate by Glasgow University),probably because he would not havebeen able to support himself as astudent. By 1793 he was working inLincoln, as an under-master atLincoln Grammar, and shortly afteras a curate of St Martin’s, Lincoln.

Around this time he married FrancesLow, and their only child, alsocalled Frances, was born in 1797.

In 1796 he designed the first of theastronomical instruments that wereto make his reputation in the subject– an orrery, named for the fourthEarl of Orrery, who commissionedthe first such instrument fromGeorge Graham in 1708. Almostcertainly Pearson’s orrery was builtfor the purposes of giving publiclectures on astronomy, a frequentand profitable employment for menof science at the time. We know thatPearson gave such lectures inLincoln.

Over the succeeding years Pearsonconstructed a series of superblyaccurate models of planetary, lunarand satellite motion. He paidparticular attention to themechanisms required to produceaccurate motion. Ironically, giventhe long struggle to discreditepicyclic descriptions of planetarymotion, Pearson’s orreries employedepicyclic mechanisms. Pearsonpublished a series of articles on howto construct orreries, telluriums andsatellitiums. One orrery (or a copy)still exists in the Science Museum,London. Another instrument, built

The Rector of South KilworthMike Frost

The front view of the Revd William Pearson’s observatory, now converted to a house.This and subsequent photographs show the property as it was circa 1960 and are

reproduced courtesy of David and Sue Dilks

The sundial in situ on a wall of the RevdPearson’s observatory. It is now in store in

the Snibston Discovery Park, Leicester


by Fayrer of Pentonville toPearson’s design, is a satellitium,demonstrating the motion of theGalilean satellites of Jupiter; it isheld in the Museum of the Historyof Science in Oxford. Shortly beforethe 2005 SHA Picnic I was shownthe satellitium by Jim Bennett of theHistory of Science museum. It is anexquisite instrument, still in goodworking order.

In addition to his successes as apublic lecturer and instrumentmaker, Pearson’s career as aschoolmaster continued to flourish.In 1800 he became a partner in aboys preparatory school, Elm Housein Parson’s Green, near Fulham.Running a successful school provedto be a profitable enterprise. By1809 he had founded a largerestablishment, Temple GroveSchool, at Sheen Grove in EastSheen. It proved fashionable withthe aristocracy – Wellington’s sonsand Disraeli’s brother were educatedthere. Temple Grove Schoolcontinues to exist, although it hasnow moved to Uckfield, and claimsto be the oldest preparatory schoolin the country.

Nor should we forget Pearson’scareer within the church. From 1810to 1812 he was Rector of Perivale,near Fulham. In 1817 he was

appointed to Rector of SouthKilworth, Leicestershire, althoughhe continued to live in East Sheenuntil 1821. Absentee rectors werecommon at this time!

It was around this time that WilliamPearson became involved in themost momentous of his manyendeavours – the founding of anastronomical society. He firstmooted the idea in 1812, and thenagain in 1816. Both times there wasinterest, but nothing came of theidea. The idea of an astronomicalsociety was independently proposedby Francis Baily (after whomBaily’s Beads are named) in April1819, and then in December 1819Pearson tried a third time, writing toastronomers around the country. Ata meeting in the Freemason’sTavern, London, on 12 January1820, the Astronomical Society ofLondon was founded. The first fullmeeting was on 29 February 1820,and Pearson was elected Treasurer, apost he was to hold for seven years.The Society received a royal charterfrom William IV on 7 March 1831and from then on became the RoyalAstronomical Society.

In addition to the RAS, Pearsonbecame a Fellow of the RoyalSociety, was a visitor to the RoyalGreenwich Observatory for twenty

years, and was involved with thefoundation of the BritishAssociation for the Advancement ofScience.

It is perhaps surprising, therefore,that in 1821 William Pearson shouldmake his home in a quietLeicestershire village. He attendedalmost all the monthly meetings ofthe RAS, travelling by stagecoachfrom Rugby. Selling Temple GroveSchool, at a handsome profit,enabled him to retire to thecountryside and pursue his manyinterests. He also purchasedsubstantial holdings of land aroundthe country, including land aroundGrasmere and Rydal in the LakeDistrict. There is still a boathouse onGrasmere with a stone bearing theinitials ‘W.P’. William Wordsworthwas not keen on the boathouse – ‘atasteless thing in itself … utterly outof place and perfectly fitted … tomar the beauty and destroy thepastoral simplicity of the vale.’

Pearson had been interested inastronomy since at least his Lincolndays – in 1794 he had presented acopy of James Ferguson’s influentialAstronomy to his old school inHawkshead. His first observatorywas in East Sheen in 1812 (he wroteto Wordsworth about it in 1813), buthis work here seems to have beenmore concerned with buildingoptical instruments rather than usingthem, as very few observations arerecorded from here.

William Pearson’s first task onarrival at South Kilworth was tobuild a new wing for the Rectory,incorporating two instrument stands.These were used to house a transittelescope, and an altitude andazimuth circle. The altitude andazimuth circle had originally beenbuilt by Edward Troughton (at a costof 500 guineas, 10 years salary for acountry curate) for the ImperialObservatory in St Petersburg,Russia, but Napoleon’s invasion ofRussia had meant a cancellation ofthe order. The transit circle was builtfor Pearson by Jones in 1815. Bothinstruments were used to observedue south, through shutters in the

An orrery made to the Revd Pearson’s design. This instrument is now in the ScienceMuseum, London. Its provenance is not fully known, so it is impossible to saywhether it ever belonged to the Revd Pearson (inventory no. 1950-55; image

courtesy of the Science Museum)

acd

Textbox

Image removed because of licence or copyright restrictions.


walls. Due south was marked by ameridian mark on a wall, 400 yardsaway. Pearson determined thelatitude of his observatory and dulyinformed the Astronomer Royal thatthe published latitude for SouthKilworth was 4” in error, an errorthat was corrected in the nextOrdnance Survey.

Pearson built a second observatoryin the summer house in the Rectorygarden. This contained a moreflexible instrument, a 6.8 inch, ‘themost powerful refractor then inEngland’, crafted by Tulley from apiece of flint glass donated byGuinard to the Royal AstronomicalSociety. The other notable feature ofthe summer house observatory wasits roof, which rotated on rollers.This feature is now a common inobservatories, but was a novelty inits time. The roof was designed byJohn Smeaton, an engineer who ismore famous for his lighthousedesigns, including the lighthouse onthe Eddystone rock. Pearsoneventually offered the roof to theYork Observatory, although itprobably was not used.

Two observatories might have beenenough for most people, but not forWilliam Pearson, who decided thatsmoke from the village wasdegrading his observations. In 1834he built a new observatory, on landowned by the Church to the south ofthe village. To mark the meridian healso built a farmhouse due south ofthe new observatory! For thatmatter, he also built a new aisle forthe church, in 1840, although thiswas not a complete success and was

rebuilt in 1868 by his nephew’s son,Col. William Pearson.

From South Kilworth, WilliamPearson carried out an impressiveprogramme of observations over twodecades. He specialised in positionalastronomy – the precise andpainstaking determination of thepositions of astronomical objects.

The transit telescope wasused to make 1700observations of the Sun’saltitude at noon, from whichPearson determined theobliquity of the ecliptic (theangle at which the Earth’saxis is inclined to the planein which the Sun moves).Pearson also published acatalogue of the positions of520 stars that couldpotentially be occulted bythe Moon. For this

catalogue Pearson and an assistantfrom the village, Ambrose Clarke,observed each of the 520 starsbetween 5 and 20 times. The 6.8inch refractor was used to observeoccultations, the satellites of Jupiter,Mars, and Halley’s comet during its1835 apparition. Pearson publishedmany of his observations in theMonthly Notices and Memoirs of theRoyal Astronomical Society.

Additionally he published aninstructional book, PracticalAstronomy, quite early in his SouthKilworth days, and this wasprobably his most influentialpublication. The first volume,published in 1824, contained tablesof astronomical observations, alongwith detailed instructions on how toreduce the observations to deriveuseful data. The second volume,published in 1829, is a description ofastronomical instruments, manyowned by Pearson, with detailedinstructions on how to use them.These two volumes won Pearson theRAS’s gold medal for 1829.Practical Astronomy was still beingrecommended as a reference work atthe end of the nineteenth century.

By now, you will probably not besurprised to hear that WilliamPearson contributed fully to his

community. He was a Justice of thePeace, sitting in Lutterworth, and aFreemason of the Borough ofLeicester. He built a new villageschool and endowed it with sevenhundred pounds, giving anadditional two hundred pounds forthe ‘education of ten poor girlsannually’. He also bought a set ofcommunion plate (4 pieces of silver)and a new organ for the church.After his first wife died, heremarried, in 1831, to Eliza Sarah, awoman the same age as hisdaughter.

Pearson continued to live a full lifeuntil 1844 when, at the age of 77, hehad an accident. As he explained ina letter to George Airy, ‘Inconsequence of a fall from my horseonto hard ground the other day, Ihave been confined to my room andnotwithstanding the aid of 30leeches, I am unable to move frommy bedroom.’ Finally he began toslow down, putting his affairs intoorder. William Pearson died, inSouth Kilworth, on 6 September1847, and was buried in thechurchyard.

After Pearson’s death, hisinstruments were dispersed. Hisobservatory was converted to agranary, and then to a cowshed, andthen in 1960 to a private house. Asundial that used to be on the outsidewall of the house was removed in1959 to a Leicester museum(Snibston Discovery Park), where itis now in storage. The currentowners of the house are in theprocess of restoring the building,and I was invited by them to comeand take a look at The Observatory,South Kilworth.

The ground floor of the cottage is aliving room. There is a staircase (notpart of Pearson’s original design) upto the upper floor, which used tohouse the telescopes. The design ofthe house is octagonal, with siderooms on three sides (to which thecurrent owners are adding anextension). The upstairs windowsare full to the floor, and it is likelythat these were used for thetelescopes (the Troughton and Jones

The back view of the Revd Pearson’s observatory


instruments) to peer out of.Although Pearson used a roof onrollers in his summer house, theobservatory was used for transitobservations and so the roof hadnorth and south facing shutters.

I am not the only astronomer to visitthe observatory. In 1999,unannounced, Dr Allan Chapman,Peter Hingley, the RAS librarian,and Francoise Launay of theObservatoire de Paris, came to visit.They were in the area and felt thatthe Revd Pearson deserved a visit!Like my eminent predecessors, Itook the opportunity to visit SouthKilworth Church. Pearson’s grave isnot in good repair, and it is difficultto make out the inscription. Insidethe church is a plaquecommemorating their illustriousRector (below).

There are several unansweredquestions about Revd Pearson,which I would dearly like to answer.I would very much like to trackdown Pearson’s telescopes. MartinLunn confirms that one of histelescopes was donated to the YorkPhilosophical Society. We hadsuspicions that another of histelescopes was eventually donated tothe Museum of Science inCambridge, howevercorrespondence does not bear thisout. Most intriguing of all is acomment in the South Kilworthparish magazine that a workingorrery has been constructed, toPearson’s design, by a Rugbywatchmaker. As I live in Rugby Iwould be very interested to meet thisman!

Acknowledgements

I am very grateful toDavid and Sue Dilksfor showing me roundThe Observatory andSouth KilworthChurch, one sunnysummer afternoon, andfor lending me copiousinformation about

Revd William Pearson.

I am also grateful to Martin Lunnwho provided information aboutPearson’s donations to the YorkshireMuseum; to Peter Hingley, forcorrespondence on Pearson’s RASconnections; to James Hyslop whoanswered my enquiries to theWhipple Museum of the History ofScience in Cambridge; and to JimBennett of the Museum of theHistory of Science in Oxford, whoshowed me the Fayrer satellitiumheld in store there.

Sources and further reading

S.J. Gurman and S.R. Harratt, 1994,Q. J. R. Astron. Soc, 35, pp271-292.

J.F.W. Herschel, 1848, Mon. Not. R.Astron. Soc, 9, pp69-74 (fragment ofthe Report to the Twenty-eighthAnnual General Meeting).

D.A.L. Harrison, ‘The Life andTimes of a former Rector’ (in 3parts), South Kilworth ParishMagazine.

Histories of South Kilworth Schooland South Kilworth Church.

The Space Imaging team, who operate the IKONOScommercial Earth Observation satellite, have beenbusy again. Following on from their gallery of ancientobservatories (Newsletter, no 8, September 2005, p12)they have now released an image of the Nazca linesobtained by the satellite. The Nazca lines are a seriesof straight lines, geometric designs and stylisedpictures of animals and plants drawn in the PampaColorado (Red Plain) region of the Peruvian desert.They were made by the Nazca people, who lived alongthe streams that flow from the Andes between 200 BCand AD 600.

The method used to construct the lines isstraightforward. The surface of the Pampa Coloradoconsists of stones oxidised to a red colour (hence thename). The Nazca simply pushed aside the surfacelayer to reveal the lighter material underneath. Theplain has little wind and less rain, so there has beenminimal erosion and the lines have endured. Theremarkable feature of the lines is their size. Thestraight lines run for miles and the figures can only be

TO THE MEMORY OF THEREVD WM PEARSON, L.L.D. F.R.S.RECTOR OF SOUTH KILWORTH

WHO DEPARTED THIS LIFEON THE 6th SEPTEMBER 1847

IN THE 81st YEAR OF HIS AGE.

UNIVERSALLY BELOVED AND REGRETTED

Nazca lines from spaceClive Davenhall

Space Imaging’s IKONOS satellite took this image of theNazca lines on 15 January 2001. It shows two figures andseveral lines. Near the top a spiral nestles at the foot of the

mountains. Slightly below the centre is a spider with its pincerspointing to the left. (Image copyright Space Imaging)


The purpose of the lines remainssomething of a mystery, though areligious or ritual explanation seemsthe most likely. The German-bornarchaeologist Maria Reiche (1903-1998) spent most of her life studyingthe lines. She thought that many ofthe straight lines had astronomicalalignments (which might have beenused in an agricultural calendar) andthat the pictures might showconstellations. However, there are somany lines that it is not obvious that

the alignments are more thanchance. Less happily, the lines havefeatured in fantasies about ‘ancientastronauts’ as runways and landingmarkers for flying saucers. Thisbizarre idea was popularised byErich von Däniken, but was actuallyconcocted by James Moseley andalso written about by Louis Pauwelsand Jacques Bergier. Recent rathermore rational explanations suggestthat the straight lines might bemarkers pointing to springs andothers sources of water, a scarce andprecious resource as the climatebecame progressively drier duringthe Nazca period. (Eventually there

became too little water to supportagriculture and the Nazca migratedelsewhere.)

For the IKONOS image see URLhttp://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/Newsroom/NewImages/images.php3?img_id=17033 and more generallyfor the Nazca lines see, for example,http://skepdic.com/nazca.html. Seealso Helaine Silverman and DonaldProulx, The Nasca (2002,Blackwell: Oxford) and HelaineSilverman, Ancient NascaSettlement and Society (2002, Univ.Iowa Press).

Khoda Bux identified

In 1871 a letter appears in TheEnglish Mechanic (issue 325, 16June), written under the mysteriousnom de plume of ‘Khoda Bux,’ whoclaims to be the great-grandson ofthe Revd John Michell (seeNewsletter no. 8, September 2005,p16). He also claims that it wasMichell who first got the then

obscure German musician WilliamHerschel interested in astronomy.The letter has long been known, buthas been dismissed by most modernwriters.

Khoda Bux was a regularcorrespondent of The EnglishMechanic, with letters, for example,describing the various structures thathe had built in concrete, some ofwhich are now grade II listedbuildings. Through informationcontained in these letters I am nowable to confirm that Khoda Bux wasindeed who he says he was. His realname was Andrew Thomas Turton

Peterson (1814-1906), the son ofAnna Peterson née Turton, who wasthe daughter of John Michell’sdaughter Mary.

I am preparing a paper for TheAntiquarian Astronomer describingthis discovery in greater detail. Ihope to include the full text ofKhoda Bux’s letter, which has notpreviously appeared in full in anastronomical journal, and variousother background details.

Eric Hutton,Waltham Abbey, Essex.

The Society has received an e-mailfrom Dr Irakli Simonia who islooking to create and publish acatalogue of historical lunar datathat has missed being publishedelsewhere.

Dr Simonia, from Tbilisi in theRepublic of Georgia, has recognisedthat a good deal of historical lunardata are kept in museums,observatory's archives, libraries,private collections etc. where theyare generally difficult to find.Being valuable material bothhistorically and for contemporarylunar research, Dr Simonia intendsto create and publish a catalogue of

such collections, which wouldcontain brief descriptions about thecollections and examples of graphiclunar data such as drawings, mapsand photographs. The catalogue willonly contain descriptions of dataobtained before 1906.

If you have old paper drawings,photographs, photographic plates,lunar maps, collections or otherexamples of lunar material, DrSimonia would like to hear from youwith a view to participating in theproject. A brief description of thematerial is required, preferably lessthan 400 words, containing date andplace of observations; instruments;

name of observer; name of dataowner (with title etc.); quantity ofplates, drawings etc, with sizes andcondition; contact address and otherappropriate information. Allinformation must be unpublishedalthough details from rare books ormanuscripts will also be welcome.

Dr Irakli Simonia’s address is: IrakliSimonia, Vazha-Pshavela av. 14-4,Tbilisi 0160, Republic of Georgiaand he can be contacted by e-mail [email protected] MicrosoftWord and PDF files are acceptable.Any thoughts about the project ingeneral would also be appreciated.

seen in their entirety from the air.They must have taken hundreds o fyears to construct.

Catalogue of collections of lunar dataDavid Rayner


BooksNEW ASTRONOMY BOOKSAT DISCOUNTED PRICES

ANDSECONDHAND ASTRONOMY BOOKS

Martin Lunn MBE6 Evelyn Crescent

CliftonYork

YO3O 6DRTEL/FAX 01904 337989

www.aurora-books-uk.co.ukE-mail: [email protected]

This article is the second in a seriesof occasional reviews of some of ourprized possessions in the SHALending Library and our referencecollection in the Sir Robert BallLibrary.

Margaret Bryan, A CompendiousSystem of Astronomy in a course offamiliar lectures… First publishedprivately in 1797; second editionpublished by J. Wallis, London in1799.

Little is known of Margaret Bryan(b. c. 1760, fl. c. 1797-1815), theauthor of this work and of Lectureson Natural Philosophy (London,1806), except that she ran twosuccessful schools for girls, teachingthe sciences at high levels. The bookis dedicated to her pupils atBlackheath, in south east London.The frontispiece tells us only thatshe was handsome and had at leasttwo daughters. The subscription listfor the Compendious System is longand full of aristocratic names,indicating that whatever else shewas, Bryan was well-connected. Outof 400 subscribers, 127 werewomen, but how many of themactually read and understood thework, we can only guess:subscribing to a publication wasvery much a status symbol at thetime. However, as it ran to a secondedition, the book must have hadsome success. It had been reviewedand promoted by the mathematicianDr Charles Hutton, who praised thework very highly.

The book is divided into ten lecturescovering all aspects of astronomy,including optics and the eye, thecelestial sphere, the solar system,parallax, gravity, orreries, time andtides, motion and Newton’s laws,and the stars.

It is always fascinating to read oldbooks to discover the state ofknowledge at the time. Uranus isstill called Herschel or GeorgiumSidus, for example, and the planets

(and comets) are alldeemed to be inhabitedas they have atmospheresand obey the same lawsas Earth. Also, Godwould not have madeanything withoutpurpose, so Saturn haslots of moons to giveextra light to inhabitantswhen the Sun has gonedown. Quite a sensibleargument really!

Some facts are unknown; forexample the rotation periods ofMercury, Saturn and Venus. Thenature of comets is still in dispute.Magnetism is considered to emanatefrom ‘a subtle fluid’ and Jupiter’sspot appears every fourteen years.Sunspots may account for novae,and the aurora (borealis,presumably) is a meteor. As onewould expect for a book of the lateeighteenth century, there is little onthe nature of the stars, though thereis a mention of Herschel’s work onbinaries. The book is well written,detailed and accurate for its time.

Although there are worked examplesof trigonometry, the author statesthat women are not capable ofhigher mathematics. For that reason,she explains, she willnot go into detailedexplanation ofephemerides tables, asthey are toocomplicated toounderstand, though sherecognises theirimportance toastronomers.

One of the book’s mainattractions are theexplanatory drawingsand diagrams,beautifully executed bythe author herself. Shewas obviously atalented draughtsmanas well as a giftedscience teacher. A

liberal sprinkling of poems byMilton and Pope is also included.The work is littered with digressionson the glory of God, the use ofreason to uncover His work inNature, and the moral edification ofstudy. This is very much in keepingwith the ethos of the times, thoughwe would find it rathersanctimonious today.

This book is the oldest belonging tothe SHA and was donated by DrJohn Lester, to whom we areextremely grateful. It is kept in theSir Robert Ball Library at the BMIin Birmingham and may beconsulted by members for referenceonly. It has a fine, original bindingand is a most handsome book. If anymember knows more about it, or theauthor, I would be very pleased tohear from them.

Treasures of the SHA LibraryMadeline Cox

The SHA’s copy of Margaret Bryan’s A CompendiousSystem of Astronomy published in 1799, kindly

donated by Dr John Lester. The frontispiece showsMrs Bryan and her daughters


Burl, Aubrey, PrehistoricAstronomy and Ritual, SecondEdition. Paperback, ShireArchaeology, Princes Risborough,2005, ISBN 0747806144, £5.99,pp72.

Shire Publications are a series ofbooks which, I am sure, many SHAmembers with a local historybackground will be familiar with.Many of their books deal withchurches, collectables, countrysidetraditions, transport, village historyand the like. They even have aspecial series devoted toarchaeology, of which this book is amember.

The author, Aubrey Burl, has alsowritten a number of books on thesubject of stone circles and is wellqualified to write this entry-levelbook on the subject ofarchaeoastronomy. First publishedin 1983, this new edition has anupdated text and new colourillustrations. The colour photographsof ancient monuments such as stonecircles and tombs make for anattractive book.

Initially archaeologists weresceptical of the astronomers’ andother laymen’s claims forastronomical alignments at ancientsites. But, over time the evidence foralignments, particularly to the risingand settings of the sun and moon,has become more generallyaccepted. The pioneering work of

Alexander Thom and Clive Ruggleshas led to the acceptance ofarchaeoastronomy as a respectablefield of academic enquiry.

Rather than taking crude alignmentsdirect from site plans, modernarchaeoastronomers take intoaccount the latitude of the site, localtopography, clusters of similar sites,folklore, changes and damage to thesite, colouring of stones, grading ofstones (by size), and cup and othermarks on the stones. All thesefactors have to be taken into accountas evidence for an astronomicalalignment. Particularly asalignments to other monuments orhorizon features may actually havebeen the intention of the builders.

The prehistoric sites considered areall in Britain, Ireland and Brittanyand date in the period 4000 to 1250BC. The types of site covered arechambered and passage tombs, stonecircles and other standing stones.The book takes some of the bestpreserved sites which demonstrateastronomical alignments. Clusters ofsimilar sites can be studiedstatistically, for example, recumbentstones in north-east Scotland doshow common astronomicalalignments (mainly to the south-west). Shared alignments mayindicate peoples with a commonculture and belief system.

Evidence is strongest for solaralignments to the summer solsticesunrise or the winter solstice sunset.There is also some evidence forlunar alignments. It seems likely thebuilders made a connection betweenthe sun and life. It was important tothem that burial cairns had a solaralignment and possibly the bones ofancestors were exposed to the sun inorder to give them new life. Forexample, Newgrange in Ireland (apassage tomb of 3200 BC) is alignedon the mid winter sunrise and has anarrow aperture above its doorwayallowing the rays of the sun topenetrate along the passage at thatspecial time.

In conclusion, this book provides awell-illustrated and reasonablypriced introduction to thearchaeoastronomy of prehistoricBritain and Ireland. The picturesalone are enough to encourage oneto take up the compass andmeasuring tape!

Mark Hurn

Fernie, Donald, Setting Sail for theUniverse: Astronomers and theirDiscoveries. Hardback, RutgersUniversity Press, 2002, ISBN0813530881, £18.50, pp192.

I recently came across this gem of abook in my local public library, notusually noted for its coverage ofastronomical history. It is acollection of twenty-eight essaysfrom the author’s Marginaliacolumns in American Scientistmagazine. Donald Fernie is thefounder of the astronomydepartment at the University of CapeTown and the author of TheWhisper and the Vision: the Voyagesof the Astronomers.

The articles bring to life theadventures, struggles and folliesbehind some of the best-knownstories in the history of astronomy:the discovery of Neptune, the searchfor the planet Vulcan, the lives ofEdmond Halley and Jeremiah

Book reviews


Horrocks; and some lesser knownones as well: Thomas Edison and hischickens (about the 1878 totaleclipse of the sun), and the story ofDaniel Kirkwood (called ‘theAmerican Kepler’ by Fernie). Fivearticles chronicle transit of Venusexpeditions in the eighteenthcentury, and three pieces the settingup of the Harvard southernobservatory at Arequipa in Peru. Iparticularly enjoyed the Harvardpiece as it is the subject of one ofmy own talks, and it was gratifyingto see I had covered all the sourcesthat the author had consulted.

All the pieces are written in anengaging, chatty but intelligentstyle, with the emphasis on thehuman interest side of the story. Oneis reminded yet again howastronomical knowledge issometimes gained only bycourageous men (and sometimeswomen) undertaking dangerous anddifficult expeditions to remote partsof the world. These pioneerscertainly command our respect andour thanks.

None of the material is originalresearch but the author knows hissubjects well, and has written a veryenjoyable romp around the historyof astronomy. Highly recommended.

Madeline Cox

Glass, I.S, Revolutionaries of theCosmos: the Astro-physicists.Hardback, Oxford University Press,2005, ISBN 0198570996, £35,pp336.

Ian Glass, of the South AfricanAstronomical Observatory, haswritten a collection of biographies ofeight well-known figures in thehistory of astronomy. They are:Galileo, Isaac Newton, WilliamHerschel, William Huggins, GeorgeEllery-Hale, Arthur Eddington,Harlow Shapley and Edwin Hubble.

The author has chosen these eight asthey were all responsible fordramatic changes to the world-pictures they inherited and showedthat terrestrial and celestial objectsobey the same physical andchemical laws.

Glass lists some of the outstandingqualities most of them possessed:excellent practical and mathematicalskills, a heightened degree ofphysical intuition, a penchant forhard work and innovation, and asearch for immortality through theirachievements; Herschel was theonly one known for his modesty.

Some readers might raise theireyebrows at the use of the term‘astro-physicists’ to describe pre-nineteenth century astronomers.(The term ‘astrophysics’ was coinedby Huggins and his contemporariesto emphasise the spectroscopicrevolution of the time.) Glassexplains his choice of the word toemphasise the fact that all theseastronomers used ideas drawn fromphysics; physical astronomy in otherwords.

The life of each subjectis presented in detail,with their achievements(and failures) includedin the well-flowingnarrative. There areample quotations fromtheir own writing andfrom theircontemporaries.Characters are fullydrawn, and theinformation is up-to-date and obtained froma wide variety ofsources. MichaelHoskin’s recent books

on the Herschels are included, forexample.

There are excellent, up-to-datereferences at the end of eachchapter, a very inclusive index, andmany black and white drawings andphotos. My only dislike was theunattractive typeface but that is aminor quibble.

The book was obviously written forthe international market: we are toldthat Eton is a ‘famous schoolattended by many upper-class boys’.Spellings also vary between Britishand American ones, for example,‘center’ and ‘centre’, which can beslightly irritating.

The wealth of detail would makethis a good read for those whoalready have some knowledge of thesubjects, as well those looking for agood introduction to the history ofastronomy. Highly recommended.

This book may be borrowed bymembers from the Sir Patrick MooreLibrary.

Madeline Cox


This column lists some recentlypublished books which might be ofinterest. Listing here does notpreclude a review at a later date.Please note prices may varyaccording to suppliers.

Bartusiak, M, Archives of theUniverse: 100 Discoveries thatTransformed our Understanding ofthe Cosmos. Vintage Books, 2006,paperback, ISBN 0375713689,$(US)18.95.

Dunbavin, P, Under Ancient Skies:Ancient Astronomy and TerrestrialCatastrophism. Third Millennium,2005, hardback, ISBN 0952502925,£19.99.

Hetherington, N.S, PlanetaryMotions: a Historical Perspective(Greenwood Guides to Great Ideasin Science). Greenwood Press, 2006,hardback, ISBN 031333241X,£36.99.

Lockyer, J. Norman, The Dawn ofAstronomy: a Study of the Temple-Worship and Mythology of theAncient Egyptians. KessingerPublishing Co, 1997 (originallypublished 1894), paperback, ISBN1564591123, $(US)36.95.

Maché, U, The Stranger Behind theCopernican Revolution. HudsonBooks, 2005, paperback, ISBN0976778963, $(US)12.50.

Robinson, J. and Robinson, M,Stargazer of Hardwick: ThomasWilliam Webb. Gracewing, 2006,paperback, ISBN 0852446667,£14.99.

Solway, A, Quantum Leaps to BigBangs: a History of Astronomy(Stargazer’s Guides).Heinemann, 2006, hardback, ISBN0431181918, £12.50 (age 9-11).

Sullivan, W.T, The Early Years ofRadio Astronomy: Reflections FiftyYears After Jansky’s Discovery.Cambridge Univ. Press, paperback,ISBN 0521616026, $(US)60.00.

Contrary to what might be imagined,the cartoon (right) does not show aNewsletter editor zealouslysearching for items to include in thenext issue. Rather it illustrates theOld Book News service which mightbe of interest to some members. Thisservice supplies useful information

about buying and selling old, rareand out-of-print books in the UKand on book collecting services andsoftware. The Web site is at URLhttp://www.oldbooknews.comwhere, in addition to various usefullinks, it is possible to sign-up for anirregular email newsletter.

Commander AntonyFanning RN, MBE, DSC,FRIN, FRAS

It is with deep regret that we reportthe death of SHA founder-memberCommander Antony Fanning on 29December 2005 at the age of 87.Commander Fanning had adistinguished record as a specialistnavigator in the Royal Navy duringand after World War II. Followingretirement from the Navy he becamea considerable scholar, makingsignificant contributions to the studyof navigation and astronomy.

Antony Fanning was born on 15November 1918 at Blyth inNorthumberland. His father was anofficer in the submarine service.However, the family soon emigratedto South Africa. In 1932 Fanningpassed the entrance examination forthe Royal Naval College Dartmouth.He went to sea in 1936, first in thetraining cruiser Frobisher and thenin the battleships Royal Sovereignand Revenge.

In 1938 he passed his Sub-Lieutenant’s courses and wasappointed to the escort vesselMilford on the Africa Station atSimonstown.

Following the outbreak of war hewas involved in convoy duty,minesweeping and antisubmarinepatrols. In November 1940 theMilford took part in the Free Frenchattack on Libreville. During thisaction she was attacked by theVichy French submarine Poncelet.Fanning was the Anti-SubmarineControl officer in charge of thesonar and his efficient and promptaction detected the submarine andhelped bring her to the surface withdepth charges. He then acted asGunnery Control Officer and underhis direction the Poncelet wasseverely damaged by gunfire. She

Books noticedMadeline Cox and Clive Davenhall

Old Book NewsClive Davenhall

Obituaries


was subsequently scuttled by hercrew, who were rescued.

In 1941 Fanning qualified as aspecialist navigator. His firstappointment in this role was with amine-laying flotilla operating out ofDover, taking part in mine-layinginterspersed with the occasionalcommando raid. From 1942 he spentmost of the rest of the war indestroyers, mostly escortingconvoys. During this period he wasinvolved in the infamous ‘ChannelDash’. In March 1941 the battle-cruisers Scharnhorst and Gneisenauand the heavy cruiser Prinz Eugenslipped their berths in Brest andheaded up the Channel, avoidingdetection for over twelve hours. Theonly ships available for interceptionwere the destroyer flotilla of whichFanning was the leading NavigatingOfficer. The only interceptioncourse lay through a British mine-barrier. By chance, Fanning knew,from a minesweeper friend, of achannel through the barrier that hadjust been swept and he was able tolead the flotilla through it. Thedestroyers closed to within a near-suicidal two miles before launchinga torpedo attack, but the enemyturned away at speed and no hitswere made. Fanning was awarded aDSC for his part in this action.

Subsequently Fanning took part inthe Sicily and Salerno landings andwas heavily involved in the planningfor the Normandy invasion, forwhich he was awarded nineteenmonths seniority as a Lieutenant.For the actual D-day landings hewas navigator of the L2 groupcomprising sixty ships and landingcraft coming from the East Coast.Every landing craft in his chargereached Gold Beach safely. Havingbeached his own ship successfullyhe took his dog for a walk along thebeach whilst waiting for the tide toturn.

From August 1944 he served indestroyer escorts to four Arcticconvoys and finally in the Far East.After the war his flotilla wasreluctantly involved in the Dutchattempts to reassert their rule in

Indonesia. On returning to the UKFanning had several stints as aninstructor in Dryad, interspersedwith spells at sea, notably asnavigation officer in the carrierIllustrious. On his fortieth birthdayhe retired from the Navy, havingbeen appointed MBE for his work inthe Dryad.

In 1958 he became a lecturer at theLondon Planetarium. Unfortunatelyafter two years the lecturers forpublic shows were replaced withtape recordings read by BBC staff.However, Fanning continued as avisiting lecturer for thirty-six years,until the original Zeiss projector wasreplaced with a Digistar device in1994. He developed a series ofpresentations which demonstratedastro-navigation to QualifyingNavigators of the Navy, RAF,Military Surveyors and which werealso used for yachtsmen’s courses.In total over 25,000 studentsattended these lectures.

Fanning was recalled to theAdmiralty Compass Observatory(ACO) at Slough in 1960, becomingDeputy Director in 1962. The ACOwas amalgamated with theAdmiralty Surface WeaponsEstablishment (ASWE) in 1971 andFanning became the Senior NavalOfficer and ApplicationCommander. He retired on 17November 1978 as an HonoraryCommander.

During his time at the ACO Fanninghad considerable responsibilities inthe Polaris programme, matching theAmerican missiles to Britishhardware. During this period he alsoarranged the transfer of theAdmiralty Collection of HistoricCompasses to the National MaritimeMuseum at Greenwich. This transferwas completed when the ACOclosed. The catalogue of thecollection which Fanning preparedwas a distinguished piece ofscholarship. He also helped in therefurbishment of the magneticcompasses in the RSS Discovery(1970s), the ironclad HMS Warrior(1987) and the destroyer HMSCavalier.

He was an accomplished author. Hisfirst book was Astronomy Explained(1963; see p21), which sold well inthe US and was republished there asPlanets, Stars and Galaxies (1966).He wrote the definitive history ofthe ACO, Steady as She Goes (1986)and contributed a lengthymonograph on the Navy’s ActionInformation Organisation (AIO) toVolume 1 of Radar in the RoyalNavy (1995). Finally, he contributedan article on ‘Astronavigation since1984’ to The History of AirNavigation (2005). This article hadbeen his contribution to thecentenary celebration of theGreenwich Meridian.

Fanning was a Fellow of the RASand the BIS, and a member of theBAA. He was also a Fellow of theRoyal Institute of Navigation (RIN)and served it as an officer. In 1999he was awarded the RIN’s GoldMedal. He was a stalwart of theWilliam Herschel Society and heldoffice in it. Finally, he became avalued founder-member of the SHA.Fanning was a keen traveller, oftenmaking trips to view eclipses andtransits, and had a number of otherinterests.

Antony Fanning married in 1945following the cessation of hostilities.His wife, Mary, predeceased him in1991. They had a son and threedaughters who survive him. He willbe remembered as much for his

Commander Antony Fanning(1918-2005)


kindness and generosity as hisconsiderable achievements, and hewill be greatly missed by all whoknew him.

John Beattie and Clive Davenhall

Stanisław Lem

Stanisław Lem, the celebratedscience fiction writer, died on 27March 2006 aged 84. He used theconventions of the genre to avoidcensorship by the communistauthorities in his native Poland.Much of Lem’s work was concernedwith philosophical themes,particularly the implications ofcybernetics and the finalunknowability of alien intelligences.The critic Darko Suvin hasdescribed it as a ‘rediscovery ofscience fiction as a form of literarycognition.’

The unknowability of alienintelligences was central to Lem’sbest known work, Solaris, written in1961 and translated into English in1970. It featured a psychologisttrapped in a space-station orbiting aplanet inhabited by an apparentlyintelligent, but completelyincomprehensible, planet-circlingocean. The crew are visited byfigures which the ocean hasmaterialised from their ownmemories. The legendary Russiandirector Andrei Tarkovsky made afilm version in 1972 which wasfamously long and impenetrable. It

was remade in 2002 by StevenSoderbergh in a version that wascertainly shorter and perhapsmarginally less impenetrable.

Early in his career Lem studiedthe history and philosophy ofscience. This interest is obviousin his descriptions of the scienceof ‘Solaristics,’ the study of theplanet Solaris and its encirclingocean, which show a deep insightinto the subject whilst remainingwry and amusing. These digressionsare almost entirely absent from thefilms and, indeed, are probablyunfilmable.

Some of Lem’s other books, such asEden, The Invincible and HisMaster’s Voice, also explored theunknowability of alien intelligences.Others, such as The Cyberiad, TheStar Diaries and The FuturologicalCongress were much lighter in tone,delighting in neologisms, puns andother wordplay. He also wrote anumber of philosophical andmainstream works, including thenotable philosophical essay SummaTechnologiae. Not all his workshave been translated, but they areavailable in over forty languages andhave sold over twenty-seven millioncopies. The sympathetic Englishtranslations by Michael Kandelcapture much of the tone of theoriginal Polish.

Lem was born on 12 September1921 in Lwów then in Poland, laterin the Soviet Union and now in theUkraine. His father was a wealthy

doctor of Jewish extraction. Lemalso studied medicine, but hiseducation was interrupted by WorldWar II. During the war he worked asa mechanic and was active in theresistance, surreptitiously sabotagingthe German vehicles he wasostensibly repairing. After the warhe resumed his studies at theJagiellonian University, but he nevergraduated, in part due to adisagreement with the authoritiesover the erroneous theories of theRussian biologist Trofim Lysenko,which were imposed throughout theSoviet Block to disastrous effect.

Lem began writing as a student andcontinued for the rest of his life. Hereceived numerous literary awardsand came to be regarded as one ofthe most distinctive and perceptivevoices in European literature.

Stanisław Lem died on 27 March2006 as a result of heart disease. Heis survived by his wife, Barbara, andtheir son.

Clive Davenhall

There have been no purchases forthe Library since the last Newsletter,but we have received the followingdonations, for which we areextremely grateful:

Donated by Ken Goward: Fanning,A.E, Astronomy Explained, 1963.

Donated by CliveDavenhall: AdmiraltyNavigation Manual,volumes 2 and 3, 1938;Sobel, D, Letters toFather: Suor MariaCeleste to Galileo (1623-1633), 2001; MacLachlan,J, Galileo Galilei: FirstPhysicist, 1997 andMoore, P, Voyage to Mars:a Novel, 2003.

Library newsMadeline Cox and Stuart Williams

Ken Goward recently had the good fortune toacquire a copy of an early edition Commander A.E.Fanning’s Astronomy Explained (1963; see p19),

which he has kindly donated to the Society’sLibrary. He is shown here handing it over to

Madeline Cox during the recent Spring Conference

Stanisław Lem (1921-2006)

Donated by Madeline Cox:Somerville, Mary, Queen ofScience: Personal Recollections ofMary Somerville, 2001.


Donated by Peter Hingley: MayallR.N. and Mayall M.L, Sundials:How to Know, Use and Make Them,1938; RAS General index toMonthly Notices 1911-1931; RASGeneral index to Monthly Notices1932-1950, etc. and Bedini, S.A andMaddison, F.R, MechanicalUniverse: the Astrarium of Giovannide Dondi, 1966.

The latest additions to the Library’sjournal collections are an incompletesequence of Sky & Telescopemagazines from mid 1970 – 2003(from the estate of the late JohnDarius via Kevin Johnson) and ahandful of journals of the WebbSociety, mid 1970’s, late 1980’s(donor Peter Grego, who has alsodonated several books, as yetunlisted, some of which have beentransferred to the Sir Patrick MooreLending Library).

Library catalogues

New library catalogues were issuedat the AGM and Spring Conferenceon 20 May, and it is hoped to havethese on-line for download in thenear future, once a new Web site hasbeen set up. There are now separatecatalogues for: the Sir Patrick MooreLending Library, the Sir Robert BallReference Library, the JournalsCollection and the Stuart WilliamsCollection.

Sir Robert Ball Library

The SHA’s Survey of AstronomicalHistory now has its own shelves inthe Library, under the administrationof Roger Jones, and use of aWindows PC. Supplementing this,SHA member Eric Hutton hasgenerously continued to donatereference copies of his searchableDVD’s of the English Mechanic

newspaper, an extremely valuableresource for Survey work. AnApple computer has been suppliedto the Library on indefinite loan byStuart Williams, making it possibleto consult these DVD’s on thepremises.

Library usage

The SHA has a rich librarycollection for a relatively youngsociety, but these resources are notbeing used to their full, which isdisappointing. The Sir Robert BallLibrary, for example, continues toattract only small numbers ofvisitors, with thirty or so over thepast year, so opening hours will bereviewed again for 2007. We canonly continue to encourage you, themembers, to make good use of theservices which have been set up foryour benefit.

In all cases you should checkavailability before visiting and bringyour SHA membership card foridentification.

SHA Sir Robert Ball Library

For the remainder of 2006 the SirRobert Ball Library will be open onselected Saturdays only, as listedbelow. On these days the openinghours will be 10:30 am – 12:00noon, 1:00 pm – 3:30 pm (closed forlunch noon – 1:00 pm). Please notethat the Library will not be open onMondays during 2006.

22 July, 19 August, 30 September,28 October, 25 November*, 9December.

* – On 25 November the Librarywill close at 12:00 noon because inthe afternoon it will be used for anSHA Council meeting.

The Library is located at theBirmingham & Midland Institute, 9,Margaret Street, Birmingham, B33BS. BMI Web site:www.bmi.org.uk. You are strongly

advised to check that the Library isopen before visiting to avoiddisappointment. Contact StuartWilliams, telephone 07906 103735during opening hours only. Anyenquiries, please write with SAE to:SHA, 26, Matlock Road, Bloxwich,Walsall, West Midlands, WS3 3QDor by email to: [email protected]

RAS Library

The RAS Library is open duringoffice hours, 10:00 am – 5:00 pm,Monday to Friday. In addition it willbe open on the first Saturday ofevery month, 9:30 – 5:30. It willalso stay open until 6:00 pm on thenights of BAA London Wednesdaymeetings and, if the BAA arrangesany London Saturday meetings, itwill attempt to cover those as well.Therefore the planned Saturdayopenings until the end of 2006 willbe:

5 August, 2 September, 7 October, 4November, 2 December.

It is essential to contact theLibrarian in advance if any rare orolder book material, archives, andespecially older journals, arerequired during these extendedopenings as some of these itemsmay be in another building which isnot accessible on Saturdays. Thefront door of the RAS premises islocked on Saturdays, so visitorsmust ring the bell and wait to be letin. Unfortunately, it is difficult tohear the bell from the Librarian’soffice. Please ring his mobiletelephone (below) in case ofdifficulty. Finally, please note thatthe continuation of the extendedopenings for 2006 is an experimentintended to benefit amateurastronomers and historians, such asSHA members, and will only becontinued if sufficient readers usethe Library on these days to make itworth while; so use it or lose it!

Contact Peter Hingley (020-7734 -4582, ext. 215; mobile: 07757133891 or [email protected]).

On-line catalogue: http://ras.heritage4.com

Library opening hours


ROE Library

The ROE Library is usually openduring office hours, Monday toFriday. Contact Karen Moran (0131-

668-8395 or [email protected]).

On-line catalogue:http://www.roe.ac.uk/roe/library/index.html and follow the links:

‘Search the Main Library Catalogue’and ‘ROE Catalogue’.

As previously advised (Newsletterfor March 2006, no. 10, p22) theRAS Library will be closed from theautumn of this year whilst theBurlington House premises arerefurbished. The plans for this workare becoming more definite. TheLibrary and Archive collections will

probably be in storage from the endof October this year at the latest forup to eighteen months. I will attemptto retain some kind of access toitems from the collection on a ‘byappointment’ basis, but this willnecessarily be quite restricted. Istrongly recommend that readers try

to access what they are likely toneed from the Library before it goesinto storage, including borrowingbooks they would like to haveavailable. See the March Newsletterfor a brief background to therefurbishment.

The following is a list of forthcoming meetings andevents to be held during the remainder of 2006. Unlessnoted otherwise booking is necessary for meetings butnot for exhibitions. Except where noted the events areorganised by the SHA. The details of non-SHA eventsare checked as far as possible but cannot be guaranteed.Items for inclusion in this list in future issues of theNewsletter are welcome. They should be sent to theeditorial address given on the back page.

Thr. 8 Jun. to Sun. 7 Jan. 2007. At the Edge of Space,Parts 1-3. Exhibition of photographs by DanHoldsworth; part of the New Visions programme at theNational Maritime Museum, Greenwich. Comprises 3series of photographs: At the Edge of Space (the ESAlaunch site in French Guyana), The Gregorian (theArecibo radio telescope) and Hyperborea (the auroraborealis seen from Iceland and Norway). 10:00 am to5:00 pm, Mon. to Sun. Admission free. Seehttp:www.nmm.ac.uk/newvisions (non-SHA event).

Fri. 7 Jul. to Sun. 10 Sep. Starry Messenger: Visions ofthe Universe. An exhibition of depictions of the cosmosthrough the ages. Exhibits range from a copy ofGalileo’s Siderius Nuncius (1610) through WilliamBlake and the Surrealists to modern SF artists andcontemporary astronomical images. Compton VerneyArt Gallery, Warwickshire. 10:00 am to 5:00 pm, Tue. toSun. (closed Mon). Admission £6.00. Seehttp://www.comptonverney.org.uk/?page=exhibitions(non-SHA event).

Mon. 14 to Sat. 25 Aug. IAU General Assembly XXVI.To be held in Prague. IAU Commission 41 (History ofAstronomy) will be organising sessions as part of thismeeting. See http://www.astronomy2006.com/ (non-SHA event).

Sat. 7 Oct. SHA Autumn Conference: Instruments andImaging. To be held at the BMI. Any appropriate topicfrom earliest times to the present day may be included.Initial offers of papers from members, including a shortabstract and suggested length (twenty, thirty or sixtyminutes including question time) as well as audio-visualrequirements, are welcome by post only, with SAE to theSecretary, Stuart Williams, 26, Matlock Road, Bloxwich,WS3 3QD.

Details of additional forthcoming internationalconferences are included in Wolfgang Dick’s ElectronicNewsletter for the History of Astronomy. An archive isavailable at URL: http://www.astro.uni-bonn.de/~pbrosche/aa/enha/.

SHA summer event 2007

Next summer will be the fifth anniversary of thefounding of the SHA at Wadham College, Oxford. Inorder to celebrate this occasion the usual summer picnicwill be replaced by a very special event at WadhamCollege on Saturday 4 August 2007. Like the founding,the day will start with luncheon in the Great Hall andwill be followed by a series of talks on the founding ofthe: Royal Society, British Association for theAdvancement of Science, Royal Astronomical Society,British Astronomical Association, Junior AstronomicalSociety and, of course, the SHA. There will also be timeto reflect on the future of the SHA. More details will becirculated in due course. In the meantime the programmeis still being developed. Offers of talks are welcome andshould be sent to Ken Goward (contact details overleaf).

RAS Library closurePeter Hingley

Forthcoming meetings and eventsClive Davenhall


The Society for the History of Astronomy extends a verywarm welcome to the following members who haverecently joined the Society:

Mr Anthony W. Cross of Manchester,Ms Eva M. Hans of St Andrews, Fife,Mr Julien R. King of Braintree, Essex,Mrs Caroline Marten of London, W11,Canon Jon Reynolds of Cheddington, Bedfordshire.

On Saturday 8 July the Society’s annual Summer Picnicwas held, by kind invitation of Sir Patrick Moore, at hishome and observatory, ‘Farthings’, Selsey, West Sussex.The event was a great success and enjoyed by all whoattended. A report and pictures will appear in the nextissue of the Newsletter. The Society is extremely gratefulto Sir Patrick for his hospitality.

Guidelines for submitting articles and letters to theNewsletter were included in a previous issue (No. 7, June2005) and are available from the Society’s Web site.

Articles, letters and Newsletter inquiries should be sentto Clive Davenhall. For electronic contributions the e-mail address is: [email protected]. For papercontributions see the box opposite.

Guidelines for submittingarticles and letters to theNewsletter

New members

Stop press

The deadline for the next edition of the Newsletter isFriday 18th August 2006.

Council and Officers

Hon President:Dr Allan Chapman

Hon Vice Presidents:Dr Michael HoskinSir Patrick Moore CBE FRS

Chairman:Gilbert Satterthwaite FRAS([email protected])

Secretary:Stuart Williams FRAS26 Matlock Road, Bloxwich, Walsall, WS3 3QD([email protected])

Treasurer:Kenneth J. Goward, FRAS,14 Keightley Way, Tuddenham St Martin,Ipswich, Suffolk, IP6 9BJ([email protected])

Council MembersWilliam Barton ([email protected])

Madeline Cox ([email protected])

Peter Hingley ([email protected])

Mark Hurn ([email protected])

Roger Jones ([email protected])

Kevin Kilburn ([email protected])

Martin Lunn MBE ([email protected])

Dr Reginald Withey ([email protected])

Editor, The Antiquarian AstronomerDr W R WitheyEditor, The Antiquarian Astronomer16 Lennox CloseGosport PO12 2UJ([email protected])

Assistant Editor, The Antiquarian AstronomerKevin Johnson ([email protected])

Newsletter correspondence to:Clive Davenhall,30, Millar Crescent,Morningside,Edinburgh, EH10 5HH([email protected])

LibrarianMadeline Cox ([email protected])

ArchivistMark Hurn ([email protected])

Web Site ManagerVacant

General communications to the Society should bedirected to the Secretary in the first instance.

SHA Website:http://www.shastro.org.uk

Documents

Issue 11 – July 2006 The Revd William Pearson and family · PDF fileon the Revd William Pearson, an ... extraordinary man. ... and provided the SHA with its fine logos. Sadly,