Society for the History of Astronomy

Last updated
Society for the History of Astronomy
AbbreviationSHA
Formation2002 (22 years ago)
Legal status Society
PurposeTo promote and encourage the study of the history of astronomy.
Location
  • United Kingdom
Official language
English
Chair
Carolyn Kennett
Main organ
Antiquarian Astronomer
Affiliations Royal Astronomical Society Birmingham and Midland Institute.
Website Society for the History of Astronomy

The Society for the History of Astronomy is an organisation based in the United Kingdom that promotes research into the history of astronomy. It publishes a research journal called The Antiquarian Astronomer and a regular Bulletin. [1]

Contents

The society

The Society for the History of Astronomy was founded in 2002 to promote the study of the history of astronomy by hosting talks by members and publishing new research into the field. One main objective was to encourage research into past astronomers who have previously been neglected within the history of science. Some of its members are professional historians of science but most are amateur historians. [1] [2]

The honorary president is Dr Allan Chapman of Wadham College, Oxford. The honorary vice-presidents are Emily Winterburn (who was chair at the time of foundation) and Prof. Mike Edmunds. Previous vice-presidents have included Sir Patrick Moore, Sir Arnold Wolfendale, FRS, and Dr Michael Hoskin.

The society hosts several one-day conferences at venues across the United Kingdom each year. A Bulletin is published twice yearly containing articles and news items about astronomical history. The Bulletin includes short reports of original research by members. [1]

The society maintains a library of publications of importance to the history of the science. The reference section is named for Sir Robert Ball and the lending section is named for Sir Patrick Moore. The library is located at the Birmingham and Midland Institute in central Birmingham. [3] The archives of the society are preserved at the library of the Institute of Astronomy, Cambridge.

Survey of Astronomical History

One of the society's major activities is organising a Survey of Astronomical History in the form of lists of historical astronomers and observatories in each of the old counties of Britain and Ireland. This has been motivated by a desire to promote research into local astronomical activities that have previously been neglected. [4]

The Antiquarian Astronomer

The society publishes annually a refereed journal called The Antiquarian Astronomer containing new research into the history of astronomy, particularly articles written by members. Published papers have discussed activities in major observatories, scientific research by individuals of particular note, scientific instrument makers, and the activities of prominent amateur astronomers. [5] [6] [7]

The first issue appeared in 2004. Back issues are available through the SAO/NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS). [8] Its current editor is Ian Ridpath.

Society for the History of Astronomy Bulletin

The society publishes an bi-annual Bulletin containing news relating to the study of the history of astronomy and the organisation's activities. The Bulletin also includes short research articles and notes by members. It was previously called News (editions 1–4, 2002–2004) and Newsletter (editions 5–17, 2004–2008). Articles are indexed in the SAO/NASA Astrophysics Data System but scans are not currently available. [9] Digital versions are available online. [10]

Chairs

Emily Winterburn MSc2002–2004 [11]
Gilbert Satterthwaite FRAS 2004–2010 [11]
Madeline Cox FRAS 2011–2015 [12]
Bob Bower FRAS 2015–2018 [13]
Gerard Gilligan2018-2023 [14]
Carolyn Kennett2023-date

Picnics

One feature of this society is an annual summer picnic. Past picnics have been held at:-

5 July 2003 Wadham College, Oxford

3 July 2004 Woolsthorpe Manor

6 August 2005 Wadham College, Oxford

8 July 2006 ‘Farthings’, Selsey

16 June 2007 Pendrell Hall, Staffordshire

2 August 2008 Marlborough College, Wiltshire

4 July 2009 Hanwell Community Observatory

17 July 2010 Stonyhurst College

16 July 2011 Orwell Park, Suffolk

9 June 2012 Carr House, Much Hoole

29 June 2013 Mill Hill Observatory

12 July 2014 National Maritime Museum, Greenwich

4 July 2015 Woolsthorpe Manor

2 July 2016 Hanwell Community Observatory

1 July 2017 Liverpool City Centre

30 June 2018 Seething Observatory, Norwich

29 June 2019 Norman Lockyer Observatory, Sidmouth, Devon

2020 and 2021 no picnic held

25 June 2022 19 New King Street, Bath (to coincide with the bi-centenary of the death of William Herschel)

1 July 2023 Jeremiah Horrocks Observatory, Moor Park, Preston

21 June 2024 Rugby School

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Astronomy</span> Scientific study of celestial objects

Astronomy is a natural science that studies celestial objects and the phenomena that occur in the cosmos. It uses mathematics, physics, and chemistry in order to explain their origin and their overall evolution. Objects of interest include planets, moons, stars, nebulae, galaxies, meteoroids, asteroids, and comets. Relevant phenomena include supernova explosions, gamma ray bursts, quasars, blazars, pulsars, and cosmic microwave background radiation. More generally, astronomy studies everything that originates beyond Earth's atmosphere. Cosmology is a branch of astronomy that studies the universe as a whole.

The SAO/NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS) is a digital library portal for reasearchers on astronomy and physics, operated for NASA by the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory. ADS maintains three bibliographic collections containing over 20 million records, including all arXiv e-prints. Abstracts and full-text of major astronomy and physics publications are indexed and searchable through the portal.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Astronomical Society of the Pacific</span> American scientific and educational organization

The Astronomical Society of the Pacific (ASP) is an American scientific and educational organization, founded in San Francisco on February 7, 1889, immediately following the solar eclipse of January 1, 1889. Its name derives from its origins on the Pacific Coast, but today it has members all over the country and the world. It has the legal status of a nonprofit organization.

Sir Harold Spencer Jones KBE FRS FRSE PRAS was an English astronomer. He became renowned as an authority on positional astronomy and served as the tenth Astronomer Royal for 23 years. Although born "Jones", his surname became "Spencer Jones".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jean Focas</span> Greek-French astronomer (1909–1969)

Jean-Henri Focas was a Greek-French astronomer, painter, designer, illustrator, astrophysicists, photographer, and celestial cartographer who spoke five languages. He performed visual studies of planetary surfaces from the National Observatory of Athens, Pic du Midi, and Meudon Great Refractor. Jean is responsible for creating the most highly visual map of Mars ever created by a visual observer of the planet. He developed special photographic equipment to photograph celestial phenomena. In 1961, he published Étude Photométrique et Polarimétrique des Phénomènes Saisonniers de la Planéte Mar which became a classic on the subject of polarimetric investigation of Mars. A crater on the Moon and a crater on Mars were named after him because of his contribution to the field.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Arnold Wolfendale</span> British physicist

Sir Arnold Whittaker Wolfendale FRS was a British astronomer who served as the fourteenth Astronomer Royal from 1991 to 1995. He was Professor of Physics at Durham University from 1965 until 1992 and served as president of the European Physical Society (1999–2001). He was President of the Royal Astronomical Society from 1981 to 1983.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Harvard–Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics</span> Astronomical observatory in Massachusetts, US

The Center for Astrophysics | Harvard & Smithsonian (CfA), previously known as the Harvard–Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, is an astrophysics research institute jointly operated by the Harvard College Observatory and Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory. Founded in 1973 and headquartered in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, the CfA leads a broad program of research in astronomy, astrophysics, Earth and space sciences, as well as science education. The CfA either leads or participates in the development and operations of more than fifteen ground- and space-based astronomical research observatories across the electromagnetic spectrum, including the forthcoming Giant Magellan Telescope (GMT) and the Chandra X-ray Observatory, one of NASA's Great Observatories.

The Jackson-Gwilt Medal is an award that has been issued by the Royal Astronomical Society (RAS) since 1897. The original criteria were for the invention, improvement, or development of astronomical instrumentation or techniques; for achievement in observational astronomy; or for achievement in research into the history of astronomy. In 2017, the history of astronomy category was removed for subsequent awards and was transferred to a new award, the Agnes Mary Clerke Medal.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">South African Astronomical Observatory</span> Observatory

South African Astronomical Observatory (SAAO) is the national centre for optical and infrared astronomy in South Africa. It was established in 1972. The observatory is run by the National Research Foundation of South Africa. The facility's function is to conduct research in astronomy and astrophysics. The primary telescopes are located in Sutherland, which is 370 kilometres (230 mi) from Observatory, Cape Town, where the headquarters is located.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Konkoly Observatory</span> Observatory

Konkoly Observatory is an astronomical observatory located in Budapest, Hungary is part of the Research Centre for Astronomy and Earth Sciences and belongs to the HUN-REN Magyar Kutatási Hálózat. Konkoly Observatory was founded in 1871 by Hungarian astronomer Miklós Konkoly-Thege (1842–1916) as a private observatory, and was donated to the state in 1899. Konkoly Observatory, officially known as HUN-REN CSFK Konkoly Thege Miklós Csillagászati Intézet in Hungarian, is the largest astronomical research institute in Hungary, and hosts the largest telescopes in the country. The Observatory has more than 60 researchers, a quarter of them are non-Hungarian.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">National Observatory of Athens</span> Observatory

The National Observatory of Athens is a research institute in Athens, Greece. Founded in 1842, it is the oldest research foundation in Greece. The Observatory was the first scientific research institute built after Greece became independent in 1829, and one of the oldest research institutes in Southern Europe. It was built around the same period as the United States Naval Observatory.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hermann Brück</span> German-born astronomer

Hermann Alexander Brück CBE FRSE was a German-born astronomer, who spent the great portion of his career in various positions in Britain and Ireland.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Astronomy in Chile</span>

In 2011, Chile was home to 42% of the world's astronomical infrastructure, consisting principally of telescopes. In 2015, it was estimated that Chile would contain more than 50% of the global astronomical infrastructure by 2030. In the Atacama desert region of northern Chile, the skies are exceptionally clear and dry for more than 300 days of the year. These conditions have attracted the world's scientific community to develop highly ambitious astronomical projects in the Atacama desert.

<i>Astronomy & Astrophysics</i> Academic journal

Astronomy & Astrophysics (A&A) is a monthly peer-reviewed scientific journal covering theoretical, observational, and instrumental astronomy and astrophysics. It is operated by an editorial team under the supervision of a board of directors representing 27 sponsoring countries plus a representative of the European Southern Observatory. The journal is published by EDP Sciences and the current editors-in-chief are Thierry Forveille and João Alves.

Michael Andrew "Mike" Dopita was an Australian astronomer.

Robert Jonckheere was a French astronomer. He is known for his discovery of more than 3350 double stars. A. R. Jonckheere, psychologist and statistician at University College London, was his son.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Palermo Astronomical Observatory</span> Astronomical observatory in Palermo, Sicily, Italy

The Giuseppe S. Vaiana Astronomical Observatory is an astronomical observatory located in Palermo, Sicily, Italy, housed inside the Palazzo dei Normanni. It is one of the research facilities of the National Institute of Astrophysics. The observatory carries out research projects in the field of astronomy and astrophysics including the study of solar and stellar coronas, stellar evolution and of the supernova remnants.

Mary Teresa Brück was an Irish astronomer, astrophysicist and historian of science, whose career was spent at Dunsink Observatory in Dublin and the Royal Observatory Edinburgh in Scotland.

Carlos Jaschek was a German-born Argentine astrophysicist who spent time in the United States, lived in Switzerland, settled in France, became a French citizen and worked to make astronomical data accessible to all nations. As the second Director of a new center in Strasbourg, France, designed to be a computerized repository for data about the stars, he was part of its early team who were determined, clearsighted decision-makers when its resources were limited.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dara Norman</span> Astronomer

Dara J. Norman is an astronomer and the deputy director of the Community Science and Data Center at the National Science Foundation's National Optical-Infrared Astronomy Research Laboratory (NOIRLab) in Tucson, Arizona. She is also the Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy Diversity Advocate at NOAO. Her research centers on the influence of Active Galactic Nuclei (AGN) on the evolution of galaxies. In 2020, she was inducted into the inaugural cohort of American Astronomical Society Fellows in recognition of her leadership and achievements.

References

  1. 1 2 3 "About". Society for the History of Astronomy. 3 September 2012. Retrieved 3 July 2023.
  2. ↑ Orchiston, Wayne (2005), "Society for the History of Astronomy", Journal of Astronomical History and Heritage , 8 (2), Townsville: James Cook University: 133–134, Bibcode:2005JAHH....8..133O, doi:10.3724/SP.J.1440-2807.2005.02.08, ISSN   1440-2807
  3. ↑ "Library". Society for the History of Astronomy. 17 December 2012. Retrieved 3 July 2023.
  4. ↑ "Survey of Astronomical History". Society for the History of Astronomy. Retrieved 3 July 2023.
  5. ↑ "The Antiquarian Astronomer". Society for the History of Astronomy. 14 January 2013. Retrieved 3 July 2023.
  6. ↑ Satterthwaite, Gilbert E. (2004). "Foreword". The Antiquarian Astronomer. 1. Society for the History of Astronomy: 2. Retrieved 14 September 2015.
  7. ↑ Potter, Callum (2004). "Preface". The Antiquarian Astronomer. 1. Society for the History of Astronomy: 2. Retrieved 14 September 2015.
  8. ↑ "NASA/ADS". ui.adsabs.harvard.edu. Retrieved 2023-07-03.
  9. ↑ "Society for the History of Astronomy News". SAO/NASA Astrophysics Data System . Retrieved 14 September 2015.
  10. ↑ "Society for the History of Astronomy Bulletin Past Issues". Society for the History of Astronomy. 24 July 2016. Retrieved 3 July 2023.
  11. 1 2 Satterthwaite, Gilbert E. (2004). "Letter from the Chair". Society for the History of Astronomy Newsletter. 5 (5). Society for the History of Astronomy: 2. Bibcode:2004SHAN....5....2S.
  12. ↑ Johnson, Kevin (2012). "SHA Council & Officers". The Antiquarian Astronomer. 6. Society for the History of Astronomy: 107. Retrieved 12 February 2017.
  13. ↑ societyforthehistoryofastronomy (2018-11-07). "Autumn conference and AGM 2018". Society for the History of Astronomy. Retrieved 2019-04-06.
  14. ↑ societyforthehistoryofastronomy (2018-11-07). "Autumn conference and AGM 2018". Society for the History of Astronomy. Retrieved 2019-04-06.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.