Table of Contents
Who was the first to develop a catalog for star clusters?
Hipparchus completed the first known catalog in 129 bce, giving the celestial longitudes and latitudes of about 850 stars. This work was enlarged and improved by Ptolemy, the Alexandrian astronomer and mathematician, in his Almagest (c.
Who is Sir Edmond Halley?
Edmond (or Edmund) Halley FRS (/ˈhæli/; 8 November [O.S. 29 October] 1656 – 25 January 1742 [O.S. 14 January 1742]) was an English astronomer, geophysicist, mathematician, meteorologist, and physicist. He was the second Astronomer Royal in Britain, succeeding John Flamsteed in 1720.
Who Named Pluto the planet?
Venetia Burney Phair
Venetia Burney Phair was an accountant and taught economics and math in England. But she will best be remembered for what she accomplished at age 11 – giving Pluto its name. In an interview with NASA in January 2006, Phair said she offered the name Pluto over breakfast with her mother and grandfather.
When was the last time Halley’s comet passed by Earth?
1986
Astronomers have now linked the comet’s appearances to observations dating back more than 2,000 years. Halley was last seen in Earth’s skies in 1986 and was met in space by an international fleet of spacecraft. It will return in 2061 on its regular 76-year journey around the Sun.
What is the biggest thing in the night sky?
The largest known star is probably VY Canis Majoris, a red M-type star that lies about 3,800 light-years from Earth in the constellation Canis Major, The Big Dog. Researchers estimate that VY Canis Majoris could be more than 2,100 times the size of the sun.
What was the name of the star John Flamsteed catalogued?
On 16 August 1680 Flamsteed catalogued a star, 3 Cassiopeiae, that later astronomers were unable to corroborate.
When did John Flamsteed leave school to become an astronomer?
Poor health forced Flamsteed to leave school in 1662. He studied astronomy on his own and later (1670–74) continued his education at the University of Cambridge. In 1677 he became a member of the Royal Society.
What did John Flamsteed do at the Royal Observatory?
John Flamsteed, the Astronomer Royal, had occasion to feel that he ruled it tyrannically. In his years at the Royal Observatory at Greenwich, Flamsteed, who was a difficult man in his own right, had collected an unrivalled body of data. Newton had received needed information…
What did John Flamsteed do for a living?
John Flamsteed. Ordained a clergyman in 1675, Flamsteed in 1684 received the income of the living of Burstow, Surrey. His report to the Royal Society on the need for a new observatory resulted in the founding (1675) of the Royal Greenwich Observatory, of which he was the first director (and hence astronomer royal).