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Volume 1 Number 1 1998 June 1 Steven J Dick : Observation and interpretation of the Leonid meteors over the last millennium 21 Wayne Orchiston : Mission impossible: William Scott and the first Sydney Observatory directorship 45 Mary T Brück : Mary Ackworth Evershed née Orr (1867-1949), solar physicist and Dante scholar 61 Jay M Pasachoff : Williams College's Hopkins Observatory: the oldest exant observatory in the United States 79 Ruth S Freitag : Recent publications relating to the history of astronomy 89 Ivan Nikoloff : Essay Review: Victorian Telescope Makers, the lives and letters of Thomas and Howard Grubb (I S Glass) 92 Review: Astronomy before the Telescope edited by Christopher Walker Observation and interpretation of the Leonid meteors over the last millennium Steven J Dick
U.S. Naval Observatory Abstract With a possible 'storm' of Leonid meteors due in 1998 or 1999 November,
interest in the Leonids is once again at a peak. The history of
the Leonids is of particular importance, not only because they
are closely associated with the origins of meteor science, but
also because historical observations extending back a millennium
are a substantial aid in increasing our knowledge of the Leonid
meteor stream. Leonid history is thus a prime example of applied
historical astronomy. In this review paper, we recount the origins
of meteor science with the Leonids, the discovery of the historical
observations and their scientific and cultural interpretations,
and the application of this information to characterize the meteor
stream and to predict the strength of the 1998-1999 event. These
predictions are now of more than passing interest, as meteor storms
pose a potential threat to spacecraft. ooo0ooo Mission impossible: William Scott and the first Sydney Observatory directorship Wayne Orchiston Carter Observatory (The National Observatory of New Zealand), Abstract The Reverend William Scott (1825-1917) was the founding Director of the Sydney
Observatory, and succeeded in acquiring state-of-the art astronomical instruments,
establishing a network of country meteorological stations, and conducting a
range of astronomical observations. He also worked to promote popular interest
in astronomy, and immersed himself in the scientific culture of New South Wales.
This paper examines Scott's achievements in astronomy and meteorology, the
reasons for his premature resignation in 1862, and the search for his successor.
Mary Ackworth Evershed née Orr (1867-1949), solar physicist and Dante scholar Mary T Brück Craigower, Penicuik EH26 9LA, Scotland Abstract Mrs Mary Evershed is principally remembered in astronomical circles as the
wife and collaborator of John Evershed, Director of the Kodaikanal Observatory
in India in the early part of the twentieth century. Her own independent work
on the astronomy of the poet Dante, written under her maiden name M A Orr,
remains better known today among Dante scholars than among astronomers. This
paper outlines her life and records her contributions to solar observations,
to the history of astronomy, and to Dante studies.
Williams College's Hopkins Observatory: the oldest extant observatory in the United States Jay M Pasachoff Director, Williams College-Hopkins Observatory, Abstract The Hopkins Observatory, built at Williams College in 1836-8, is the oldest astronomical observatory extant in the United States. Founded by Professor Albert Hopkins and built together with his students, it still contains the oldest known Alvan Clark telescope. Some of its historic instruments are mounted in its wings, known as the Mehlin Museum of Astronomy, and its central internal domed-ceiling room is the Milham Planetarium. Key words : history, observatories, Williams College, Alvan Clark ooo0ooo
Volume 1 Number 2 1998 December CONTENTS 93 John W Briggs & Donald E Osterbrock: The challenges and frustrations of a veteran astronomical optician: Robert Lundin, 1880-1962 105 Hans J Haubold: UN/ESA workshops on basic space science: an initiative in the worldwide development of astronomy 123 David W Hughes: The historical investigation of cometary brightness 135 Ruth S Freitag: Recent publications relating to the history of astronomy 155 Patrick Moore: Lieutenant-Commander H Derek Howse 1919-1998 156 Reviews: Yerkes Observatory, 1892-1950, The Birth, Near Death, and Resurrection of a Scientific Research Institution by Donald E Osterbrock (Raymond Haynes); Instrument Makers to the World. A History of Cooke, Troughton & Simms by A McConnell (Wayne Orchiston); Vultus Uraniae by Laura Peperoni and Marina Zuccoli and Ex libris stellarum by Remo Palmirani and Marina Zuccoli (John Perdrix); Nautical astronomy in New Zealand, the voyages of James Cook by Wayne Orchiston (John Perdrix) ooo0ooo The challenges and frustrations of a veteran astronomical optician: Robert Lundin, 1880-1962 John W Briggs Yerkes Observatory, University of Chicago Donald E Osterbrock Lick Observatory Abstract Robert Lundin, apprenticed in nineteenth
century optical craftsmanship but employed in twenty century fabrication
and engineering, suffered many frustrations during a nonetheless productive
career. Son of Carl A R Lundin, a senior optician at the famous American
firm of Alvan Clark & Sons, Robert grew up building
telescopes. As a teenager, he assisted with projects including the 1-m [40-inch]
objective for Yerkes Observatory. After his father's death in 1915, he became
manager of the Clark Corporation and was responsible for many smaller, successful
refractors and reflectors. Lundin also completed major projects, including
a highly praised 50.8-cm achromat for Van Vleck Observatory, as well as a successful
33-cm astrograph used at Lowell to discover Pluto. In 1929, a dispute with
the owners of the Clark Corporation led to Lundin's resignation and his creation
of a new business, "C. A. Robert Lundin and Associates." This short-lived firm
built several observatory refractors, including a 26.7 cm for E W Rice, the
retired chairman of General Electric. But none was entirely successful, and
the Great Depression finished off the company. In 1933, Lundin took a job as
head of Warner & Swasey's new optical shop, only to experience
his greatest disasters. The 2.08-m [82-inch] reflector for McDonald
Observatory was delayed for years until astronomers uncovered an
error in Lundin's procedure for testing the primary mirror. A 38.1-cm
photographic lens for the Naval Observatory was a complete failure.
Under pressure to complete a 61-cm Schmidt camera, Lundin seems to
have attempted to deceive visiting astronomers. After retirement
in the mid 1940s, Lundin moved to Austin, Texas, the home of his
daughter, where he died. His difficulties should not obscure his
success with many instruments that continue to serve as important
research and education tools.
UN/ESA workshops on basic space science: an initiative in the world-wide development of astronomy Hans J Haubold Office for Outer Space Affairs, United Nations, Abstract In 1990, the United Nations in cooperation with the European Space Agency initiated
the organization of a series of annual Workshops on Basic Space Science for
the benefit of astronomers and space scientists in Asia and the Pacific, Latin
America and the Caribbean, Africa, Western Asia, and Europe. This article summarizes
accomplishments of seven of these Workshops and their follow-up projects with
a view to enhance the world-wide development of astronomy and space science.
The Workshops are being considered unique and a model for such an endeavour.
The historical investigation of cometary brightness David W Hughes Department of Physics & Astronomy, Abstract The interpretation of the way in which the brightness of a comet varied as
a function of both its heliocentric and geocentric distance was essentially
started by Isaac Newton in his book Philosophiae Naturalis Principia Mathematica,
published in 1687. Astronomers have argued about the form of this variability
ever since, and for many years it was regarded as an important clue as to the
physical nature of the cometary nucleus and its decay process. This paper reviews
our understanding of the causes of cometary brightness variability between
about 1680 and the 1950s.
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