On November 5th / 6th 1907 Mr A B Cobham and Mr G D Hirst using a 4.5 inch Thomas Cooke & Son telescope in Australia saw a dark spot on Saturn. This was afterwards ascertained to be Titan.
They also both commented that they caught glimpse of the edge of the ring at flashes, the impression indicating the extreme fineness and delicacy of the rings when seen edgewise.
York Herald Thursday 22nd March 1877
Important Astronomical Observations by means of a York telescope
Strange news has been recently received from an Australian observatory (Adelaide). It might be described as revolutionising our ideas respecting the largest of the planets, were it not that the careful study of much older observations had already led the more advanced students of astronomy to adopt the theory which has now been demonstrated by direct observation.
During the last eight or none years the belief has been gaining ground that the giant planets Jupiter and Saturn are in a state of intense heat and enwrapped in atmospheres of enormous depth and density. In fact it may be said that according to the new theory we never see the actual body of either Jupiter or Saturn, but only the outermost surfaces of the cloud layers; the real surfaces lying, not a few miles, or a few hundred miles but several thousand miles below the cloud surface measured by astronomers.
It has been shown that all the phenomena presented by the two gas giants planets correspond with this theory, whereas not one in ten can be explained by the older theory.
Fortunately in the case of Jupiter, we have evidence we have evidence from the Adelaide Observatory where a fine (8 inch) telescope by T Cooke & Sons of York has been erected, and where a singular purity of air greatly assists astronomical observation, two practised observers (Mr Todd and Mr Ringwood) on two different occasions, both observing on each occasion saw the nearest of Jupiter’s satellites through the outer layer of the planet’s cloud laden atmosphere, which must, therefore, of necessity, be at least 2,000 miles in depth.
In his book ‘Flowers in the Sky’ Richard Proctor makes
references to this observation by Mr Todd and Mr Ringwood.
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Nature, January 20th 1876
Atlas 27 Pleiadum
A very interesting observation was made at Strasburg on the
occasion of the occultation of this star – a Struve’s difficillima – on the 7th
of the present month. As we recently stated, this star does not appear to have
been seen double since the last Dorpat observation in 1830. On the 7th
inst., however Herr Hartwig observing at Strasburg with an excellent Fraunhofer
of 42 lines aperture power 159, remarked that the star did not disappear
instantaneously ; after the principal mass of light had vanished there remained
a luminous point for about six tenths of a second, a circumstance which favours
the duplicity of the object notwithstanding the failure of recent efforts to
divide it.
It brings to our attention Burg’s observation of the
occultation of Antares 1819 April 13, when at emersion the star appeared to
suddenly increase from one of the sixth or seventh magnitude to one of the
first, a phenomenon no doubt attributable to the existence of the small
companion on the parallel, preceding the principal star (*Natrure, vol
xii,p308).
The next occultation of the Atlas – Pleiadum on February 3 ,
will not be visible in this country, but may be well observed in the United
States. The American ephemeris gives the time of immersion for Washington; at
the observatory of Hamilton College, Clinton, NY so actively conducted by Prof.
Peters, the immersion takes place at 11h 13m, and emersion at 12h 4m.
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A Partial solar eclipse of Sun May 28th 1900 was observed using the G J Newbegin 9 inch Cooke telescope with a power of 75 by Mrs Newbegin and Rev T E R Phillips using the projection method. The image produced was 4.2 inches in diameter.
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In 1896 the Rev J H Jenkinson of St Mary’s Vicarage, Reading, Berkshire described a series of sunspot drawings he had made between February and August of that year. He used a 4.5 inch Thomas Cooke of York telescope.
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A constellation dating back to ancient times Lyra represents a stringed instrument invented by Hermes and given by his half-brother Apollo to Orpheus. Although a small constellation it is a very prominent one. Its brightest star Vega is the 5th brightest star in the sky, and it is one of the summer triangle stars, the others being Altair in Aquila and Deneb in Cygnus.
The Greek poet and philosopher Aratos called it the Little
Tortoise thus going back to the legendary origin of the instrument from the
empty covering of the creature cast upon the dried tendon stretched across it.
The constellation had been associated with a bird; this
might go back to ancient India where it was seen as an Eagle or Vulture. While
in Akkadia it was the great storm bird Urakhga, although this has also been
associated with Corvus.
To the early Britons it was Talyn Arthur, that hero’s harp,
while to the Anglo Saxons it was Hearpe which Fortunatus of the 6th
century, the poet bishop of Poitiers called the Barbarians Harp.
To the Arab astronomers it was Al Nasr al Waki, the swooping
Stone Eagle of the Desert. Al Sufi was the only Arab astronomer to associate it
with Al Iwasz or a Goose.
Alpha or Vega which means the ‘Falling Eagle’ or the Harp Star. In Babylonian astronomy it was regarded as Dilgan the Messenger of Light.
At one time Vega was the pole star and the Akkadians called
it Tir-anna or The Life of Heaven, while the Assyrians called it Dayan- Same, The
Judge of Heaven, as having the highest seat in heaven. In Egypt when Vega
occupied the Pole Star position it was Ma’at the Vulture Star.
In around the year
14,000 AD Vega will become the North Star due to the precession of the Earth.
Vega is a magnitude 0.0 (zero) star. It is relatively close
at only 25 light-years from the Sun; it is an A class star with a surface
temperature of 9,200’C.
Beta or Sheliak which means ‘Lyra’ is an ellipsoidal
variable discovered in York in September 1784 by the deaf astronomer John Goodricke, the stars are so close
together that they are egg shaped due to the gravity of the two stars pulling
at each other. To the naked eye Sheliak appears as one star. The two stars
orbit each other every 12.9 days and the magnitude changes from 3.4-4.3.
Sheliak is 960 light years away and is a B class giant star.
Gamma or Sulufat which means ‘Turtle’ is the
second-brightest star with an apparent visual magnitude of 3.3 it lies 620
light years away and is another B class giant star.
Epsilon is the famous the double double star, epsilon 1
shines with a magnitude of 4.7 while epsilon 2 in 4.7. They are around 162
light years away. Both stars can be seen with the naked eye under good
conditions while of course binoculars will easily show both stars. A small
telescope or binoculars will reveal that each star itself is a double star.
Epsilon 1 and 2 are both A class stars hotter than the Sun.
M57 or The Ring Nebula is probably the most famous planetary
nebula lying between beta and gamma. M 57 is magnitude 8.8 and needs either
very good binoculars or a telescope to see it and it lies around 2,300 light
years away. Messier discovered it in 1779.
There is a meteor shower the Lyrids which appear around
April 21-22 with around 15 per hour. It is associated with Comet Thatcher which was discovered in 1861.
The Lyrid meteor shower has the distinction of being among
the oldest of known meteor showers. Records of this shower go back for some
2,700 years. The ancient Chinese are said to have observed the Lyrid meteors
falling like rain in the year 687 B.C.
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Join me, Martin Lunn MBE every Monday evening from 7.00 pm-9.00 pm on the award-winning Astronomy Show on Drystone Radio, probably the only regular astronomy show on any radio station in the country.
I will take my weekly look at the night sky and look at all
the latest news in astronomy. There will be the astronomical anniversaries this
week plus the latest news from the astronomical societies in the north of
England.
The Astronomy Show every Monday evening only on Drystone Radio live online at www.drystoneradio.com DAB radio in Bradford and East Lancashire, or 102 and 103.5 FM and can also be heard later on the Drystone Radio Podcast.
