A Cooke telescope in Angus

 John Robertson of Coupar Angus 1830-1920 owned a fine Thomas Cooke of York 3 inch refractor telescope. His interest in astronomy began in 1848 when he heard Dr Thomas Dick give a series of astronomical lectures.

He spent many hours observing the sky, including sunspot observations and comets and meteors. He was self educated and he had to fit all his observations of the sky around his work. He was employed by the Caledonian Railway.

He sent many articles to newspapers including the Scotsman and some of the Dundee Daily newspapers. Among the astronomers he correspond with were Sir W.H. M. Christie, Richard A Proctor, Sir Robert Ball and Ralph Copeland.

He was still using the 3 inch Cooke telescope as late as August 1917 to observe sunspots, with his advanced age his daughter had to help move and adjust the telescope.

                                                       www.theramblingastronomer.co.uk

Transit of Mercury seen from Liverpool with a Cooke telescope in 1868

George Williams using a 4.25 inch Cooke & Sons telescope observed the transit of Mercury on November 5^th 1868 from 2, Devonshire Road, Prince’s Park, Liverpool.

Williams observed no apparent elongation or pear shape, or black drop at the egress of the planet; but the boiling of the limb, which was considerable, may account for the absence of these appearances.

                                                         www.theramblingastronomer.co.uk

The Astronomy Show

 Join me, Martin Lunn MBE tonight and every Monday evening from 7.00 pm-9.00 pm on the Astronomy Show, 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 A-Z of Constellations 

The Astronomy Show every Monday evening only on Drystone Radio live on line 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.

Martian moons seen with a Cooke telescope in Sunderland in 1881

On December 22^nd 1881 John Watson of Sunderland (more accurately Seaham Harbour, which is about 5 miles south of Sunderland) reported seeing two small points of light near Mars using a Thomas Cooke & Sons 12inch refractor. The positions of the moons were determined by using the ephemeris of Mars is indicated where the two satellite should be.

I have little more information regarding either this 12 inch telescope or observations made by it. Although it is mentioned in G F Chambers Handbook of Descriptive and Practical Astronomy vol. 2 Oxford 1890 page 297.

Watson had an 8 inch Wray telescope mounted on a metal pillar supplied by Thomas Cooke which he offered for sale in 1880 presumably to make room for the 12 inch Cooke.

                                                         www.theramblingastronomer.co.uk

The full moon in April is the Egg Moon

 The Full Moon on April 23rd  is called the Egg Moon. This has nothing at all to do with Easter eggs but is due to the increasing amount of daylight which results in hens, ducks and geese laying more eggs.

                                                        www.theramblingastronomer.co.uk

Astronomer restaurant closes in Halifax

 William Herschel (1783-1822) would become famous for his discovery of the planet Uranus in 1781. He did however have a connection with Yorkshire albeit musical rather than astronomical.

In 1762 he obtained the post of director of public concerts at Leeds a post that he held for four years. He moved to Halifax in 1766 where he was the organist at St John the Baptist church now Halifax Minster. 

In Halifax in 2022 a new restaurant called The Astronomer was opened to celebrate the connection between Halifax and Herschel. Sadly in April 2024 the restaurant which was in the Piece Hall the oldest surviving Georgian cloth hall closed due to financial reasons.

                                                        www.theramblingastronomer.co.uk

Even a Cooke telescope cannot see through trees

 Mt T H Waller of York in 1865 using a 4.75 inch Cooke telescope was trying to observe the satellites of Jupiter when unfortunately the planet was obscured by some trees and he was unable to see the immersion of the second satellite or the transit of the third. Fortunately by the time that the fourth satellite was passing in front of Jupiter it had cleared the trees.

Mr Waller was also a very keen double star observer he would often the double star catalogue of Mr Brothers of Manchester and the Bedford Catalogue.

                                                         www.theramblingastronomer.co.uk

The Astronomy Show

 Join me, Martin Lunn MBE tonight and every Monday evening from 7.00 pm-9.00 pm on the Astronomy Show, 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 A-Z of Constellations.

The Astronomy Show every Monday evening only on Drystone Radio live on line 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.

Mr Tetley of Leeds, sunspots and a Cooke telescope

 In October 1930 Mr Tetley of Headingley, Leeds used his 4 inch Thomas Cooke & Sons telescope to observe the Sun. He took some photographs of the great sun spot group of October that year. In particular on October 10^th the photographs very clearly showed the changes which took place in the groups which crossed the central meridian

I am not sure if the telescope had a photo visual lens or not.

                                                         www.theramblingastronomer.co.uk

TIROS 1

 Weather is always a major talking point between people, it can be hot, cold, wet or dry.

We are also used to getting fantastic images beamed done from weather satellites orbiting the Earth showing just what the weather is going to be, this includes incredible pictures of hurricanes from space.

However all these modern satellites can trace their time lines back to TIROS 1 the very first weather satellite which was launched on April 1^st 1960. TIROS stands for Television Infrared Observation Satellites.

TIROS 1 was an experimental weather satellite built by NASA and would operate until June 1960 when an electoral fault occurred and the probe failed.

Although the pictures it sent back are poor by the standards of today it showed what could be done to help meteorologists predict the weather today.

                                                         www.theramblingastronomer.co.uk

Rev RJ Gould, Jupiter and his Cooke telescope

 The Rev RJ Gould (1802-1880) Windsor Lodge Taunton, Somerset purchased a 5 inch telescope from Thomas Cooke & Sons in 1864, complete with an iron pillar for an observatory.

Soon after he purchased the telescope he became vicar at Mortimer Vicarage, Reading where he would spend the rest of his life.

While using the 5 inch telescope and he was observing Jupiter on October 7^th1868 at 11h and 43 mins when he noticed an error in the Nautical Almanac on page 480.

It stated that the 3^rd satellite will be on the west side of its primary in company with the 2^nd and 4^th; The fact was that it was on the east side with satellite number 1. The places of 2 and 4 were right enough but number 3 was certainly not so.

Gould goes on to say that we have no right to expect even the Nautical almanac to be absolutely free from errors and misprints, but I should like to know whether others have observed this or whether it can be shown to have been a mistake on the part of myself.

During the following days several observers confirmed Gould’s observations that the satellite was in the wrong place.

Following his death in 1880 the Cooke 5 inch telescope together with an observatory was offered for sale. I don’t know if this was a Cooke observatory or a home made one.

                                                       www.theramblingastronomer.co.uk

The Date of Easter and Yorkshire

 Yorkshire has a claim as to why the date of Easter changes every year. It was decided at Whitby in the year 664.

The Christian feast of Easter commemorates the suffering of Christ and the death on the cross (Good Friday) and his resurrection three days later (Easter Sunday).

The Gospels tell us this happened during the Jewish festival of the Passover, the date of which is determined by the lunar calendar, or the monthly cycle of the Moon.

The early Christian church adopted this lunar calculations for the date of Easter. In the 4^th century, it was agreed that Christ’s resurrection on Easter Sunday must be celebrated on the first Sunday following the first full moon after the Spring Equinox.

This seems simple enough. However there was disagreement about just when the date of the Spring Equinox was, the days of the lunar month on which it was permissible for Easter Sunday to fall and even the hour of the day when Easter Sunday began.

In Yorkshire, in 664 King Oswiu of Northumbria decided to settle the matter once and for all. He called a meeting of leading churchmen and nobles at the monastery he had founded at Whitby. This event became known as the Synod of Whitby.

Following the meeting it was decided that the teachings of Rome should be followed as to how to calculate the date of Easter.

This means that Easter Sunday is the first Sunday following the full moon after the spring equinox. As the period of time it takes the Moon to orbit the Earth is roughly 29 days or one month, which is in fact a modern word and comes from the old word ‘moonth’.

Therefore the date of Easter Day or Easter Sunday can be as early as March 22^nd or as late as April 25^th. 

                                                         www.theramblingastronomer.co.uk

The Astronomy Show

 Join me, Martin Lunn MBE tonight and every Monday evening from 7.00 pm-9.00 pm on the Astronomy Show, 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 A-Z of Constellations

The Astronomy Show every Monday evening only on Drystone Radio live on line 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.

The Rev J Glover of Northants and his Cooke telescope

 In 1865 the Rev J H Glover of Kingethorpe, Northants brought a 4 inch educational style Thomas Cooke & Sons telescope with a finder. The tube was painted black. The telescope came with an equatorial mounting plus a sun prism and 4 eyepieces.

                                                          www.theramblingastronomer.co.uk

Thomas Cooke observatory dome for Southampton

 In addition to optical instruments Thomas Cooke & Sons also made observatories. In 1866 an observatory dome with an inside diameter of 9 feet was made for William Gillett of Harefield, Bittern near Southampton.

                                                        www.theramblingastronomer.co.uk

William Gibbs of Peckham and his Cooke telescope

 William B Gibbs of Peckham, London purchased in 1865 an educational 4 inch Thomas Cooke & Sons telescope. There were 4 eyepieces and a sun prism. In 1866 he further purchased an equatorial mounting for the 4 inch telescope.

William Gibbs was a good friend of James Buckingham who used the massive 21 inch refractor on Wandsworth Common in London.

In later years he purchased a 5.5 inch telescope, I don’t know if this was a Cooke telescope. He used it in a wooden observatory that he built until he was 87 years old.

                                                         www.theramblingastronomer.co.uk

The Moon close to Spica

 On the evenings of March 25^th and 26^th if you look low in the south east you will see the Moon pass close to the bright star Spica, the brightest star in the constellation of Virgo the Virgin.

                                                       www.theramblingastronomer.co.uk

Rev D A Freeman and his Cooke telescope

 In 1864 the Rev D A Freeman of Temple, London purchased a 4.5 inch Thomas Cooke & Sons telescope with a finder and 4 astronomical eyepieces. Also purchased was a sun prism, parallel wire micrometer and illuminating apparatus. The telescope was on a stout tripod.

He moved shortly after the purchase of this telescope to Kent where most of his observations would be made. 

The telescope would be used to observe the Sun and double stars.

                                                         www.theramblingastronomer.co.uk

London wharf owner buys Thomas Cooke & Sons telescope

 A 6 inch Thomas Cooke & Sons telescope which was equatorially mounted with a clock work drive and micrometer was purchased by Hamilton Field of Brixton, London. He was part owner of Kearns, Major & Fields, Wharfingers (owners of wharfs) of Upper Thames Street.

                                                        www.theramblingastronomer.co.uk

The second Micro Moon of the Year

 You have probably heard of the Super Moon, but did you know we also have the Micro Moon? The Moon takes around one month to orbit the Earth. Its normal distance from us is 239,000 miles. The Super Moon is when the Moon appears larger in the sky than normal because it is closer to us, but of course the opposite can also happen; occasions when the moon is further away than normal and we have a Micro Moon.

The second of the two micro moons of 2024 will occur this month. When the Moon is full on March 25 then like the full moon in February, it will be a micro moon.

The moon has an elliptical orbit, which means sometimes it is closer to us than its average distance of 239,999 miles, and sometimes father away, and the extremes in each case give us a super moon or a micro moon.

                                                         www.theramblingastronomer.co.uk

The Astronomy Show

 Join me, Martin Lunn MBE tonight and every Monday evening from 7.00 pm-9.00 pm on the Astronomy Show, 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 A-Z of Constellations

The Astronomy Show every Monday evening only on Drystone Radio live on line 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.

Eli Shaw and his Cooke telescope in Barnsley

 I have come across Eli Shaw1821-1869 who was a self taught mechanic from Barnsley.

He had a Thomas Cooke & Sons 3 feet achromatic telescope. I would assume that this would have a lens of around 3 inches but I have no definite proof of that just the length of the telescope to go by. He observed the Sun, Moon and planets.

He made his own reflecting telescope, I do not know the size of this instrument. He also made his own astronomical clock. On his death he left a large scientific library and various scientific instruments.

This I am afraid is is all the information I have on Eli Shaw

                                                       www.theramblingastronomer.co.uk

Mercury in the evening sky

 Seeing Mercury is always difficult because it is the closest planet to the Sun. Each year however, there is just one month when you can catch the planet in the evening sky, and this year it is March. Mercury can be seen from  March19^th to March 29^th close to the horizon low in the south west just after sunset. The planet will look like a pinkish looking ‘star’.

                                                       www.theramblingastronomer.co.uk

The Spring Equinox, possible spectacular Aurora and the Russell McPherron effect

 The spring equinox occurs on the 20 March, marking the point when spring starts in the northern hemisphere and autumn starts in the southern hemisphere. The word ‘equinox’ comes from the Latin words aequi, which means equal, and nox, which means night. At this instant the Sun lies above the equator and both poles of the planet are illuminated, meaning that on this day the length of daylight and night time are the same.

Aurora lovers also like the equinox because at this time of year there are more cracks in the Earth’s magnetic field and this can lead to great aurora displays.

There is something called the ‘Russell-McPherron effect’ this is named after geophysicists Christopher Russell and Robert McPherron which says that as both magnetic poles of the Earth are at right angles to the solar wind, the solar wind becomes more potent hence at this time of year when there are equal amounts of daylight on the Earth in both hemispheres there is more chance to see a spectacular aurora.

                                                  www.theramblingastronomer.co.uk

A Cooke telescope, comet Morehouse and mosquito netting

 James Nangle observed comet Morehouse on March 19^th 1909 form his observatory at Marrickville New South Wales. He had a 6.25 inch Cooke telescope.

Nangle described the comet as having a long tail that was distinctly seen. He said that the telescope was not that well equipped for studying comets as the lowest power on the 6.25 inch Cooke was 150 magnification. With this power the comet was a very unsatisfactory object, the head only being slightly visible, and that an indistinctly defined mass showing a bright condensation at the centre.

James Nangle 1868-1941 would go on to become Government Astronomer for New South Wales in 1926. One point of interest about the 6.25 inch telescope is that Nangle refers to the lens of his telescope being made by the elder Cooke. This suggests that this is a pre 1857 telescope made before the firm became Cooke & Sons. It also suggests that the telescope was made for someone in the UK and then made its way to Australia.

In 1910 Nangle worked out that to reduce the glare of an object he was looking at it was useful to place a piece of mosquito netting in front of the lens. Simple but effective!!

                                                     www.theramblingastronomer.co.uk

March 14th 1881 The Middlesbrough Meteorite crashed to Earth

At 3.35pm on March 14^th 1881 a team of workmen on a railway line near Middlesbrough had a close encounter with an intruder from outer space when a meteorite crashed onto the track. That meteorite has now become known as one of the most important on Earth.

The Middlesbrough Meteorite is around 4.5 billion years old, its not that big, it only weighs around 3.5 pounds. It is is about 6 inches long, 5 inches wide and 3 inches tall, it is a pretty ordinary stone type meteorite. What makes it so special is its shape. Its conical.

When it entered the Earth’s atmosphere rather than just randomly tumbling to the ground as most meteors do only one face was pointed to the atmosphere which got burned and the end result is that it is conical in shape. In fact the Middlesbrough Meteorite is referred to as a text book example of an oriented meteorite.

The Meteorite landed at a place called Pennyman’s Siding on the old North Eastern Railway line. Some workman heard the whoosh sound of the meteor as it approached and heard a thump as it hit the ground. They cautiously pulled it out of the hole which it had made they had no idea what it was. They thought it was sufficiently important to save it and it was tested and shown to be a meteorite.

At the time of its fall Middlesbrough was in the county of Yorkshire and the North Eastern Railway company wanted to give it to the county museum, this was The Yorkshire Museum in York. Some scientists had other ideas, they wanted to send it to the National History Museum in Lindon.

The North Eastern Railway company had other ideas, as it had fallen on their land they said it belonged to them unless anyone could prove otherwise. They placed it is their lost property department for 6 months and after no one was able to claim it they gave it to the Yorkshire Museum where it still is today.

                                                      www.theramblingastronomer.co.uk

The planet Uranus was discovered on March 13th 1781

 On March 13^th 1781 the planet we now call Uranus was discovered by the English astronomer William Herschel using a telescope he had made, the discovery from his garden in the city of Bath.

The discovery was totally unexpected as there were five known planets that could be seen with the naked eye, Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn, this plus the Sun and Moon made seven, a number that had always been seemed as an important one.

Herschel was not looking for another planet he was a very diligent astronomer, he was conducting a survey of the night sky. Herschel would go on to become one of the greatest astronomers of all time.

At first Herschel thought that the object he had found was a comet. However it was quickly realised that it was not a comet but a new planet.

The name Uranus means the sky god, it’s a gas giant although not as big as Jupiter or Saturn. It is very strangely tipped over on its side. All planets are slightly tilted on their axis, the Earth is tilted at 23 degrees, however Uranus is tilted over at an incredible 98 degrees. The best guess at the moment as to why this is the case is that at some point in the past a star may have passed close to the solar system and knocked Uranus onto its side. Uranus has a very thin ring system that was discovered by chance in 1977.

The first moons of Uranus were discovered by William Herschel in 1787 but the naming of the moons did not start until 1852. Of all the planets Uranus is the only one to have its moons named after characters named after works produced by William Shakespeare and Alexander Pope rather than from classical Greek mythology.. This idea was put forward by John Herschel who was the son of William Herschel.

                                                       www.theramblingastronomer.co.uk

The part York played in the discovery of Pluto

 The lens for the telescope that was used to discover Pluto was made in York

The planet Pluto was discovered in 1930 at the Flagstaff observatory in Arizona, by Clyde Tombaugh. The observatory had been constructed in 1896 by Percival Lowell to look for this new planet. Lowell would die in 1916 so would not see the discovery.

The search continued after his death and in 1925 another smaller observatory was built at Flagstaff. Today this is known as the Pluto Discovery Observatory.

On January 23^rd and 29^th 1930 photographs were taken that suggested that something had been discovered. It was not until March 13^th 1930 that the discovery was confirmed. At the time of its discovery Pluto was in the constellation of Gemini the Twins.

The telescope that was used to discover Pluto was paid for by Abbot Lawrence Lowell the brother of Percival Lowell and the 13 inch lens in the telescope was made by Thomas Cooke & Sons of York.

                                                      www.theramblingastronomer.co.uk

The Astronomy show

Join me, Martin Lunn MBE tonight and every Monday evening from 7.00 pm-9.00 pm on the Astronomy Show, 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 A-Z of Constellations

The Astronomy Show every Monday evening only on Drystone Radio live on line 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.

March 13th 1930 Pluto discovered

 On March 13^th 1930 the announcement of a new planet was made, Pluto became the ninth planet of the solar system.

The search for the planet stared after the discovery of the planet Neptune in 1846. After about 40 years it appeared as if something was gravitationally pulling or slightly tugging on Neptune hence the search.

It was discovered at Flagstaff observatory I America which had been constructed in 1896 by Percival Lowell to look for this new planet. Lowell would die in 1916 so would not see the discovery. The search continued after his death and in 1925 another smaller observatory was built at Flagstaff. Today this is known as the Pluto discovery observatory.

In 1929 a young astronomer called Clyde Tombaugh was tasked with looking for this new planet. On January 23^rd and 29^th 1930 photographs were taken that suggested that something had been discovered. It was not until March 13^th 1930 that the discovery was confirmed. At the time of its discovery Pluto was in the constellation of Gemini the Twins.

The name for the new planet was suggested not by an astronomer but by an 11 year old girl from England, Venetia Burney. She thought that Pluto was a good name as the planet was so far from the Sun and that Pluto was the god of darkness, it seemed very apt.

Since its discovery Pluto had set astronomers with many problems, it is very small and even Clyde Tombaugh was not convinced it was a planet. When looking for this new planet it appears that Pluto just happened to be in the right place but was not the object astronomers were looking for.

Pluto, is so from the Sun that it takes over 247 years to orbit the Sun once. It is so small that not even the Hubble Space Telescope could tell astronomers much about this distant world.

In 2003 an object called Eris was discovered which was also a very long way from the Sun. Eris was roughly the same size as Pluto and was classified as a dwarf planet. This meant that in 2006 astronomers decided that Pluto should be downgraded from a planet to a dwarf planet.

In 2015 the New Horizons space craft flew by Pluto and revealed a very amazing and bizarre world. It was nothing like what astronomers had imagined.

Is there a planet 9 waiting to be discovered out there somewhere far beyond Pluto? Some astronomers suspect there is.

                                                      www.theramblingastronomer.co.uk

The Moon is about to glide past Jupiter and the Seven Sisters

There are a series of very interesting sights to be seen in the south west between March 13^th and 15^th. All are visible to the naked eye and I am sure there will be lots of opportunities for people to take lots of photographs. As long of course as the sky is clear.

On March 13th the crescent moon will be just below and to the left of Jupiter. The biggest planet in the solar system, Jupiter is that bright white dot that can be seen in the south western sky.

The following night March 14^th the Moon will be above Jupiter and just below the Pleiades or Seven Sisters. The Pleiades is a cluster of stars moving together through space. Again this is low in the south west. Finally on March 15^th the Moon will be seen  above the Seven Sisters.

                                                        www.theramblingastronomer.co.uk

My Joynson of Liverpool and his Cooke telescope

 Mr Joynson of Liverpool on the opposition of Mars in 1865 using a Thomas Cooke and Sons 6 inch telescope which had a focal length of 7 feet and 6 inches and with eyepiece powers from100 tom 550, he also used a Barlow lens up to 1,100.

Joynson found that no increase of power altered the aspect of Mars, nor did he detect any difference in the markings of Mars since 1862. The snow at the Noth Pole was not visible in 1864. In 1865 the snow at the pole was not so surprisingly marked as usual, and a nearly equatorial belt was very prominent.

                                                       www.theramblingastronmomer.co.uk

Alfred Neate and his Cooke telescope

 Alfred Noel Neate from Carlisle on March 26^th 1909 observed the Moon using his 4 inch Thomas Cooke and Son telescope on a power of 140. He observed a white spot to the west of the crater Picard. He observed the while spot from 7hr 15 min to 8h 20 min pm.

Mr Neate considered the spot to be about 10 to 11 miles in diameter. He also thought that the spot was brighter at its southern end, this and a central dark spot was seen.

                                                          www.theramblingastronomer.co.uk

Frederick Longbottom and his Thomas Cooke telescope

Mr Frederick Longbottom 1850-1933 was born in Scarborough, his family would move to Worcestershire where they would become hop merchants. When he retired he was able to devote much more time to his favourite hobby, astronomy.

He had a 6 inch Thomas Cooke and Sons telescope which he had before 1896 because he took it with him to Norway to try to observe the eclipse of the Sun. He also went on eclipse trips to Algiers in 1900 and Spain in 1905. He was at Giggleswick for the 1927 eclipse of the Sun. He helped to form the Chester Astronomical Society.

He eventually left the north of England and settled in Boscombe in Hampshire and it was from here that Longbottom was able in early June 1928 to see the planet Mercury in the day time sky using the 6 inch telescope.

                                                        www.theramblingastronomer.co.uk

A Thomas Cooke telescope for Liverpool banker

James Leigh 1838- 1895 was born in Liverpool and was a banker by profession, from 1876 until his death he was the manager of the Metropolitan Bank of England and Wales. He was particularly interested in observing the Moon and double stars.

He had a 4 inch Thomas Cooke and Sons telescope and his address was given as Bank, King Street Liverpool.

                                                        www.theramblingastronomer.co.uk

A Thomas Cooke telescope at the Yorkshire Exhibition at Leeds in 1875

Mr John Mc Landsborough 1820-1900 of the exchange, Bradford exhibited a large equatorial telescope made by Thomas Cooke and Sons of York at the Yorkshire Exhibition at Leeds in June 1875.

Unfortunately I do not know the size of this telescope.

John Mc Landsborough was a civil engineer, born in Scotland his family moved to Otley in Yorkshire where the young John was educated at the Grammar School in Otley. He later moved to Bradford where he established a meteorological station. He was always interested in astronomy and apart from the Cooke telescope he also had a reflecting telescope made by Browning.

                                                         www.theramblingastronomer.co.uk

The Astronomy Show

 Join me, Martin Lunn MBE tonight and every Monday evening from 7.00 pm-9.00 pm on the Astronomy Show, 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 A-Z of Constellations and Astronomy in Yorkshire - God’s Own Country.

The Astronomy Show every Monday evening only on Drystone Radio live on line 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.

Saturn passes in front of star seen from South Africa in 1920

 Occultation of a Star by Saturn on March 14^th 1920 made at Rondebosch, South Africa using a 6 inch Thomas Cooke telescope by W Reid, C. L O’B Dutton and W G McIntyre.

From the report that was received from South Africa it was assumed that many observers in the north would have seen this occultation but that does not seem the be the case. Due to this exact timings were not prepared. The report says that the star was not following its predicted path although I wonder if what they were really seeing was that Saturn was not quite in its predicted place.

The time when the star was in contact with the rings was given as 8.46 South African Standard Time however this was a compromise. It was the time when the observers present were all certain that the star was behind the rings. Mr Reid thought it touched the rings 3 minutes earlier and at the time given was on the edge of Ring B.

At first their was very little loss of light, but as soon as it touched Ring B the light gradually faded for about a half a magnitude. It remained this way for a few seconds, when it fell a little further, and almost immediately the flicker took place – that is, the star suddenly almost went out, but not quite, it rose again fairly suddenly. After this its light fluctuated very considerably, but never reached more than a magnitude less than its original brightness.

The star disappeared behind the planet at 8.54 and re appeared at 10.36. The seeing on the night was very good.

Thomas Cooke telescopes for Carlisle

 In February 1857 William Day of Carlisle who was headmaster at the Christchurch Boys School in Carlisle purchased a 4.25 inch portable equatorial telescope. As this was early 1857 it could still be a Thomas Cooke of York telescope rather than a Thomas Cooke & Sons of York, because it was around this time that the company changed its name.

In addition to the 4.25 inch telescope in 1858 he purchased a smaller 3.5 inch telescope also from Cookes.

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Eddowes Bowman and his Thomas Cooke telescope in Manchester

 Eddowes Bowman 1810-1869 was born in Nantwich in Cheshire and although he considered going into an engineering profession but his career took him into the field of classical literature.

He became chair of Greek and Latin Classics and Greek and Roman History in Manchester New College. It was also at this time that he developed an interest in natural science. This included astronomy.

In the early 1860s he purchased a 7.25 Cooke refractor in a specially constructed observatory. I do not know if the observatory was built by Cookes. Due to his many other interests it appears as if the telescope was little used. He died at Victoria Park Manchester.

Born November 1810 died July 10^th 1869

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Soviet Cosmonauts arrive in Stockholm in 1964

 On March 1st 1964 soviet cosmonauts Yuri Gagarin  (Vostok 1) and Valery Bykovsky (Vostok 5)  arrive in Stockholm, for an eight day visit to Sweden 

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Occultation of Mars seen with a Cooke telescope in 1929

 Occultation by Mars of BD +24’ 1659 bf A F Bennett April 21^st 1929 using a 6 inch Thomas Cooke and Sons Telescope

The observation was made from Leiston in Suffolk under good sky conditions. A bar had been fixed at the focus of the eyepiece, a Zeiss orthoscopic being used and giving a magnification of 240 on the 6 inch Cooke.

The star presented a minute sharp image, which without taking advantage of the bar to reduce the glare from Mars could be kept clearly in view until it had approached to within about 10” distance of the latter.

The star was held unmistakeably under observation until 20 h 39m 11s, when it could no longer be seen. The bar was now shifted so s to show the extreme edge of the Western limb of Mars, an the star was first glimpsed again, on reappearance at 20h and 50 min. The mean of these times gives 20h 45m for mid occultation.

The Zodiacal Light

    If you have a very good horizon in the west where the Sun sets we are approaching the time       of the year when it might be possible to see the Zodiacal Light. The sky does have to be very      dark and clear.

     The zodiacal light is a cone of eerie light that can be seen in the sky just after the evening twilight ends in the spring, or before it begins at dawn in the autumn. These are periods during the year close to the equinoxes where the period of daylight and night-time are equal.

    The best time to look for the zodiacal light this year will be the first two weeks in March. Although the spring equinox is not until March 20^th the Moon will be nearly full making the sky too bright.

    People used to think zodiacal light originated somehow from phenomena in Earth’s upper atmosphere.

    However today we know that the zodiacal light is produced as sunlight is reflected off dust grains that circle the sun in the inner solar system. These grains were once thought to be left over from the process that created our Earth and the other planets of our solar system 4.5 billion years ago.

    Today some astronomers believe that the grains of dust may have been blown into space during massive dust storm from the planet Mars.