Cooke Telescope Tales - observatory and telescope for sale in Liverpool in 1885

 Pall Mall Gazette, Friday 2^nd January 1885 

 

ASTRONOMICAL OBSERVATORY WITH  TELESCOPE AND APPOINTMENTS COMPLETE.

 

To be SOLD, a bargain, on account of the owner's eyesight, an excellent Equatorial-mounted  TELESCOPE by Cooke, 4.5 inch diam.; Dawe's solar and numerous other eyepieces, micrometer, induction  coil and battery, automatic and star spectroscopes, spark condenser, clock by Cooke, barometer 7-10  diam., observing chair, complete sets of the memoirs and monthly notice's of the R.A.S., Astronomical Register and Observatory,  with indexes, and a number of other astronautical works, all in the best possible condition. The above presents a very rate opportunity  to astronomical students

 

Address  "Telescope," care of Lee and Nightingale, Advertising Agents,  Liverpool.

                                                    www.theramblingastronomer.co.uk

Cooke Telescope Tales - Sunderland Scientific Exhibition 1882

 Sunderland Daily Echo and Shipping Gazette Friday 17^th February 1882

 The Sunderland Scientific and Industrial Exhibition 

The exhibition will be held at the Skating Rink Hudson Road and included Mr John G Allison of the Old Rectory Monkwearmouth, who exhibited a portable telescope which will be found worthy of our astronomical students.

 The object glass in 4 inches in diameter and 5 feet focal length withy polished brass tube and finder attached. It has 4 eyepieces powers from 80 to 300 and is fixed on a strong polished walnut tripod stand. 

I believe this the telescope purchased by John G Allison in 1866 from Thomas Cooke and Sons when Mr Allison was living at 12 Cumberland Row Newcastle.

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Cooke Telescope Tales - John Dansken and the Patrickhill Observatory

John Dansken who was born in Glasgow in 1836 was by profession a surveyor and an enthusiastic amateur astronomer  who built an observatory at his home in Patrickhill, Glasgow which included a 5 inch telescope by Thomas Cooke of York, there was also a larger 13 inch reflector made by D Hunter of Lanark. 

A number of smaller instruments were also housed there including telescopes by Wray and Dollond. He also had one of the finest astronomical libraries in the West of Scotland. John Dansken died in 1905.

                                                         www.theramblingastrtonomer.co.uk

Cooke Telescope Tales - TW Backhouse and comet Swift 1892

TW Backhouse of Sunderland using his 4.5 inch Thomas Cooke & Sons telescope reports on comet Swift 1892. He says that there appeared to be little notice of this comet. Backhouse said that he saw the comet on April 26^th 1892 through a miniature spectroscope on his Cooke telescope. Although the best views of the comet so far were obtained on April 29^th when although faint it was visible to the naked eye. The comet had a tail 11 degrees long. On April 30^th the head of the comet was about 4^th magnitude and was seen between mu and lambda Pegasus.

                                                         www.theramblingastronomer.co.uk

A little ramble through 19th century astronomy - Uranus and Neptune in 1875

 Academy, Saturday 16^th October 1875

The Satellites of Uranus and Neptune.— Since the completion of the great Washington refractor of twenty-six inches’ aperture, it has been devoted to the observation of these objects, which are too faint for any but the very largest telescopes. Professor Newcomb, who made the micrometer measures, has discussed them in an appendix to the Washington Observations, arriving at the conclusion that the orbits of these satellites are all sensibly circular (being certainly less eccentric than those of the planets of our system), and that those of the Uranian system lie in one plane.

Only one satellite to Neptune has been detected, though a second was repeatedly looked for, and no trace of any satellites exterior to the four known members of the Uranian system has been seen, though Sir W. Herschel concluded there were six. From the excessive faintness of the four satellites of Uranus, Professor Newcomb considers that their masses can hardly exceed 1/15,000  of that of the planet, so that their mutual perturbations would be insensible, while the sun’s disturbing  effect is exceedingly small, and thus the problem of determining their motions becomes comparatively simple.

The chief importance of this problem is that it gives the masses of Uranus and Neptune more accurately than any other method, all that is required for this purpose being to know the greatest apparent distance of one of the satellites from its primary and the period of revolution. In this way Professor Newcomb finds the mass of Uranus to be 1/ 22,600  of that of the sun, a result which is probably true within 1/200 part , while the mass of Neptune is 1/19,400 .One element of uncertainty in these results is the chromatic aberration of the eye-piece used n 1873, the webs being illuminated by red light, while that of the satellites is greenish yellow, so that the web is not really on the satellite when it appears to be. The effect of this is that there is a difficulty in converting the measured distance into seconds of arc. Professor Newcomb has not been able to detect any markings on Uranus and can therefore form no conclusion as to the period of rotation, which is a matter of some interest.

                                                      www.theramblingastronomer.co.uk

The Astronomy Show on Drystone Radio

 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.

Cooke Telescope Tales - telescope for Brighton in 1857

  In 1857 Charles Howell (1783-1867) of Hove, Brighton purchased a 6.25 inch Thomas Cooke of York telescope, it was similar in design to the one that was exhibited at the Paris Exhibition in 1855.

 The telescope would be placed into an observatory, which I believe was built locally and not a Cooke observatory. Later after 1864 he also purchased a 7.5 inch Thomas Cooke & Sons telescope. It was this telescope that Mr Fry used to photograph the Moon with in 1865. This telescope was housed in a separate observatory and again this observatory appears to be locally made. 

He was also interested in double stars and planets, and because of his age he often let his many friends in the Brighton area use his telescopes.

                                                      www.theramblingastronomer.co.uk

 

 

A little ramble through 19th century astronomy - satellites of Saturn in 1875

 Academy, Saturday 17^th July 1875

Satellites of Saturn.—ln the Astronomische Nachrichten, No. 2043, Mr. Marth gives an ephemeris of the satellites of Saturn, which will greatly facilitate observations of these objects, as they are very liable to be confused with small stars in the neighbourhood.

There is considerable uncertainty about the positions of the innermost satellite Mimas and the outermost lapetus, and no ephemeris is given for Hyperion, the last discovered, as trustworthy observations are wanting for this satellite. The places of the other five are tolerably correct, but observations are much wanted of this extremely interesting system about which so little is known, the mutual perturbations of the satellites and the effect of the ring being most important questions, which can only be solved by accumulated observations.

 With the view of facilitating these, Mr, Marth has given the approximate times of conjunction of the several satellites with the planet. Eclipses, occultations, and transits only occur when the earth is nearly in the plane of the ring (every fifteen years), except in the case of Titan, whose orbit is considerably inclined to the ring.

                                                      www.theramblingastronomer.co.uk

A little ramble through Leo Minor the Lesser Lion

 The smaller Lion designated by Johannes Hevelius in 1687, located between Ursa Major and Leo. Leo Minor hardly merits a separate name as there are no bright stars. He designed 10 new constellations, and we still use 7 of them today.

There are some suggestions that the stars that form Leo Minor were once identified by the Arab astronomers as Al Thiba wa-Auladuha or the Gazelle and her young.

The brightest star is 46 Leo Minoris with a magnitude of 3.8, its an orange K class giant star lying at a distance of 95 light years.

                                                       www.theramblingastronomer.co.uk

Cooke Telescope Tales - John Robertson of Coupar Angus 1830-1920

 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

A little ramble through 19th century astronomy - Stars, Saturn and photographs

 Academy, Saturday 19^th June 1875

 

Royal Astronomical Society (Friday, June 11). Professor Adams, President, in the Chair.

A paper by Mr. Knobel was read, giving some results of measures of magnitudes of stars with his astrometer, described in a previous paper, the principle of the instrument being to reduce the aperture of the telescope by means of a variable triangular diaphragm till the star disappeared. Mr.Knobel  pointed out several discordances between his results and the magnitudes given by Argelander in his Uranometria, though those of the Bonn Durchmusterung agreed better.

 Mr, Marth called attention to approaching phenomena of the satellites of Saturn, the most important of which, however (those of Titan), would only be visible in Australia and in the United States, the period of revolution being very nearly sixteen sidereal days, so that occultations and transits of this satellite would take place at the same sidereal hour for many successive periods, and at these times Saturn would be below our horizon. Mr. Marth expressed a hope that the great Melbourne reflector might be used for these observations, and Mr. Russell promised that he would employ the 11-inch refractor of the Sydney Observatory for this purpose.

 Captain Abney, R.E., gave a description of his Diaphanometer, an instrument which he had devised primarily for measuring the opacity of photographic films after exposure to light under different conditions, and which he had since applied to other questions in photometry. In this instrument the collodion film was compared with a graduated wedge of smoke-coloured glass. Captain Abney also exhibited an ingenious form of spectroscope in which the brightness of any part of the spectrum of a star could be compared with that of the spectrum of a standard source of light, the two spectra being brought one above the other in the same field by means of reflection prisms.

Some other short papers of a purely technical character followed, after which a note by Mr. Proctor on “ Photography in the Transit of Venus” was read, to which Mr. Russell, Mr. De La Rue, and Mr. Christie replied, and Mr. Neison mentioned, as bearing on the question of the atmosphere of Venus (which  Mr Proctor had incidentally  referred to), that Professor Lymans had observed Venus as a bright ring five hours before the commencement of the late transit.

                                                     www.theramblingatsronomer.co.uk

Cooke Telescope Tales - transit of Mercury observed in 1878 from Peeblesshire

Robert Mathison of Innerleithen Peeblesshire observed the Transit of Mercury on May 6^th 1878 using a Thomas Cooke of York 4.1 inch telescope. 

The transit was seen from the ‘observatory’ no trace of the planet could be seen outside the disk of the Sun. A small group of sunspots were seen on the Sun close to the planet at 4.40 pm. 

One point that caught the attention of Mathison was that a bright white point of light which he followed until 5.30 pm when the Sun was covered by clouds. Other observers at this location confirmed the sighting of the bright white spot.

                                                      www.theramblingastronomer.co.uk

Cooke Telescope Tales - sunspots observed from Thornton in Craven in early 1860s

On December 14^th 1864 Thomas Wilson of Thornton in Craven using a 4.25 inch Thomas Cooke & Sons telescope observed a solitary spot on the surface of the Sun. He says that in sketching the spot immediately after apparent noon, finding the penumbral outline and radial shading considerably confused and indistinct, especially on the eastern side, my attention was drawn to its surrounding neighbourhood, where I was agreeably surprised by the realisation of the elongated very minute lenticular forms, which have been compared to willow leaves, overlapping the penumbra and, and diffused over the whole surface. 

Wilson goes onto say that in making 97 sketches of spots during the last three and a half years, nearly all after taking meridian transits, I never before saw anything beyond the mottled surface, which has been described as parchment, rice grain,  flocculent chemical precipitate like appearances &; I have supposed that depending on the state of the air this was beyond the reach of a small telescope such as my 4.25 inch Cooke.

                                                      www.theramblingastronomer.co.uk

The Astronomy Show on Drystone Radio

 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.

A little ramble through 19th century astronomy - The star Lalande 19662 in Sextans in 1875

 Nature, May 13^th 1875

The star Lalande 19662 in Sextans-

Mr J E Gore, of Umballa, Punjab, directs attention to the probable variability of this star. It was observed by Lalande on April 10^th 1798 in “Histoire Celeste” p 330, where its magnitude is entered 4.5, as in the reduced catalogue published by the British Association.

 It appears in Heis’s Atlas as a magnitude 6.7; but after searching through the modern catalogues where it was likely to be included, we have only discovered a single meridian observation by Lamont in his zone 314, on April 5^th 1845, when he called it magnitude 7.8.

It does not occur in Argelander’s “Uranometria”, nor was it observed by D’Agelet, Bessel or Santini.

 Another of Lalande’s stars No. 23726 in Corvus, is in all probability variable. He estimated it at magnitude 7.5 on May 10^th 1795, and Bessel in May 1824 called it magnitude 8.0. Heis, however, saw it as a 5^th magnitude star. What is the actual degree of brightness? 

                                                       www.theramblingastronomer.co.uk

A little ramble through 19th century astronomy - shadows of jupiter's satellites in the 1870s

 Academy, Saturday 16^th January 1875

 Shadows of Jupiter's Satellites—During the last four years Mr. Burton has frequently observed that the shadows of Jupiter's satellites projected on the disc of the planet during transit were elliptical, and that this was, as a rule, the case only when Jupiter was near quadrature, and the shadow therefore seen obliquely.

Mr. Burton's explanation of the phenomenon is that the shadow falls on cumulus clouds, which give rise to the markings on Jupiter’s disc, these clouds being dark and therefore invisible wherever the shadow falls, but in full sunshine scattering the light in all directions. The shadow will thus present exactly the same appearance as a cylindrical hole which sends no light to the eye but allows light from the bright clouds forming its boundary to pass; and such a hole, when viewed obliquely, will appear the more elliptical the greater its depth.

From his estimations of the ellipticity on different occasions, Mr. Burton has deduced a depth of atmosphere of from 3,000 to 9,000 miles, a result which would accord well with the small density of Jupiter as a whole, only a quarter that of the earth. On the hypothesis that the bright clouds are scattered at different levels in an atmosphere of considerable thickness, the observed decrease of brightness near the limb is explained by supposing the sunlight to pass freely into space through interstices between the clouds near the limb, so that none of it is received back again by the eye. Mr. Burton's paper is given in the Monthly Notices for December.

                                                      www.theramblingastronomer.co.uk

Cooke Telescope Tales - Transit of Mercury observed from Liverpool 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.thramblingastronomer.co.uk

Cooke Telescope tales - telescope for Peckham in 1865

 In April 1865 William Bolger Gibbs (1834-1925) of Talford Road, Peckham purchased a 4 inch telescope from Thomas Cooke & Sons York, a little later he purchased a 5.5 inch refractor which he housed in an observatory, I cannot say if this was a Cooke telescope or not. 

He was described as the “Father of the London Stock Exchange”  but apart from his business he loved science and in particular astronomy. 

He was friends with his near neighbour James Buckingham of Walworth who owned the 21 inch refracting telescope.

                                                        www.theramblingastronomer.co.uk

A little ramble through Leo the Lion

Leo the Lion is a fantastic spring constellation, its one of the few constellations that looks like the figure it is supposed to represent. The lion’s head is outlined by a sickle of backwards question mark which at the bottom is the bright star Regulus.

In ancient Greece Leo represents the Nemean Lion which originally came from the Moon, and after his earthly stay, is carried back to the heavens with his slayer Hercules.

It is rather ironic that although Hercules slays the lion, in the sky the constellation of Leo the Lion is much more prominent than Hercules.

The Egyptian king Necepsos taught that at the creation the Sun rose here from near the star Denebola which is in Leo.

The Persians called the constellation Ser, the Turks called it Artan, the Syrians knew it as Aryo, the Jews called it Arye while to the Babylonians it was Aru- all the names mean a Lion.

On Ninevite cylinders Leo is depicted as in fatal conflict with a bull, typifying the victory of light over darkness; and in Euphratean astronomy it was additionally known as Gisbar-namru-sa-pan, variously translated as the Shinning One which precedes Bel; this is our Ursa Major.

Throughout antiquity the Lion and the constellation always have been identified with the Sun, indeed in all historic ages till it finally appears on the royal arms of England, as well as those of many of the early noble families of England. During the 12^th century it was the only animal shown on Anglo Saxon shields.

 Alpha or Regulus which means ‘Prince or Little King, lies 79 light years away, it has a brightness of magnitude 1.4 Regulus is a B class star with a surface temperature 12,000’C, much hotter than our Sun at 5,800’C.

Regulus was the leader of the four Royal Stars of the ancient Persians, The Four Guardians of the Heavens. The other three are Fomalhaut in Piscis Austrinus, Aldebaran in Taurus and Antares in Scorpio.

The Arab astronomer Al Biruni called Regulus the Heart of the Royal Lion, which “rises when Suhail rises in Al Hijaz”.  Another Arab name for the Lion’s Heart was Al Kalb al Asad. The title of the Lion’s heart was also recognised by Greek and Roman astronomers.

To Euphratean astronomers the star was Gus-ba-ra, The Flame or the Red Fire of the House of the East.

Beta or Denebola is derived from the Arabic name of Al Dhanab al Asad of the Lion’s Tail. The Arab astronomer Al Biruni wrote of the star, “The heat turns away when it rises, and the cold turns away when it disappears”

The Persians knew the star as Avdem or the One in the Tail, while the Khorasmians called it Wilhayu or the Burning One.

Gamma or Algeiba which means ‘Lions Mane’, is an orange class K giant star with a magnitude of 2.1 and is 130 light years away.

Delta or Zosma which means ‘Girdle or hip’ is an A class star lying at a distance of 58 light years, Zosma has a magnitude of 2.6.  Ulug Beg called the star Al Thahr al Asad, or the Lion’s Back.

The Chinese saw this star as Shang Seang or the Higher Minister of State.

There are five messier galaxies in Leo all require telescopes to be seen.

M65,

A galaxy lying about 35 million light years away, it was discovered by Messier in 1780 at magnitude 10, a telescope is needed to find it. M65 together with M66 and NGC 3628 form what astronomers call the Leo triplet of galaxies. They can all be seen close together in the sky.

M66

M66 at mag 8.9 is brighter than M65 and can be glimpsed with binoculars but telescopes will allow you to see it much better. It was discovered by Messier in 1780.  It lies at a distance of around 31 million light years. There have been 5 supernovae seen in M66 in 1973.1989,1997, 2014 and 2016, a reason why these galaxies are very popular with astrophotographers.

NGC 3628

Known as the Hamburger Galaxy it is the third member of the Leo Triplet of galaxies. It lies at a distance of 35 million light years and shines at magnitude 10. I am somewhat surprised that Messier did not see this galaxy as it lies so close to M65 and M66

M95

Lying at a distance of 33 million light years M95 has a magnitude of 11.4. A supernova was seen here in 2012.

M96

With a magnitude of 10, M96 is too faint to be seen with binoculars. It lies at a distance of 31 million light years and was discovered in 1781. A supernova was seen in 1998.

M105

Yet another galaxy lying at a distance of 36 million light years. Again, it has a magnitude of 10. Messier would have seen M105 in 1781.

                                                      www.theramblingastronomer.co.uk

 

 

A little ramble through 19th century astronomy - European observatories in 1874

 Nature, October 8th 1874

France, Germany and Austria are vying with each other in astronomical activity. In the grounds of the Paris Observatory a 4-foot Foucault mirror is being erected and M. Le Verrier has already obtained a grant for a 30 inch refractor.

The Vienna Observatory is also making arrangements for the reception of a telescope of similar aperture. Messrs Merz have nearly completed a lens of 20 inches aperture, for the university of Strassburg.

In France, the newly created Ecole Speciale des Hautes Etudes is being taken advantage of to form a school of astronomy; in Germany and America many such schools already exist, thanks to the rational administration of their observatories, the assistants in which are the pupils, friends and potential successors of the director.

                                                     www.theramblingastronomer.co.uk

Cooke Telescope Tales - astrophotography in Newcastle in 1890

In 1890 Lawrence Richardson of Newcastle on Tyne using a 4.5 inch Thomas Cooke & Sons telescope undertook some research into astronomical photography using his telescope which was an achromatic.  He was not that hopeful of getting really sharp images, the Cooke & Sons photo visual telescope would not be available until he mid 1890s. 

Richardson found that he could take a photograph of Orion which would show hundreds of stars and which would take around about an hour. He went on to say that he thought that astrophotography was a very good field for amateur astronomers to work in and obtain good results.

                                                       www.thramblingastronomer.co.uk

The Astronomy Show on Drystone Radio

 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.

A little ramble through 19th century astronomy - Mars in 1877

 Academy, Saturday 18^th December 1875

The Opposition of Mars, 1877.—The Astronomer Royal has given a chart of the path of Mars in 1877, with neighbouring stars down to the ninth magnitude taken from Bessel's Zones, the object being to facilitate observations of the parallax of Mars in this important opposition, when the planet approaches more closely than usual to the earth, owing to the position of its eccentric orbit.

 Although it is hoped that the sun’s parallax will be determined with considerable accuracy by the late transit of Venus, astronomers cannot afford to throw away the opportunity which the planet Mars offers of getting an independent, and possibly equally trustworthy, determination, more especially when it is remembered how important a part the observations of Mars in 1861 (the last opposition which was favourable for this purpose ) played in correcting the results obtained from the transit of Venus in 1769, For observations of Mars no special expeditions will be necessary, all that is required being to measure the apparent distances of the planet from neighbouring pairs of stars at northern and southern Observatories, and also at the same Observatory, when the planet is rising and when it is setting. The latter class of observation enables an observer to determine the sun’s distance by measures made entirely at his own Observatory, the rotation of the earth providing him with a base line from east to west.

                                                      www.theramblingastronomer.co.uk

Cooke Telescope Tales - in 1865 even a Cooke telescope could not see through trees

 Mt T H Waller of York in 1865 and 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 use the double star catalogue of Mr Brothers of Manchester and the Bedford Catalogue.

                                                    www.theramblingastronomer.co.uk

 

 

 

A little ramble through 19th century astronomy - possible solar observatory for Potsdam in 1874

 Nature, September 17^th 1874

The German Government has determined upon the erection of a Sun Observatory upon a large scale at Potsdam. Drs Spoerer and Vogel have already been appointed to undertake telescopic and spectroscopic observations, and the directorship has been offered to Prof Kirchhoff, who however has declined it as he is unwilling to leave Heidelberg.

                                                      www.theramblingastronomer.co.uk

Cooke Telescope Tales - Saturn observed from Sunderland in 1890

 Dr J Haswell, Grange Terrace, Sunderland in 1890 

Observed the spot on Saturn that had been seen by Dr Terby in March 1890. He saw the spot on several  nights in March , and he described it as being very obvious on March 30^th, though not so noticeable as it had been last spring. 

Haswell used a 4.25 inch Thomas Cooke & Sons telescope which was of short focal length

                                                        www.theramblingastronomer.co.uk

A little ramble through Lacerta the Lizard

 Another modern faint constellation, this time in the northern sky, Lacerta the Lizard was created by the Polish astronomer Johannes Hevelius in the early 1680s. The constellation is sandwiched between Cygnus and Andromeda. Hevelius created several small faint constellations in the northern sky. Most are so faint that their stars could easily have been put into larger classical Greek constellations.  Lacerta is such an example.

Hevelius drew a strange weasel shaped creature with a curly tail. Hevelius did suggest an alternative name that of Stellio the Stellion a newt with star like dorsal spots found along the Mediterranean coast. John Flamsteed the first astronomer royal drew a picture of a greyhound here. Today it is just Lacerta the Lizard.

The Chinese considered this area of the sky to be part of their constellation of the Flying Serpent.

There were other suggestions for constellations in this area, the Sceptre and Hand of Justice created by the French astronomer Augustin Royer in 1697 to commemorate King Lous XIV. The German astronomer Johann Bode in 1787 called this area Frederick’s glory in honour of King Frederick II of Prussia. Both have been discarded in favour of Lacerta.

There is only one bright star, alpha with a magnitude of 3.7, it’s an A class star making it much hotter than the Sun, alpha is 102 light years away.

Although there are no bright stars in Lacerta it is worthwhile looking at because the Milky way galaxy passes through it and this is an area of space where nova often occur. Although Lacerta is a small constellation there were three novae in the 20^th century in 1910, 1936 and 1950.

A nova is a binary star system with two stars, one a small hot white dwarf the other a much larger but cooler giant star. The white dwarf pulls gas from its companion towards it and when enough has been pulled off the giant star a shell of gas is thrown into space. The star suddenly appears in the sky where no naked eye star had been seen before. A long time ago these were called a Nova which is Latin for new because astronomers thought these were stars being created. We now know that they are older stars just going through their timelines. Although today we still use the old term of nova to describe these stars.

There are no bright deep sky objects in Lacerta.

                                                    www.theramblingastronomer.co.uk

A little ramble through 19th century astronomy - new observatory in South America in 1874

 Academy Saturday 19^th December 1874

 —M. Gonzalez, the Director of the National Observatory of Columbia, is about to establish a private observatory for astronomical physics at Bogota  at an altitude of 10,000 feet, and nearly on the equator a most  favourable situation for the application of the spectroscope to the sun and planets, as they may there be observed in the zenith, while the observatory will be removed above the grosser portion of the atmosphere.

                                                      www.theramblingastronomer.co.uk

The Full Egg Moon on April 2nd

 On April 2nd there will be a full moon, this is nothing strange as there is a full moon each month. They all have there own names. Today the press in the UK tend to use the American names for the full moons which come from the Old Farmers Almanac. These names date back to 1792.

However I prefer to use the old English names that go back to the beginning of the monastic period of history during the Anglo Saxon period. They have been good enough for well over 1400 years and I see no reason to stop using them now.

The full moon in April according to the Old Farmers Almanac is the Pink Moon so called because of pink flowers that bloom at this time of year.

The old English name for the full moon in April is the Egg Moon, this however has nothing to do with Easter but due to the increasing amount of daylight. As the period of daylight increases the hens, geese and ducks start to lay more eggs.

                                                      www.theramblingastronomer.co.uk

The Astronomy Show on Drystone Radio

 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.

A little ramble through 19th century astronomy - The star cluster in Sobieski's shiled in 1869 and 1870

 Academy Saturday 28^th November 1874

—ln the years 1869 and 1870 Professor Helmert, at the Hamburg Observatory, determined the positions of some two hundred stars belonging to the cluster in Sobieski’s Shield. This cluster, which was discovered by Kirch in 1681, was carefully observed by Dr. Lamont at Munich between 1836 and 1839, and the places of about 150 stars in its most condensed part were then fixed with considerable accuracy for comparison with subsequent observations. These Professor Helmert has now made after the lapse of more than thirty years, so that if any change has occurred, and especially if there has been any condensation going on, it ought to be clearly shown by comparing the two sets of measures. The two series, however, agree so closely, that the second set may be looked upon simply as a verification of the first—a result which, though disappointing with respect to the object in view, must yet be gratifying to both the observers concerned, :. Evidence of the accuracy of the measures. Two charts present at a glance the results of the two determinations, the only noticeable difference being that Professor Helmert has included many more outlying stars in his area of operations.

www.theramblingastronomer.co.uk

Cooke Telescope tales - sale of a large achromatic telescope in 1871

The great refractor by Thomas Cooke and Sons oy York, which was shown at the International Exhibition of 1871 was sold by auction by Messrs Stevens of King Street, Covent Garden for about £750 (in 2026 that would be around £114,000). 

The instrument which had every modern appliance, and was one of the most complete ever turned out by the celebrated instrument makers was of 10 inches clear aperture and was originally priced at £1,200 (in 2026 that would be around 191,000) , but owing to the rise in wages and materials would now be charged much more. The purchaser was Mr Henley, the telegraph engineer. 

William Thomas Henley was a submarine cable maker in Greenwich. He set up the Persian Gulf Cable which was 1,651 miles long. The success of which allowed him to gain many more contracts.

                                                     www.theramblingastronomer.co.uk

Cooke Telescope Tales - occultation of Saturn observed 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.

                                                     www.theramblingastronomer.co.uk

The Astronomy Show on Drystone Radio

 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.

A little ramble through 19th century astronomy - aurora in 1874

Academy, Saturday 28^th February 1874

 Professor Domenico Cipolletti has drawn attention, in the Nazione, to the coincidence of the times of appearance and disappearance of the aurora borealis, seen at Florence on the evening of February 4, and those of the grand auroral display witnessed at the same spot February 4, 1872. The aurora was also seen at Milan and other parts of northern Italy on the 4th, on which evening strong magnetic disturbance was noted at the Vienna and Munich observatories. Professor Cipolletti exhorts observers to watch with special care for any manifestations of sudden light in Jupiter's belts, which have been proved by the observations of Lassell, Proctor, and others, to exhibit the brightest colours at those periods, in which the aurora borealis was most strongly marked.

                                                       www.theramblingastronomer.co.uk

Cooke Telescope Tales - telescopes for carlisle in 1857 and 1858

 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.

 He also  in early 1858 purchased a smaller 3.5 inch telescope also from Cookes.

                                                        www.theramblingastronomer.co.uk

Cooke telescope Tales - telescope for Manchester in 1860s

 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

                                                         www.theramblingastronomer.co.uk

Cooke Telescope Tales - T W Backhouse and two comets

On the 27^th September 1892 about 15hrs 30 mins GMT comet Brooks (c1892) had a tail 10 degrees long, pointing at an angle of 280 degrees. 

At the later part of September Swift’s comet (a1892) was still a conspicuous object seen with a 4.5 inch Thomas Cooke refractor. Observations on several nights showed that it not only has  a faint tail- at position angle 260 degrees on the 24^th September at 8hrs and 30 mins, when I observed it to be certainly 11 degrees long, and suspected it to 21 degrees- but that also there was an elongation nearly in the opposite direction.

                                                       www.theramblingastronomer.co.uk

A little ramble thbrough the winter sky - Gemini the Twins

 An ancient constellation, Gemini a winter group represents a pair of twins holding hands. They are Castor and Pollux members of the crew of the ship Argo with Jason in search of the golden fleece. The fleece had come from a magic Ram which had been able to fly, after it died its fleece was placed in a sacred grove, guarded by a dragon which Jason killed, and he took the fleece back to his own country.

Castor and Pollux were of mixed parentage although both sons of Leda, Castor’s father was king Tyndareus of Sparta while the father of Pollux was the god Zeus. When Castor died, because he was mortal, Pollux begged his father Zeus to give Castor immortality, and he did, by uniting them together in the heavens.

Alpha or Castor at magnitude 1.9 is the second brightest star in Gemini lying 51 light years from Earth, Castor is an A class star with a temperature of around 10,000’c much hotter the Sun at 5,800’C. Although it appears to the naked eye as a single star there are in fact 6 stars that make up the Castor system

Beta or Pollux with a magnitude of 1.1 is the brightest star, Pollux is 34 light years away and is a K class orange giant star.

There is a minor mystery here because Ptolemy in the 2^nd century stated that Castor was brighter than Pollux whereas now it is the other way around, the Arab astronomers agreed with Ptolemy. So, if the old astronomers were correct we must suppose that either Castor has faded or else Pollux has brightened up. It seems more likely that the change would have occurred in Pollux.

Gamma or Alhena which means the ‘Shining One’ lies 109 light years away and is of magnitude 1.9, it is an A class star.

Eta or Propus which means ‘Forward Foot’ is a M class red giant star, Propus is a variable star and its brightness changes between 3.1-3.9 over a period of around 230 days. The star lies at a distance of about 320 light years.

Epsilon or Mebsuta which means ‘Outstretched Arm’ shines with a brightness of 3.1 and lies at a distance of 840 light years. It is a G class class supergiant star.

Delta or Wasat which means ‘Middle’ is a F class star lying at a distance of 60 light years away, It shines at a magnitude of 3.5. 

Zeta or Mekbuda which means the ‘Outstretched Left Leg, it’s a Cepheid variable varying brightness between magnitude 3.7 and 4.1 every 10.2 days,  Mekbuda is 1,200 light years away and varies between a F7 supergiant to a G class supergiant class star.

Mu or Tejat which means ‘Back Foot’ is 230 light years away and is a M class red giant star that varies very slowly between magnitude 2.7-3.0 in a period of around 70 days.

Messier M 35 is an open cluster around 3,800 light years away containing about 400 stars. M35 can be seen in the sky near eta as a magnitude 5.1 mottled splash of light. Charles Messier saw M35 in 1746.

                                            www.theramblingastronomer.co.uk

 

A little ramble through Indus the Indian

 Another southern hemisphere constellation created by Petrus Plancius in 1598 based on observations by Pieter Keyser and Frederick de Houtman while exploring southeast Asia. The constellation represents a native Indian although there is some confusion as to what Indian is being represented. It was introduced to stellar maps by Johan Bayer in 1603.

As in the case of many other modern constellations, Indus is very faint and it contains no really bright stars. The two brightest stars alpha and beta can be seen with the naked eye but any misty or haze would make them difficult to see.

Indus is similar to other modern southern hemisphere constellations in that it was unknown in Europe or the Middle East hence there is no old mythology attached to Indus.

Alpha has a magnitude of 3.1 and lies at a distance of 98 light years, the star is a K class giant star cooler than the Sun.

Beta is fainter with a magnitude of 3.7, another orange K class giant star lying 600 light years away.

There are no bright deep sky objects to be seen in Indus.

                                                       www.theramblingastronomer.co.uk

Cooke Telescope Tales - telescope to steel maker in Sheffield in 1858

 The steel manufacturer and merchant Charles Daniel Doncaster from Broomhall Park, Sheffield purchased from Thomas Cooke & Sons in 1858 a 3.25 inch telescope on a tall tripod, with steadying rods, finder, three astronomical eyepieces and one terrestrial pancratic eyepiece, plus vertical and horizontal slow motions, in a box. The cost was £33, today this would be over £3,300. 

                                                       www.theramblingastronomer.co.uk

The Astronomy Show on Drystone Radio

 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.