A Cooke in New Jersey
On January 9th 1889 Mr Read was elected President of the Astronomical Society of Cambden, New Jersey, USA. He had an observatory with a 5.5 inch Thomas Cooke of York telescope with a clockwork drive also supplied by Cooke.
This society would in 1927 become the Rittenhouse Astronomical Society named after David Rittenhouse (1732-1796) the first American astronomer.
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| David Rittnehouse |
A Remarkable Meteor seen from Liverpool
On January 9th 1871 at 10 h and 10 mins, R C Johnson (a former President of Liverpool Astronomical Society) of Warrenside, Blundellsands, Liverpool while observing Orion with his telescope was startled by the glare of a meteor in the observatory. He quickly moved to the slit and saw a splendid cluster of meteors pass rapidly across the constellation moving from east to west in a line nearly parallel to the equator, about half way between the belt and shoulders.
Johnson said that the meteor was visible for 5 seconds of which I only saw it for the last 2 seconds; it left a broad short train, which faded in about 3 more seconds.
The meteor consisted of detached portions, making up a globular cluster of about the size of the moon. In that space I estimated roughly that there were 8 to 12 separate meteorites.
The sky was clear, and the moon was just 3 days past full, very bright and I estimate the light of the meteor to have been about 1.5 times that of the moon; it’s colour was nearly that of the mercurial electric blue.
Mars seen with a 15.5 inch Cooke
Mr V Cerulli reports his observations made at Terano, Italy using the excellent 15.5 inch Thomas Cooke telescope that had previously been owned by Mr Wiggesworth of Scarborough. There were 11 drawings that were made between 1896 and 1897.
He noted that the lines of Mars did not seem to either increase or decrease in visibility. He says that in July 1896 some of the canals were easily visible on a disc of 7”, while in December 1896 the diameter being 17” they ought to have become more magnificent, but on the contrary they preserved the same appearance as in July.
He concluded that the lines are formed by the eye. Mr Cerulli was held in high esteem to the effect that whether his theory that the canals are formed by the eye and are not real and that he suggests that all Martian maps are regarded as temporary guides until they can be modified by further investigations.
Sun Pillars seen at the Harrogate Observatory
At the Harrogate Corporation Observatory on January 7th 1902 Sun Pillars were seen. Earlier displays were seen on December 3rd 1901. On both occasions the following was noted:-
a) The presence of Cirrus Cloud.
b) These clouds must be in a banded or striated form.
c) They must lie at right angles to the path of the Sun.
d) These clouds must of course be present in the immediate neighbourhood of the setting Sun.
The altitude of this station is 480 feet Latitude 54 degrees North, 1 degree 36 minutes West.
G.Paul Corporation Observatory, Harrogate
Venus observed by giant Cooke telescope in Scarborough
On January 2nd and 3rd 1886 the unlit side of the planet Venus was observed from Scarborough. The observations were undertaken by James Wigglesworth who had built an observatory in the town between 1884-1885 and it housed a 15.5 inch Thomas Cooke telescope.
Wigglesworth described his observations as saying that he could clearly see the dark side of Venus through his telescope. It appeared to be grey in colour except near the terminator where the secondary spectrum causes it to appear blue and compared to the bright part of Venus it looks much smaller.
James Wigglesworth a financial adviser who brought the company of Thomas Cooke & Sons in 1879 to save it from bankruptcy. His great interest was in astronomy so he had a 15.5 inch telescope and a 30 feet observatory which would house it to be constructed in Scarborough.
Sadly for Scarborough it’s claim to fame to have a major observatory lasted only for a short period of time because James Wigglesworth died in 1888.
The telescope and observatory were dismantled in 1890 and were sold to the Italian astronomer Vincenzo Cerulli. The observatory today is now as the Terano Observatory and I assume that the 15.5 inch Cooke is still there.
An Aurora seen from Halifax
On January 3rd 1870 Joseph Gledhill while using the 9.3 inch Cooke telescope of Mr Crossley saw a spectacular aurora or northern lights. He stopped using the telescope to observe the aurora.
After a dull sunless, calm day the sky cleared at 5.00 pm. The display began at about 7.10 pm a broad band of light was seen across the front of the opening of the observatory dome. It was a dense luminous white beam with no colours being observed. It was about 5 degrees wide. At 7.30 pm the clouds covered the sky but at 8.10 pm the sky cleared and it was seen as a much broader although less luminous band being about 15 degrees wide. It could be seen lying from Beta Auriga through the belt of Orion to the Pleiades. By 8.30 pm no trace of the aurora could be seen.
The 7th Moon of Jupiter discovered with the Crossley Reflector
On January 2nd 1905 C D Perrine using the 36 inch Crossley Reflector discovered the 7th moon of Jupiter which is now called Elara. The name Elara comes from one of the lovers of Zeus. The moon has a diameter of 79 km and is the 8th largest moon of Jupiter.
The 36 inch reflector had been owned by Edward Crossley of Halifax, Yorkshire who owned Crossley Carpets the largest carpet manufacturer in the world in the 19th century. He purchased it in the 1880s from A. A. Common of Ealing, London. Although it was at the time the largest reflector in England due to the poor observing conditions in the skies over Halifax which was due to the pollution from the many factories in Halifax it was impossible to use the telescope to its best.
In the mid 1890s he donated the telescope to the new Lick Observatory in California. During the late 19th and early 20th centuries the Crossley reflector at Lick proved to be a real trail blazing telescope leading in astronomical research in many different areas. It was also the largest reflector in America until the building of the 100 inch telescope at Mount Hamilton.
