BULLETIN ISSUE 29 SPRING 2018 NEW SERIES BY PAUL HALEY BEGINS IN THIS ISSUE: 19TH CENTURY OBSERVATORIES 2018 SHA SPRING CONFERENCE The first talk is at 1015 and the Saturday 21st April 2018 The conference registraon is morning session ends at 1215 Instute of Astronomy, between 0930 and 1000 at which for lunch. The lunch break is University of Cambridge me refreshments are available unl 1330. An on-site lunch Madingley Road, Cambridge in the lecture theatre. The will be available (£5.00) BUT CB3 0HA conference starts at 1000 with a MUST BE PRE-ORDERED. There welcome by the SHA Chairman are no nearby eang places. Bob Bower introduces the There is a break for refreshments Aer the break there is the aernoon session at 1330 then from 1530 to 1600 when Tea/ final talk. The aernoon there are two one-hour talks. Coffee and biscuits will be session will end at 5 p.m. and provided. the conference will then close. 10 00 - 1015 10 15 - 1115 1115 - 1215 SHA Chairman Bob Bower Carolyn Kennett and Brian Sheen Kevin Kilburn Welcomes delegates to Ancient Skies and the Megaliths Forgotten Star Atlas the Instute of of Cornwall Astronomy for the SHA 2018 Archeoastronomy in Cornwall The 18th Century unpublished Spring Conference Past and Present Uranographia Britannica by Dr John Bevis 13 30 - 1430 14 30 - 1530 16 00 – 17 00 Nik Szymanek Kenelm England Jonathan Maxwell The Road to Modern Berkshire Astronomers 5000 BC Some lesser known aspects Astrophotography to AD 2018 regarding the evolution of The pioneering days of Some topics on astronomers and refracting telescopes: from early astrophotographers, observations made from Lippershey's spectacle lens to the up to modern times Berkshire since pre-historic Apochromats times until last week An insight into the development of 2 the refracting telescope In this Issue BOOK SALE AT THE 2017 AGM Digital Bulletin The Digital Bulletin provides extra content and links when viewing the 4 Bulletin as a PDF. News Update News Items about the History of 5 Astronomy What happened to Christopher Wren's Inaugural 39 from Robert McLachlan Tulse Hill Observatory and William Huggins.from Christopher 43 Taylor From the Library Shelves from Carolyn Bedwell 4455 Book Review 1 Discovering Pluto Reviewed by Mike Leggett 46 Event reports Book Review 2 2017 Annual General Meeting The Works and Family of a Westmeath 48 Held on 28th October 2017 at the British 6 Astronomer Reviewed by Allan Chapman Midland Institute in Birmingham Centennial News Article 1 38 Articles The Solar Spectrum Centennial News Article 2 New Comet 1818 48 19th Century Observatories 1800 -1809 from Paul Haley. A new series exploring the growth 8 and development of astronomical observatories. Astroconundrum 1 Solution 49 from Paul Haley Astroconundrum 2 Ouro Preto Observatory Black Gold in Brazil 11 50 from Mike Frost. from Paul Haley The Astronomy of George Thomas Smith- History of Astronomy Crossword 2 52 13 from Len Adam Clarke from Adrian Padfield Harold Knox-Shaw's Stereoscopic Slides 17 from about 1920 to 1950 from Anne Charles Astro-Research 3 - Paul Haley continues his series on researching astronomical history. 22 SPRING CONFERENCE Takes The Total SolarEclipse of 1954 . 26 from Kevin Kilburn place on Saturday 21st April 2018 The Eclipse of 1927 and the Manchester Astronomical Society from Kevin Kilburn 28 At the Birmingham and Midland Astronomical Snippets Part 6. - Paul Haley Instute continues his journey to investigate astronomical resources. 29 Details Opposite Obituary: Richard Baum (1930 – 2017) 37 from William Sheehan 3 Digital Bulletin 29 for online readers From the SHA Online Article Library The Digital Bulletin provides extra content and William Crabtree and The Tuttles of Harvard links for members viewing the Bulletin as a the date of Easter PDF. Articles that have previously appeared in College Observatory: the Antiquarian Astronomer are now on line. Selected articles can be read directly from this 1850 1862 page. Key links to the latest and past issues of SHA e-News and other material can be accessed from here. Click the centre of any image to go to the content. QR codes next to each item allows the printed Bulletin reader to access the digital content. Please note that e-News is now published at the beginning of February, May, August and November. by SHA e-News Richard issues can be By David E. accessed here Sellers Schmidt Click the QR Code box to link to it The telescopes of John Henry Reynolds Identifying the stars on The of Harborne, Birmingham, England: An Antiquarian Johann Bayers' Chart of Outstanding Grand Amateur the South Polar Sky Astronomer web page can be linked to here Free to download from web as a PDF file By Ian Ridpath by Dr. Ron Maddison The 1769 Transit of Venus Observatory in Lewes, Delaware John Holt Stanway: Gone to Texas By Geoffrey Thurston by James Bryan 4 NEWS EDITORIAL Under the early guidance of Stuart Williams, THE Kevin Kilburn, and the late Ken Goward and Peter Hingley, the Society grew EDITORIAL VICTORIAN and prospered, as it continues to do From Carolyn Kennett and today. Peter Hingley’s ‘day job’ as Librarian AMATEUR and Archivist of the Royal Len Adam Astronomical Society opened up wonderful ASTRONOMER research opportunities to S.H.A. Allan Chapman has members keen to obtain access to an Welcome to Issue 29 of the SHA Bulletin. abundance of primary sources. And the We are really pleased to have so many republished the Victorian experienced and expert contributors to the Amateur Astronomer with the S.H.A.and R.A.S. continue in this close working relationship. As with the early Bulletin. Because of space limitations a help of the society for the RoyalSociety and the early R.A.S., the number of contributions have had to be held History of Astronomy S.H.A.’s members earn their daily bread over until the next issue so you will have to through a variety of traditional and new wait until October to read them! In this professions, from medicine to information issue we continue the series of technology. It is their subscriptions, Astronomical Snippets and Astro-Research donations, and bequests that pay for from Paul Haley who also supplies the everything, be they a student paying a answers to his first Astro-Conundram for subsidised rate, or a retired professional those readers who tackled this and he leaving a handsome bequest in their will. includes Astro-Conundrum 2. Paul also For just as Bishop Thomas Sprat F.R.S. starts a new series on 19th century styled the Royal Society in 1667, they are all Observatories in this issue. There is an ‘gentlemen [and now ladies], free and article from Anne Charles about Robert unconfin’d’. Knox - Shaw's stereoscopic slides and Yet independent and self-governing as the articles from Kevin Kilburn about the 1927 S.H.A. is, it is open and welcoming to all, and 1954 Eclipses. Mike Frost has its members being involved not just with contributed an article about Brazilian research, but also with outreach to schools Observatories and Adrian Padfield an and to regional astronomical article on the Astronomy of George Thomas societies.Society meetings are held in both Smith- Clarke. Robert McLachlan gives northern and southern Britain, and recently, some insight into the one -time Professor of in Paris, although its hub is the Victorian Astronomy at Gresham College, Sir gothic grandeur of the Birmingham and Christopher Wren. Christopher Taylor The following is an extract from Midland Institute. Here, the S.H.A. holds its discusses Tulse Hill Observatory and Sir the preface of the book explaining annual AGM in October, and it is in William Huggins and Carolyn Bedwell the B.M.I. that the Society’s large and looks at some miscellaneous items from the the support given by the SHA in SHA Library Shelves in her regular series. the book's publication: constantly growing Library of historical astronomy books is located. There are two book reviews, one from our President Allan Chapman of "The Works "On 29 June 2002, a new Society devoted I am greatly indebted to Dr James Dawson, a and Family of a Westmeath Astronomer" by to the history of astronomy was founded. busy hospital doctor who also Ian Elliot and Charles Mollan and one from The Society for the History of Astronomy serves as Librarian of the S.H.A., for giving Mike Leggett of "Discovering Pluto: held its inaugural meeting in Wadham his precious spare time and technical Exploration at the Edge of the Solar College, Oxford: the very same College in expertise to make it possible, at last, to see System" by Dale P Cruikshank and William which Bishop John Wilkins, Sir this second edition of my book through Sheehan. This issue also contains Digital Christopher Wren, John Wallis, Robert the press. For while Tom Longford of Bulletin 29 and also a "Digital Bulletin 29 Hooke, the Hon. Robert Boyle and other Gracewing Press had long desired to Extra" which links through to videos friends had met for their ‘Experimental re-publish The Victorian Amateur published by the Royal Astronomical Club’ after 1649. After the Restoration of Astronomer, only half of the original Society about "The Treasures of the RAS". the Monarchy in 1660, this same group of electronicfiles were still in existence. It was The back page is where you will find the friends would re-locate to Gresham James Dawson who, during the summer of second SHA crossword . There is a report College in the City of London, to become 2017, in conjunction with the S.H.A.