In the name of Science

Name: John Goodricke   Birthdate: 17 Sep 1764 Birthplace:  Groningen,Netherlands     Today is the anniversary of the birth, in Groningen, the Netherlands on 17 Sep 1764, of the astronomer John Goodricke. The Goodricke family moved to England shortly afterwards, John having lost his hearing through a fever when still an infant, and becoming dumb as a consequence.  However, he overcame these difficulties, developing an interest in astronomy and becoming a highly proficient observer and pioneering investigator of variable stars. John had a particular fascination for the eclipsing binary Algol (Beta Persei), a star often referred to as the Demon Star. This strange appellation arises from the fact that Algol represents the severed head of Medusa the Gorgon, slain by the legendary Perseus and often represented as such on old star charts. Introduced to the star by his neighbour and fellow-astronomer Edward Pigott, Goodricke calculated Algol’s period of irregularity to be 2 days,

Name: Roy Kenneth Marshall Birthdate: 21 Aug 1907 Birthplace: Madison County, Illinois   Today is the anniversary of the birth of the American astronomer Roy Kenneth Marshall. He spent some time as astronomer with the Fels Planetarium, Philadelphia before becoming the first Director of Morehead Planetarium, Chapel Hill, North Carolina  (pictured here shortly after construction) which first opened its doors to the public on 10 May 1949.  As well as contributing to the classic book on sky lore and constellations Star Maps for Beginners (pictured) by Israel Monroe Levitt (1942) he was also one of the principal authors (the other being Leland Stanford Copeland) of a series of articles entitled ‘Astronomical Anecdotes’ published in Sky and Telescope (the feature in the June 1946 issue is seen here) from late-1941 until the end of 1946. Roy Kenneth Marshall was also a pioneering TV science broadcaster, hosting the weekly 15 minute National Broadcasting Company (NBC) televisio

 Name: Albert Francis Arthur Lofley Jones Birthdate: 9 Aug 1920 Birthplace: Christchurch, New Zealand   Today is the anniversary of the birth of amateur astronomer Albert Francis Arthur Lofley Jones. His achievements include the discovery (on 6 Aug 1946 while observing the variable star U Puppis) of comet C/1946 P1 (Jones) and the co-discovery on 18 Nov 2000 (with astronomer Syogo Utsunomiya of Kumamoto, Japan) of the long-period comet C/2000 W1 (Utsunomiya-Jones) (pictured here on 18 Jan 2001).  He was also the co-discoverer of supernova SN 1987A (seen here as the bright star to right of centre of image) in the Large Magellanic Cloud. However, Albert Francis Arthur Lofley Jones is perhaps best remembered for his remarkable skills as a variable star observer.  He was also the co-discoverer of supernova SN 1987A (seen here as the bright star to right of centre of image) in the Large Magellanic Cloud. However, Albert Francis Arthur Lofley Jones is perhaps best remembered

Name: Maria Mitchell Birthplace: Nantucket, Massachusetts Birthdate: 1 Aug 1818   Today is the anniversary of the American astronomer Maria Mitchell. The first woman to work as a professional astronomer in the USA, she became interested in the night sky at an early age after having been taught astronomy by her father.  Maria gained fame when her prolonged search for a comet came to fruition when she observed a 6th magnitude comet on the evening of 1 Oct 1847 and was the first to report it. Although several other observers spotted the comet over the next few days, Maria Mitchell was credited with the original discovery. Comet 1847 VI (modern designation C/1847 T1) became known as ‘ Miss Mitchell’s Comet ’ and the discovery resulted in her being awarded a medal by King Frederick VI of Denmark who some years previously had established gold medal prizes to be awarded to the first discoverers of ‘telescopic comets’ (comets which were too faint to be seen with the naked eye). T

Name: Laurent Cassegrain Birth: around 1629 Birthplace: Chartres,France     Today is the anniversary of the Birth of the French Catholic priest and instrument maker Laurent Cassegrain. Although this image may be a likeness of Laurent Cassegrain, no verifiable portrait of him is known to exist. he is best known to astronomers as being the probable inventor of a type of reflecting telescope which uses a combination of a primary concave mirror and a secondary convex mirror .  Now known as the Cassegrain reflector, Cassegrain’s design first appeared in the 25 Apr 1672 issue (pictured) of Le Journal des Sçavans (established by French writer Denis de Sallo in 1665 and the earliest academic journal published in Europe).  The 55 km diameter lunar crater Cassegrain, located to the south east of the larger crater Lebedev on the far side of the Moon and seen here immediately to the lower right of image centre, is named in his honour.

Name: George Eric Deacon Alcock Birth: 28 Aug 1912 Palace: Peterborough, Northamptonshire     Today is the anniversary of the birth of the English schoolteacher and amateur astronomer George Eric Deacon Alcock. A Fellow of the Royal Astronomical Society, the Royal Geographical Society, and the Royal Meteorological Society, he became interested in astronomy at a very early age and was destined to become one of the world’s most successful visual discoverers of novae and comets, with a total of 10 major discoveries to his name. He started his search for comets in 1953, his first success being the discovery of Comet Alcock 1959 IV in 1959, an achievement that was followed a few days later by his discovery of Comet Alcock 1959 VI and further comet discoveries in 1963 and 1965, culminating in his final (co)-discovery, that of Comet 1983 VII IRAS-Araki-Alcock (pictured) which he picked up with 15 x 80 binoculars on 3 May 1983.  His search for novae began in 1955, his first succ