In the name of Science

Name: Christoph Scheiner Birth: 25 Jul 1573 place: in Wald,Mindelheim,Germany       Today is the anniversary of the birth of the German Jesuit scholar, astronomer and mathematician Christoph Scheiner. One of the first to use the newly-invented telescope for astronomical observations Scheiner is probably best remembered for the co-discovery of sunspots in 1611 and for being one of the first astronomers to carry out systematic observation of sunspot activity.  The 110 km diameter lunar crater Scheiner, located in the densely cratered region west of the walled plain Clavius, is named in his honour.

Name: Hans Christian Adamson Birth: 20 Jul 1890 Place: Varde, Denmark     Today is the anniversary of the birth of the Danish-born American writer Hans Christian Adamson. He is probably best remembered by astronomers as editor of ‘The Hayden Planetarium Bulletin’ and ‘The Sky’ (two of the ancestors of Sky & Telescope).  The Hayden Planetarium Bulletin was issued as a monthly publication by the American Museum of Natural History from November 1935 to October 1936, following the opening of the Hayden Planetarium. Within twelve months the bulletin had become a full-size magazine and was renamed ‘The Sky’, featuring well-illustrated articles written by astronomers from across the world.  Hans Christian Adamson edited The Sky from October 1937 to February 1938, at which point George Clyde Fisher, head of the Hayden Planetarium, took over the role.

Name: Venetia Katharine Douglas Phair Birth:  11 Jul 1918 Place:  Oxford, Oxfordshire, England     Today is the anniversary of the birth of Venetia Katharine Douglas Phair, née Burney. An accountant and teacher by profession,   she is known for suggesting the name Pluto for the planet discovered by the American astronomer Clyde Tombaugh in 1930 . After reading about the discovery in The Times she suggested the name Pluto, after the Roman God of the Underworld. The suggestion was sent to Clyde Tombaugh at Lowell Observatory who approved it, the new name being adopted for the planet in May 1930.  The asteroid 6235 Burney, discovered in November 1987, is named in her honour, as is the 296 km diameter crater Burney on Pluto, identified from data returned by the New Horizons spacecraft during its flyby of the planet in July 2015.