Famous Astronomers from the past
in Alphabetical order Adams, John Couch 1819 -1892
English astronomer and mathematician who, at the age of 24, was the first person to predict the position of a planetary mass beyond Uranus. Adams did not publish his prediction. Galle confirmed the existence of Neptune based on independent calculations done by Le Verrier.
Arago, Dominique François Jean 1786 -1853
French astronomer, physicist and Director of the Paris Observatory. He discovered the phenomenon of the production of magnetism by rotation.
d'Arrest, Heinrich Louis
Danish astronomer who assisted Galle with the first observations of Neptune. After receiving its predicted position from Le Verrier, Galle and d'Arrest began searching. With Galle at the eyepiece and d'Arrest reading the chart, they scanned the sky and checked that each star seen was actually on the chart. Just a few minutes after their search began, d'Arrest cried out, "That star is not on the map!" and earned his place in the history books.
Barnard, Edward Emerson 1857-1923
American astronomer who discovered Jupiter's satellite Amalthea, and Barnard's star; the second-nearest star to the Sun.
Bode, Johann Elert 1747-1826
German astronomer, known for the bogus "Bode's Law" which attempts to explain the sizes of the planetary orbits.
Bond, William Cranch 1789-1859
One of the earliest American astronomers of note; rose from poverty and overcame a lack of formal education to become the first director of the Harvard College Observatory where he studied Saturn and (with Lassell) discovered its moon Hyperion.
Brahe, Tycho (Tyge Ottesen) 1546 -1601
Danish astronomer whose accurate astronomical observations formed the basis for Johannes Kepler's laws of planetary motion.Cassini, Giovanni Domenico (Jean Dominique)1625 -1712
Italian-born French astronomer and first director of the Royal Observatory in Paris; discoverer of four of Saturn's moons (Tethys, Dione, Rhea and Iapetus) and the major division in its rings.
Christy, James W. ...
... discoverer of Pluto's moon Charon.
Copernicus, Nicolaus 1473 -1543
Polish/German astronomer who advanced the heliocentric theory that the Earth and other planets revolve around the Sun. This was highly controversial at the time as the Ptolemaic view of the universe, which was the prevailing theory for over 1000 years, was deeply ingrained in the prevailing philosophy and religion. (It should be noted, however,that the heliocentric idea was first put forth by Aristarcus of Samos in the 3rd century BC, a fact known to Copernicus but long ignored.)
Einstein, Albert 1879 -1955
German-American physicist; developed the Special and General Theories of Relativity which along with Quantum Mechanics is the foundation of modern physics.
Franklin, Benjamin 1706 -1790
American public official, writer, and scientist. He played a major part in the American Revolution and helped draft the Constitution. His numerous scientific and practical innovations include the lightning rod, bifocal spectacles, and a stove.
Galle, Johann Gottfried 1812 -1910
German astronomer who, with Heinrich Louis d'Arrest, made the first observation of Neptune based on calculations by Le Verrier. Though Galle was the first to observe Neptune, its discovery is usually credited to Adams (who made an earlier calculation) and Le Verrier.
Galileo Galilei 1564 -1642
Italian astronomer and physicist. The first to use a telescope to study the stars. Discoverer of the first moons of an extraterrestrial body (see above). Galileo was an outspoken supporter of Copernicus's heliocentric theory. In reaction to Galileo, the Church declared it heresy to teach that the Earth moved and silenced him. The Church clung to this position for 350 years; Galileo was not formally exonerated until1992.
Hale, George Ellery 1868 -1938
American astronomer who founded the Yerkes, Mt. Wilson and Palomar observatories.
Hall, Asaph 1829 -1907
American astronomer who discovered the two moons of Mars, Deimos and Phobos.
Halley, Edmond 1656-1742
English astronomer who applied Newton's laws of motion to historical comet data and predicted correctly the reappearance of the comet which now bears his name.
Herschel, Sir William 1738 -1822
British astronomer who discovered Uranus, cataloged more than 800 double stars and 2500 nebulae.
Hubble, Edwin Powell 1889 -1953
American astronomer whose observations proved that galaxies are "island universes", not nebulae inside our own galaxy. His greatest discovery was the linear relationship between a galaxy's distance and the speed with which it is moving. The Hubble Space Telescope is named in his honor.
Huygens, Christiaan 1629 -1695
Dutch physicist and astronomer who first described the nature of Saturn's rings (1655) and discovered its moon Titan; also pioneered the use of the pendulum in clocks.
Keeler, James E. 1857 -1900
American astrophysicist, probable discoverer of the dark narrow gap in the outer part of the A ring of Saturn, and the second director of Lick Observatory. Keeler was (probably accidentally) cheated of his rightful fame when the A ring gap became known as "Encke's Division". Encke had earlier seen a broad, poor contrast feature in the A-ring (now called the "Encke Minimum") which is quite different from the sharp, distinct gap that Keeler recorded on the very first night of observing with the Lick 36-inch refractor. On the other hand, the gap may have been seen even earlier by Francesco De Vico, William Lassell and the Rev. William R. Dawes.
Kepler, Johannes 1571 -1630
German astronomer and mathematician. Considered a founder of modern astronomy. Using the positional data carefully amassed by Tycho Brahe, Kepler formulated the famous three laws of planetary motion. They comprise quantitative formulation of Copernicus's theory that the planets revolve around the Sun.
Kuiper, Gerard 1905 -1973
Dutch-born American astronomer best known for his study of the surface of the Moon; discovered Miranda and Nereid, found an atmosphere on Titan. (Dr. Kuiper was solidly Americanized; his name is pronounced to rhyme with "viper.")
Marius (Mayr), Simon 1573 -1624
German astronomer who gave Jupiter's "Galilean" moons their names. He and Galileo both claimed to have discovered them in 1610 and likely did so independently. Marius was also the first to observe the Andromeda Nebula with a telescope and one of the first to observe sunspots.
Lagrange, Joseph Louis 1736 -1813
French (originally Italian, Giuseppe Luigi Lagrangia); born in Turin, moved to Paris and became a French citizen; mathematician and astronomer; made a number of contributions to the study of celestial motion. The Lagrange points are named after him.
Lassell, William 1799 -1880
British astronomer, discovered Neptune's largest satellite, Triton and (with Bond) discovered Saturn's moon Hyperion. A successful brewer before turning to astronomy.
Le Verrier, Urbain Jean Joseph 1811 -1877
French mathematician whose prediction of the position of an undiscovered planet (Neptune) that caused perturbations in the orbit of Uranus was the first to be confirmed (by Galle) though Adams had made a similar but unpublished prediction some months earlier.
Lowell, Percival 1855 -1916
American astronomer. He founded the Lowell Observatory in Arizona (1894), where his studies of Mars led him to believe that the linear markings (first noted by Schiaparelli) on the surface were "canals" and therefore that the planet was inhabited by intelligent beings. His successors later discovered Pluto.
Newton, Isaac 1642 -1727
English cleric and scientist; discovered the classical laws of motion and gravity; the bit with the apple is probably apocryphal.
Nicholson, Seth Barnes 1891 -1963
American astronomer; discovered Lysithea, Ananke, Carme and Sinope; also did important work on sunspots.
Oort, Jan Hendrik 1900 -1992
Dutch astronomer made major contributions to knowledge of the structure and rotation of our galaxy. More or less as a sideline, Oort studied comets as well. The result of this work was a theory, now widely accepted, that the Sun is surrounded by a distant cloud of comet-stuff, now called the Oort cloud, bits of which are occasionally hurled into the solar system as comets.
Piazzi, Giuseppe 1746 -1826
Astronomer, born in Ponte di Valtellina, Italy. He became a Theatine monk, professor of theology in Rome (1779), and professor of mathematics at the Academy of Palermo (1780). He set up an observatory at Palermo in 1789, published a star catalog (1803, 1814) and discovered and named the first minor planet, Ceres.
Pickering, William Henry 1858 -1938
American astronomer. His photographs of Mars, among the earliest obtained, provided a basis for his opposition to Lowell's observations of supposed canals on Mars. Discovered Phoebe.
Ptolemy (Claudius Ptolemaeus) 87-150
Alexandrian astronomer, mathematician, and geographer who based his astronomy on the belief that all heavenly bodies revolve around the Earth.
Schiaparelli, Giovanni Virginio 1835 -1910
Italian astronomer who in 1877 first observed the "canals" on Mars. He believed that the features he observed included straight lines that joined in a complicated pattern. He called these lines 'canali', which means 'channels'. However, the Italian word was mistranslated into the English word 'canals'. That, combined with the suspicious straightness of the lines, bespoke of artificial structures, and this created a furor. Speculations concerning the possibility of intelligent life on Mars sprang up in the popular press. Even astronomers felt the pull of that dramatic possibility. Foremost among these was Percival Lowell, who carried matters far beyond Schiaparelli.
Thomson, William (Lord Kelvin) 1824 -1907
British physicist who developed the Kelvin scale of temperature. Also supervised the laying of a trans-Atlantic cable.
Tombaugh, Clyde 1906 -1997
American astronomer; discovered Pluto.
Van Allen, James A
NZ-born, American physicist who discovered the Earth's radiation belts, that now bear his name, with an instrument aboard the first successful American satellite, Explorer 1.
Slightly edited selection from ...