John Tebbutt: Rebuilding and Strengthening the Foundations of Australian Astronomy

by Wayne Orchiston

Overview

This book marks the centennial of Tebbutt's death with a major biographical account surveying his scientific contributions to astronomy, prefaced with a foreword by Sir Patrick Moore. During the second half of the nineteenth century, Tebbutt was Australia's foremost astronomer. He devoted his time and funds to astronomy, and built a truly international reputation that far surpassed Australia's leading professional astronomers of the day. This book marks the centennial of Tebbutt's death with a major biographical account. Tebbutt's remarkable record of achievement extends over more than half a century.

Orchiston's book covers the whole of Tebbutt's career, from his yearly observatory reports and comet discoveries to his time as the first president of Sydney's branch of the British Astronomical Association.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9783319445212
Publisher:	Springer International Publishing
Publication date:	11/15/2016
Series:	Historical & Cultural Astronomy
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	555
File size:	13 MB
Note:	This product may take a few minutes to download.

About the Author

Professor Wayne Orchiston is a Senior Researcher at the National Astronomical Research Institute in Chiang Mai, Thailand, and formerly worked in optical and radio astronomy in Australia and New Zealand. He has published on the history of Australian, English, French, Georgian, Indian, Indonesian, Iraqi, Japanese, New Zealand and USA astronomy, and has supervised a large pool of graduate students. Like Tsuko Nakamura, Orchiston has played a leading role in developing history of astronomy through International Astronomical Union Commission 41, and was responsible for the formation of the Historic Radio Astronomy and Transits of Venus Working Groups. He is the Editor of the Journal of Astronomical History and Heritage and is on the Editorial Board of Springer's Historical and Cultural Astronomy series. 

Table of Contents

1 John Tebbutt: Australian Astronomer Extraordinare.- 2 An Invaluable Resource: The "Tebbutt Collection" in the Mitchell Library, Sydney.- 3 The Development of Professional Astronomy in Nine Century Century/Australia.- 4 The Role of the Independent Astronomer in Early Australian Economy. 5 Introduction. 6 The Great Comet of 1861: A Magnificent Career Catalyst. 7 An Urge for Independence: The Sydney Observatory Directorship. 8 From Humble Beginnings: The Development of Windsor Observatory. 9 A Timely Spectacle: The Great Comet of 1881 Introduction. 10 An Abortive Association: The Australian Comet Corps. 11 A Gain in Light Grasp: The Legacy of the Grubb Telescope. 12 Power, Politics and Prestige: The Russell-Tebbutt Feud. 13 Astronomers in Isolation: A New Branch of the British Astronomical Association. 14 The End of an Era: A Welcome and Long-Earned Retirement. 15 The Sequel: From Scientific Observatory to Museum of Astronomy. INDEX.

Editorial Reviews

Wayne Orchiston has provided a scholarly and comprehensive review of the subject’s life and his contribution to science. … the outstanding feature of the text is the comprehensive referencing of source material that provides a very valuable resource for future researchers. … Orchiston’s book provides a fitting tribute to the achievements of this remarkable man and I would highly commend it to anyone interested in furthering their detailed understanding of nineteenth-century astronomy in Australia.” (Harry Wendt, Historical Records of Australian Science, Vol. 29, 2018)

“The value of this book is that it not only gives a thorough description of Tebbutt, his life, and his work, but it also maps out the history of observational astronomy in Australia (including 44 potted biographies of contemporary astronomical figures) and highlights the vital part that Tebbutt had in it.” (Robert Argyle, The Observatory, Vol. 137 (1261), December, 2017)

“Tebbut … professional life is detailed in the different chapters offered by Wayne Orchiston in this book, rich in information, images, photographs and details about the Australian context. A comprehensive book to learn about the development of astronomy in another continent. A book suggested to both undergraduate students, courses of history of astronomy but also to any interested people.” (Gabriella Bernardi, Astrocom et al., astrocometal.blogspot.de, January, 2017)

From the Publisher