Skip to main content

The Astronomers Behind the Historical Surveys

  • Chapter
  • First Online:
Book cover Faint Objects and How to Observe Them

Part of the book series: Astronomers' Observing Guides ((OBSERVING))

  • 2285 Accesses

Abstract

What follows is a brief historical narrative of some of the more important figures in the history of deep sky astronomy during the age of the telescope. Far from being a complete listing, the following does highlight some of the important figures involved in expanding our view of the universe. Once the telescope was invented and accepted as a useful scientific instrument, along with improvements in the optics of both reflectors and refractors, it became possible for various astronomers to carry out systematic surveys of the nighttime sky, cataloging the various objects they encountered along the way.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Chapter
USD 29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD 29.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
USD 37.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

References

  1. Image source: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a4/Charles_Messier.jpg

  2. Sources (2012) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Messier; Sea and Sky: Charles Messier, http://www.seasky.org/spacexp/sky5e06.html

  3. F. Hartmut, C. Kronberg, G. McArthur, M. Elowitz, The SEDS Messier catalog webpages (http://messier.seds.org/) (SEDS, University of Arizona Chapter, Tucson, AZ, 1994–2000)

  4. Reference: http://www.seasky.org/spacexp/sky5e06.html

  5. Image source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:William_Herschel01.jpg; {{PD-1923}} – published before 1923 and public domain in the US

  6. M. Frommert, C. Kronberg (2008), William Herschel (1738–1822),http://seds.org/messier/xtra/Bios/wherschel.html

  7. Image and information courtesy of Gary Kronk, http://cometography.com/biographies/herschelc.html

  8. NNDB (2012), William Herschel, http://www.nndb.com/people/661/000096373/, Soylent Communications

  9. M. Frommert, C. Kronberg (2012), Caroline Herschel (1750–1848), http://seds.org/messier/xtra/Bios/cherschel.html

  10. J.J. O’Conner, E.F. Robertson, John Frederick William Herschel, Credit: http://www-history.mcs.st-andrews.ac.uk/Biographies/Herschel.html (School of Mathematics and Statistics, University of St. Andrews, Scotland, 1999)

  11. (2008) http://philosophyofscienceportal.blogspot.com/2008/04/sir-john-herschelastronomy-photography.html

  12. J.A. Bennett (1990), John Lewis Emil Dreyer, Courtesy of Armagh Observatory, http://www.arm.ac.uk/history/dreyer.html, N. Ireland

  13. Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia (2012), Edward Emerson Barnard, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edward_Emerson_Barnard

  14. (2005) William Lassell Courtesy Mike Oats, http://www.mikeoates.org/lassell/lassell_inbrief.htm

  15. Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia (2012), William Lassell, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Lassell

  16. Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia (2012), Edwin Hubble, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edwin_Hubble

  17. Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia (2002), Edwin Powell Hubble (Biography), http://www.edwinhubble.com/

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Brian Cudnik .

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2013 Springer Science+Business Media New York

About this chapter

Cite this chapter

Cudnik, B. (2013). The Astronomers Behind the Historical Surveys. In: Faint Objects and How to Observe Them. Astronomers' Observing Guides. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4419-6757-2_2

Download citation

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4419-6757-2_2

  • Published:

  • Publisher Name: Springer, New York, NY

  • Print ISBN: 978-1-4419-6756-5

  • Online ISBN: 978-1-4419-6757-2

  • eBook Packages: Physics and AstronomyPhysics and Astronomy (R0)

Publish with us

Policies and ethics