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Miniature address book containing notes on the observational technique of William Herschel and his sister, various financial transactions and accounts. Many of the entries are crossed out.

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Undated photocopies of the contents of two miniature books of accounts and notes belonging to Nevil Maskelyne. The first book, 1809-1810, covers financial transactions, dates of meetings, wages paid, a remedy for an unknown ailment, the renewal of licenses and some astronomical observations. The second book, 1791-1795, contains notes on the observational technique of William Herschel and his sister, financial transactions and accounts, with many of the entries crossed out.

Scope and Contents Correspondence and related papers concerning the Royal Astronomical Society, including the following material:(1) General correspondenceCorrespondence between Sir Harold Spencer Jones and Miss Garratt, Royal Astronomical Society, regarding the Padbury chronometer, 1949.Correspondence regarding the R.A.S. Finance Committee, 1949.Correspondence between H. Spencer Jones and Dr G. Merton regarding reductions of the Stanley Williams variable star observations,...

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An undated photostat a letter from Nevil Maskelyne to Sir Joseph Banks, 16 April 1781, sending him a specimen of paper that C. Hutton has suggested for the printing of C. Mason's new lunar tables. He also informs Banks that J. Ramsden has promised the new equatorial instrument will be delivered in a week's time, and comments on W. Herschel's discovery of a comet.

Scope and Contents A folder of c.55 letters sent by Lady Clive mainly to her niece, Margaret Maskelyne. Topics include astronomy, politics (including the abdication of Napoleon and events in Spain) and family or domestic matters, including details of family history, and the death of her daughter Margaret Walpole as a result of injury by fire (1814). The letter of 3 Dec. 1814 includes mention of Nevil Maskelyne's 'confrère', Delambre. That of 19 June 1816 refers to the knighthood of William Herschel. That of 17...

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Correspondence comprised predominantly of letters from T. Maclear or F. Fallows to F. Baily:

Scope and Contents (1) Letters regarding the existence of Neptune, 1846-1878Duplicate copies of collected correspondence on the investigations of J.C. Adams and U.J.J. Le Verrier into the existence of Neptune and in particular of the ensuing controversy over the name of the planet. There are also other letters concerning the minor planets and mathematical formula for their orbits, the Moon's equation and lunar acceleration. The correspondents include J.C. Adams, Sir George Airy, F.N.M. Arago, J....

Scope and Contents (1) Correspondence, 1834-1895Correspondence regarding J.C. Adams and other subjects, as follows:Index to correspondence, 1895.C. Taylor's suggestion of a memorial to J.C. Adams at Westminster Abbey, 1892.D. McAlister's proposal for a publication of J.C. Adams's papers, with lists of important correspondence, 1892-1893.Notes on correspondence in the Royal Observatory records regarding the search for Neptune, 1834.Notes from J.F.W. Hershel's...

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Various rough, undated notes on mathematical problems, with computations and diagrams, including calculations in spherical trigonometry; an etching of an equatorial telescope, with annotations; sixteen objects observed with Dr Herschel's telescope; and weather conditions, 21 October - 21 November, year unknown.

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Microfilms of the letters, observations and other papers of Caroline Herschel, Sir J.F.W. Herschel and Sir William Herschel.

Scope and Contents Correspondence and other papers regarding the acquisition of moveable property by the Royal Observatory, including the following:Correspondence with A. Cowper Ranyard, S. Denman, W. Spottiswoode and S. Crompton, who sent various photographs to Sir George Airy, 1875-1876.Correspondence with J.P. Maclear and the Admiralty concerning the return of a spectroscope which the Royal Observatory had loaned to Maclear, 1876.Copy of a letter from Airy to Lord Lindsay thanking...

Scope and Contents An annotated copy of Porter's script for 'The Night Sky in April' on the astronomers of the past and the discovery of the rings and satellites of Saturn; Leo, Spica in Virgo with Saturn to the east, and the appearance of Saturn in a telescope; the quality of early telescopes, such as those of Galileo and Huygens; Huygens's telescope, his observation of Saturn and discovery of Titan, the largest moon of Saturn, Cassini discovering four moons and Herschel discovering two more; the arrangement...

Scope and Contents A copy of Porter's script for 'The Night Sky in August' on statistical methods in astronomy; the Plough and the movement of Arcturus over 1,800 years since the time of Ptolemy, which Edmond Halley called attention to in 1718; the proper motions of stars, including Arcturus, Sirius and Procyon, analysed statistically by William Herschel, giving similar results to modern measurements; stellar velocities determined by spectroscopic analysis, the velocities increasing towards the galactic...

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A copy of Porter's script for 'The Night Sky in December' on the Christmas Moon, Orion, Sirius Gemini, Leo and Regulus, Betelgeuse and Procyon; Jupiter, Venus and Saturn, Uranus and its discovery by William Herschel; the star cluster Praesepe in Cancer and methods of measuring stellar distances; and the use of the photocell and chronometer to measure the time of extinction of a star at occultation.

Scope and Contents An annotated copy of Porter's script for 'The Night Sky in January' on the comet discovered in November 1956, predicted to be a naked eye object by the spring; Venus drawing near the Sun in the morning sky, Jupiter to be the brightest planet, Mars fading in the early evening, and Saturn coming into view in the morning; International Geophysical Year; Robert Hooke observing that Gamma Arietis was a double star in 1664; other easily observable double stars: Polaris, Alcor and Mizar, Castor,...

Scope and Contents A copy of Porter's script for 'The Night Sky in July' on the Milky Way, including its stars counted by William Herschel, its shape, and its centre situated in the direction of Sagittarius; the path of the Milky Way flowing through Aquila, Cygnus and Cassiopeia, and the number of stars in our galaxy; the resolution of stars in other galaxies established using red-sensitive photographic plates taken with the 100" Mount Wilson telescope; proof that our galaxy is a spiral, confirmed by Dutch...

Scope and Contents Two copies of Porter's script for 'The Night Sky in March' on stellar colours, Betelgeuse and Aldebaran being red stars, and Sirius, Arcturus and Vega being instantly recognisable by colour; Jupiter and Saturn (easily identified because of their steady lights) being found in the south-east before dawn; the similarities in the colours of the stars in Orion's belt, the difference between Castor and Pollux, close double stars sometimes giving contrasting colours and the numbers of double stars...

Scope and Contents An annotated copy of Porter's script for 'The Night Sky in November' on Venus and Jupiter in the morning sky; an eclipse of the Moon on Sunday, 18 November; the attention given by the ancient astronomers to the Moon and planets, rather than the stars; the study of comets in the eighteenth century; the Messier catalogue of nebulae; M31 in Andromeda and how to find it with the naked eye; William Herschel's counting of stars and nebulae and the different types of galaxy; spectroscopy and...

Scope and Contents A copy of Porter's script for 'The Night Sky in October' on cycles in nature and astronomy; Jupiter in Gemini below Castor and Pollux, its retrograde motion and opposition, and the three-fold conjunction with Uranus; finding Uranus in the night sky, the achievement of William Herschel, and the close conjunction of Jupiter and Uranus on 10 May 1955; Mercury, Venus and Saturn not visible, and the rising and setting of Mars at the time of a summer opposition; ancient astronomy and epicycles,...

Scope and Contents A copy of Porter's script for 'The Night Sky in September' on the Milky Way making spectacular viewing through field glasses; Vega, Cygnus and Lyra; Albireo, a double star, and other double stars, such as Alcor and Mizar and Epsilon Lyrae; studies of William Herschel and the parallax principal applied to double stars; the discovery that some double stars are not just line-of-sight phenomena, but stars physically related and revolving about one another; the universality of the law of...

Scope and Contents From the Series:

A collection of loose portrait plates, chiefly of astronomers, printed from engravings, drawings and photographs. The portraits are arranged alphabetically by surname of the sitter. Alongside astronomers, sitters include physicists, mathematicians and other scientists of note. The collection also includes a single portrait of King Charles II, an RGO staff photograph, and a book of portraits of astronomers.