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Sunspot drawings of H.S. Schwabe, 1869 - 1880

 Series
Reference Code: GBR/0180/RGO 58

Scope and Contents

RGO 58 contains copies of drawings by H.S. Schwabe showing the location and grouping of sunspots during 5 November 1825 to 29 December 1867. The copies were made at the Kew Observatory, February- April 1880. They were traced by several different people and indexed and checked by H. McLaughlin and the Superintendent, G.M. Whipple. Each volume includes notes recording poor weather conditions, days when observations were not made and other information. There are also tables summarising the results for each year.

Dates

  • Creation: 1869 - 1880

Creator

Conditions Governing Access

From the Management Group:

Unless restrictions apply, the collection is open for consultation by researchers using the Manuscripts Reading Room at Cambridge University Library. For further details on conditions governing access please contact mss@lib.cam.ac.uk. Information about opening hours and obtaining a Cambridge University Library reader's ticket is available from the Library's website (www.lib.cam.ac.uk).

Biographical / Historical

Heinrich Samuel Schwabe (1789- 1874), a German astronomer, was born on 25 October 1789. He began a systematic survey of the Sun's surface in 1826, which culminated in the discovery in 1843 of a ten- year sunspot cycle (later shown by E.W. Maunder to be longer). Schwabe's work encouraged others to begin daily observations at Kew and elsewhere. He died on 11 April 1874.

Extent

14 volume(s) : paper

Language of Materials

English

Immediate Source of Acquisition

The volumes were transferred to the RGO Archives by the Meteorological Office at Bracknell circa 1985.

General

This description was created by Robert Steiner, Department of Manuscripts and University Archives. It was emended by Dr Emma Saunders in Nov. 2016.

Originator(s)

Schwabe, Samuel Heinrich

Finding aid date

2007-05-18 12:59:04+00:00

Includes index.

Repository Details

Part of the Cambridge University Library Repository

Contact:
Cambridge University Library
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Cambridge CB3 9DR United Kingdom