William Frederick Denning
William Frederick Denning | |
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 William Denning celebrated inPunch magazineVol. 102, 9 April 1892, on the occasion ofThe Timesnewspaper commenting on Denning's discovery of asmall faintcometon Friday 18 March 1892 atBishopston, Bristol | |
| Born | 25 November 1848 |
| Died | 9 June 1931(aged 82) Bristol, England |
| Occupation | Accountant |
William Frederick Denning(25 November 1848 – 9 June 1931) was a Britishamateurastronomerwho achieved considerable success without formal scientific training.[1][2][3]He is known for his catalogues ofmeteor radiants,observations ofJupiter's red spot,and for the discovery of fivecomets.[4]Outside astronomy, as a young man, Denning showed prowess atcricketto the extentW G Graceinvited him to play forGloucestershire.However Denning's retiring nature made him decline the offer.[1]
Career
[edit]Denning devoted a great deal of time to searching for comets, and discovered five of them, including theperiodic comet72P/Denning–Fujikawaand thelost cometD/1894 F1.The latter was the last comet discovered on British soil until the discoveries ofGeorge Alcock,and its recovery was announced by the Minor Planet Center with MPEC 2024-Q14.
Denning also studiedmeteorsandnovae,discoveringNova Cygni 1920(V476 Cyg). From 1869 Denning held the combined post of secretary and treasurer of the short-lived Observing Astronomical Society.[5]Denning was elected to theRoyal Astronomical Societyon 8 June 1877.[6]He was first elected to theBritish Astronomical Associationon 24 June 1891 and rejoined in 1898, being elected as a member on 16 October of that year.[7]He directed its Comet Section (1891–1893) and Meteor Section (1899–1900).[8]He won thePrix Valzof theFrench Academy of Sciencesfor 1895.[9]
During his life, Denning published 1179 articles[10]in prominent scientific journals includingNature,The Observatory,Astronomische Nachrichten,Journal of the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada,Journal des Observateurs,andMonthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society.[11]
Awards and honors
[edit]- In 1898, Denning won theGold Medal of the Royal Astronomical Society.[2]
- He also won theDonohoe Comet Medalfor his July 23, 1890 discovery of a comet.[12][13]
- Such was his standing in the astronomical community that following his death a memorial tablet was fixed to his house.[14]
- CraterDenningon the Moon as well as the Martian craterDenningwere named after him in 1970 and 1973, respectively.[15][16]
- Asteroid71885 Denning,discovered by theSpacewatchprogram in 2000, was named in his memory.[4]The officialnaming citationwas published by theMinor Planet Centeron 4 October 2009 (M.P.C.67219).[17]
References
[edit]- ^ab"Obituary Notice: Denning, William Frederick".MNRAS.92:248–250. February 1932.Bibcode:1932MNRAS..92..248..doi:10.1093/mnras/92.4.248.
- ^abAddison, Henry Robert; Oakes, Charles Henry; Lawson, William John; Sladen, Douglas Brooke Wheelton (1907)."DENNING, William F."Who's Who.59:470.
- ^Hockey, Thomas (2009).The Biographical Encyclopedia of Astronomers.Springer Publishing.ISBN978-0-387-31022-0.Retrieved22 August2012.
- ^ab"(71885) Denning = 2000 WD".Minor Planet Center.Retrieved5 February2020.
- ^"1869AReg....7..165. Page 165".Astronomical Register.7:165. 1869.Bibcode:1869AReg....7..165.Retrieved22 October2018.
- ^Dreyer, J. L. E. (1877)."1877MNRAS..37..427D Page 427".Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society.37:427.Bibcode:1877MNRAS..37..427D.doi:10.1093/mnras/37.8.427.
- ^"1898JBAA....9...28. Page 28".Journal of the British Astronomical Association.9:28. 1898.Bibcode:1898JBAA....9...28.Retrieved4 September2021.
- ^Kelly, Howard L.; Gale, W. F.; Evershed, M. A.; Porthouse, William; Ryves, P. M.; Peek, B. M.; Davidson, M.; Prentice, J. P. M.; Kellaway, G. F.; Housman, W. B.; Porter, J. G.; Reade, Vera (1947)."The British Astronomical Association: The First Fifty Years"(PDF).Memoirs of the British Astronomical Association.36:55.Bibcode:1947MmBAA..36C..55K.
- ^"Prix Valz".Comptes rendus hebdomadaires des séances de l'Académie des sciences.Vol. Tomes XCII à CXXI, 3 Janvier 1881 à 30 Décembre 1895. Paris: Gauthier-Villars. 1900. pp. 1574–1575.
- ^Beech, Martin (February 1998)."W. F. Denning—The Doyen of Amateur Astronomers".WGN: Journal of the International Meteor Organization.26(1): 19–24.Bibcode:1998JIMO...26...19B.Retrieved29 December2016.
- ^Accomazzi, Alberto;Kurtz, Michael J.;Murray, Stephen S. (2016)."SAO/NASA Astrophysics Data System".Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory.Retrieved29 December2016.
- ^"Awards of the Comet-Medal of the ASP (1890-1896)".Publications of the Astronomical Society of the Pacific.9.San Francisco: 99. 1897.JSTOR40671005.
- ^Denning, W. F. (September 1890)."Comet c, 1890".The Observatory.13(166): 295.Bibcode:1890Obs....13..295F.
- ^"1932Obs....55...14. Page 14".The Observatory.55:14. 1932.Bibcode:1932Obs....55...14.Retrieved5 September2021.
- ^"Lunar crater Denning".Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature.USGS Astrogeology Research Program.
- ^"Martian crater Denning".Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature.USGS Astrogeology Research Program.
- ^"MPC/MPO/MPS Archive".Minor Planet Center.Retrieved6 February2020.
- Phil Williams (July 2015) "William Frederick Denning F.R.A.S." Liverpool Astronomical Society Newsletter (July 2015, pp,4–6)
External links
[edit]
Works by or aboutWilliam Frederick DenningatWikisource- Telescopic work for starlight eveningsCornell University Library Historical Monographs Collection.
- W. F. Denning – The Doyen of Amateur AstronomersShort biography by Martin Beech, Campion College, The University of Regina, Canada
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