Lewis Swift | |
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| Born | February 29, 1820 |
| Died | January 5, 1913 (aged 92) |
| Occupation | Astronomer |
| Relatives | Edward D. Swift (son) |
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Lewis A. Swift (February 29, 1820 – January 5, 1913[1]) was an Americanastronomer who discovered 13comets and 1,248 previously uncataloguednebulae. OnlyWilliam Herschel discovered more nebulae visually.[2]
Swift discovered or co-discovered a number ofcomets, including periodic comets11P/Tempel-Swift-LINEAR,64P/Swift-Gehrels, and109P/Swift-Tuttle (parent body of thePerseids meteor shower). He also discovered cometsC/1877 G2,C/1878 N1,C/1879 M1,C/1881 J1,C/1881 W1,C/1892 E1,D/1895 Q1 (also known as D/Swift, whose debris streamMariner 4 probably encountered on September 15, 1967[3]),C/1896 G1 andC/1899 E1, and co-discoveredC/1883 D1 (Brooks-Swift). Note, however, comet54P/de Vico-Swift-NEAT was discovered by his sonEdward D. Swift rather than by him.
He discovered his last comet at the age of 79. He was one of the few people to seeComet Halley at two of its appearances, 76 years apart (see also: External Link).
In 1878 he believed he had observed twoVulcan-typeplanets (planets within the orbit ofMercury), but he was mistaken.
Apart from comets, he also discovered hundreds ofnebulae, such asIC 289, and galaxies, such asNGC 6,NGC 19 andNGC 27. He independently observedNGC 17, leading to its separate listing in the New General Catalogue as NGC 34.
According to Swift, he first became interested in astronomy as young boy after observing theGreat Comet of 1843 while on his way to school inClarkson, New York. His teacher initially dismissed his observation, but three days later the 'discovery' of the comet was announced.[4]
Swift conducted his early observations inRochester, NY, 'lain out in the snow' in an alley on Ambrose Street or on the roof of Duffy's Cider Mill. Later he gained a patron in the Rochesterpatent medicine businessmanHulbert Harrington Warner, who financed the building of an observatory for Swift. A fund of $13,000 was raised to purchase a 16-inch telescope for Swift.[5][4]
Warner went bankrupt in thePanic of 1893, which ended his financial support, and Swift then went toCalifornia to become director ofMount Lowe Observatory, taking the 16 inch telescope with him.[5]
He was married twice, first to Lucretia Hunt in 1850 and then to Carrie D. Topping in 1864.Edward D. Swift was his son by the latter wife.
Swift received an honorary Ph.D. from theUniversity of Rochester in 1879.[4][6]
Swift received more medals than any other astronomer of his time including three made of gold from theAustrian Academy of Sciences inVienna,[7] four made of bronze from theAstronomical Society of the Pacific, and the Laplace Medal from theSociété astronomique de France (the French Astronomical Society). In 1897 he was the first person awarded theJackson-Gwilt Medal of theRoyal Astronomical Society.[4]
Theasteroid5035 Swift is named in his honour, as is the lunar craterSwift.
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