William Huggins | |
|---|---|
 Portrait byJohn Collier, 1905 | |
| Born | (1824-02-07)7 February 1824 |
| Died | 12 May 1910(1910-05-12) (aged 86) Tulse Hill,London, England |
| Known for | Astronomical spectroscopy |
| Spouse | Margaret Lindsay Huggins |
| Awards | Royal Medal(1866) Gold Medal of the Royal Astronomical Society(1867) Lalande Prize(1870) Rumford Medal(1880) Valz Prize(1882) Janssen Medal(1888) Copley Medal(1898) Actonian Prize(1900) Henry Draper Medal(1901) Bruce Medal(1904) |
| Scientific career | |
| Fields | Astronomy |
Sir William Huggins (7 February 1824 – 12 May 1910) was a British astronomer best known for his pioneering work in astronomical spectroscopy together with his wife,Margaret.[1]
William Huggins was born atCornhill,Middlesex, in 1824. In 1875, he marriedMargaret Lindsay, daughter of John Murray ofDublin, who also had an interest in astronomy and scientific research.[2]
She encouraged her husband's photography and helped to put their research on a systematic footing.[citation needed]
Huggins built a privateobservatory at 90 UpperTulse Hill, London, from where he and his wife carried out extensive observations of the spectralemission lines andabsorption lines of various celestial objects.[citation needed]
On 29 August 1864, Huggins was the first to take the spectrum of aplanetary nebula when he analysedNGC 6543.[3][4]
He was also the first to distinguish betweennebulae andgalaxies by showing that some (like theOrion Nebula) had pure emission spectra characteristic of gas, while others like theAndromeda Galaxy had the spectral characteristics ofstars.[citation needed]
Huggins was assisted in the analysis of spectra by his neighbor, the chemistWilliam Allen Miller. Huggins was also the first to adoptdry plate photography in imaging astronomical objects.[2]
With observations ofSirius showing aredshift in 1868, Huggins hypothesized that aradial velocity of the star could be computed.[5]
Huggins won theGold Medal of the Royal Astronomical Society in 1867, jointly withWilliam Allen Miller. He later served asPresident of the Royal Astronomical Society from 1876 to 1878, and received the Gold Medal again (this time alone) in 1885. He served as an officer of theRoyal Astronomical Society for a total of 37 years, more than any other person.[6]
Huggins was elected aFellow of the Royal Society in June 1865, was awarded theirRoyal Medal (1866),Rumford Medal (1880) andCopley Medal (1898) and delivered theirBakerian Lecture in 1885.
He then served asPresident of the Royal Society from 1900 to 1905. For example, his Presidential Address in 1904 praised the fallen Fellows and distributed the prizes of that year.[7]
He died at his home in Tulse Hill, London, after an operation for ahernia in 1910 and was buried atGolders Green Crematorium.
In 1856 Huggins acquired a 5-inch diameteraperture telescope by Dollond.[8][9] In 1858 an 8-inch telescope by Clark was added.[9][8] These were bothrefracting telescopes.[9] They had glassobjectives.
In 1871 Huggins acquired an 18-inch (0.46 m)speculumreflecting telescope from theGrubb Telescope Company.[10][9]
Honours
Awards
Named after him
people; series 2, no. 3)
| Professional and academic associations | ||
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| Preceded by | 38thPresident of the Royal Society 1900–1905 | Succeeded by |
