[Chaos-l] Tuesday's meeting

[walter fowler]

I'm confused (those who know me will not be surprised).  There is mention of
*George* Huggins but the bio included is about* William* Huggins.  And in
fact there was a famous astronomy related George Huggins (sometimes known as
George Dolland) working in England in the early 19th century - OK, I read it
on the Internet so take it for what it's worth.  If we go to the CHAOS
presentation tomorrow (Tues at 7 pm) all will be made clear.  Walter

On Sun, Oct 10, 2010 at 3:38 PM, Jayme Hanzak <jhanzak at unctv.org> wrote:

>  Hello everyone,
>
>
>
> I hope you've all had a great month.
>
>
>
> The CHAOS meeting is coming up this week on Tuesday, October 12th. Our
> speaker this month is Dr. Barbara Becker. Dr. Becker is an author and she
> has written a book about George Huggins and his wife.
>
>
>
> Here is a synopsis from Dr. Becker:
>
>
>
>
> "No such spectrum as I expected!":  William Huggins and the Riddle of the
> Nebulae
>
>
> In 1864, English amateur astronomer and pioneer spectroscopist William
> Huggins (1824-1910 <callto:+1824-1910>) turned his attention to the
> spectra of nebulae.  The quest to understand the nature and structure of
> these luminous smudges had reached something of an impasse.  Telescopes of
> the day possessed increased light grasp and optical refinement.  But, when
> it came to nebulae, the best of them were less useful as instruments of
> measurement and analysis than as optical cabinets of curiosities.
>
> Those actively working on the nebular riddle remained cautiously
> optimistic.  They expected an answer to arise out of imaginable improvements
> to methods and instruments with which they were familiar, namely expert use
> of a fine telescope.  This conviction both guided and constrained all their
> thinking about the problem.
>
> The paper discusses what may have encouraged Huggins to move out of this
> methodological box and subject the light of nebulae to spectroscopic
> scrutiny.  There are no clues in his notebooks, correspondence or published
> papers.  It was a bold stroke which ultimately propelled him to a position
> of prestige and authority within the wider science community.  The results
> of his investigation captured his colleagues' imagination and heightened
> their awareness of prismatic analysis's potential to generate new knowledge
> about old and familiar telescopic subjects.  They raised important
> methodological and theoretical questions for the wider community of
> practicing astronomers, both amateur and professional.  And they contributed
> to the growing fuzziness of disciplinary boundaries that had defined the
> traditional limits of acceptable astronomical research in the mid-nineteenth
> century.
> My book on Huggins will be titled:  Unravelling Starlight:  William and
> Margaret Huggins and the Rise of the New Astronomy.
> --
>
> Please join us this Tuesday at 7pm in the Carol Woods Assembly Hall at 7pm.
> Clear Skies!
>
>
>
>
> Jayme Hanzak
> President of  CHOAS
>
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>
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