January 3, 1819: Charles Piazzi Smyth is born
Charles Piazzi Smyth (1819-1900)
Science: Astronomy
Known for: Pioneering the high altitude telescopes, Pioneering the infrared astronomy
Eccentric Astronomer Royal for Scotland, son of English amateur astronomer Admiral William Henry Smyth, in 1846 Smyth succeeded Thomas Henderson (1798-1844) as Astronomer Royal for Scotland based at the Calton Hill Observatory in Edinburgh. Shortly after his appointment the observatory was placed under treasury control and a long period of under-funding began. Because of this, most of his notable work was undertaken elsewhere. He pioneered the technique of infrared astronomy by studying the heat emitted by the moon.
Smyth realized that cities were not the ideal place for astronomical observations, and thus he founded in 1856 the first high-altitude observatory on the site of what is now the Las Palmas Observatory in the Canary Islands.
Smyth was obsessed by the pyramids of Egypt and the mystical pseudo-science of pyramidology. He is the only person to have resigned his fellowship of the Royal Society, after they refused to publish his papers on this subject.
In 1888 Smyth resigned as Astronomer Royal in protest at the chronic under-funding and age of the equipment at Calton Hill. This brought events to a head and the observatory was almost closed before pressure from the Earl of Crawford brought about the building of a new observatory on Blackford Hill (1896) and the Calton Hill Observatory was given to the City of Edinburgh.
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Article: “The Astronomical Society of Edinburgh. A Guide to Edinburgh’s Popular Observatory”
Picture: Portrait of Charles Piazzi Smyth. Author: unknown.
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