canopus@amdahl.UUCP (Alpha Carinae) (01/17/86)
Here is a list of some astronomical anniversaries for the month of
February. If you have a favorite one which is not included, let me
know and I will add it to my list for next time!
FEBRUARY ANNIVERSARIES
Feb 1, 1957: Bart J. Bok becomes Director of Australia's Commonwealth
Observatory at Mount Stromlo. His work at Harvard
Observatory made him a world leader in Milky Way studies.
Feb 4, 1865: J. N. Krieger, a German Selenographer whose lunar drawings
are among the finest ever made, is born.
Feb 6, 1963: Swedish amateur Elis Dahlgren discovered a 4th magnitude
nova in the constellation Hercules.
Feb 7, 1889: Astronomical Society of the Pacific holds its first
meeting. E. S. Holden elected president.
Feb 9, 1913: A remarkable meteoric procession was observed from central
Canada to Bermuda.
Feb 10, 1902: J. N. Krieger, German Selenographer, died.
Feb 12, 1947: The great Sikhote-Alin meteorite fall in Eastern Siberia.
Eyewitnesses saw a daylight fireball as bright as the sun,
and droplets of molten iron rained down over a wide area.
Feb 13, 1882: Thaddeus Banachiewicz, prominent Polish astronomer, was
born. He was particularly well known for his studies of
the moon's motion, and for his organization of variable
star observing. He was also Director of Cracow Observatory
Feb 18, 1930: Clyde Tombaugh recognizes the planet Pluto on Lowell
Observatory photographs.
Feb 18, 1957: Henry Norris Russell, famous Princeton astrophysicist,
died. He was a master in the interpretation of the light
curves of eclipsing variable stars, and in the analysis
of astronomical spectra.
Feb 19, 1901: Seeberg Observatory, in Gotha, Germany, destroyed by fire.
This historic observatory, founded in 1787, was one of the
world's finest. Baron von Zach, J. F. Encke, and B. von
Lindenau were among its early staff.
Feb 22, 1787: J. H. Schroeter begins surveying the lunar surface.
Feb 22, 1960: S. A. Mitchell, a University of Virginia astronomer, died.
Famous for his many solar eclipse expeditions.
Feb 23, 1901: Nova Persei attains maximum light: mag. +0.2.
Feb 23, 1956: Intense solar flare, visible in white light.
Feb 27, 1826: Wilhelm von Biela discovers the short period comet which
bears his name. This comet split in two in its 1845-1846
return, and was last seen on its 1852 return.
Feb 27, 1843: Perihelion passage of one of the greatest comets of modern
times. Visible to the naked eye at noon the following day.
Feb 27, 1897: Bernard Lyot, French astronomer who invented the corona-
graph, was born.
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Frank Dibbell (408-746-6493) ...!{ihnp4,cbosgd,sun}!amdahl!canopus
Amdahl Corporation, Sunnyvale CA [This is the obligatory disclaimer..]