171:, the son of George Owen Pogson, a hosiery manufacturer, lace dealer and commission agent, "with enough income to support an extended family", and his wife, Mary Ann. It was intended that he should follow his father into business, and he was accordingly sent for "commercial education", but he was fascinated by science, and his mother supported and encouraged this interest. His early education was largely informal. He left school at 16, intending to teach mathematics. At the age of eighteen, he calculated with the help of
471:. He worked for many years with Pogson and his retirement in 1878 was a blow to Pogson. Pogson also got into increasing difficulties with his collaborators in England as well as the bureaucracy in India. George Airy, who had admired Pogson once became increasingly unsupportive and downright dismissive of Pogson's applications for help from the government as well as to help him return to England. Pogson on his part had been stubborn in not supporting a southern-sky survey.
321:
460:
33:
160:
486:
Pogson was married in London in 1849 to
Elizabeth Jane Ambrose, by whom he had 11 children. She died on 5 November 1869. On 25 October 1883 he married Edith Louisa Stopford Sibley in Madras, daughter of Charles W. Sibley of the 64th regiment and a widow, aged 33, by whom he had a further three
345:
and published in 1901. Despite Pogson's isolation he had at the time of his death discovered 134 stars, 106 variable stars, 21 possible variable stars and 7 possible supernovae. Pogson also made special expeditions, observing a total solar eclipse on 18 August 1868 at
Masulipatnam and making
487:
children: Frederick Vere (born in 1885), Edith Vera (born in 1886; died in infancy) and Edith Gladys, born in 1889. The asteroid Vera, first discovered by Pogson on 6 February 1885, was named at the suggestion of his second wife, Edith Pogson.. Edith outlived him and retired to
336:. In the next seven years he found five minor planets and seven variable stars. He continued worked on Taylor's Madras Catalogue ("Taylor's General Catalogue of Stars from observations made at the Madras Observatory during the years 1831-1842") of 11,015
365:, stars of the first magnitude were a hundred times as bright as stars of the sixth magnitude. Pogson's suggestion in 1856 was to make this a standard; thus, a first magnitude star is 100 or about 2.512 times as bright as a second magnitude star. This
340:
which had been published in 1835 based on work begun in 1831 by T. G. Taylor. Pogson continued work on this to add 51,101 observations (until 1887) and after his death in 1891 the catalogue was revised by
448:, a message so esoteric that it caught the fancy of the newspapers of the time. Unfortunately the skies were cloudy in Madras and when it cleared up on 2 December 1872, he observed an object (recorded as
498:(born on 28 September 1852) served as his assistant at the Madras observatory from 1873 to 1881. She went on to become meteorological reporter for Madras. First proposed for a Fellowship of the
976:
Marriage registered in
Pancras Registration District in the first quarter of 1850. FamilySearch.org, "India, Marriages, 1792–1948"; "India, Births and Baptisms, 1786–1947".
948:
143:. He discovered several minor planets and made observations on comets. He introduced a mathematical scale of stellar magnitudes with the ratio of two successive
128:
1096:
474:
Pogson served for 30 years at Madras, taking no leave during the period. His health declined and he died in June 1891. He is buried at
305:
conduct an experiment to determine the density of the earth. Pogson was appointed as director at the
Hartwell Observatory belonging to
987:
Calendar of the Grants of
Probate and Letters of Administration made in the Probate Registries of the High Court of Justice in England
1076:
1086:
1091:
808:
689:
441:
366:
475:
314:
1081:
613:
Reddy, V.; Snedegar, K.; Balasubramanian, R. K. (2007). "Scaling the magnitude: the fall and rise of N. R. Pogson".
587:
433:
1071:
753:
Advancing
Variable Star Astronomy: The Centennial History of the American Association of Variable Star Observers
719:
644:
581:
176:
825:
468:
342:
301:. His Oxford period was spent studying variable stars and other routine research. In 1854 he helped Sir
758:
680:
511:
499:
175:
of the Royal
Astronomical Society, the orbits of two comets. He was introduced to astronomy through
720:"Dr. Downing's revision of Taylor's Madras Catalogue and the policy of reducing old observations"
826:"Magnitudes of Thirty-six of the Minor Planets for the first day of each month of the year 1857"
1041:
762:
675:
306:
290:
184:
144:
750:
1066:
1061:
919:
878:
837:
731:
693:
656:
622:
580:
183:, a minor planet that had been recently discovered. He was engaged as an assistant at the
8:
923:
882:
841:
735:
697:
660:
626:
354:
329:
148:
140:
346:
spectrometric studies. He observed and commented on the spectral line associated with
289:
After working as an assistant at the South Villa
Observatory in 1851, he moved to the
804:
751:
488:
456:
but was later found to be a different object which has been called "Pogson's comet".
172:
927:
886:
845:
796:
453:
179:
at South Villa Regent's Park from 1846. He took an interest in comets and studied
800:
531:
1036:
791:
Nath, Biman B. (2013). "The
Folklore and Reality of the Discovery of Helium".
297:
in 1852. He received the
Lalande medal upon his discovery of the minor planet
1055:
907:
94:
850:
542:
524:
495:
302:
268:
418:
362:
218:
188:
168:
136:
53:
309:
in 1859. He published around fourteen papers from 1859 to 1860 in the
891:
866:
449:
320:
258:
248:
228:
114:
1045:
932:
317:
appointed him as government astronomer for Madras in October 1860.
278:
200:
459:
538:
437:
333:
238:
208:
133:
84:
72:
159:
147:
being the fifth root of one hundred (~2.512) and referred to as
1011:
FamilySearch.org, "England Births and Christenings, 1538–1975".
358:
347:
294:
180:
612:
32:
337:
502:
in 1886, she was finally admitted to that honour in 1920.
912:
Publications of the Astronomical Society of the Pacific
645:"Norman Pogson and the Definition of Stellar Magnitude"
446:
Biela touched Earth on 27th. search near Theta Centauri
353:
His most notable contribution was to note that in the
776:"The Story of Helium and the Birth of Astrophysics".
518:
The following celestial features are named after him:
313:, mostly on variable stars and on minor planets. Sir
830:Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
311:Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
1053:
748:
749:Williams, Thomas R.; Saladyga, Michael (2011).
615:Journal of the British Astronomical Association
332:he worked tirelessly, discovering the asteroid
790:
717:
905:
1021:Homeward Mail from India, China and the East
864:
649:Astronomical Society of the Pacific Leaflets
541:is believed to be named after his daughter,
376:The magnitude relation is given as follows:
578:
328:Reaching India in 1861 and working at the
31:
950:A memoir on the Indian Surveys, 1875-1890
931:
890:
849:
823:
642:
440:expeditions. He received a telegram from
436:and 1871, Pogson joined the Indian solar
1000:Biographical Encyclopedia of Astronomers
458:
319:
158:
638:
636:
512:Most Eminent Order of the Indian Empire
1054:
667:
608:
606:
604:
602:
600:
598:
510:Pogson was created a Companion of the
452:) which he believed to be a return of
194:
154:
132:(23 March 1829 – 23 June 1891) was an
946:
574:
572:
570:
568:
566:
564:
562:
560:
558:
690:Society for the History of Astronomy
633:
579:Vibart, Henry Meredith (1885–1900).
491:where she died on 31 December 1946.
673:
595:
442:Ernst Friedrich Wilhelm Klinkerfues
13:
676:"Some Nottinghamshire Astronomers"
555:
191:had been installed there in 1850.
14:
1108:
1097:People from the Madras Presidency
1030:
1077:19th-century British astronomers
965:Dictionary of Minor Planet Names
591:. London: Smith, Elder & Co.
588:Dictionary of National Biography
1087:Recipients of the Lalande Prize
1014:
1005:
992:
979:
970:
957:
940:
899:
858:
476:St. George's Cathedral, Chennai
467:One of Pogson's assistants was
444:on 30 November 1872 which read
1092:Astronomers from British India
1002:(vol. II, M–Z) (2007), p. 920.
998:Hockey, T. (editor-in-chief),
817:
784:
769:
742:
711:
481:
324:The Madras Observatory c. 1838
1:
582:"Pogson, Norman Robert"
548:
413:is the stellar magnitude and
350:, then yet to be discovered.
985:Principal Probate Registry,
947:Black, Charles E.D. (1891).
801:10.1007/978-1-4614-5363-5_13
7:
469:Chintamani Raghunatha Chary
177:George Bishop's Observatory
139:who worked in India at the
10:
1113:
759:Cambridge University Press
681:The Antiquarian Astronomer
505:
500:Royal Astronomical Society
1037:On Pogson's contributions
357:system introduced by the
120:
110:
103:
90:
80:
61:
39:
30:
23:
1082:Discoverers of asteroids
908:"Pogson's comet of 1872"
1023:(28 January 1878), p.92
967:(sixth edition). p. 35.
718:Rambaut, A. A. (1901).
163:Pogson in academic gown
1072:People from Nottingham
906:Monck, W.H.S. (1892).
674:Cox, Madeline (2008).
464:
325:
164:
127:Norman Robert Pogson,
1042:Pogson, Norman Robert
963:L.D. Schmadel (2012)
865:Pogson, N.R. (1873).
851:10.1093/mnras/17.1.12
793:Astronomers' Universe
778:Astronomers' Universe
543:Elizabeth Isis Pogson
496:Elizabeth Isis Pogson
462:
323:
291:Radcliffe Observatory
185:Radcliffe Observatory
162:
25:Norman Robert Pogson
953:. pp. 312–313.
924:1892PASP....4..253M
883:1873Natur...7..163.
842:1856MNRAS..17...12P
736:1901Obs....24..453R
698:2008AntAs...4...23C
661:1968ASPL...10..145J
627:2007JBAA..117..237R
204:
195:Professional career
167:Norman was born in
155:Youth and education
824:Pogson, N (1856).
643:Jones, D. (1967).
494:Pogson's daughter
465:
330:Madras Observatory
326:
199:
165:
141:Madras observatory
16:English astronomer
810:978-1-4614-5362-8
529:The lunar crater
514:in January 1878.
367:fifth root of 100
355:stellar magnitude
287:
286:
273:17 November 1868
173:John Russell Hind
124:
123:
105:Scientific career
99:
1104:
1024:
1018:
1012:
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996:
990:
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954:
944:
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937:
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903:
897:
896:
894:
892:10.1038/007163b0
862:
856:
855:
853:
821:
815:
814:
788:
782:
781:
780:: 249–268. 2013.
773:
767:
766:
756:
746:
740:
739:
715:
709:
708:
706:
704:
671:
665:
664:
655:(469): 145–152.
640:
631:
630:
610:
593:
592:
584:
576:
283:6 February 1885
205:
198:
97:
68:
49:
47:
35:
21:
20:
1112:
1111:
1107:
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997:
993:
989:(1947), p. 473.
984:
980:
975:
971:
962:
958:
945:
941:
918:(26): 253–254.
904:
900:
867:"Biela's Comet"
863:
859:
822:
818:
811:
789:
785:
775:
774:
770:
747:
743:
724:The Observatory
716:
712:
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672:
668:
641:
634:
611:
596:
577:
556:
551:
508:
484:
403:
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233:16 August 1857
197:
187:in 1852; a new
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57:
51:
45:
43:
26:
17:
12:
11:
5:
1110:
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1044:in libraries (
1039:
1032:
1031:External links
1029:
1026:
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1004:
991:
978:
969:
956:
939:
933:10.1086/120512
898:
857:
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783:
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741:
710:
666:
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621:(5): 237–245.
594:
553:
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527:
507:
504:
483:
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463:Pogson's grave
407:
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371:Pogson's Ratio
343:Arthur Downing
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243:17 April 1861
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223:15 April 1857
221:
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203:discovered: 8
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149:Pogson's ratio
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92:
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71:
69:(aged 62)
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28:
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24:
15:
9:
6:
4:
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2:
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988:
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515:
513:
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497:
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479:
477:
472:
470:
461:
457:
455:
454:Biela's Comet
451:
447:
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404:
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95:Lalande Prize
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60:
55:
50:23 March 1829
42:
38:
34:
29:
22:
19:
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1016:
1007:
999:
994:
986:
981:
972:
964:
959:
949:
942:
915:
911:
901:
877:(166): 163.
874:
870:
860:
833:
829:
819:
792:
786:
777:
771:
752:
744:
727:
723:
713:
701:. Retrieved
685:
679:
669:
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618:
614:
586:
530:
517:
516:
509:
493:
485:
473:
466:
445:
431:
426:
422:
421:, for stars
414:
410:
408:
395:
380:
375:
370:
369:is known as
352:
327:
315:Charles Wood
310:
298:
288:
263:16 May 1866
213:23 May 1856
166:
126:
125:
104:
67:(1891-06-23)
65:23 June 1891
18:
1067:1891 deaths
1062:1829 births
795:: 249–268.
730:: 453–458.
525:1830 Pogson
482:Family life
361:astronomer
303:George Airy
269:107 Camilla
253:2 May 1864
81:Nationality
1056:Categories
761:. p.
703:5 November
549:References
419:luminosity
390:= -2.5 log
363:Hipparchus
219:43 Ariadne
189:Heliometer
169:Nottingham
145:magnitudes
137:astronomer
54:Nottingham
46:1829-03-23
836:: 12–15.
692:: 23–34.
537:Asteroid
523:Asteroid
489:Wimbledon
450:X/1872 X1
259:87 Sylvia
249:80 Sappho
229:46 Hestia
201:Asteroids
115:Astronomy
56:, England
1048:catalog)
1046:WorldCat
307:John Lee
279:245 Vera
920:Bibcode
879:Bibcode
838:Bibcode
732:Bibcode
694:Bibcode
657:Bibcode
623:Bibcode
539:42 Isis
506:Honours
438:eclipse
417:is the
334:67 Asia
239:67 Asia
209:42 Isis
134:English
85:English
75:, India
73:Chennai
871:Nature
807:
532:Pogson
409:where
348:Helium
295:Oxford
111:Fields
98:(1856)
91:Awards
359:Greek
338:stars
805:ISBN
705:2015
434:1868
425:and
299:Isis
181:Iris
62:Died
40:Born
928:doi
887:doi
846:doi
797:doi
619:117
432:In
400:/ L
385:- m
293:in
129:CIE
1058::
926:.
914:.
910:.
885:.
873:.
869:.
844:.
834:17
832:.
828:.
803:.
757:.
728:24
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722:.
688:.
684:.
678:.
653:10
651:.
647:.
635:^
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597:^
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557:^
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392:10
373:.
151:.
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930::
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916:4
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889::
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840::
813:.
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763:6
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707:.
696::
686:4
663:.
659::
629:.
625::
427:2
423:1
415:L
411:m
405:)
402:2
398:1
396:L
394:(
387:2
383:1
381:m
48:)
44:(
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