Annie Maunder

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Annie Maunder

Annie Scott Dill Maunder , b. Russell (born April 14, 1868 in Strabane , County Tyrone , Ireland, † September 15, 1947 in London ) was a British astronomer and mathematician .

Live and act

Annie Russell received a BA ( Bachelor of Arts ) in mathematics from Girton College , Cambridge in 1889 . From 1890 to 1895 she was employed as "Lady Computer" at the Royal Greenwich Observatory , in the department of solar research headed by Edward Walter Maunder . In addition to evaluating the photo plates, she also took part in the nightly observation program. In 1895 she married her boss, E. Walter Maunder, and had to give up her job. From then on she was his unpaid assistant. During the First World War , she and her husband returned to the observatory as war volunteers (1915–1920).

The Maunders were always concerned with the sun, and they published many scientific papers together. But Annie Maunder did not limit herself to supporting her husband with his work, she worked independently. They took part in five eclipse expeditions organized by the British Astronomical Association . In an eclipse in India in 1898, a Corona camera designed by her was used.

Another focus of her work was the origin of the constellations . In 1936 she suggested that it was acquired by a seafaring Indo-European people around 2900 BC. Were introduced. She also dealt with astronomical information in the Bible and in particular with the dating of the birth of Christ.

Since 1892 she was a member of the British Astronomical Association, which Walter Maunder co-founded , and was editor of the "Journal of the BAA" for many years. November 1916, she was one of the first women elected to the Royal Astronomical Society .

A moon crater is named after Annie Maunder and her husband Edward . In May 2018, a blue plaque was unveiled in her honor in Strabane .

Works

  • Annie Maunder, E. Walter Maunder: The Heavens and their Story . 1909.

literature

  • Willie Wei-Hock Soon , Steven H. Yaskell: The Maunder Minimum and the Variable Sun-Earth Connection . World Scientific, River Edge 2003, ISBN 981-238-274-7 .
  • Obituary Notices: Maunder, Annie Scott Dill . In: Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society . tape 108 , no. 1 , 1948, p. 48-49 ( pdf ).

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. Blue plaque for Tyrone's 'forgotten' female astronomer Annie Russell Maunder. Belfast Telegraph, May 21, 2018, accessed same day