George F. Dodwell

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George F. Dodwell, ca.1926

George Frederick Dodwell (born February 13, 1879 in Leighton Buzzard , England , † August 10, 1963 in Adelaide , Australia ) was an Australian astronomer .

Life

George F. Dodwell, who was born in England, moved to Adelaide, South Australia at a young age , attended Prince Albert College and received his Bachelor of Arts degree in mathematics from the University of Adelaide . He became a member of the Astronomical Society of South Australia (ASSA) and Fellow of the Royal Astronomical Society (RAS) and was from March 1, 1899 an assistant at the Adelaide Observatory. In 1907 he married Annie Louisa Virginia Trehy from Ireland, a versatile scientist who died in 1924 . After the death of Sir Charles Todd in 1909 , Dodwell assumed the office of Government Astronomer for South Australia, which he held until his retirement in 1952 .

Under the direction of Dodwell, the Adelaide Astronomical Observatory helped establish the border between South Australia and Victoria along the 141st longitude , and the border between Western Australia and the Northern Territory in the northern extension of the 129th longitude. This limit was set in 1929 using a method that was unique at the time, using a time signal from a radio station in France . Other work included a survey of the magnetic field in South Australia and studies on the variability of the geographic latitude in collaboration with the La Plata Observatory, the International Latitude Congress and the IAU . On September 21, 1922 , Dodwell photographed the total solar eclipse in northern South Australia to conduct an early study in collaboration with foreign astronomers on Einstein's theory of the effect of gravity on the propagation of light . At the 1st General Assembly of the IAU in Rome in 1922 he was the representative of the Australian government.

On December 17, 1932 , Dodwell discovered comet C / 1932 Y1 (Dodwell-Forbes) .

Since the mid-1930s, Dodwell had been interested in studies of the skewness of the ecliptic, and believed that the historical measurements available for this value suggest that there have been large changes in this value in the Earth's past. His manuscript was not published until after his death. His investigations are controversial among scientists.

Dodwell died in Adelaide on August 10, 1963, at the age of 84.

Others

The observatory in Arkaroola, South Australia is named after George Frederick Dodwell.

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Annie Louisa Virginia Dodwell. Retrieved May 24, 2014 .
  2. ^ GF Dodwell, CR Davidson: Determination of the Deflection of Light by the Sun's Gravitational Field from Observations made at Cordillo Downs, South Australia, during the total Eclipse of 1922 September 21 . In: Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society , Vol. 84, 1924, pp. 150-162. ( bibcode : 1924MNRAS..84..150D )
  3. ^ Astronomical Society of South Australia: Comets Discovered from South Australia. Retrieved May 24, 2014 .
  4. ^ GF Dodwell: The Obliquity of the Ecliptic. Retrieved May 24, 2014 (with photo by GF Dodwell).
  5. ^ RL Sangster: Obituary Notices - George Frederick Dodwell . In: Quarterly Journal of the Royal Astronomical Society , Vol. 5, 1964, p. 55. ( bibcode : 1964QJRAS ... 5 ... 55. )
  6. ^ Astronomy at Arkaroola. Retrieved May 24, 2014 .
personal data
SURNAME Dodwell, George F.
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Dodwell, George Frederick (full name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Australian astronomer
DATE OF BIRTH February 13, 1879
PLACE OF BIRTH Leighton Buzzard , England
DATE OF DEATH August 10, 1963
Place of death Adelaide , Australia