William Ball (astronomer)
William Ball (around 1627 , † 1690 ; also written Balle ) was an English astronomer. His father, Sir Peter Ball (1598–1680) of Mamhead , Devon , was 1st Baronet Ball, of Mamhead from 1672 .
He became an avid astronomer and acquired a 12-foot telescope. When the rings of Saturn apparently disappeared in 1655 (only the edge of the rings could still be seen from the earth), he and his brother Peter recognized them as a band (" fascia ") around the planet. In the same year he determined the rotation rate of Saturn .
He was a founding member of the Royal Society and served it as treasurer from November 28, 1660 to 1663.
In 1665 his colleague Robert Moray noted in a summary of Ball's observations that there was not one ring, but two. For a while this led to the assumption that Ball saw the Cassini division . However, more recent investigations into his records could not prove this.
The lunar crater Ball was named after him.
In 1660 he fell from a height of ten meters on hard ground, which gave him health problems throughout his life. Therefore he retired to his estate in Devon in 1666. He married Mary Posthuma Hussey in 1668 and had six children with her. This and the long way to London left him no more time for his sciences.
Web links
Individual evidence
- ^ William Ball on thepeerage.com , accessed September 11, 2016.
- ^ C. Leeson Prince (1882), "Saturn's Ring" (letter to the editor), The Astronomical Register , v.XX, pp. 257-261.
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Ball, William |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Balle, William |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | English astronomer |
| DATE OF BIRTH | around 1627 |
| DATE OF DEATH | 1690 |