Arthur Alcock Rambaut

“ In 1851 he visited the Bonn Observatory, and studied astronomy under Argelander. In 1853 he was appointed assistant, and in the following year won a doctor’s degree with his treatise Nova elementa Thetidis. At Bonn he took an important part in preparing the Durchmusterung of the northern heavens. He took up the investigation of the light-changes in variable stars, devoting to this work nights which, on account of moonlight, were unsuitable for zone observations. ”

“ This value, although considerably in excess of that previously found by different methods was held by Airy, from the care and completeness with which the observations were carried out and discussed, to be “entitled to compete with the others on, at least, equal terms.”
In 1872 Airy conceived the idea of treating the lunar theory in a new way, and at the age of seventy-one he embarked on the prodigious toil which this scheme entailed. A general description of his method will be found in the Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, vol. xxxiv. No. 3. ”

“ The experience gained on the northern survey under Argelander’s direction enabled Schönfeld to introduce some improvements in the methods employed, which increased the accuracy of this work, which was practically accomplished in March 1881, some revision only remaining to be done. These zone observations afforded 363,932 separate places of stars, and form the groundwork of the catalogue of 133,659 stars between 2° and 23° south declination, which was published in 1886 as the eighth volume of the Bonn observations. ”

“ Before long a mural circle was installed, and regular observations were instituted with it in 1833. In the same year the duke of Northumberland presented the Cambridge observatory with a fine object-glass of 12 in. aperture, which was mounted according to Airy’s designs and under his superintendence, although the erection was not completed until after his removal to Greenwich in 1835. Airy’s writings during this time are divided between mathematical physics and astronomy. ”

“ Schönfeld was a member of the Astronomische Gesellschaft from its foundation in 1863, being a member of Council up to 1869, and in 1875 becoming editor of its publications and secretary in conjunction with Winnecke. In 1878 he was elected a Foreign Associate of the Royal Astronomical Society. ”

“ By the adoption of a regular system of work, and a careful plan of reduction, he was able to keep his observations reduced practically up to date, and published them annually with a degree of punctuality which astonished his contemporaries. ”

“ With his usual energy he set to work at once to reorganize the whole management. He remodelled the volumes of observations, put the library on a proper footing, mounted the new (Sheepshanks) equatorial and organized a new magnetic observatory. In 1847 an altazimuth was erected, designed by Airy to enable observations of the moon to be made not only on the meridian, but whenever she might be visible. In 1848 Airy invented the reflex zenith tube to replace the zenith sector previously employed. ”

“ In this mode of treating the question the order of the terms is numerical, and though the amount of labour is such as might well have deterred a younger man, yet the details were easy, and a great part of it might be entrusted to a mere computer. ”

“ Of his astronomical writings during this period the most important are his investigation of the mass of Jupiter, his report to the British Association on the progress of astronomy during the 19th century, and his memoir On an Inequality of Long Period in the Motions of the Earth and Venus. ”