VOL. 1, ISSUE 1 JANUARY 2009

SHA E-NEWS PAGE 1

It is with very great regret that we announce the death of SHA member Dr Mary Brück on Thursday 11 December 2008 after a short illness. Formerly a Senior Lecturer at the University of Edinburgh, Dr Brück was an eminent historian of astronomy and a great supporter of the Society, serving, e.g. as a member of the Editorial Board for The Antiquarian Astronomer. An obituary will appear in the first issue of the new SHA Bu"etin.

Clive Davenha"

The Council of the SHA has always wished to communicate as efficiently as possible with members, but it has become increasingly clear that it is not always practical to circulate timely news via a printed newsletter. With the SHA e-list now reinstated, it is possible to reach most members by email, and it was decided at the November 2008 Council meeting to begin pub-lishing a new electronic newsletter - the SHA e~News - to communicate

timely news, announcements etc direct to members by email. Edited by Stuart Williams, SHA e~News will be emailed to members on the 1st of each calendar month, and will also be available on our website.

The popular printed SHA Newsletter has been renamed the SHA Bu"etin, and will continue to publish a mix of less time-dependent news, articles, reviews and reports, in a substantial bi-annual publication to be posted out to members in Spring and Autumn. Thus, from the beginning of 2009, SHA members will benefit from three regular publications; one electronic (the SHA e-News) and two printed (the SHA Bu"etin and The Antiquarian Astronomer). SW

DR MARY BRÜCK

The SHA’s new mode of Internet communication

SHA e~NEWSSHA PUBLICATIONS - RINGING THE CHANGES FOR 2009 Have we got e~News

for YOU!Welcome to the first

issue of the SHA’s new electronic newsletter! We hope you will find the e~News informative, timely and interesting. SHA e-News offers four pages of topical news and announcements, primarily from the SHA. It is designed to complement the new bi-annual SHA Bu"etin and our journal The Antiquarian Astronomer.

The SHA e-News will not generally be available in printed form. However, SHA members who are unable to access the Internet at home, at work or elsewhere (i.e. local library, university) will be able to obtain a printed copy. Details of how to do this will be circulated to those members by post.

If you prefer not to receive email from the SHA, you can ask to be removed from our e-list by emailing me. However, you will then be unable to receive the SHA e-News or any other timely announcements.

May I take this opportunity to wish all of our members, friends, and colleagues, a very happy, healthy and prosperous New Year in 2009.

Stuart Wi"iams, Editorresearch.librarian@shastro.org.uk

The SHA’s new Phelps Printing Telegraph wi" aid speedy delivery of the new ‘e-News’

Mary Brück at the 2007 SHA AGM & Spring Conference.

THE ANTIQUARIAN ASTRONOMER DELAYEDDue to unforeseen circumstances it was not possible to publish

the latest issue of our journal The Antiquarian Astronomer in time for Christmas. Members will be emailed when it is ready for posting. Please accept Council’s apologies for the delay. SW

VOL. 1, ISSUE 1 JANUARY 2009

SHA E-NEWS PAGE 2

NEW SHA TREASURER SOUGHT URGENTLY

In late 2008, the SHA’s respected Treasurer Ken Goward experienced a recurrence of long-standing health problems and consequently had to stand down as Treasurer. In the short term, other Councillors have taken on his duties. In particular

Peter Hingley kindly handled registration and ticket bookings for the 2008 Autumn Conference and is presently handling membership subscriptions and renewals for 2009.

Ken hopes to continue as a Councillor and continues to play an active role in Society affairs, particularly concerning the hand-over of the Treasurer’s duties. He has been involved in the

SHA since before its founding and the Society owns him an enormous debt.

However, we now need to appoint a replacement Treasurer in the medium term, and ideally as soon as possible. The duties are not onerous and currently include maintaining the membership list, handling membership inquiries, keeping track of the Society’s expenses, and preparing the annual accounts. Some experience of bookkeeping or accountancy is desirable but not strictly necessary. However, access to e-mail is essential; Council conducts most of its business electronically.

Your Society Needs You! If you are interested please contact Kevin Kilburn in the first instance by email to: secretary@shastro.org.uk .

We hope to hear from you shortly.SW/CD

SHA Library Catalogue UpdateAn updated, fully integrated catalogue of the

SHA Library, which now incorporates both the Sir Robert Ball Library (Reference) and the Sir Patrick Moore Library (Lending) on one site in the Benson Room at the Birmingham & Midland Institute (www.bmi.org.uk), can now be found on the SHA website at www.shastro.org.uk. Follow the link from Lending Library on the navigation bar.

Library AcquisitionsWe have recently acquired the following items,

which may be of interest.•Buedler, W To other worlds. 1954•Foerstner, A James Van Allen: the first eightbillion miles. 2007•Gatland & Kunesch, Space travel. 1953•Jones, KG, The search for the nebulae. 1975

•Keay, John, The Great Arc. 2000•Moore, Patrick, The boy's book of space. 1954•Rooney, D, Ruth Belville: the Greenwich Time Lady. 2008•SHA AGM & Spring conference, 17 May 2008•SHA Conference at Chetham's Library 29 March 2008, mp3 files, 2008•Wandelroute langs historische astronomische plekjes in Middelburg. (in Dutch) 2008•Webb, Rev. T W, Celestial objects for common telescopes. Ed & rev. W. Mayall, 1917 [rpt 1962]•Writers & Artists Yearbook. 2006•Children's Writers & Artists Yearbook. 2006

Library Opening Times at the BMIMay we remind members that the Library is

open by appointment, subject to staff availability, so if you would like to come along to browse or to borrow, please do get in touch.

Contact Madeline Cox - by email to library@shastro.org.uk, tel: 01623 844121, or Stuart Williams - email research.librarian@shastro.org.uk, tel: 07906 103735.

Madeline Cox & Stuart Wi"iams

SHA LIBRARY NEWS

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Ken Goward at the 2008 AGM & Spring Conference.

Madeline Cox and Roger Jones at the SHA Library

VOL. 1, ISSUE 1 JANUARY 2009

SHA E-NEWS PAGE 3

The Society for the History of Astronomy had a busy and successful year in 2008 - as usual! Membership continued to expand, albeit slowly, with a small turnover. It is hoped that 2009 will, with the International Year of Astronomy, see a significant increase in membership. The society’s acclaimed and popular publications, the SHA Newsletter and The Antiquarian Astronomer, continued to be produced, although due to unforeseen circumstances the production of the former was somewhat variable. The SHA Library’s Reference and Lending Libraries were reunited under one roof at the BMI and both collections and equipment saw significant expansion during the year. Library opening became by arrangement instead of the previous schedule of fixed open days. During the year, the SHA forged formal liaison links with the Royal Astronomical Society’s Astronomical Heritage Committee. The first results of the Alan Cox Bequest were the new Alan Cox Memorial Collection of Amateur Astronomy at the SHA Library, and the first Alan Cox Memorial Lecture at the Autumn Conference.

The SHA’s meetings are always popular, setting a high standard, and the Society held or participated in the following events in 2008:

Sat. 29 March. Joint Meeting with the Manchester Astronomical Society and the North West Group of Astronomical Societies at Chetham’s Library, Manchester. The theme of the meeting was the history of astronomy in the northwest. Speakers from Leeds, Liverpool and Chester Astronomical Societies were invited, together with representatives from the historically

important observatories at Stonyhurst and Jodrell Bank. See SHA Newsletter 17, October 2008, p9.

Sat. 17 May. SHA AGM & Spring Conference at the Institute of Astronomy, Cambridge. Speakers included Dr David Dewhirst (Using Huggins’ instruments in the early 1950s), Peter Hingley (The place of the Hugginses in the development of Stellar Astrophysics), Dr Derek Jones (Stellar Spectra) and Dr Ian Elliott (Grubbs of Dublin - Victorian Entrepreneurs). SHA Archivist Mark Hurn laid on a display of books and artefacts on ‘Sir William Huggins: the Cambridge Connection’. A full report should appear in the first issue of the new SHA Bu"etin.

Sat. 2 August. SHA Summer Picnic at Marlborough College, Wiltshire. This year’s annual picnic was held in the grounds of Marlborough College, Wiltshire, courtesy of SHA member Charlie Barclay, Head of Physics and Director of the restored Blackett Observatory at the College. Sixteen SHA members, their families and friends were present for the occasion. See SHA Newsletter 17, October 2008, p21.

Sat. 4 October. SHA Autumn Conference at the Birmingham & Midland Institute. The 2008 Conference included a remarkable range of papers from Andrew Lound (Lunatik Astronomy), Clive Davenhall (The Invention of the Dutch Telescope), Lee MacDonald (The Isaac Newton Telescope), John Armitage (Lord Wrottesley), Sir Arnold Wolfendale (Astronomers Royal through the Ages) and the first Alan Cox Memorial Lecture, by Prof. Nick Kanas of the University of California at San Francisco, on ‘Star Maps’. SW/CD/KK

Tony Cross (le') and Michael Oates (right) set up Michael’s recording system in the IOA lecture theatre at the AGM.

Dr David Dewhirst speaking at the 2008 AGM on ‘Using Hu)ins’ instruments in the early 1950s’.

THE SHA’S YEAR REVIEWED IN BRIEF FOR 2008

Observatory tour at the IOA. The `Thorrowgood Telescope' was built by T. Cooke & Sons of York & London in 1864.

Dr Reg Withey, Editor of The Antiquarian Astronomer, on the SHA stand at the 2008 AGM in Cambridge..

VOL. 1, ISSUE 1 JANUARY 2009

SHA E-NEWS PAGE 4

SHA MEETINGS IN 2009Sat. 28 March 10.30- 17.00.

Joint Meeting with the History Group of the Royal Meteor-ological Society (RMetS), in the premises of the Royal Astronomical Society, Burlington House, Piccadilly, London. Further info. from RAS Librarian Peter Hingley: pdh@ras.org.uk .

Sat. 18 April at the Institute of Astronomy, University of Cambridge. A special open SHA meeting celebrating the life and work of Dr David Dewhirst, eminent historian of astronomy and SHA member, is to be hosted by the Institute of Astronomy, Cambridge. Details TBC, contact Peter Hingley: pdh@ras.org.uk .

Sat. 4 July SHA Summer Picnic at Hanwell Community Observatory, Oxfordshire. Details TBC. See: myweb.tiscali.co.uk/hanwellobservatory/index.htm

Sat. 18 July SHA AGM and Summer Conference, National Maritime Museum, Greenwich. In a departure from previous practice, the Summer Conference will be a joint meeting with the

Scientific Instrument Society (www.sis.org.uk). Details TBC. Contact Gilbert Satterthwaite: chair@shastro.org.uk .

Sat. 31 October SHA Autumn Conference, Dickens Room, Birmingham & Midland Institute (www.bmi.org.uk). Theme: ‘Astronomers Abroad’ - papers on the subject of non-UK astronomers working either in the UK or abroad welcomed. Contact Kevin Kilburn: secretary@shastro.org.uk

Fu"er details and forms wi" be sent to members as they are available.

COUNCIL MEETINGS 2009 SHA Council Meetings in

2009 will take place as follows: 21 February: Burlington House, London. May: Yorkshire Museum, TBC. 12 September: BMI, Birmingham, TBC. November - Institute of Astronomy, Cambridge, TBC.

NON-SHA EVENTS 2009 The current exhibition

'Babylon' at the British Museum includes some astronomical material, and a talk on 5 February, 6:30pm: www.britishmuseum.org/whats_on/events_calendar/written_in_the_stars.aspx

Fri. 8 May. Mars Before the Space Age, RAS discusssion meeting at Burlington House. See: www.ras.org.uk SW/CD

Regular ContributorsSTUART WILLIAMS

e~News Editor Stuart Williams is also Research Librarian at the SHA’s Sir Robert

Ball Library in Birmingham.

KEVIN KILBURNKevin Kilburn is the Secretary of the SHA and contri-butes society news.

CLIVE DAVENHALLClive Davenhall is Editor of the SHA Bu"etin and contri-butes timely news.

Calendar in Brief 2009Thurs. 1 January

SHA Subscription Renewals due.

Sat. 28 March

SHA Joint Meeting with RMetS, RAS, Burlington House, London.

Sat. 18 April

SHA David Dewhirst Meeting, IOA, Cambridge.

Mon. 20 - Thur. 23 April

European Week of Astronomy and Space Science, including RAS NAM etc: www.jenam2009.eu

Fri. 8 May

Mars Before the Space Age, RAS, Burlington House, London.

Sat. 4 July

SHA Summer Picnic, Hanwell Community Observatory. Oxfordshire.

Sat. 18 July

SHA AGM & Summer Conference, NMM, Greenwich.

Sat. 31 October

SHA Autumn Conference, BMI.

PUBLISHED BY THE SOCIETY FORTHE HISTORY OF

ASTRONOMYwww.shastro.org.uk

CONTACTSSHA e-News EditorStuart Williams:

research.librarian@shastro.org.ukSHA SecretaryKevin Kilburn:

secretary@shastro.org.ukSHA Bu"etin Editor

Clive Davenhall:newsletter@shastro.org.uk

COPYRIGHT 2009

SHA SUBSCRIPTION RENEWALS ARE DUE

If you have not renewed your subscription for 2009, please send in your renewal as soon as possible. If in doubt, please contact Mr. Peter Hingley by email to: pdh@ras.org.uk

Thank You