Northern Star

R Peter Broughton

ISBN 10: 1442630175 / ISBN 13: 9781442630178

Published by University Of Toronto Press Jan 2018, 2018

About this Item

This item is printed on demand - it takes 3-4 days longer - Neuware -John Stanley Plaskett was Canada s pre-eminent astronomer in the first half of the twentieth century. His legacy lives on in the observatory he founded in Victoria, British Columbia, and the reputation he built for Canada as a nation making vital contributions to basic science. Plaskett s pioneering work with the most massive stars and his definitive determination of the rotation of the Milky Way Galaxy earned him international recognition of the highest order. Northern Star explores Plaskett s unorthodox and fascinating life from his rural roots near Woodstock, Ontario through his days as a technician at the University of Toronto to his initiation in astronomy at the Dominion Observatory in Ottawa. His greatest achievements followed after he persuaded the government of Canada, in spite of the strictures of the First World War, to finance what was then the world s largest operational telescope. Peter Broughton s accessible and engaging prose illuminates Plaskett s numerous achievements and the social, political, economic, and religious milieu surrounding them. This richly illustrated volume invites readers to understand the pull that Plaskett s passions, personality, and motivations exerted on him during his lifetime. 600 pp. Englisch.

Seller Inventory # 9781442630178

Bibliographic Details

• Title: Northern Star
• Publisher: University Of Toronto Press Jan 2018
• Publication Date: 2018
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1442630175
• ISBN 13: 9781442630178
• Binding: Buch
• Condition: Neu
• Dimensions: 231W x 163H x 36D millimeters 231 millimeters width by 163 millimeters height by 36 millimeters depth
• Weight: 907 grams

About this title

Synopsis

John Stanley Plaskett was Canada’s pre-eminent astronomer in the first half of the twentieth century. His legacy lives on in the observatory he founded in Victoria, British Columbia, and the reputation he built for Canada as a nation making vital contributions to basic science. Plaskett’s pioneering work with the most massive stars and his definitive determination of the rotation of the Milky Way Galaxy earned him international recognition of the highest order.

Northern Star explores Plaskett’s unorthodox and fascinating life from his rural roots near Woodstock, Ontario through his days as a technician at the University of Toronto to his initiation in astronomy at the Dominion Observatory in Ottawa. His greatest achievements followed after he persuaded the government of Canada, in spite of the strictures of the First World War, to finance what was then the world’s largest operational telescope. Peter Broughton’s accessible and engaging prose illuminates Plaskett’s numerous achievements and the social, political, economic, and religious milieu surrounding them. This richly illustrated volume invites readers to understand the pull that Plaskett’s passions, personality, and motivations exerted on him during his lifetime.

About the Author

R. Peter Broughton was president of the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada from 1992 to 1994. His service and extensive writing on the history of astronomy led the International Astronomical Union to name a minor planet in his honour. James E. Hesser authored or coauthored more than 250 scientific publications and was a pioneer in using the Hubble Space Telescope to establish the ages of the outermost star clusters related with the Milky Way Galaxy. He was the director of the Dominion Astrophysical Observatory in Victoria, British Columbia, serving from 1986 to 2013.