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Benjamin Apthorp GouldAmerican astronomer.
Date of Birth: 27.09.1824
Country:  USA |
Content:
- Benjamin Apthorp Gould: An American Pioneer in Astronomy
- Early Life and Education
- Career
[Director of the Argentine National Observatory]- Landmark Achievements
[Argentinian Uranometry]
[Discovery and Study of Gould's Belt]
[Zonal Catalog and Argentine General Catalog]- Recognition and Honors
Benjamin Apthorp Gould: An American Pioneer in Astronomy
Benjamin Apthorp Gould, a prominent American astronomer, made significant contributions to the field of astronomy.
Early Life and Education
Born in 1824, Gould attended Harvard University, where he completed his studies in 1844.
Career
[Director of the Coast Survey's Office of Longitude]
In 1852, Gould established the Office of Longitude within the U.S. Coast Survey and served as its director until 1867. He also led the Dudley Observatory from 1855 to 1859.
[Director of the Argentine National Observatory]
In 1870, Gould founded the National Observatory in Cordoba, Argentina, where he served as director until 1885.
Landmark Achievements
[Use of the Telegraph in Geodesy]
Gould was the first to propose using the telegraph for geodetic surveys. In 1860, he successfully determined the longitude difference between Europe and America using this method.
[Argentinian Uranometry]
In 1879, Gould published an atlas and catalog of 10,649 southern stars up to the seventh magnitude, known as the "Argentinian Uranometry."
[Discovery and Study of Gould's Belt]
He observed and studied a ring of bright stars inclined by 18° to the galactic equator in 1879. This ring, later named "Gould's Belt," proved to be a part of the local galactic system.
[Zonal Catalog and Argentine General Catalog]
In 1884 and 1886, Gould published a zonal catalog containing 73,160 stars and the Argentine General Catalog with 32,448 stars, respectively.
Recognition and Honors
Gould was an esteemed member of various scientific societies, including the U.S. National Academy of Sciences, the Royal Society of London, the Paris Academy of Sciences, and the Bureau des Longitudes in Paris. He was also a foreign corresponding member of the Russian Academy of Sciences.
