Wayne Orchiston

University of Science and Technology of China | USTC · Department of History of Science and Scientific Archaeology

About US observations of the 1874 transit of Venus from Queenstown, NZ. Celebrating the 150th anniversary of the transit.

Annual Report and SE Asian history of Astronomy Road Map

In this poster we discuss the founding of the Section and summarize current research projects undertaken by Section members. There are other projects that await investigation. The ideal outcomes of these projects are oral papers and posters at RASNZ conferences and targeted overseas conferences, and publication of the resulting research papers in S...

Discusses Swedish naturalist Daniel Solander, his Heath & Wing Gregorian telescope now in the Museum of New Zealand in Wellington, and his observations of the transit of Venus from Tahiti n\in June 1769

Biographical account of Prof Govind Swarup FRS, the 'Father of Indian Radio Astronomy'

Discusses the role of Royal Patronage in Siamese/Thai astronomy from the seventeenth century (King Narai) through to the present (HRH Princess Sirindhorn (in a conference on "Patrons and Patronage")

Discusses Royal patronage and its connection to Cook's First Voyage to the Pacific and British observations of the 1769 transit of Venus (conference theme: "Patrons and Patronage").

The study of aurorae and magnetic storms are important for our increased understanding of the historical association of 'space weather events' with solar activity. Most major historical 'space weather' events have been studied from a Northern Hemisphere perspective. In this poster we analyse New Zealand newspaper reports of auroral activity and geo...

The long-duration total solar eclipse of 18 August 1868 was observed by British, Dutch, French, German and Indian teams of scientists from Aden, India, Siam (present-day Thailand) and the Dutch East Indies (present-day Indonesia). In this poster we will show how this eclipse was a 'watershed event' in solar physics, with identification of the chemi...

This paper details the research work carried out over some 35 years at the University of Canterbury's research station near Rolleston in mid-Canterbury New Zealand on radar meteors and their radiants; on the ionic processes that control the duration of both radar and visual long enduring trains; radar work on the aurora; and an extensive programme...

The 9 December 1874 transit of Venus was a major event in world astronomy, and it prompted many nations to dispatch transit teams to the far 'corners' of the globe, but especially New Zealand (which was very favourably placed for this rare event). In this poster we discuss the German transit team that went to the inhospitable sub-antarctic Auckland...

This paper outlines the efforts to establish Western-style astronomical observatories in India made by colleges and universities over the last century prior to Indian independence in 1947. The focus is therefore on the nineteenth-century emergence of the Presidency College Observatory in Calcutta, St. Xavier’s College Observatory in Calcutta, Takht...

About what may be the world's first Masters degree inn radio astronomy.

British-born and Cambridge-educated Dr. Elizabeth Alexander was one of a number of individuals who independently discovered solar radio emission during World War II, while based in New Zealand. She also carried out a range of other research projects on radar and radio-meteorology, and wrote a series of 'secret' reports on these. In 1946, after the...

Immediate Post-WWII radar-meteorological project in NZ, with a solar radio astronomy component.

Wellington astronomer Peter Read was committed to popularizing astronomy and contributing to observational astronomy at a time when there was only token Government support for astronomy. Through his popular television show "The Night Sky" he became a household name and was recognized as the 'Patrick Moore of New Zealand Astronomy'. In this poster w...

During the first two decades of the twentieth century plans were afoot to establish a network of 'modern' solar observatories around the world, so that continuous 24-hr monitoring of the Sun was possible. Because Australia and New Zealand were uniquely placed in longitude they were an important component of this international plan. In this poster w...

The largest operational refractor in Aotearoa / New Zealand is the 18-inch (45.7-cm) Brashear Telescope at the Dark Sky Centre in Tekapo, close to Mt John Observatory. The achromatic objective of this historic instrument was made by the American Brashear Company in 1892. Initially the lens was leased to Percival Lowell and used at Flagstaff for obs...

About discovery circumstances of comet 26P/Grigg-Skjellerup.

About Archdeacon Arthur Stock, NZ's first professional astronomer and the two little books he published in 1874 inspired by the transit of Venus.

The study of aurorae and magnetic storms are important for our increased understanding of the historical association of 'space weather events' with solar activity. Most major historical 'space weather' events have been studied from a Northern Hemisphere perspective. In this poster we analyse New Zealand newspaper reports of auroral activity and geo...

The 1859 Carrington storm has been considered one of the greatest geomagnetic storms of the last two centuries. However, initially little was known about Southern Hemisphere-and therefore New Zealand-auroral activity associated with this storm. In this poster we analyse auroral reports from around the time of the Carrington storm to reconstruct the...

New Zealand has an extremely modest total of 10 formally approved meteorites, with the tally about to rise by one following the recovery in March this year of a stony meteorite from near Tekapo that was recorded on the meteor cameras of some members of Fireballs Aotearoa. Despite the euphoria surrounding this recovery, we know that thousands of met...

While the primary research focus of the RASNZ's Fireballs Aotearoa Section is (and should be) the recovery new New Zealand meteorites, there is also value in researching earlier known meteorites, which is part of the charter of the RASNZ's Historical Section. In this poster we review planned collaborative areas of research by the two Sections.

The 1874 transit of Venus and its successor in 1882 were two major events, not just for New Zealand but for world astronomy as they addressed the fundamental question that had perplexed professional astronomers for nearly two centuries: "What was the mean distance from the Earth to the Sun (i.e. the astronomical unit')?" In the mid-1890s reworking...

A review of astronomy in the Nelson region of New Zealand, from Maori times to the present day.

During the 1760s and 1770s Britain arranged three groundbreaking Cook Voyages to the 'South Sea', and Aotearoa / New Zealand featured on every voyage. Trained astronomers accompanied each voyage, and they carried out observations for latitude and longitude. In this poster we focus on astronomer William Wales and the temporary observatory that he se...

The 1874 transit of Venus was a major event in world astronomy, and it prompted many nations to dispatch transit teams to the far 'corners' of the globe, but especially New Zealand (which was very favourably placed for this rare event, because if its far southern latitude). In this poster we discuss the British transit team that went to Burnham, ne...

About the first Western observatory set up in Southland, NZ, in 1773, during Cook's Second Voyage to the Pacific.

Celebrating the centennial of the international 1874 transit of Venus program, with emphasis on Australia and New Zealand.

Biographical review of my life as an historian of astronomy -- this was the 2024 Le Roy Doggett Plenary Lecture presented when I was awarded the 2024 Le Roy Doggett Prize by the American Astronomical Society

Examines potential for collaborative research on seventeenth century Jesuit astronomy in Asia.

This paper outlines the efforts at establishing observatories in India for modern astronomical observations made by aristocrats over the last century or so prior to Indian independence in 1947. The focus of this paper is therefore on three institutions only, the Royal Observatory at Lucknow, Trevandrum Observatory, and Nizamiah Observatory in Hyder...

Abstract: Arthur Anthony Page was at the forefront of astronomy in Queensland, Australia, for much of the second half of the twentieth century. This paper explores his life and achievements. He was a talented amateur astronomer who played a key role in the evolution of astronomical societies in the southeastern corner of the State of Queensland. He...

The paper details the life and astronomical achievements of Arthur Anthony Page, a prominent astronomer in South-East Queensland in the second half of the 20th century.

Provides an overview of Australia's leading astronomer (John Tebbutt) at the end of the nineteenth century.

Outline early developments in New Zealand radio astronomy 1945-1948 (inclusive).

Reviews the development of radio astronomy in New Zealand 1945-1948.

Overviews early Canterbury twentieth century amateur astronomy with emphasis on the CJ and AS Westland and RF Joyce.

Overview of John Grigg, New Zealand's leading amateur astronomer in the early twentieth century.

Discusses Rev Dr Kennedy, the Meeanee Observatory and his 9-inch Cooke photovisual refractor that eventually ended up at Carter Observatory in Wellington (NZ).

Outlines John Tebbutt's contribution to astronomy, and the Whakatane Astronomical Society's (New Zealand) association with his 8-inch Grubb refractor.

British-born Edwin Harris and his daughter Emily Cumming Harris were accomplished artists who lived much of their lives in Nelson. While Emily became a well-known botanical illustrator, she and her father had a more than passing interest in astronomy, and they painted or sketched a number of comets, and the total solar eclipse of 1885. In this post...

In this paper we outline the efforts made by the East India Company, the British colonial authorities, visiting astronomical expeditions and expatriate amateur astronomers to establish astronomical observatories in India during the three centuries prior to Indian Independence in 1947. The focus of this paper is therefore primarily on the emergence...

Abstract: During the nineteenth century Siam (present-day Thailand) was trapped between British colonies to the west (Burma) and south (the Straits Settlements) and a French colony to the east (Cochin China), yet managed to retain its independence—the only SE Asian nation that succeeded in doing so. One consequence of this was that Siam did not es...

Abstract: The August 1868 total solar eclipse was a watershed event in astronomical history and through spectroscopic and photographic analyses led to major breakthroughs in solar physics. This eclipse was observed from Aden, India, Siam and the Dutch East Indies. Apart from the scientific accomplishments, this eclipse also played an important di...