Madras Observatory

Abstract

Norman Robert Pogson was born at Nottingham, England on March 23, 1829. From an early age he showed great interest in astronomy. He was appointed as an astronomer in 1851 at the Bishops Observatory. He soon shifted to Radcliffe Observatory, Oxford. In 1859 he left Radcliffe Observatory to become the Director of the Hartwell Observatory. By this time he was already well known for his variable star work and his technique for measuring stellar magnitudes called the Pogson`s scale was soon adopted by astronomers all over the world. In 1861, he was appointed the government astronomer at Madras, India. When he arrived he had to work under harsh conditions. He found the instruments in a bad shape and there were no proper staff to assist him. In spite of all these he began a series of observations which terminated with his death 30 year later. He was credited with 50,000 observations most of which were published by Michie Smith after Pogsons death. During his stay in Madras he discovered several minor planets and detected large number of variable stars. He named his daughters after the minor planets he discovered. He was also well known for his work in comets and solar eclipses. Some of the instruments and telescopes used during his time are still available in the institute.