James bradley astronomer biography of albert einstein
James Bradley
| English astronomer Country: Great Britain |
Content:
- Early Life and Education
- Astronomical Observations
- Academic Career
- Scientific Contributions
- Star Catalog
- Planetary Measurements
- Royal Pension and Legacy
Early Life and Education
James Bradley was born on March 3, , in Sherborne, Gloucestershire, England.
As a child, he showed great interest in mathematics and astronomy. In , he graduated from Balliol College, Oxford University.
Astronomical Observations
Under the guidance of his uncle, the renowned astronomer John Pound, Bradley began conducting astronomical observations. In , he was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of London.
In , while observing the star γ Draconis, he detected an annual displacement that could only be explained by the Earth's orbital motion and the finite speed of light. This discovery, known as the aberration of light, became the first observational confirmation of Copernicus's heliocentric theory.
Academic Career
In , Bradley was appointed Savilian Professor of Astronomy at Oxford University.
James bradley astronomer biography of albert einstein Additional Resources show. What was actually observed however was that after December, Gamma Draconis continued to culminate at more southerly points, reaching its most southerly point in March, rather than December, and its most northerly point in September, rather than in June. As a friend of Samuel Molyneux , who was interested in measuring the annual parallax of stars, from which it would be possible to calculate the distances to the nearest stars, Bradley was invited by Molyneux in December to his estate at Kew, a district of London, to assist him in observing the star Gamma Draconis, specifically, attempting to determine its annual parallax. In this paper Bradley stated that if the parallax of any of the stars he observed had been as great as one second of are, he would have detected it, and concluded that their parallaxes were much smaller than had been hitherto supposed.He also served as the Radcliffe Observer from to In , he became the third Astronomer Royal, succeeding Edmond Halley.
Scientific Contributions
Bradley's research focused on observational astronomy. His observations of stars led to the discovery of the nutation of the Earth's axis in This phenomenon occurs due to the gravitational pull of the Moon and the Sun on Earth's equatorial bulge.
Star Catalog
From to , Bradley supervised the compilation of a vast catalog of 60, stars.
This data was later used by Friedrich Bessel to create his groundbreaking star catalog in
Planetary Measurements
Bradley made precise measurements of the diameters of Venus, Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn. He also refined the value of the solar parallax through observations of Mars and conducted extensive research on comets.
Royal Pension and Legacy
In , Bradley was granted a royal pension.
He retired to Chalford, Gloucestershire, in and passed away there on July 13, Bradley's discoveries, including the aberration of light and the nutation of the Earth's axis, revolutionized astronomy and established him as one of the most influential scientists of his time.