John Goodricke


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Goodricke, John

 

Born 1764; died Apr. 20, 1786. British astronomer. Member of the Royal Society of London.

Goodricke was a deaf-mute from birth. At the age of 18 he carried out (with the British astronomer E. Pigott) a systematic search for and observation of variable stars. In 1782 he advanced a correct hypothesis on the true nature of the variability of Algol (β Persei), and in 1784 he discovered several variable stars, including δ Cephei, which subsequently proved to be the progenitor of an important class of physically variable stars, the cepheids.

REFERENCES

Berry, A. Kratkaia istoriia astronomii, 2nd ed. Moscow-Leningrad, 1946.
Pannekoek, A. Istoriia astronomii. Moscow, 1966.
Seleshnikov, S. I. Astronomiia i kosmonavtika. Kiev, 1967.
References in periodicals archive ?
The variability of Delta Cephei was discovered in 1784 by astronomer John Goodricke. Goodricke lost his hearing after falling ill at age 5, but he received a solid education in mathematics and natural philosopy nonethless.
A thrilling trio: these three variable stars will hold your attention for nights on end
On this occasion, a day trip to Jodrell Bank was arranged with a second day based in York, with visits to the historic Observatory near the city centre (conducted by Martin Lunn), York Minster and to the location of the Treasurer's House, from where John Goodricke first observed and discovered the variability of the stars Algol and 8 Cephei.
The 29th European symposium on Occultation projects: ESOP XXIX, York University, 2010 August 20-24
El primero en lanzar una hipotesis en ese sentido fue el ingles John Goodricke (1764-1786).
Devastaciones etilicas
In 1782 Algol was studied by a British astronomer, John Goodricke (1764-1786), a deaf-mute.
Eclipsing variables
John Goodricke discovered and tracked Delta's periodic variations in 1784; he speculated that they might be caused by dark marks on the star rotating in and out of view.
Pulsing stars in Cepheus: check in on these happening stars, both famous and obscure
It varies from magnitude 3.3 to 4.3 with a period of 12.94 days--up from 12.89 days in 1784, when John Goodricke discovered its variations.
Eclipsing binaries of summer: try your skill at some analogs of Algol
Its changes are obvious to the naked eye, but there is no good evidence that anyone ever noticed them before John Goodricke discovered Algol's variability in 1782.
Variable stars for July
Argelander's variable-star work with his star cataloging and overlooks earlier work by John Goodricke, Edward Piggott, William Herschel, and others.
Observing Variable Stars
(That star's fluctuations were first detected in 1784 by English amateur John Goodricke, another great pioneer of variable-star astronomy.)
X Sagittarii: a star toward our galaxy's heart
Named in honor of the 18th-century English amateur astronomers John Goodricke and Edward Pigott, the facility is equipped with a Celestron 14-inch f/11 Schmidt-Cassegrain reflector and a homemade CCD camera that originally featured a high-efficiency SITe chip with a 512-pixel-square array.
Amateur Astronomers: Sentinel of the Sky
Collaborating with Pigott was John Goodricke, also in York, who was only 17 years old.
The first cepheid
Beta Lyrae's period has been increasing gradually from 12.89 days, when first measured by John Goodricke in 1784, to 12.93784 days in 1993, according to the ephemerides of eclipsing binaries issued annually by Cracow Observatory in Poland.
Beta Lyrae revisited
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