Our Astronomical Column

Abstract

MR. TEBBUTT'S OBSERVATORY, WINDSOR, NEW SOUTH WALES.—Mr. John Tebbutt, the well-known and enthusiastic amateur astronomer of New South Wales, has just published a little pamphlet giving a history and description of his private observatory, the work of which, he remarks with justifiable pride, “has proved of sufficient importance to admit of Windsor being placed in the list of observatories in the British and American Nautical Almanacs, the Connaissance des Temps, and the Berliner Astronomisches Jahrbuck.” And this distinction has been well earned, for the lists here given of observations made, and of papers contributed to various scientific publications, show the history of the little observatory to have been a most honourable one. Mr. Tebbutt has made all the observations himself, and until 1881 performed all the reductions; latterly he has received occasional assistance in the computations from his son or friends near. His instrumental equipment was for many years of the most modest description: for seven years it consisted principally of a sextant, and a telescope of if inches aperture. In 1861 a refractor of 3 1/4 inches aperture, and in 1864 a transit instrument of 2 inches, were added. In 1872, Mr. Tebbutt became the possessor of an equatorial of 4½ inches, which was his chief instrument until about a year and a half ago, when he bought a fine 8-inch equatorial by Grubb, once the property of the late Dr. Bone, of Castlemaine. The observations made have been principally of comets, for a number of which Mr. Tebbutt has also computed orbits, but daily meteorological observations have been kept up for twenty-five years, the results of which have been published in five parts, and transit observations have been taken regularly for time. Mr. Tebbutt has also done good service to science by his papers on astronomical subjects in various organs of the colonial press, for hitherto the private pursuit of astronomy has been greatly neglected in the Australian colonies, and he has almost stood alone as an amateur observer. It is to be hoped that this record of his labours and his success may call forth many imitators.