Reasoning among the Stars

Abstract

In 1831, Francis Baily’s hopes realized when the Astronomical Society was elevated to Royal Astronomical Society (RAS). In the same year De Morgan became honorary secretary, and he, Richard Sheepshanks, and George Biddel Airy came together as an “equitanacious triangle” of reasoned mathematical astronomers. Sophia and Augustus first began to notice each other in the context of RAS parties at Baily’s house, in which wives and sisters lightened the intensity of the men’s interactions. In 1835, the return of Halley’s comet severely tried RAS claims for the power of their work. As they scrambled to trace its orbit, William Frend contributed his observations from the countryside while Sophia and the other women poked fun at the men with parlor plays. Conflicts about the nature of astronomy continued in the form of a protracted legal battle between Sir James South and Edward Troughton, the instrument maker he hired to mount and object glass. The equitenacious triangle worked to bring South down, while the women wrote parlor plays extolling their heroism.