Edward Pigott (1753–1825) was an English

astronomer An astronomer is a scientist in the field of astronomy who focuses their studies on a specific question or field outside the scope of Earth. They observe astronomical objects such as stars, planets, moons, comets and galaxies – in either ...

notable for being one of the founders of the study of

variable star A variable star is a star whose brightness as seen from Earth (its apparent magnitude) changes with time. This variation may be caused by a change in emitted light or by something partly blocking the light, so variable stars are classified as e ...

Biography

Son of the astronomer Nathaniel Pigott, Pigott's work focused on

variable stars A variable star is a star whose brightness as seen from Earth (its apparent magnitude) changes with time. This variation may be caused by a change in emitted light or by something partly blocking the light, so variable stars are classified as e ...

. Educated in France with a mother from

Louvain Leuven (, ) or Louvain (, , ; german: link=no, Löwen ) is the capital and largest city of the province of Flemish Brabant in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is located about east of Brussels. The municipality itself comprises the historic c ...

, the family moved to

York York is a cathedral city with Roman origins, sited at the confluence of the rivers Ouse and Foss in North Yorkshire, England. It is the historic county town of Yorkshire. The city has many historic buildings and other structures, such as a ...

in 1781. Despite their significant age difference, he was a friend and collaborator of John Goodricke (his distant cousin) until the latter's untimely death at the age of 21 in 1786. In 1784, Pigott informed the

Royal Society The Royal Society, formally The Royal Society of London for Improving Natural Knowledge, is a learned society and the United Kingdom's national academy of sciences. The society fulfils a number of roles: promoting science and its benefits, re ...

of his discovery of a new variable star. This was

Eta Aquilae Eta Aquilae (η Aql, η Aquilae) is the Bayer designation for a multiple star in the equatorial constellation of Aquila, the eagle. It was once part of the former constellation Antinous. On average, this star has an apparent visual magnit ...

which he had identified the previous year. He corresponded with leading astronomers of the day including

William Herschel Frederick William Herschel (; german: Friedrich Wilhelm Herschel; 15 November 1738 – 25 August 1822) was a German-born British astronomer and composer. He frequently collaborated with his younger sister and fellow astronomer Caroline ...

and

Nevil Maskelyne Nevil Maskelyne (; 6 October 1732 – 9 February 1811) was the fifth British Astronomer Royal. He held the office from 1765 to 1811. He was the first person to scientifically measure the mass of the planet Earth. He created the ''British Nau ...

. Pigott moved to

Bath Bath may refer to: * Bathing, immersion in a fluid ** Bathtub, a large open container for water, in which a person may wash their body ** Public bathing, a public place where people bathe * Thermae, ancient Roman public bathing facilities Plac ...

in 1796. Pigott's notebooks survive a
York City Archives

Honors

Asteroid 10220 Pigott is named after Edward and his father. It was discovered by R. A. Tucker at the observatory in

Tucson, Arizona , "(at the) base of the black ill , nicknames = "The Old Pueblo", "Optics Valley", "America's biggest small town" , image_map = , mapsize = 260px , map_caption = Interactive map ...

which bears Pigott's name and that of his friend Goodricke.

References

External links

* L.M. French
John Goodricke, Edward Pigott, and Their Study of Variable Stars
19th-century British astronomers 18th-century British astronomers 1753 births 1825 deaths {{UK-astronomer-stub