Edward Doane Swift (24 December 1870 – 25 September 1935 in
Buffalo, New York) was an American
astronomer. Like his father Lewis, he was a founder member of the British Astronomical Association in 1890, resigning 1892.
Early years
Edward D. Swift was the youngest son of the astronomer
Lewis A. Swift
Lewis A. Swift (February 29, 1820 – January 5, 1913) was an American astronomer who discovered 13 comets and 1,248 previously uncatalogued nebulae. Only William Herschel discovered more nebulae visually.
Discoveries
Swift discovered or co-disco ...
and born during his father's second marriage to Caroline Doane Topping. At the age of almost two years, his family moved to
Rochester
Rochester may refer to:
Places Australia
* Rochester, Victoria
Canada
* Rochester, Alberta
United Kingdom
*Rochester, Kent
** City of Rochester-upon-Medway (1982–1998), district council area
** History of Rochester, Kent
** HM Prison ...
,
New York
New York most commonly refers to:
* New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York
* New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States
New York may also refer to:
Film and television
* '' ...
, as his father hoped his hardware business would improve in a larger city.
[Skywatchers: LEWIS SWIFT AND SON by Richard Taibi, 2012](_blank)
/ref>
Collaboration with father
The astronomical collaboration between Edward and his father began with the inauguration of a newly built observatory including a sixteen-inch refracting telescope in 1883. In the following years, many of Lewis Swift's publications are brief references to Edward. Most notably, Edward discovered 25 new NGC-objects, 22 new IC-objects, multiple comets and a total of 46 nebula
A nebula ('cloud' or 'fog' in Latin; pl. nebulae, nebulæ or nebulas) is a distinct luminescent part of interstellar medium, which can consist of ionized, neutral or molecular hydrogen and also cosmic dust. Nebulae are often star-forming regio ...
e.
See also
* :Discoveries by Edward Swift
* New General Catalogue
The ''New General Catalogue of Nebulae and Clusters of Stars'' (abbreviated NGC) is an astronomical catalogue of deep-sky objects compiled by John Louis Emil Dreyer in 1888. The NGC contains 7,840 objects, including galaxies, star clusters and ...
External links
Photo of Edward Swift
References
American astronomers
Discoverers of comets
1870 births
1935 deaths
{{US-astronomer-stub