Rosina Dafter (née Fitton), FRAS (15 March 1875 - 9 June 1959) was an

astronomer An astronomer is a scientist in the field of astronomy who focuses on a specific question or field outside the scope of Earth. Astronomers observe astronomical objects, such as stars, planets, natural satellite, moons, comets and galaxy, galax ...

and the first

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

n woman to be made a fellow of the

Royal Astronomical Society The Royal Astronomical Society (RAS) is a learned society and charitable organisation, charity that encourages and promotes the study of astronomy, planetary science, solar-system science, geophysics and closely related branches of science. Its ...

. She re-discovered the Pons-Winnecke comet in 1927 and was responsible for the discovery of previously unobserved

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

s in the

Carina constellation Carina ( ) is a constellation in the southern sky. Its name is Latin for the keel of a ship, and it was the southern foundation of the larger constellation of Argo Navis (the ship ''Argo'') until it was divided into three pieces, the other two be ...

Life

Dafter was born in London to Margaret and Richard Fitton, a pianoforte maker. She was educated at Holy Trinity Church School in London and started work as a dress designer before her marriage to John Albert Dafter on 20 November 1898. The couple arrived in Australia in 1910 and settled in Northgate with their two foster sons who were merchant mariners. While she had an interest in stars from childhood and studied mathematics as a hobby, it was not until her arrival in Australia that Dafter sought advice and began teaching herself astronomy. In 1923, Dafter was elected a member of the

British Astronomical Association The British Astronomical Association (BAA) was formed in 1890 as a national body to support the UK's amateur astronomers. Throughout its history, the BAA has encouraged observers to make scientifically valuable observations, often in collaborat ...

which had a branch in

New South Wales New South Wales (commonly abbreviated as NSW) is a States and territories of Australia, state on the Eastern states of Australia, east coast of :Australia. It borders Queensland to the north, Victoria (state), Victoria to the south, and South ...

. She was the southern observer for the Association for three decades, and was also a member of the New Zealand Astronomical Association and the

American Association of Variable Star Observers The American Association of Variable Star Observers (AAVSO) is an international nonprofit organization. Founded in 1911, the organization focuses on coordinating, analyzing, publishing, and archiving variable star observations made largely by ama ...

. Dafter gathered the data for Brisbane as part of a larger research project involving

Broken Hill Broken Hill is a city in the Far West (New South Wales), far west region of outback New South Wales, Australia. An inland mining city, it is near the border with South Australia on the crossing of the Barrier Highway (A32) and the Silver City Hi ...

and

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

that aimed to obtain simultaneous photometric data across the three sites. She also provided details of astronomical events to local newspapers, held public talks on

Astronomy Astronomy is a natural science that studies celestial objects and the phenomena that occur in the cosmos. It uses mathematics, physics, and chemistry in order to explain their origin and their overall evolution. Objects of interest includ ...

and was published in numerous journals. Dafter died in 1959.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dafter, Rosina 20th-century Australian astronomers Australian women astronomers Australian astronomers 1875 births 1959 deaths 20th-century Australian women scientists