Astro*Dictionary
by Michael Erlewine
2 articles for
"Barnard"
(1857-1923) American astronomer. Born in Nashville, Tennessee; died at Williams Bay, Wisconsin.
Encouraged by Newcomb, he attended Vandelbilt University and was placed in charge of the college observatory. He joined the staff at Lick Observatory and, in 1892, discovered a fifth satellite of Jupiter, which was named Amalthea. In 1895, he was appointed professor of astronomy at the University of Chicago, and worked at Yerkes Observatory. In 1916, he discovered a dim, red dwarf star in the constellation Ophiuchus which exhibited the fastest proper motion of any star yet discovered; it moves an angular distance equal to the width of the Moon's disk in about 180 years, or 10.3"/year. Observations display a slight oscillating motion, which might be due to the presence of one or more planets (with mass about that of Jupiter) orbiting the star. Named Barnard's Star after its discoverer.
Barnard's Star [Astro*Index]
The fourth nearest star to our Sun; the nearest star after the Centuri group; this star has aroused speculation due to its oscillating motion.
Astro*Index Copyright © 1997 Michael Erlewine
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