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Created Jan 0001
Status Verified Sarcastic
Type Existential Dread
Keywords
astronomer, physicist, william henry pickering, carl vogel, spectroscopic binary, harvard college observatory, boston, mountain climbing

Edward Charles Pickering

“Edward Charles Pickering (July 19, 1846 – February 3, 1919) was an American astronomer and physicist [1] and the older brother of William Henry Pickering....”

Contents
  • 1. Overview
  • 2. Etymology
  • 3. Cultural Impact

Edward Charles Pickering

Edward Charles Pickering (July 19, 1846 – February 3, 1919) was an American astronomer and physicist [1] and the older brother of William Henry Pickering . Along with Carl Vogel , Pickering discovered the first spectroscopic binary stars. He wrote Elements of Physical Manipulations (2 vol., 1873–76). [2]

His career spanned more than four decades of observational astronomy, during which he transformed the Harvard College Observatory into a world‑leading institution for photographic sky surveys. Pickering’s relentless push toward the use of photography for stellar spectroscopy not only expanded the catalog of known stars but also laid the groundwork for modern astrophysical techniques.

Personal life

Pickering was born at 43 Bowdoin Street in Boston , Massachusetts, on July 19, 1846, to a distinguished, cultivated family consisting of his brother, William Henry Pickering , his father, Edward Pickering, and his mother, Charlotte Hammond. [3] Edward’s brother, William, was a graduate of Massachusetts Institute of Technology and a professor of physics and astronomy. [5]

As a boy, Pickering became fascinated with the stars and constructed his own telescope by the age of twelve. [6] He enjoyed mountain climbing and cycling in his youth and later attended football games as a spectator. He was a co‑founder and the first president of the Appalachian Mountain Club . [7] An avid lover of classical music , he also found time to explore the outdoors.

During the World War I era he attempted to devise practical applications for the war effort, including work on the Pickering Polaris Attachment , a device used to determine the range of artillery. [6] In 1874 he married Lizzie Wadsworth Sparks, whose father had served as President of Harvard_University . [4] Mrs. Pickering died in 1906, and Edward died in 1919. [4]

Pickering’s remains were interred in Mount_Auburn_Cemetery in Cambridge, Massachusetts. [34]

Education

Pickering was educated at the Boston Latin School and later studied at the Lawrence Scientific School at Harvard , where he received a Bachelor of Science degree in 1865. [4]

Career and research

A portrait of Pickering, painted in 1911 by Sarah Gooll Putnam , now resides in the Harvard Art Museums . [8]

Immediately after graduating from Harvard he was hired as an instructor of mathematics at Harvard, and a year later he moved to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology to become an assistant professor of physics. [4] In 1868 he was appointed Thayer Professor of Physics, succeeding William Barton Rogers . [9] [10] During the ten years he held this position he created the first physics laboratory in America designed specifically for student‑generated research, naming it the Rogers Laboratory of Physics and installing himself as its director. [4] He resigned as Thayer Professor in 1877, succeeded by Charles R. Cross . [9]

Later, Pickering served as director of the Harvard College Observatory (HCO) from 1877 until his death in 1919, where he made groundbreaking advances in the photographic collection of stellar spectra. [11]

In 1884 a manuscript based on the late Henry Draper ’s photographic work was published under the name “the late Henry Draper.” The manuscript attracted criticism from William Huggins , prompting Pickering to enlist additional assistants to strengthen the observational program. This effort helped expand the Harvard Computers team, which included Williamina Fleming , Annie Jump Cannon , Henrietta Swan Leavitt , [Antonia Mauri…] and Florence Cushman . [12] [13]

Pickering also pioneered a method in 1882 that allowed a large prism to be placed in front of a photographic plate, enabling the simultaneous capture of spectra for many stars. [13] Using this technique his team photographed more than 220,000 stars, producing a library of stellar data that would weigh an estimated 120 tons of photographic plates. [4]

His work on the spectra of ζ-Puppis revealed a series of lines that became known as the Pickering series . Initially attributed to Hydrogen in 1897, the lines were later understood, through the work of Alfred Fowler and Niels_Bohr , to arise from ionized Helium (Heâș). [15] [16] [17] [18] [19] [20] [21] [22] [23] [24] [25] [26] [27] This clarification contributed significantly to the development of atomic theory and demonstrated the necessity of re‑examining previously accepted spectral assignments. [26]

Pickering’s contributions to the classification of stars led to the development of the Stellar_Classification system based on spectral characteristics, which formed the foundation for the Henry_Draper_Catalog . [14]

Harvard Computers

The Harvard College Observatory became a hub of international collaboration under Pickering’s leadership. He appealed in 1882 for variable‑star observations worldwide, eventually establishing cooperation through the British Astronomical Association and the American Association of Variable Star Observers (AAVSO). [6]

Pickering recruited over 80 women to work at the observatory, including Annie Jump Cannon , Henrietta Swan Leavitt , [Antonia Mauri…] and Florence Cushman . [29] [30] These women, later referred to as the Harvard Computers (sometimes derisively called “Pickering’s Harem” by contemporary male astronomers), performed essential reductions of photographic plates and developed methods for measuring stellar brightness.

Leavitt’s discovery of the period‑luminosity relationship for Cepheid variables, published under Pickering’s supervision, provided the first reliable cosmic distance ladder and remains a cornerstone of extragalactic astronomy. [31]

Death and legacy

Pickering died unexpectedly on February 3, 1919, at the age of 72, from pneumonia and heart complications after a ten‑day illness. [12] [32] He was interred in Mount_Auburn_Cemetery . [34] His death marked the end of a 42‑year tenure as director of the Harvard College Observatory , a record for continuity in that role. [33]

Colleagues remembered him for his originality, initiative, and warm‑heartedness. Though his treatment of women is now viewed through a critical lens, contemporaries noted that he granted them more professional opportunities than was typical for the era, thereby paving the way for future generations of female scientists. [29]

His photographic plate collection, though now obsolete, foreshadowed the development of modern charged‑coupled devices (CCDs) in the 1970s, influencing the way astronomers gather and analyze imaging data. [12]

Honors and awards

Pickering received numerous distinctions, including:

In his honor, several celestial and terrestrial features bear his name, including the Pickering lunar crater , the Pickering martian crater , the asteroid 784_Pickeringia , a portion of the Veil_Nebula known as Pickering’s Triangle, and a mountain in California called [Mount_Pickering]. [35]

Publications

  • Elements of Physical Manipulation (2 vol., 1873–76) – New York: Hurd & Houghton. OCLC 16078533
  • A Plan for Securing Observations of the Variable Stars (1882) – Cambridge: J. Wilson and Son. OCLC 260332440
  • An Investigation in Stellar Photography (1886) – Cambridge: J. Wilson and Son. OCLC 15790725
  • Preparation and Discussion of the Draper Catalogue (1891) – Cambridge: J. Wilson and Son. OCLC 3492105
  • Plan for the Endowment of Astronomical Research (1903) – Cambridge: Astronomical Observatory of Harvard College. OCLC 30005226
  • Pickering, E. C. (1912). “The Allegheny Observatory in Its Relation to Astronomy.” Science 36(927): 417–421. Bibcode 1912Sci….36..417P. doi 10.1126/science.36.927.417. PMID 17788756.