Robert L. J. Ellery facts for kids

Robert Lewis John Ellery CMG FRS (born July 14, 1827 – died January 14, 1908) was an important English-Australian astronomer. An astronomer is a scientist who studies stars, planets, and space. He also worked for the government in Victoria, Australia, for 42 years. He was known for his work at the Melbourne Observatory.

Early Life and Learning

Robert Ellery was born in Cranleigh, England. His father, John Ellery, was a surgeon, which is a type of doctor. Robert went to a local school and trained to be a doctor too. However, he was very interested in astronomy from a young age. Friends at the Greenwich Observatory helped him learn more. He even got to use some of their special tools for looking at the sky.

Starting His Career in Australia

In 1851, Ellery sailed to Victoria, Australia. Many people were going there because gold had been discovered. He might have worked as a doctor for a short time in Williamstown, Victoria.

By 1853, the government in Victoria decided to build an observatory. This was a place where scientists could study the stars. It was important for ships, because sailors needed accurate time from the stars to know their location at sea. Ellery was already known as a good astronomer. So, in July 1853, he was put in charge of this new observatory.

Early Days of the Observatory

At first, the Victorian government observatory was quite small. It was in a two-room cottage in Williamstown. The only tools they had were a sextant (for measuring angles), an artificial horizon, and a marine chronometer (a very accurate clock for ships).

But things quickly improved! By March 1854, they added more advanced tools. These included a 30-inch transit instrument (a telescope for measuring star positions) and a good astronomical clock. They also got some tools to measure the weather.

Expanding His Work

Robert Ellery's job wasn't always busy with just astronomy. For a while, he also managed supplies for the marine depot. In 1856, he started a big project to map the land in Victoria. This kind of mapping is called a geodetic survey. It took a long time and was finally finished in 1874.

In 1858, another observatory was started in West Melbourne. It was for studying Earth's magnetism. Both Ellery and the new observatory's leader, Georg von Neumayer, found their locations weren't perfect. So, in 1863, both observatories moved to a better spot called the Domain.

Important Discoveries and Tools

In May 1860, a skilled astronomer named Edward John White joined Ellery's team. Together, they created and published several valuable lists of stars.

The Melbourne Observatory played a key role in a big scientific project in 1862. They helped figure out the distance from Earth to the Sun. This was done by working closely with E. J. Stone from the Greenwich Observatory in England.

In 1868, a new telescope arrived from England. At first, it didn't work very well. But Ellery was good with machines. He used his skills to fix the problems with the telescope.

He also had a helpful assistant named Ebenezer Farie Macgeorge. Macgeorge helped Ellery with surveying the border between South Australia and New South Wales. Later, he worked as an observer at the observatory. In 1871, Macgeorge reported that the main challenge for observing with the Great Melbourne Telescope was the atmosphere, not the telescope itself.

Towards the end of 1890, another telescope arrived. Ellery started an important new project. He began preparing a part of the astrographic chart. This was a huge international project to map the entire sky. He retired in 1895, and Pietro Baracchi took over his role.

Later Life and Achievements

Besides his work at the observatory, Robert Ellery was involved in many educational and scientific groups. He helped start the Royal Society of Victoria and was its president for many years (1866 to 1884). He also became a trustee for public libraries, museums, and the National Gallery of Victoria in 1882. For a long time, he was also a member of the council at the University of Melbourne.

Ellery was also interested in the volunteer movement. In 1873, he organized the Victorian torpedo corps. This group later became the submarine mining engineers. He was in charge until 1889, retiring as a lieutenant colonel. In 1900, Ellery was chosen as president of the Australasian Association for the Advancement of Science. He gave a speech about the history of astronomy in Australia and New Zealand.

He was also a very keen beekeeper! He was the first president of the Victorian Beekeepers' Club in 1885. He even edited a magazine called the Australian Beekeepers' Journal.

In 1907, Ellery became unwell, but he recovered well. He passed away in Melbourne on January 14, 1908. He wrote many articles for science magazines. Some of his work, like star lists, was published. He was made a fellow of the Royal Society in London in 1873. He also received the C.M.G. award in 1889.

Ellery was married twice, both times to sisters. He left behind his wife and a daughter.

He received the Clarke Medal from the Royal Society of New South Wales in 1889. A mountain in Antarctica, Mount Ellery, was named after him in 1886.