Robert Main facts for kids

Robert Main (born July 12, 1808, died May 9, 1878) was an English astronomer. He was also a priest. He spent many years studying stars and planets.

Robert Main's Life

Robert Main was born in a place called Upnor in Kent, England. He was the oldest son in his family. His younger brother, Thomas John Main, became a mathematician. Robert went to school in Portsea, Portsmouth. After that, he studied mathematics at Queens' College, Cambridge. He finished his studies in 1834.

From 1835 to 1860, Robert Main worked as the First Assistant at the Royal Greenwich Observatory. This is a very important place for studying space. While working there, he wrote many articles. These articles were about how stars and planets move. He also wrote about how far away stars are and the sizes and shapes of planets.

Robert Main was also a big part of the Royal Astronomical Society. He was an honorary secretary, a vice-president, and even the President of the Society. In 1858, he received the Society's special Gold Medal. This award is given for important work in astronomy.

In 1860, he became the director of the Radcliffe Observatory at Oxford University. This happened after the previous director, Manuel John Johnson, passed away. Robert Main was also chosen to be a Fellow of the Royal Society. This is a group of top scientists. He was also a priest in the Church of England. He often gave sermons while he lived in Greenwich.

Robert Main's Works

Robert Main helped with the third edition of a book called A Manual of Scientific Enquiry. This book was for the British Navy and for travelers. It included an article about geology by Charles Darwin.

In 1852, Robert Main wrote his own textbook, Rudimentary Astronomy. Later, in 1863, he published another astronomy book called Practical and Spherical Astronomy.

He was also in charge of editing the Second Radcliffe Catalogue in 1870. This was a huge list that described 6,317 stars. He also helped edit another big star catalog with Charles Pritchard. This one was Herschel's Catalogue of 10,300 multiple and double stars in 1874.

Legacy

Two places in space are named after Robert Main. There is a crater on the Moon called Main. There is also a crater on the planet Mars named after him.