William Ball (astronomer) facts for kids

William Ball (born around 1631, died 1690) was an English astronomer. He was one of the first members of a famous science group called the Royal Society. He even became their first treasurer, managing their money, from 1660 to 1663.

William Ball: English Astronomer

William Ball was a very keen astronomer. He owned a powerful telescope, which was 12 feet long! This helped him make important observations of space.

Early Life and Discoveries

William was the oldest son of Sir Peter Ball and Anne Cooke. He loved studying the stars and planets.

In 1655, William and his brother Peter made an interesting discovery about the Rings of Saturn. At that time, the rings seemed to disappear because they were seen edge-on from Earth. But the Ball brothers observed them as a flat band around the planet. In the same year, William also figured out how fast Saturn spins.

Later Life and Legacy

In 1660, William had a bad accident, falling 30 feet. This left him with poor health for the rest of his life.

In 1666, he moved to his family's estate in Devon. Two years later, in 1668, he married Mary Posthuma Hussey. They had six children together. Managing his family's estate and living far from London meant he had less time for his scientific studies.

The Saturn Rings Mystery

In 1665, another scientist, Robert Moray, wrote about Ball's observations of Saturn. Moray mentioned that Saturn's rings looked like "not one body... but two."

This comment later led to a big discussion. Some people thought Ball had seen what is now called the Cassini Division in Saturn's rings. This is a gap between the rings. If true, it would mean Ball saw it ten years before Cassini did. They even suggested calling it "Ball's Division."

However, when people looked closely at William Ball's original drawings of Saturn, they didn't really support this idea. It seems he didn't clearly see the division.

A Lunar Honor

Even though there was a debate about his Saturn observations, William Ball is still remembered. A crater on the Moon is named Ball in his honor.