Lockyer, Sir Joseph Norman

Lockyer, Sir Joseph Norman

▪ British astronomer

born May 17, 1836, Rugby, Warwickshire, Eng.
died Aug. 16, 1920, Salcombe Regis, Devon
 British astronomer who in 1868 discovered in the Sun's (Sun) atmosphere a previously unknown element that he named helium.

      Lockyer became a clerk in the War Office in 1857, but his interest in astronomy eventually led to a career in that field. He initiated in 1866 the spectroscopic observation of sunspots (sunspot), and in 1868 he found that solar prominences (solar prominence) are upheavals in a layer around the Sun, which he named the chromosphere. Also in 1868, he and Pierre Janssen, working independently, discovered a spectroscopic method of observing solar prominences without the aid of an eclipse to block out the glare of the Sun. Lockyer identified the element helium in the solar spectrum 27 years before that element was found on the Earth.

      Between 1870 and 1905, Lockyer conducted eight expeditions to observe solar eclipses. He also built a private observatory at Sidmouth and theorized on stellar evolution. A prolific writer, he founded the science periodical Nature in 1869 and edited it until a few months before his death. He was knighted in 1897.

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Universalium. 2010.

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  • Lockyer,Sir Joseph Norman — Lock·yer (lŏkʹyər), Sir Joseph Norman. 1836 1920. British astronomer who founded and was the first editor (1869 1919) of Nature magazine. * * * …   Universalium

  • Lockyer , Sir Joseph Norman — (1836–1920) British astronomer Lockyer, born the son of a surgeon apothecary at Rugby in the English Midlands, started his career as a civil servant. He turned to astronomy and taught at the Royal College of Science, becoming director of the… …   Scientists

  • Lockyer, sir Joseph Norman — ► (1836 1920) Astrónomo y físico británico. Descubrió la presencia del helio en el Sol …   Enciclopedia Universal

  • LOCKYER, SIR JOSEPH NORMAN —    astronomer, born at Rugby; became clerk in the War Office in 1857, was secretary to the Royal Commission on Scientific Instruction in 1870, and was transferred to the Science and Art Department in 1875; he directed Government eclipse… …   The Nuttall Encyclopaedia

  • Lockyer, Sir Joseph Norman —    K.C.B., F.R.S. (b. 1836)    Astronomer. Elementary Lessons in Astronomy (1870), Studies in Spectrum Analysis (1878), Star gazing, Past and Present (1878), Chemistry of the Sun (1887), Dawn of Astronomy (1894), The Sun s Place in Nature (1897) …   Short biographical dictionary of English literature

  • Joseph Norman Lockyer — Joseph Norman Lockyer. Sir Joseph Norman Lockyer (* 17. Mai 1836 in Rugby, Warwickshire; † 16. August 1920 in Salcombe Regis, Devonshire) war englischer Astronom und gilt als einer der Wegbereiter der modernen Astrophysik und Begründer der… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Joseph Norman Lockyer — Pour les articles homonymes, voir Lockyer. Norman Lockyer Sir Joseph Norman Lockyer ou Norman Lockyer (17 mai 1836 16 août 1920 …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Joseph Norman Lockyer — Infobox Scientist name = Joseph Norman Lockyer box width = image width = 240px caption = from Proceedings of the Royal Society (1909) birth date = birth date|1836|05|17 birth place = Rugby, Warwickshire, England death date = death date and… …   Wikipedia

  • Joseph Norman Lockyer — Nacimiento 17 de mayo de 1836 Rugby, Warwickshire, Inglaterra Fallecimiento 16 de agosto …   Wikipedia Español

  • Lockyer — Lockyer, sir Joseph Norman …   Enciclopedia Universal

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