astronomy

James South

James South is a astronomy topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand James South rather than just read about it. In short: Sir James South (October 1785 – 19 October 1867) was a British astronomer. He was a joint founder of the Astronomical Society of London, and it was under his name, as President of the Society in 1831, that a petition was successfully submitted to obtain a Royal Charter, whereupon it became the Royal Astronomical Society.

Key takeaways

James South belongs to astronomy; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect James South to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of James South from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Sir James South (October 1785 – 19 October 1867) was a British astronomer. He was a joint founder of the Astronomical Society of London, and it was under his name, as President of the Society in 1831, that a petition was successfully submitted to obtain a Royal Charter, whereupon it became the Royal Astronomical Society.

Life He was born in Southwark in London in October 1785, the son of James South, a pharmaceutical chemist. John Flint South was his younger half-brother. He originally trained as a chemist, then as a surgeon, but his interests in astronomy overtook all things. In 1821 he was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of London and in 1822 a Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh his proposer being Edward Troughton. He won the Copley Medal in 1826 and the Gold Medal of the Royal Astronomical Society in that same year. He was knighted by King William IV in 1831. Starting around 1826, James South made plans for a new, larger telescope, an equatorially mounted achromatic refractor (a telescope with a lens) in a new observatory. He bought a 12-inch (actually about 11.8) aperture lens from Robert-Aglaé Cauchoix in Paris for about 1000 pounds, large enough to be the biggest achromatic object lens in the world at the time. The telescope for the lens was completed, but dismantled around 1838. The next largest refractor, was at the Markree Observatory, which successfully completed a 13.3-inch refractor (also a Cauchoix of Paris lens) in the 1830s on a Thomas Grubb mount. The problem for James South's telescope was the equatorial mount. South was involved in a notorious lawsuit brought against him by the instrument maker Edward Troughton over this equatorial-mount telescope which the latter had constructed for him, and which South considered defective. Troughton sued him for payment and won. South promptly demolished the telescope mount; the 12-inch lens, which had been purchased separately, was preserved and presented to the (Dublin) Dunsink Observatory in 1862. The Observatory mounted it on a Grubb equatorial, where it survives to the present day. (See also Great refractors) James was the second owner of the Groombridge Transit Circle of 1806 (after Stephen Groombridge). He died at the observatory on Campden Hill in Kensington on 19 October 1867, and was buried on the west side of Highgate Cemetery.

Family In 1816 he married Charlotte Ellis (d.1851). She was an heiress and his new-found wealth enabled him to give up surgery and concentrate on astronomy.

Works South and John Herschel jointly produced a catalogue of 380 double stars in 1824, reobserving many of the double stars that had been discovered by William Herschel. South then continued and observed another 458 double stars over the following year.

Recognition Craters on Mars and the Moon are named in his honour.

References London Metropolitan Archives Reference Number: P92/SAV/3009 National Portrait Gallery portrait Wikisource copy of a notice from 1823 concerning the star catalogue, published in Astronomische Nachrichten MNRAS 28 (1868) 69

Further reading History of Cauchoix objectives The South Telescope of Dunsink Observatory, Authors: Wayman, P. A., Journal: Irish Astronomical Journal, vol. 8(8), p. 274 Internet Archive 2010 Kensington Observatory (Campden Hill) (Google Books 2010) Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, Volume 28, By Royal Astronomical Society: Sir James South, Page 69-72

External links The auction of instruments at Observatory House, Campden Hill – 19th Century

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with James South

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what James South claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In astronomy, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to James South before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about James South ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of James South

In research: James South appears in astronomy research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses James South in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: James South is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics 1785 births, 1867 deaths, 19th-century British astronomers, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for James South outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study James South in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what James South means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain James South out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is James South in simple terms?

Why does James South matter?

Because it connects several astronomy ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study James South?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on James South.