John Goodricke FRS (17 September 1764 – 20 April 1786) was an English amateur astronomer. He is best known for his observations of the variable star Algol (Beta Persei) in 1782.
Life and work
John Goodricke, named after his great-grandfather Sir John Goodricke 1617–1670 (see Goodricke baronets of Ribston Hall), was born in Groningen in the Netherlands, but lived most of his life in England. He became deaf in early childhood due to a severe illness. and δ Cephei, the prototypical example of the Cepheid variable stars.
The University of York has a Goodricke College named after John Goodricke.
The Goodricke-Pigott Observatory is a private astronomical observatory in Tucson, Arizona, named after both Goodricke and Pigott. It was formally dedicated on 26 October 1996.
References
Further reading
External links
- Features animations of different types of variable stars.
- Features scans of his notes retrieved from the York City Archives and other biographical information. Website in Norwegian, scans in English.
- See also John Burnside's poem, 'Sense Data', a tribute to Goodricke in Burnside's collection, The Asylum Dance, Cape (2000)