- Chinthamani Ragoonatha Chary
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Chinthamani Ragoonatha Chary Born 1822 or 1828O.S.
Madras, British IndiaDied February 5, 1880
Madras, British IndiaOccupation astronomer Employer Madras Observatory Known for discovery of variable star R Reticuli Chinthamani Ragoonatha Chary (1822 or 1828O.S. – February 5, 1880) was an Indian astronomer at the Madras Observatory. He discovered the variable star R Reticuli in 1867.
Contents
Early life
Little is known about Chary's personal life. It is believed that he was born in Madras in about 1822.[1] However, in official records, his birthdate has been recorded as 1828.[1] Chary's ancestors were Hindu astronomers who prepared Hindu astrological almanacs called Panchangams.[1] He lived in Nungambakkam and joined the Madras Observatory in 1840 as a "coolie" under T. G. Taylor.[1]
Career
By 1864, Chary had gathered enough knowledge of mathematics to be appointed as astronomer at the observatory.[1] He forged a productive partnership with N. R. Pogson, director of the Madras observatory.[1] His main responsibility at the observatory was to observe stars and determine their positions for the Madras Catalogues.[1]
During the solar eclipse of August 18, 1868, Chary was given the task of conducting observations from a village called Vunparthy situated to the north of Kurnool.[1] He was also a part of the team which observed the eclipse of December 12, 1871 at Avanashi.[1] In 1874, Chary wrote a treatise on the transit of Venus.[2]
Discoveries
Chary discovered the variable star R Reticuli in 1867.[1] He was the first Indian in modern history to make a significant astronomical discovery. Chary noted that the star which was observed by astronomer T. Moottooswamy Pillai with a Meridian Circle on February 9, 1864 was not visible when observed in January 1866 but could be spotted on January 18, 1867.[1]
Some sources also attribute the discovery of another variable star V Cephei or U Cephei to him but same has not been confirmed by the Madras Observatory.[1]
Death
Chary fell ill and died on February 5, 1880.[1] In an obituary to Chary, The Madras Mail wrote
His... ready skill as an observer, combined with accuracy and speed in computation, and a fair and useful amount of self-acquired mathematical knowledge, rendered him, until disabled by impaired health, invaluable in the Observatory, and the chief share in the catalogue of stars in hand, with the Transit Circle, since 1862, comprising already of over 38,000 separate observations, is due to his personal exertions.[3]Family
One of Chary's sons Chinthamani Raghava Chary was also an astronomer and helped Chary in preparing a Drigganita Panchang for the year 1880.[1] One of Chary's relatives P. Raghavachari served as third assistant at the Madras Observatory in 1877.[1]
Honours
Chary was elected fellow of the Royal Astronomical Society on January 12, 1872 - the first Indian to be elected to the society.[1]
Publications
In 1874, Chary wrote a book on the transit of Venus in English and six Indian languages, Sanskrit, Kannada, Tamil, Telugu and Urdu in the form of a vivada or dialogue between two individuals.[1]
Notes
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q Rao, N. Kameswara; Vagiswari, A.; Thakur, Priya; Birdie, Christina (2009). "C. Ragoonatha Chary and his variable stars". http://arxiv.org/ftp/arxiv/papers/0908/0908.3081.pdf. Eprint arXiv/0908.3081
- ^ Shylaja, B. S. (May 10, 2009). "Chintamani Ragoonathachari and contemporary Indian astronomy". Current Science 96 (9): 1271–1273. http://www.ias.ac.in/currsci/may102009/1271.pdf.
- ^ Monthly notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, Volume 41. Priestley and Weale. 1881. p. 182.
References
- Sen, S. N. (1989). "Madras Meridian Circle Observations of Fixed Stars during 1862 to 1887" (PDF). Indian Journal of History and Science 24 (4): 257–283. http://202.41.82.144/rawdataupload/upload/insa/INSA_1/20005b60_257.pdf.
See Also
- Indian astronomy
- Visvanatha Sastriyar
Categories:- 1880 deaths
- Indian astronomers
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