Edward Emerson Barnard

Barnard was born from a poor family, and unlike popular astronomers of his time, he did not have the opportunity to attend school. This however did not prevent him from getting involved in the world of cosmology. As a child he worked as a photographer's apprentice, which eventually resulted to developing a fascination in astronomy.

A highly-gifted astronomer, Barnard learned to discover comets through his simple refractor telescope. This talent in observing heavenly bodies at one point became a high-paying job, and soon Barnard's name became a buzzword among astronomical circles in Kentucky. In a span of 11 years from 1881 and 1892, the astronomer discovered a total of fourteen different comets.

Even if the technology of his time was very limited, Barnard was able to note observations which in the following decades would participate in proving modern astronomic concepts. For instance, in 1889, he affirmed seeing shadows that passed over one of Saturn's moon. These, as spacecraft Voyager I proved years later, were the spokes of the planet, shadows that run parallel to Saturn's rings. Barnard also discovered Amalthea, Jupiter's fifth satellite. It should be noted that during that time, the last satellite of Jupiter was discovered nearly three centuries ago, in 1609.

Barnard pursued other cosmological projects related to his interest in photography. One of these works was a comprehensive catalog of dark nebulas, all of which systematically mapped out and recorded. The best of his discoveries, however, was a star system that he saw in 1916. This system, named the Barnard's Star, is the second star system near the Sun, closing in next to the Alpha Centauri system. It was named after the scientist in recognition of his observation that that the system had proper motion that's relative to other stars.

Barnard will always be known as one of the best examples of self-taught astronomers who succeeded in becoming a major player in a discipline of highly-educated professionals years ago.

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Medicine, however, was not enough to satisfy Draper’s hunger for intellectual and technical challenges. He continued to dabble in photography. This pursuit led him to several groundbreaking astronomical achievements during his time—achievements that were also initially ignored and ridiculed because of the lack of technological means.

Today, Henry Draper is honored as the first astronomer who took the first photo of an astronomical nebula, specifically the Great Nebula of Orion. In addition, the scientist is also acknowledged for an array of firsts including the first spectrum photo of a star, the first wide-angled photo of a comet’s tail, and first spectrum photo of a comet.

Draper did not stop with comets and stars. He also took excellent photographs of many other heavenly bodies including the sun, the moon, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, and other bright, distant stars.

Needless to say, the scientist also toiled hard to develop camera technologies that would enhance the quality of astronomical photos. Credited under is name is the invention of the slit spectrograph, an instrument that could measure the properties of light. This invention opened new horizons in the field of photography and related areas like instrumental optics and telescope science.

As a dedicated scholar, Draper also wrote and published a number of books regarding his work on medicine and astronomy, among them his discourses on telescope design and photo spectrum analysis.

Draper died in 1882, but his works significantly changed the landscape of astronomy. Sure, there was a serious limitation in technologies during his time, but he worked hard to come up with evidences and become one of the seminal forces that inspired younger generations of astronomers to continue the quest in discovering heavenly bodies and cracking open the mysteries of the outer space.

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