The Rosse Spirals

For a general account of the astronomical work at Birr, see Patrick Moore , The astronomy of Birr Castle (London, 1971).

Michael Hoskin , “Rosse, Robinson, and the resolution of the nebulae”, Journal for the history of astronomy , xxi (1990), 331–44.

See Michael Hoskin , “The first drawing of a spiral nebula”, ibid. , xiii (1982), 97–101.

“Very soon after, the spiral form of arrangement was detected; and our attention was then directed to the form of nebulae, the question of resolvability being a secondary object”, Rosse , “On the construction of specula of six-feet aperture; and a selection from the observations of nebulae made with them”, Philosophical transactions , cli (1861), 681–745, p. 703 [ The scientific papers of William Parsons, third Earl of Rosse 1800–1867 (London, 1926; hereafter cited as Scientific papers), 125–89, p. 147].

On the astronomers of Birr, see Appendix 1 of Moore, op. cit. (ref. 1).

Rosse , “Observations of the nebulae”, Philosophical transactions , cxl (1850), 499–514 [ Scientific papers , 109–24].

Ibid. , 503 [ Scientific papers , 113].

Ibid. , 503 [ Scientific papers , 113].

Ibid. , 503–4 [ Scientific papers , 113–14].

Ibid. , 505 [ Scientific papers , 115].

Ibid. , 506 [ Scientific papers , 116].

Ibid. , 511 [ Scientific papers , 121].

See Hoskin , op. cit. (ref. 2).

“Drawings to illustrate recent observations on nebulae, by the Earl of Rosse, with remarks by Rev. Dr. Robinson”, Report of the twenty-second Meeting of the British Association for the Advancement of Science (London, 1853), p. 22 of sectional matter [ Scientific papers , 56–58].

Rosse , op. cit. (ref. 4).

See for example Astrophysical journal , xlvi (1917), 25.

Lord Oxmantown [later fourth Earl of Rosse], “An account of the observations on the Great Nebula in Orion, made at Birr Castle, with the 3-feet and 6-feet telescopes, between 1848 and 1867”, Philosophical transactions , clviii (1868), 57–73 [ Scientific papers , 190–206].

Hoskin , op. cit. (ref. 2), 342.

Rosse , “Observations of nebulae and clusters of stars made with the six-foot and three-foot reflectors at Birr Castle, from the year 1848 up to the year 1878”, Scientific transactions of the Royal Dublin Society , ser. 2, ii. Parts 1 and 2, pp. 1–64 and pp. 65–136 with Appendix pp. i-iv, issued August 1879; Part 3, pp. 137–78 with Appendix p. v issued June 1880. A new title page (to the whole work) and a slightly revised p. 1 were issued with Part 3; bookbinders have not all put the various supplementary pages and plates in the same order.

On this see for example Michael Hoskin , Stellar astronomy: Historical essays (Chalfont St Giles, 1982), 156–7.

“Original observations Aug 1874-Dec 1875”, item B.1.6 in the list of the Birr archives given in Bennett J. A. Michael Hoskin , “The Rosse papers and instruments”, Journal for the history of astronomy , xii (1981), 216–29.

Reproduced as Appendix 6 of the Webb Society deep-sky observer's handbook , iv: Galaxies (Hillside, N.J., and Guildford and London, 1981).