Essays on Astronomical History & Heritage: A tribute to Wayne Orchiston on his 80th birthday (ed. Gullberg & Robertson)

Wayne Orchiston, currently of the University of Science and Technology, China, has been a good friend of the  Historical Section of the BAA for many years. Although he is based in Thailand, he usually sends posters to display at Section meetings, highlighting his many research interests in the history of astronomy in Oceania and Asia. In autumn 2022, he gave a webinar to the Section about the eclipse of 1868, as seen from Thailand. Wayne founded the prestigious Journal of Astronomical Heritage and History and has chaired the International Astronomical Union (IAU) Commission on the History of Astronomy.

Belying his huge workload, Wayne has recently celebrated his 80th birthday. As is customary in academia, his colleagues organised a Festschrift in his honour: a volume of articles and papers on subjects he has researched over the years. Essays on Astronomical History and Heritage, edited by Steven Gullberg and Peter Robertson, presents 33 fascinating essays on astronomical history.

There are a wide variety of topics, grouped into six sections – Astronomy and Society, Emergence of Astrophysics, History of Radio Astronomy, Solar System, Observatories and Instrumentation, and Ethnoastronomy and Archaeoastronomy. With such a range of subjects to choose from, there is something for everyone with an interest in the history of astronomy.

I had many favourites. I enjoyed Lars Gislen’s account of how botched calendrical reform led to Sweden (and nowhere else) having thirty days in the calendar for 1712 February. Alan H. Batten’s contribution traces the history of astrophysics from a ‘fanciful abstraction’ (George Biddell Airy) to the central role it plays today. Until I read Martin George’s chapter, I had no idea that the American radio-astronomy pioneer Grote Reber spent much of his later life building radio telescopes in Tasmania. And I was fascinated to read Roger Kinns’ history of time balls (an interest of mine) and other time signals for mariners.

My favourite chapter of all is Bill Sheehan’s account of his time on the IAU commission to name lunar craters, and the attempts to name lunar features for the Apollo 8 astronauts and give official nomenclature to the mountains which framed the iconic Earthrise photograph. I found the inside story of horse-trading on official committees fascinating.

One more chapter deserves comment – Jay Pasachoff’s account of his eclipse travels with Wayne. Poignantly, Jay’s chapter opens ‘I am hopeful of reaching my 81st year – that is, my 80th birthday – jointly with Wayne Orchiston in 2023’. Alas, it was not to be, as Jay passed away in 2022 November, and this chapter is one of his final works.

The book is well put together, with few – if any – typos, and a useful index. Such a volume cannot possibly claim to be comprehensive, but as a taster of the topics currently being researched by the history-of-astronomy community, it cannot be beaten.

A belated happy 80th birthday, Wayne!

Mike Frost is Director of the BAA Historical Section and a founding member of the Society for the History of Astronomy. He is a well-known speaker, researcher and author on astronomical history