David Elijah Packer: cluster variables, meteors and the solar corona
2015 November 18
David Elijah Packer (1862-1936), a librarian by profession, was an enthusiastic amateur astronomer who observed from London and Birmingham. He first came to the attention of the astronomical community in 1890 when he discovered a variable star in the globular cluster M5, only the second periodic variable to be discovered in a globular cluster. He also observed meteors and nebulae, on one occasion reporting a brightening in the nucleus of the galaxy M77. However, his remarkable claims in 1896 that he had photographed the solar corona in daylight were soon shown to be flawed.
(Login or click above to view the full illustrated article in PDF format).
| The British Astronomical Association supports amateur astronomers around the UK and the rest of the world. Find out more about the BAA or join us. |