Seth Barnes Nicholson Papers, 1914-1963

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Summary

Creators:
Nicholson, Seth B. (Seth Barnes), 1891-1963.
Abstract:
The collection contains the astronomical research and correspondence of American astronomer Seth Barnes Nicholson (1891-1963), dating from 1914 to 1963. The majority of Nicholson’s research material deals with his study of Jupiter and its moons.
Extent:
445 items in 3 boxes.
Language:
English.

Background

Scope and content:

The collection contains the astronomical research and correspondence of American astronomer Seth Barnes Nicholson (1891-1963). The majority of Nicholson’s research material deals with his study of Jupiter and its moons (Box 1). His other research (Box 2) includes his study of magnetic activity, the asteroid Icarus, Trojan asteroids, Pluto, Venus, the Sun and Sun spots (there is one item dealing with both Jupiter and the Sun in Box 1). There are some pieces of correspondence in the research folders.

Most of the correspondence (Box 3) is between Nicholson and other astronomers throughout the world; the majority of it is also about Jupiter and its moons, asteroids and sun spots. Notable participants in the collection include: Giorgio Abetti, Astronomical Society of the Pacific, Robert Grant Aitken, Joseph Ashbrook, Ira Sprague Bowen, Leland E. Cunningham, Sturla Einarsson, Charles Federer, Paul Herget, Samuel Herrick, Theodor S. Jacobsen, Vladimir Kourganoff, Karl Otto Kiepenheuer, Gerard Kuiper, Willem Luyten, M. G. J. Minnaert, Yngve Ă–hman, Jan Oort, William Henry Pickering, Frederick Hanley Seares, Harlow Shapley, Otto Struve, Alexander N. Vyssotsky, Fred L. Whipple and Fritz Zwicky.

The collection also includes several photographs; their presence is noted in the container list and on the folders.

Biographical / historical:

American astronomer Seth Barnes Nicholson (1891-1963) was born in Springfield, Illinois, on November 21, 1891. He received a Bachelors in Science from Drake University, Des Moines, Indiana, in 1911 and a Ph.D. from the University of California in 1914. He discovered Sinope, the ninth moon of Jupiter, while observing the seventh moon, Pasiphaë, at Lick Observatory. The computation of its orbit was the subject of his Ph.D. thesis.

Nicholson went on to discover three other moons of Jupiter, along with two asteroids, during his decades’ long career at the Wilson Observatory. His main focus at Wilson Observatory was to monitor solar activity and he wrote the annual sunspot activity reports for most of his career. He made significant discoveries regarding sunspots, especially in regards to their magnetic properties and terrestrial effects.

Nicholson served as the editor of the Publications of the Astronomical Society of the Pacific from 1943 to 1955 and was twice the president of the society. He was awarded the Bruce Medal in 1963, the year he died in Los Angeles.

Acquisition information:

Deposit, Observatories of the Carnegie Institution of Washington Collection, 1988.

Approximately fifty additional separate collections form the Mount Wilson Papers of the Observatories of the Carnegie Institution of Washington and are available for research in the Manuscripts Department of the Huntington Library. Forms part of: The Mount Wilson Papers of the Observatories of the Carnegie Institution of Washington.

Arrangement:

The collection is organized in three series:

  • Box 1: Jupiter Research Box 2: Other Research
  • Box 3: Correspondence
The research series are organized alphabetically by folder title; the correspondence is organized alphabetically by correspondent name.

Rules or conventions:
Finding aid prepared using Describing Archives: A Content Standard

Access and use

Restrictions:

Open to qualified researchers by prior application through the Reader Services Department. For more information, contact Reader Services.

Location of this collection:
1151 Oxford Road
San Marino, CA 91108, US
Contact:
(626) 405-2191
reference@huntington.org
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