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Seth Barnes Nicholson Papers: Finding Aid
mssNicholson Seth papers
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Title: Seth Barnes Nicholson Papers
Dates (inclusive): 1914-1963
Collection Number: mssNicholson Seth papers
Creator:
Nicholson, Seth B. (Seth Barnes), 1891-1963.
Extent: 445 items in 3 boxes.
Repository:
The Huntington Library, Art Collections, and Botanical Gardens.
Manuscripts Department
1151 Oxford Road
San Marino, California 91108
Phone: (626) 405-2129
Email: reference@huntington.org
URL: http://www.huntington.org
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.
Language: English.
Open to qualified researchers by prior application through the Reader Services
Department. For more information, contact Reader Services.
The Huntington Library does not require that researchers request permission to
quote from or publish images of this material, nor does it charge fees for such
activities. The responsibility for identifying the copyright holder, if there is
one, and obtaining necessary permissions rests with the researcher.
[Identification of item]. Seth Barnes Nicholson Papers, The Huntington Library,
San Marino, California.
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.
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.
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 Öhman, 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.
The collection is organized in three series:
- Box 1: Jupiter Research Box 2: Other Research
- Box 3: Correspondence
The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in the
Huntington Library's Online Catalog.
Humason, Milton L.
(Milton La Salle), 1891-1972.
Nicholson, Seth B.
(Seth Barnes), 1891-1963.
Carnegie Institution of
Washington.
Mount Wilson and
Palomar Observatories -- History -- Sources.
Mount Wilson
Observatory -- History -- Sources.
Astronomers -- United States --
Archives.
Astronomical observatories --
California -- Wilson, Mount (Mountain)
Astronomy -- Photographs.
Astronomy -- Research.
Astronomy -- United States -- History
-- 20th century -- Sources.
Asteroids.
Sunspots.
Icarus
(Asteroid)
Jupiter (Planet) --
Observations.
Jupiter (Planet) --
Satellites.
Pluto (Dwarf
planet)
Venus
(Planet)
Letters (correspondence) -- United
States -- 20th century.
Photographs -- United States -- 20th
century.
Research (document genres) -- United
States -- 20th century.
Abetti, Giorgio, 1882-1982.
Aitken, Robert Grant, 1864-1951.
Ashbrook, Joseph, d. 1980.
Bowen, Ira Sprague, 1898-1973.
Einarsson, Sturla.
Federer, Charles, 1909-.
Herget, Paul, 1908-.
Herrick, Samuel, 1911-1974.
Jacobsen, Theodor S.
Kourganoff, V. (Vladimir), 1912-.
Kiepenheuer, K. O. (Karl Otto)
Kuiper, Gerard P. (Gerard Peter),
1905-1973.
Luyten, Willem Jacob, 1899-1994.
Minkowski, Rudolf, 1895-.
Öhman, Yngve, 1903-.
Oort, Jan Hendrik.
Pease, F. G. (Francis Gladheim), b.
1881.
Pickering, William H. (William
Henry), b. 1858.
Roemer, Elizabeth, 1929-.
Shapley, Harlow, 1885-1972.
Struve, Otto, 1897-1963.
Vyssotsky, A. N. (Alexander N.), b.
1888.
Whipple, Fred L. (Fred Lawrence),
1906-2004.
Zwicky, F. (Fritz), 1898-1974.
Seares, Frederick Hanley, 1873-,
recipient.
Astronomical Society of the Pacific,
recipient.
Indexing: Added Entries and Subjects
Indexing: Added Entries
Astronomical Society of the Pacific
- Addressee of Otto Struve, 1897-1963 letter (1951, July 5). Box 3 (49).
- Addressee of Alan Tower Waterman, 1892-1967 letter (1953, Mar. 25). Box 3 (53).
Kuiper, Gerard P. (Gerard Peter), 1905-1973
- Author of letter to Frederick Hanley Seares, 1873- (1938, July 7). Box 2 (2).
Seares, Frederick Hanley, 1873-
- Addressee of Gerard P. (Gerard Peter) Kuiper, 1905-1973 letter (1938, July 7). Box 2 (2).
Indexing: Subjects
Humason, Milton L. (Milton La Salle), 1891-1972
- Subject in Seth B. (Seth Barnes) Nicholson, 1891-1963. Note re: Pluto Image (1919). Box 2 (6).
- Subject in Ira Sprague Bowen, 1898-1973 letters (1946-1960). Box 3 (9).