Frank McClean
Encyclopedia
Frank McClean, FRS (1837 - 1904) was a British astronomer
and pioneer of objective prism spectrography
.
His father was the engineer J. R. McClean
, FRS. Graduating from Trinity College, Cambridge
in 1859, Frank McClean was a Bachelor Scholar at Trinity for the next three years. As an engineering apprentice to Sir John Hawkshaw
from 1859 to 1862, he participated in improvements in the drainage of the Fens Districts. In 1862 he became a partner in the firm of Messrs. McClean and Stileman, eventually retiring in 1870 to work on astronomy and live at Tunbridge Wells, at Ferncliffe with his wife and children.
He did important spectrographic work in astronomy, inventing his well-known star-spectroscope in 1875 and observing solar prominences. In 1877 he moved to Rusthall House, Tunbridge Wells, fitted his polar heliostat to the roof of his house, and with a grating spectroscope and electrical equipment began his studies of the solar and metallic spectra. McClean built an observatory and carried out a survey of the brighter stars in the northern hemisphere. After two years' work he finished the northern sky (publishing the spectra of 160 stars in the journal Nature). In the spring of 1897 he went to the Cape of Good Hope to survey the southern stars. In six months he had made photographs of 116 stars in the southern hemisphere. in 1897 he discovered the presence of oxygen in spectrographs from Beta Scorpii
, Beta Canis Majoris
, Beta Centauri
, and Beta Crucis
. His spectrographic survey of the stars was cited in the presentation to him of the Gold Medal of the Royal Astronomical Society
in 1899.
He studied history, made a fine collection of ancient coins, and made an outstanding collection of medieval art, books, and manuscripts, especially from Italy and France. His son Francis McClean became a famous pioneer aviator.
Astronomer
An astronomer is a scientist who studies celestial bodies such as planets, stars and galaxies.Historically, astronomy was more concerned with the classification and description of phenomena in the sky, while astrophysics attempted to explain these phenomena and the differences between them using...
and pioneer of objective prism spectrography
Spectroscopy
Spectroscopy is the study of the interaction between matter and radiated energy. Historically, spectroscopy originated through the study of visible light dispersed according to its wavelength, e.g., by a prism. Later the concept was expanded greatly to comprise any interaction with radiative...
.
His father was the engineer J. R. McClean
John Robinson McClean
John Robinson McClean CB FRS , was a British civil engineer and Liberal Party politician.-Early life:He was born in Belfast. Educated at Belfast Academical Institution and University of Glasgow.-Engineering career:...
, FRS. Graduating from Trinity College, Cambridge
Trinity College, Cambridge
Trinity College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Trinity has more members than any other college in Cambridge or Oxford, with around 700 undergraduates, 430 graduates, and over 170 Fellows...
in 1859, Frank McClean was a Bachelor Scholar at Trinity for the next three years. As an engineering apprentice to Sir John Hawkshaw
John Hawkshaw
Sir John Hawkshaw , was an English civil engineer.-Early life:He was born in Leeds, Yorkshire and was educated at Leeds Grammar School...
from 1859 to 1862, he participated in improvements in the drainage of the Fens Districts. In 1862 he became a partner in the firm of Messrs. McClean and Stileman, eventually retiring in 1870 to work on astronomy and live at Tunbridge Wells, at Ferncliffe with his wife and children.
He did important spectrographic work in astronomy, inventing his well-known star-spectroscope in 1875 and observing solar prominences. In 1877 he moved to Rusthall House, Tunbridge Wells, fitted his polar heliostat to the roof of his house, and with a grating spectroscope and electrical equipment began his studies of the solar and metallic spectra. McClean built an observatory and carried out a survey of the brighter stars in the northern hemisphere. After two years' work he finished the northern sky (publishing the spectra of 160 stars in the journal Nature). In the spring of 1897 he went to the Cape of Good Hope to survey the southern stars. In six months he had made photographs of 116 stars in the southern hemisphere. in 1897 he discovered the presence of oxygen in spectrographs from Beta Scorpii
Beta Scorpii
Beta Scorpii is a star system in the constellation Scorpius. It has the traditional names Acrab, Akrab or Elacrab, all come from al-'Aqrab, the Scorpion, for the whole constellation, as well as Graffias, a name it shares with Xi Scorpii...
, Beta Canis Majoris
Beta Canis Majoris
Beta Canis Majoris is a star in the constellation of Canis Major. It has the traditional name Murzim, Al-Murzim or Mirzam....
, Beta Centauri
Beta Centauri
Beta Centauri , also known as Hadar or Agena, is the second brightest star in the constellation Centaurus and the tenth brightest star in the night sky. Beta Centauri is a B1 III blue-white giant star that the astrometric Hipparcos satellite calculates as about 161 parsecs or 525 light-years from...
, and Beta Crucis
Beta Crucis
Mimosa or Becrux is the second brightest star in the constellation Crux and is one of the brightest stars in the night sky....
. His spectrographic survey of the stars was cited in the presentation to him of the Gold Medal of the Royal Astronomical Society
Gold Medal of the Royal Astronomical Society
-History:In the early years, more than one medal was often awarded in a year, but by 1833 only one medal was being awarded per year. This caused a problem when Neptune was discovered in 1846, because many felt an award should jointly be made to John Couch Adams and Urbain Le Verrier...
in 1899.
He studied history, made a fine collection of ancient coins, and made an outstanding collection of medieval art, books, and manuscripts, especially from Italy and France. His son Francis McClean became a famous pioneer aviator.