Editing William Henry Smyth (section)

==Astronomy==
[[Image:Comet of 1811.jpg|thumb|right|The [[Great Comet of 1811]], as drawn by William Henry Smyth]]
Returning to England and settling at [[Bedford, Bedfordshire|Bedford]], in 1825 he fitted out a private observatory equipped with a 5.9-inch [[refractor telescope]]<ref>{{cite web
|last=Steinicke |first=W. |url=http://www.klima-luft.de/steinicke/ngcic/persons/smyth.htm|title=William Henry Smyth : Photos|date=2017|access-date=26 April 2017}}</ref> at his home at 6 The Crescent.<ref name="BAS Smyth">{{cite web |title=Admiral William Henry Smyth – |url=https://bedsastro.org.uk/bedford-astronomical-society-bas-heritage/admiral-william-henry-smyth/ |website=www.bedsastro.org.uk |publisher=Bedford Astronomical Society |access-date=21 November 2022}}</ref><ref name="peeling2020">{{cite journal
 | last = Peeling
 | first = Robert
 | author-link =
 | title = The Story of the Lee Equatorial and Smythian Telescopes
 | journal = [[The Antiquarian Astronomer]]
 | volume = 14
 | pages = 51–65
 | publisher = [[Society for the History of Astronomy]]
 | date = 2020
 | bibcode = 2020AntAs..14...51P
 | url = http://articles.adsabs.harvard.edu/full/2020AntAs..14...51P
}}</ref>
He used this instrument to observe a variety of [[deep sky object]]s over the course of the 1830s, including [[double star]]s, [[star cluster]]s and [[nebula]]e. He published his observations in 1844 in the ''Cycle of Celestial Objects'', which earned him the [[Gold Medal of the Royal Astronomical Society]] in 1845 and also the presidency of the society. The first volume of this work was on general astronomy, but the second volume became known as the ''Bedford Catalogue''<ref>{{cite web|url= http://www.willbell.com/handbook/HAND1.htm|title=The Bedford Catalog from Cycle of Celestial Objects by William H. Smyth |first=George |last=Lovi|work=willbell.com|date=2008
|access-date=25 November 2013}}</ref> and contained his observations of 1,604 double stars and nebulae. It served as a standard reference work for many years afterward; no astronomer had previously made as extensive a catalogue of dim objects such as this. It was reprinted in 1986 with a foreword stating:<ref>{{cite journal |first=Will |last=Tirion|title=Obituary: George Lovi (1939–1993)|journal=Journal of the British Astronomical Association
|volume=103|issue=4|page=201|date=1993|url= http://adsabs.harvard.edu/full/1993JBAA..103..201T
|bibcode= 1993JBAA..103..201T|access-date=25 November 2013}}</ref>

{{quote|What makes it so special is that it is the first true celestial Baedeker and not just another "cold" catalogue of mere numbers and data. Like the original Baedeker travel guidebooks of the last century, this work is full of colorful commentary on the highlights of the heavenly scene and heavily influenced several subsequent works of its type, even to the present day. ...It is in the descriptive material that Smyth is a delight. He not only describes what the user of a small telescope will see, but also includes much fascinating astronomical, mythological, and historical lore. Many of these descriptions are especially valuable for the novice and user of small telescopes of a size similar to Smyth's.}}

Having completed his observations, he moved to [[Cardiff]] in 1839 to supervise the construction of the [[Cardiff Docks|Bute Dock]] which he had designed.<ref>A copy of his Report is held at the [[Institution of Civil Engineers]]</ref> His observatory was dismantled and the telescope was sold to Dr [[John Lee (astronomer)|John Lee]], who re-erected it in a new observatory of Smyth's design at [[Hartwell House, Buckinghamshire|Hartwell House]] near the village of [[Stone, Buckinghamshire|Stone]] in [[Buckinghamshire]]. Smyth moved to Stone in 1842 and, still having access to the telescope, performed a large number of additional astronomical observations from 1839 to 1859. The telescope is now in the [[Science Museum, London]].<ref>See his book "Aedes Hartwellianae, or notices of the Mansion of Hartwell" (1851), which has illustrations by his wife, two of his sons, one daughter, and his son-in-law Baden Powell.</ref><ref>{{cite web |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=zlRNAAAAYAAJ&q=%22Aedes+Hartwellianae%22|title=Aedes Hartwellianae: or, Notices of the Manor and Mansion of Hartwell|first=William Henry |last= Smyth|work=books.google.co.uk
|date=2013|access-date=25 November 2013}}</ref><ref name="peeling2020"/>

He also produced observations in a publication on star colours entitled "Sidereal Chromatics" in 1864,<ref name="James2017">{{cite web|last=James |first=A.|title=Sidereal Chromatics : Being a Re-print, With Additions, "Bedford Cycle of Celestial Objects," and Its "Harwell Continuation" of the Colours of Multiple Stars.|url=http://www.southastrodel.com/Page029f.htm|date=1864|access-date=26 April 2017}}</ref> which attempted to explain their nature, the effects of the Earth's atmosphere, and the possibility of change in colour due to [[Doppler Shift]]. While his premise proved ultimately wrong, he discussed and created a summary on observing star colours of many double stars under his so-called Hartwell Experiment.<ref name="James2017a">{{cite web|title=The Application of Admiral Smyth's "Sidereal Chromatics"|last=James|first=A.|url=http://www.southastrodel.com/Page029f0.htm|date=26 April 2017|access-date=26 April 2017}}</ref> Some of his ideas continued to be promoted into the early 20th century, but were mostly then rejected by the overwhelming evidence from [[astronomical spectroscopy]].<ref name="James2017a"/>