Robert Evans (astronomer)
Encyclopedia
Robert Owen Evans is a minister of the Uniting Church in Australia
and an amateur astronomer who holds the all-time record for visual discoveries of supernova
e (42).
Evans was born in Sydney, Australia. He graduated from the University of Sydney
, majoring in philosophy and modern history. Coming from a religious family, Evans trained to become a Methodist
minister and was ordained by the New South Wales Conference in 1967. He served as a circuit minister
until his retirement in 1998.
Evans took up supernova hunting around 1955, but his first adequate instrument was a 10 inch (25 cm) Newtonian telescope
he had assembled only about 1968. He made his first official supernova discovery in 1981 and found nine more before using larger telescopes. While living in Coonabarabran, New South Wales
he used his own 16 inch (40 cm) telescope. From early 1995 to mid 1997 he also had limited access to the Siding Spring 40 inches (1 m) Telescope at Siding Spring Observatory
(he was allocated about 110 nights, half of which were suitable for observing), resulting in about 10,000 galaxy observations, another three visual supernovae discoveries, and an additional four supernovae spotted on photographs made at the observatory.
In 1985 he received, with Gregg Thompson
, the Amateur Achievement Award of the Astronomical Society of the Pacific
for his observations of supernovae.
By 2001, he had made 33 visual discoveries and by the end of 2005, despite the increasing competition from automated telescopes, the total number had already increased to 40 visual supernova discoveries plus one comet. In 2005, Evans relied almost exclusively on his 31 cm Dobsonian. He reported 6,814 galaxy observations in a period of 107 hours and 30 minutes, spread out over 77 nights. During that time, he found four supernovae; three had already been discovered by others, the fourth was SN 2005df
, which was Evan's third supernova discovery in NGC 1559
(after SN 1984J and SN 1986L) and his 40th visual discovery.
In his book An Anthropologist on Mars
, Oliver Sacks
described Evans' memory as eidetic or savantlike
: he has memorized the starfield foregrounds and positions of around 1500 galaxies and can detect changes simply by looking at them through his telescope. In an interview, Evans reported that he was able "to observe 50 galaxies an hour when they were scattered around the sky, and 120 galaxies an hour in Virgo
". Only in the 1990s did automated telescopes come into use which offered a comparable speed – like the Katzman Automatic Imaging Telescope
. Evans also features prominently in Bill Bryson
's A Short History of Nearly Everything
which quotes him as saying "There's something satisfying, I think, about the idea of light travelling for millions of years through space and just at the right moment as it reaches Earth someone looks at the right bit of sky and sees it. It just seems right that an event of that magnitude should be witnessed."
Supernova 1983N, spotted by Evans in 1983 in the galaxy M83 long before it reached its peak, turned out to be the first discovery of a new type of supernova, later named Type 1b.
In 2005, Evans resigned from being the chairman of the AAVSO
Supernovae Search Committee after serving in that position for two decades. He is the author of a number of books on religious history. Among many honors and recognitions of his work, he received the Medal of the Order of Australia in 1988 for his contributions to science.
Evans lives in Hazelbrook, Australia
where he writes books and continues his supernova hunting using a 12 inch (31 cm) reflecting telescope
from his back porch
. The bulky 16 inches (406.4 mm) telescope fell into disuse since the place in Hazelbrook didn't accommodate a permanent installation in the back yard.
Uniting Church in Australia
The Uniting Church in Australia was formed on 22 June 1977 when many congregations of the Methodist Church of Australasia, the Presbyterian Church of Australia and the Congregational Union of Australia came together under the Basis of Union....
and an amateur astronomer who holds the all-time record for visual discoveries of supernova
Supernova
A supernova is a stellar explosion that is more energetic than a nova. It is pronounced with the plural supernovae or supernovas. Supernovae are extremely luminous and cause a burst of radiation that often briefly outshines an entire galaxy, before fading from view over several weeks or months...
e (42).
Evans was born in Sydney, Australia. He graduated from the University of Sydney
University of Sydney
The University of Sydney is a public university located in Sydney, New South Wales. The main campus spreads across the suburbs of Camperdown and Darlington on the southwestern outskirts of the Sydney CBD. Founded in 1850, it is the oldest university in Australia and Oceania...
, majoring in philosophy and modern history. Coming from a religious family, Evans trained to become a Methodist
Methodism
Methodism is a movement of Protestant Christianity represented by a number of denominations and organizations, claiming a total of approximately seventy million adherents worldwide. The movement traces its roots to John Wesley's evangelistic revival movement within Anglicanism. His younger brother...
minister and was ordained by the New South Wales Conference in 1967. He served as a circuit minister
Circuit preacher
A circuit preacher is a Christian minister who, in response to a shortage of ministers, officiates at multiple churches in an area, thus covering a "circuit"....
until his retirement in 1998.
Evans took up supernova hunting around 1955, but his first adequate instrument was a 10 inch (25 cm) Newtonian telescope
Newtonian telescope
The Newtonian telescope is a type of reflecting telescope invented by the British scientist Sir Isaac Newton , using a concave primary mirror and a flat diagonal secondary mirror. Newton’s first reflecting telescope was completed in 1668 and is the earliest known functional reflecting telescope...
he had assembled only about 1968. He made his first official supernova discovery in 1981 and found nine more before using larger telescopes. While living in Coonabarabran, New South Wales
Coonabarabran, New South Wales
Coonabarabran is a town in Warrumbungle Shire in northern New South Wales, Australia. At the 2006 census, the town had a population of 2,609.-History and description:...
he used his own 16 inch (40 cm) telescope. From early 1995 to mid 1997 he also had limited access to the Siding Spring 40 inches (1 m) Telescope at Siding Spring Observatory
Siding Spring Observatory
Siding Spring Observatory near Coonabarabran, New South Wales, Australia, part of the Research School of Astronomy & Astrophysics at the Australian National University , incorporates the Anglo-Australian Telescope along with a collection of other telescopes owned by the Australian National...
(he was allocated about 110 nights, half of which were suitable for observing), resulting in about 10,000 galaxy observations, another three visual supernovae discoveries, and an additional four supernovae spotted on photographs made at the observatory.
In 1985 he received, with Gregg Thompson
Gregg Thompson (astronomer)
Gregg D. Thompson of Brisbane, Australia is an amateur astronomer and the executive director of the Dreamtech Designs and Productions company.-Astronomy:Gregg Thompson was one of the founding members of the Southern Astronomical Society ....
, the Amateur Achievement Award of the Astronomical Society of the Pacific
Astronomical Society of the Pacific
The Astronomical Society of the Pacific is a scientific and educational organization, founded in San Francisco on February 7, 1889. Its name derives from its origins on the Pacific Coast, but today it has members all over the country and the world...
for his observations of supernovae.
By 2001, he had made 33 visual discoveries and by the end of 2005, despite the increasing competition from automated telescopes, the total number had already increased to 40 visual supernova discoveries plus one comet. In 2005, Evans relied almost exclusively on his 31 cm Dobsonian. He reported 6,814 galaxy observations in a period of 107 hours and 30 minutes, spread out over 77 nights. During that time, he found four supernovae; three had already been discovered by others, the fourth was SN 2005df
SN 2005df
SN 2005df was a Type Ia supernova in galaxy NGC 1559. It was discovered in Australia by Robert Evans on the early morning of August 5, 2005 with a 13.8 magnitude, about ten days before reaching its maximum brightness of 12.3....
, which was Evan's third supernova discovery in NGC 1559
NGC 1559
NGC 1559 is a barred spiral galaxy in the constellation Reticulum. It is also a Seyfert galaxy. In 2005, a supernova was observed. Two other supernovae discovered in NGC 1559 were SN 1984J and SN 1986L...
(after SN 1984J and SN 1986L) and his 40th visual discovery.
In his book An Anthropologist on Mars
An Anthropologist on Mars
An Anthropologist on Mars: Seven Paradoxical Tales is a 1995 book by neurologist Oliver Sacks consisting of seven medical case histories of individuals with neurological conditions such as autism and Tourette syndrome...
, Oliver Sacks
Oliver Sacks
Oliver Wolf Sacks, CBE , is a British neurologist and psychologist residing in New York City. He is a professor of neurology and psychiatry at Columbia University, where he also holds the position of Columbia Artist...
described Evans' memory as eidetic or savantlike
Savant syndrome
Savant syndrome , sometimes referred to as savantism, is a rare condition in which people with developmental disorders have one or more areas of expertise, ability, or brilliance that are in contrast with the individual's overall limitations...
: he has memorized the starfield foregrounds and positions of around 1500 galaxies and can detect changes simply by looking at them through his telescope. In an interview, Evans reported that he was able "to observe 50 galaxies an hour when they were scattered around the sky, and 120 galaxies an hour in Virgo
Virgo (constellation)
Virgo is one of the constellations of the zodiac. Its name is Latin for virgin, and its symbol is . Lying between Leo to the west and Libra to the east, it is the second largest constellation in the sky...
". Only in the 1990s did automated telescopes come into use which offered a comparable speed – like the Katzman Automatic Imaging Telescope
Katzman Automatic Imaging Telescope
The Katzman Automatic Imaging Telescope is an automated telescope used in the search for supernovae.The KAIT is a computer-controlled reflecting telescope with a 76 cm mirror and a CCD camera to take pictures. It is located at the Lick Observatory near San Jose, California.KAIT can take close to...
. Evans also features prominently in Bill Bryson
Bill Bryson
William McGuire "Bill" Bryson, OBE, is a best-selling American author of humorous books on travel, as well as books on the English language and on science. Born an American, he was a resident of Britain for most of his adult life before moving back to the US in 1995...
's A Short History of Nearly Everything
A Short History of Nearly Everything
A Short History of Nearly Everything is a popular science book by American author Bill Bryson that explains some areas of science, using a style of language which aims to be more accessible to the general public than many other books dedicated to the subject...
which quotes him as saying "There's something satisfying, I think, about the idea of light travelling for millions of years through space and just at the right moment as it reaches Earth someone looks at the right bit of sky and sees it. It just seems right that an event of that magnitude should be witnessed."
Supernova 1983N, spotted by Evans in 1983 in the galaxy M83 long before it reached its peak, turned out to be the first discovery of a new type of supernova, later named Type 1b.
In 2005, Evans resigned from being the chairman of the AAVSO
American Association of Variable Star Observers
Since its founding in 1911, the American Association of Variable Star Observers has coordinated, collected, evaluated, analyzed, published, and archived variable star observations made largely by amateur astronomers and makes the records available to professional astronomers, researchers, and...
Supernovae Search Committee after serving in that position for two decades. He is the author of a number of books on religious history. Among many honors and recognitions of his work, he received the Medal of the Order of Australia in 1988 for his contributions to science.
Evans lives in Hazelbrook, Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
where he writes books and continues his supernova hunting using a 12 inch (31 cm) reflecting telescope
Reflecting telescope
A reflecting telescope is an optical telescope which uses a single or combination of curved mirrors that reflect light and form an image. The reflecting telescope was invented in the 17th century as an alternative to the refracting telescope which, at that time, was a design that suffered from...
from his back porch
Porch
A porch is external to the walls of the main building proper, but may be enclosed by screen, latticework, broad windows, or other light frame walls extending from the main structure.There are various styles of porches, all of which depend on the architectural tradition of its location...
. The bulky 16 inches (406.4 mm) telescope fell into disuse since the place in Hazelbrook didn't accommodate a permanent installation in the back yard.
Books by Robert Evans
- Evans, Robert (1993). An Evangelical World-View Philosophy
- Evans, Robert (Compiled and edited 1996, 2007). An Outline History of Evangelical Revivals in the Pacific Islands and in Papua New Guinea
- Evans, Robert & McKenzie, Roy (1999). Evangelical Revivals in New Zealand
- Evans, Robert (2000, 2007). Early Evangelical Revivals in Australia (2nd Ed.)
- Evans, Robert (2005). Evangelism and Revivals in Australia, 1880 to 1914 (First volume)
- Evans, Robert (2005). Fire From Heaven: A Description and Analysis of the Revivals of the 'Burned-Over District' of Upstate New York, 1800-1840, and Spiritual Deceptions
- Evans, Robert (2007). Emilia Baeyertz - Evangelist: Her Career in Australia and Great Britain