William Henry Pickering

William Henry Pickering 1858-1938, American astronomer, b. Boston, grad. Massachusetts Institute of Technology (B.S., 1879). He taught at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (1880-87) and at Harvard Observatory. Between 1878 and 1901 he led five solar eclipse expeditions and established several observatories and astronomical stations. Pickering discovered (1899) the ninth satellite of Saturn, called Phoebe, and also announced (1905) the finding of a tenth satellite, which was not confirmed until 1967. In 1919 he predicted the existence and the location of a ninth planet; Pluto, discovered in 1930 and long regarded as the ninth planet, is now considered a dwarf planet. His observations of the moon, including the study of lunar craters, is of lasting importance. He also accomplished important work in photographing the planets and measuring their brightness. His later researches were devoted to Mars. In addition to a number of papers in astronomical journals, his publications include The Moon (1903), Lunar and Hawaiian Physical Features Compared (1906), and Mars (1921).

Pickering, WilliamHenry (1858–1938)Americanastronomer, younger brother of E. C.Pickering. He assisted P.Lowell in establishing the Flagstaff Observatory, but later disagreed with Lowell's exotic theories about life on Mars. From Harvard College Observatory's southern station in Peru, Pickering discovered Saturn's satellite Phoebe in 1898. His photographic lunar atlas was published in 1903. Pickering made many predictions of trans-Neptunian planets; a photographic search based on one of them recorded Pluto in 1919, but it was not identified at the time.