Ben Gascoigne

Ben Gascoigne AO
Gascoigne at the Stromlo Observatory, 1948
Born	(1915-11-11)11 November 1915 Napier, New Zealand
Died	25 March 2010(2010-03-25) (aged 94) Canberra, Australia
Alma mater	Auckland University College
Known for	Photometry of variable stars; correction of telescope lenses to assist wide-field photography
Awards	Officer of the Order of Australia
Scientific career
Fields	Astronomy
Institutions	Australian National University

Sidney Charles Bartholemew "Ben" Gascoigne

Following the war, Gascoigne and astronomer Gerald Kron used newly modernised telescopes at Mount Stromlo to determine that the distance between

Gascoigne and his wife, artist Rosalie Gascoigne, had three children. After he retired, Gascoigne wrote several works on Australian astronomical history. He acted as Rosalie's photographer and assistant, using his technical skills to make her artworks resilient for public display.

Early life

Gascoigne's parents met and married in Levin, New Zealand, just before the First World War. They soon moved to Napier, where Gascoigne was born in 1915.^[1] He attended Auckland Grammar School,^[2] and won a scholarship to Auckland University College (now the University of Auckland) a year before he was due to finish high school.^[3] Faced with a choice between studying history or the sciences, he chose the latter because he had a severe stammer and thought that it would be less of an impediment.^[3] He completed both a Bachelor's degree and a Master's qualification in science, securing Honours in both mathematics and physics, finishing his studies in 1937.^[1][4] Despite these achievements, he did not consider himself to be practically trained, saying: "I was still very much a theorist, with no practical physics at all. The professor in Auckland used to wince when I walked past the cupboard in which the good instruments were kept!"^[1]

In 1933, while studying at the university, he met his future wife Rosalie Norah King Walker, although they did not marry for another decade.^[5][6] Rosalie completed a Bachelor of Arts while Gascoigne was studying in Auckland; she also studied at Auckland's teacher training college while he was in Bristol.^[5]

Although Gascoigne had always intended to study mathematics at Cambridge, an event occurred that significantly shaped his career. In 1931,^{[note 1]} an earthquake in New Zealand killed Michael Hiatt Baker, a young traveller from Bristol, and his parents established a postgraduate scholarship in his memory, for study at the University of Bristol,^[1][7] which Gascoigne won and took up in 1938.^[2] During his thesis studies at Bristol, Gascoigne developed a diffraction theory of the Foucault test that is used for evaluating the shape of large telescope mirrors.^[1] He completed his doctorate in physics in 1941, but by then war had broken out in Europe, and he had already returned to New Zealand on the last available ship.^[1][2][4]

War service 1940–1945

Returning to a job in the physics department at Auckland, Gascoigne worked on military

A decade after Gascoigne first met Rosalie in New Zealand, she travelled to Canberra, and on 9 January 1943 they were married. Their first son, Martin, was born in November, and their second, Thomas, was born in 1945.[5]

Mount Stromlo

Following the end of the war Woolley redirected the Commonwealth Observatory from solar research towards the study of stars and galaxies. It took time to get the old and unused telescopes back up to working condition: they had to be overhauled and refurbished, and in one case rebuilt from scrap.

When suddenly all this dropped into place, after I had been working away at it for quite a while, measuring more Cepheids in our own Galaxy and some in the Large Cloud, the feeling of triumph, the great feeling that I had really done something, was wonderful. I had joined the professional astronomers. Not only that, but I truly understood a problem, a proper problem...^[1]

Subsequent research confirmed what were described as pioneering results,^[12] arrived at through very innovative techniques.^[13]

In 1949, the Gascoignes' third child, daughter Hester, was born.

We had to climb the last bit on foot ... [I was] the first astronomer to set foot on Siding Spring. I liked the look of the place right away, partly because it had such good features for astronomy – for example, the north and west faces had sheer cliffs that were very good for draining away the cold air – and because of its beautiful outlook, on the edge of the national park. It really is a wonderful place to be.[1]

In 1962, Siding Spring was selected, and by 1967 Siding Spring Observatory was fully operational.^[22]

At the end of Woolley's directorship, the 74-inch telescope he had initiated finally came online. Gascoigne, looking for a new research project and keen to use the new telescope, took up the study of globular clusters, compact groups of tens of thousands of ancient stars of similar age. With a new design of photometer, he was able to measure the exceptionally faint stars in these clusters. Gascoigne determined that the clusters in the Magellanic Clouds were both young and old, and had quite different characteristics to those in the Milky Way: this information was important for modelling the evolution of galaxies.^[23]

In 1963, Gascoigne developed a device, known as an optical corrector plate, which allowed wide field photography on the new 40-inch telescope at Siding Spring. Such corrector plates were subsequently used on many telescopes and became known as Gascoigne correctors.^[2] During this period he was also active in supporting the establishment of a national research organisation for astronomers, the Astronomical Society of Australia. It held its first meeting in 1966, and Gascoigne was made its first vice-president.^[24]

When Bok retired as Stromlo's director in early 1966, Gascoigne became acting director for three months until the arrival of Bok's replacement, American astronomer Olin J. Eggen.^[25] Like Bok Eggen was a productive scientist,^[26] but he was "enigmatic", "somewhat gruff" and selective in the friendships he formed.^[27] Although Eggen and Gascoigne had previously collaborated on research projects, when Eggen arrived to take up the post, he and Gascoigne did not get on well, in contrast to Gascoigne's relationships with other astronomers. Gascoigne said of Eggen: "he made it clear I had no further part in running the Observatory. I was given no information, saw no documents, attended no meetings, and was asked for no advice, not even in optical matters."^[28]

Anglo-Australian Telescope

In 1963 Gascoigne published an article in the journal Nature titled "Towards a Southern Commonwealth Observatory".^[29] Gascoigne was then given a significant opportunity that became the focus of the remainder of his paid academic career: to help establish one of the world's largest optical telescopes, at Siding Spring. In the early 1960s, the Australian and British governments proposed a partnership to build a joint optical telescope facility, and Gascoigne was among the experts involved.^[30] Former Mount Stromlo director and now head of the Greenwich observatory, Richard Woolley, was prominent in supporting the project from the British end.^[31] In 1967, the two governments formally agreed to collaborate on the construction of a large telescope, to be known as the Anglo-Australian Telescope (AAT). Given the existing infrastructure of the ANU's Siding Spring Observatory, the site was readily agreed as the location for the AAT.^[32] Gascoigne was one of the four members of the Technical Committee established to guide the telescope's development.^[33] He provided leadership on the design and optics of the new telescope, and was made the chief commissioning astronomer in 1974.^[2][3]

A bitter struggle over the management and operation of the new facility went on for some years. The Australian National University and the director at Stromlo, Olin Eggen, wanted the telescope to be under the control of the university while other Australian astronomers, including some at Stromlo, and the British wanted it established independently.

The work at Siding Spring was rewarding, but it could also be dangerous. During construction, Gascoigne constantly warned colleagues to take care on the elevated catwalks around the telescope. However, Gascoigne himself was almost killed when, while working one night around the telescope structure, he fell seven metres to the floor of the observatory, narrowly missing "a massive steel structure with long protruding bolts".[1]^{[2][note 3]} He survived, and was the first to take a photograph using the telescope, on 26^[38] or 27 April 1974.^[39] Gascoigne was so pleased with the quality of the optics that he said he wanted a number describing the hyperboloid shape of the mirror (1.1717) engraved on his headstone.^[40] The site quickly became one of the world's most important astronomical observatories^[41] and was for many years home to world-leading astrophotographer David Malin.^[42][43] The successes of the AAT have been documented in annual reports by its Board,^[44][45] while a 2008 analysis of the relative impacts of astronomical observing facilities placed the AAT in the top three, coming after only the Sloan Digital Sky Survey and the W. M. Keck Observatory (both telescopes built more than two decades later).^[46] For Gascoigne, it was "a wonderful thing to be associated with – the high point in my life."^[1]

It was during the period of Gascoigne's association with the Anglo-Australian telescope that he and his wife commissioned architect Theo Bischoff to design a house for them, which was planned and constructed between 1967 and 1969.^[47] Bischoff, who was responsible for numerous Canberra residences,^[48] designed a modernist home to the detailed, if contrasting, instructions from his client couple, who in turn were heavily influenced by their negative experiences with Canberra housing, particularly their home on Mount Stromlo.^[49] Based on Gascoigne's interest in optics, and Rosalie's strong visual sense as an artist, the resulting design "was based on maximising the potential for observation", creating "a form of habitable optical instrument".^[50]

Artist's assistant and historian

By the middle of 1975, the Anglo-Australian Telescope was fully operational, and Gascoigne was offered a job with the new telescope, based in Sydney. By this time his wife was emerging as a significant artist who relied on the landscapes and materials around their home for her inspiration. Gascoigne decided to return to the Australian National University in Canberra; he retired a few years later in 1980, and supported Rosalie in her work.^[2][3]

Gascoigne completed a course in welding and became his wife's assistant, making "her assemblies of 'found objects' safer and more durable". He also catalogued and photographed her work,^[2][3] describing himself as "artist's handyman, cook, and archivist."^[1] Rosalie Gascoigne's artistic career came late – she was almost 60 when she held her first solo shows – and her rise was "meteoric"; five public galleries purchased works from her early exhibitions. She died in 1999.^[1][5] In 2008, Gascoigne donated Rosalie's final major work, a ten-panel installation titled Earth (1999), to the National Gallery of Australia.^[51]

As well as being an astronomer, Gascoigne was a scholar of the history of Australian astronomy. He wrote histories of major telescopes, such as the Melbourne Telescope and the AAT.^[2][52][53] He wrote biographies for the Australian Dictionary of Biography, including those of the first trained astronomer at Canberra's Mount Stromlo Observatory, William Bolton Rimmer,^[54] and pioneering Australian astronomer Robert Ellery.^[55][56]

Gascoigne died on 25 March 2010. A memorial service was held at

Gascoigne was widely respected for his astronomical skills and his generous nature. English astronomer and writer Sir Fred Hoyle, at one time the Chairman of the AAT, gave Gascoigne considerable credit for the telescope's success,^[58] and astronomer Harry Minnett likewise credited him, together with Roderick Oliver Redman, for the telescope's extremely good optics.^[59] Former AAT director Russell Cannon regarded Gascoigne as a world leader in his field, as well as being "a delightful man".^[60] Historian of astronomy Ragbir Bhathal considered Gascoigne to have been an important figure in Australian astronomy, responsible for substantial advances in the field.^[61]

In 1966, Gascoigne was elected a fellow of the Australian Academy of Science.^[2] He was made an Honorary Fellow of the Astronomical Society of Australia; became the first person to be elected as an Honorary Member of the Optical Society of Australia; and was the first Australian to be elected as an Associate of the Royal Astronomical Society.^[1] On 11 June 1996, Gascoigne was made an

Scientific journal articles

[note 4]

• Kron, Gerald E.; White, Howard S.; Gascoigne, S. C. B. (1953). "Red and Infrared Magnitudes for 138 Stars Observed as Photometric Standards".
  doi:10.1086/145778
  .
• Gascoigne, S. C. B.; Burr, E. J. (1956). "Surface photometry of the globular clusters 47 Tucanae and Omega Centauri".
  doi:10.1093/mnras/116.5.570
  .
• Kron, G.E.; Gascoigne, S. C. B.; White, H. S. (1957). "Red and infrared magnitudes for 282 stars with known trigonometric parallaxes".
  doi:10.1086/107521
  .
• Gascoigne, S. C. B. (1966). "Colour-magnitude diagrams for nine globular-like clusters in the Magellanic Clouds".
  doi:10.1093/mnras/134.1.59
  .
• Gascoigne, S. C. B. (1969). "Further observations of Magellanic cloud cepheids".
  doi:10.1093/mnras/146.1.1
  .

Books

• Gascoigne, S. C. B.; Proust, Katrina M.; Robins, Malcolm Owen (1990). The creation of the Anglo-Australian Observatory. Cambridge UK: Cambridge University Press.
  ISBN 0-521-35396-3
  .

Footnotes

1. ^ Gascoigne incorrectly gives a date of 1928 in his interview with Crompton.
2. ^ The head of the Mount Stromlo design section, mechanical engineer Herman Wehner, was full-time at the AAT during this period, working closely with Gascoigne.
3. ^ The location inside the AAT dome is now known as "Gascoigne's Leap".
4. ^ These journal articles are Gascoigne's five most-cited works on the Astrophysics Data System as of May 2010.

References

Notes

1. ^ ^{a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t} Crompton, Bob (2000). "Professor Ben Gascoigne (1915–2010)". Interviews with Australian Scientists. Australian Academy of Science. Archived from the original on 5 March 2011. Retrieved 6 May 2010.
2. ^ ^{a b c d e f g h i j k l} Freeman, Ken (1 May 2010). "Graceful observer cast light on stars (obituary: Ben Gascoigne)". The Canberra Times. p. 18.
3. ^ ^{a b c d e f} Cannon, Russell (28 April 2010). "A leading light of astronomy (obituary: Ben Gascoigne)". The Australian. Archived from the original on 24 September 2014. Retrieved 6 May 2010.
4. ^ ^{a b} McCarthy, G.J. (2006). "Gascoigne, Sidney Charles Bartholemew (1915 – )". Encyclopedia of Australian Science. Retrieved 6 May 2010.
5. ^ ^{a b c d e f} "Media Kit Article: Rosalie Gascoigne – The Artist". NGV Media. National Gallery of Victoria. Archived from the original on 30 March 2012. Retrieved 30 November 2010.
6. ^ ^{a b} Hossack, Rebecca (2 November 1999). "Obituary: Rosalie Gascoigne". The Independent. London. Retrieved 11 May 2010.
7. ISBN 0-89779-074-X
   .
8. ^ Frame & Faulkner, p. 81
9. ^ "Sydney Charles 'Ben' Gascoigne". The giant's eye: The optical munitions exhibition. Australian Science Archives Project. 1998. Archived from the original on 27 August 2006. Retrieved 6 May 2010.
10. ^ Frame & Faulkner, p. 98
11. ^ Haynes et al., p. 168
12. ^ Dopita, M.A. (1991). "Chemical Abundances and Chemical Evolution of the Magellanic Clouds: Prospects for the Future". In Raymond Haynes and Douglas Milne (ed.). The Magellanic Clouds: Proceedings of the 148th Symposium of the International Astronomical Union, held in Sydney, Australia, July 9–13, 1990. Dordrecht: Kluwer Academic Publishers. pp. 393–395.
13. ^ Freeman & McNamara, pp. 96–98
14. ^ Hughes, Robin (1999). "Australian Biography: Rosalie Gascoigne". National Film and Sound Archive & National Library of Australia. Retrieved 20 February 2022.
15. ^ Bhathal, p. 50
16. ^ Haynes et al., p. 171
17. ^ Bhathal, p. 52
18. ^ Frame & Faulkner, p. 140
19. ^ Haynes et al., p. 175
20. ^ Frame & Faulkner, p. 141
21. S2CID 117182658
    .
22. ^ Gascoigne et al., p. 49
23. ^ Haynes et al., pp. 168, 187
24. ^ Frame & Faulkner, p. 163
25. ^ Bhathal, p. 55
26. ^ Frame & Faulkner, p. 164
27. ^ Frame & Faulkner, p. 161
28. ^ Bhathal, pp. 52–55
29. S2CID 29822825
    .
30. ^ Gascoigne et al., p. 32
31. ^ Haynes et al., p. 170
32. ^ Gascoigne et al, p. 50
33. ^ Frame & Faulkner, p. 175
34. ^ Gascoigne et al., pp. 125–147
35. ^ Frame & Faulkner, pp. 175–178
36. ^ ^{a b} Gascoigne et al., p. 139
37. ^ Frame & Faulkner p. 177
38. ^ Haynes et al., p. 394
39. ^ Gascoigne et al., p. 160
40. ^ Pockley, Peter (3 November 1974). "The telescope at Siding Spring". The Sydney Morning Herald. p. 38. Retrieved 17 May 2010.
41. ^ Haynes et al., p. 176
42. ^ Gascoigne et al., pp. 209–210
43. ^ Haynes et al., pp. 400–401
44. ^ Anglo-Australian Observatory (1998). AAO Annual Report 1997-1998. Sydney NSW: Anglo-Australian Observatory. p. 11. Archived from the original on 27 December 2010.
45. ISSN 1443-8550. Archived from the original
    (PDF) on 27 December 2010.
46. S2CID 121908924
    .
47. ^ Cameron, pp. 132, 151
48. ^ Cameron, p. 133
49. ^ Cameron, pp. 132–133, 143–144
50. ^ Cameron, p. 144
51. ^ Wright, Tony (19 March 2008). "Rosalie's old trash national treasure now". The Age (Melbourne). Archived from the original on 18 January 2010. Retrieved 6 May 2010.
52. ^ Gascoigne et al.
53. doi:10.1071/HR9951030223
    .
54. ISSN 1833-7538
    . Retrieved 6 May 2010.
55. ISSN 1833-7538
    . Retrieved 6 May 2010.
56. S2CID 124029868
    .
57. ^ "Notices (memorial service, Ben Gascoigne)". The Canberra Times. 10 April 2010.
58. ^ Bhathal, p. 14
59. ^ Bhathal, p. 90
60. ^ Bhathal, p. 178
61. ^ Bhathal, p. 15
62. ^ "Gascoigne, Sidney Charles Bartholomew". Australian Honours database. Australian Government. Archived from the original on 29 June 2011. Retrieved 6 May 2010.
63. ^ "Gascoigne, Sidney Charles". Australian Honours database. Australian Government. Archived from the original on 29 June 2011. Retrieved 6 May 2010.

Sources

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Ben Gascoigne.

• Bhathal, R. S. (1996). Australian astronomers: achievements at the frontiers of astronomy. Canberra: National Library of Australia.
  ISBN 0-642-10666-5
  .
• Cameron, Milton (2012). Experiments in Modern Living: Scientists' Houses in Canberra, 1950 – 1970. Canberra: ANU E-press.
  ISBN 9781921862700
  .
• Frame, Tom; Faulkner, Donald (2003). Stromlo: an Australian observatory. St Leonards, NSW: Allen & Unwin.
  ISBN 1-86508-659-2
  .
• Freeman, Ken; McNamara, Geoff (2006). In search of dark matter. Berlin: Springer / Praxis.
  ISBN 0-387-27616-5
  .
• Gascoigne, S. C. B.; Proust, Katrina M.; Robins, Malcolm Owen (1990). The creation of the Anglo-Australian Observatory. Cambridge UK: Cambridge University Press.
  ISBN 0-521-35396-3
  .
• Haynes, Raymond; Haynes, Roslynn; Malin, David; McGee, Richard (1996). Explorers of the southern sky: a history of Australian astronomy. Cambridge UK: Cambridge University Press.
  ISBN 0-521-36575-9
  .