Harold Spencer Jones

Sir Harold Spencer Jones was an English astronomer born on 29 March 1890 and passed away on 3 November 1960. Though born with the name "Jones," he later became known as "Spencer Jones." He was a leading expert in positional astronomy, a field that studies the exact positions of stars and other objects in space.

Spencer Jones served for 23 years as the tenth Astronomer Royal, a very important role in astronomy in England. During his career, he made many valuable contributions to our understanding of the night sky and the movements of celestial bodies. He was recognized for his work with several honors, including being made a Knight Bachelor, a Fellow of the Royal Society, and a Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh.

Early life

Harold Spencer Jones was born in Kensington, London, on 29 March 1890. His father was an accountant, and his mother had been a school teacher. He went to Latymer Upper School in Hammersmith, West London, where he earned a scholarship to study at Jesus College, Cambridge. He finished his studies there in 1911 and later became a Fellow of the college.

Chief Assistant at the Royal Observatory, Greenwich, 1913–1923

In 1913, he became Chief Assistant at the Royal Observatory, Greenwich after Arthur Eddington left to teach at Plumian Professor of Astronomy in Cambridge. Soon after, in December 1913, he joined the Royal Astronomical Society.

He studied how the Earth moves in space and also looked at how stars move. In 1914, he traveled to Minsk to watch a total solar eclipse. Later, during the First World War, he helped the Ministry of Munitions with optics work.

After the war, he continued his studies on stars and the Earth. He also wrote a book called General Astronomy. In 1921, he joined the British Astronomical Association. In 1922, he went to Christmas Island to watch another total solar eclipse to learn more about how the Sun's light affects stars, but clouds made it hard to see.

His Majesty's Astronomer at the Cape of Good Hope, 1923–1933

Sir Harold Spencer Jones became the leader of the Royal Observatory at the Cape of Good Hope in 1923 after the previous leader passed away. He and his wife traveled to South Africa, arriving in December of that year.

During his time there, Spencer Jones worked to improve how the observatory operated and made sure the team felt better about their work. He helped the staff study many stars using pictures taken with telescopes. They measured how stars move slowly across the sky and how bright they are. They also figured out how far away stars are.

Spencer Jones focused much of his research on learning more about the Earth and the Moon. He studied how the Moon moves by watching when it passes in front of stars. He also measured the distance from the Earth to the Sun by watching the planet Mars and a small planet called 433 Eros when it came close to Earth in 1930–1931. His work helped scientists understand these distances better. For this important research, he received the Gold Medal of the Royal Astronomical Society and the Royal Medal of the Royal Society.

Astronomer Royal, 1933–1955

In 1933, Spencer Jones became the Astronomer Royal and returned to Britain to lead the Royal Observatory in Greenwich. He faced many challenges, such as bringing in new team members and adding better tools for studying the stars. He also improved the way the observatory kept track of time and took charge of the Nautical Almanac Office.

During World War II, the observatory’s work was interrupted. Some staff went away to help with the war effort, and Spencer Jones and his team moved to a safer place in Surrey. After the war, they went back to Greenwich but planned to move to a new location away from city lights. In 1948, Spencer Jones moved to Herstmonceux Castle in Sussex, though it took ten more years to finish building the new observatory there. He oversaw the building of new facilities for the instruments from Greenwich.

Spencer Jones was also very interested in keeping and studying time. He led the British Horological Institute and was president of the International Astronomical Union and the Royal Astronomical Society. He was knighted in 1943 and received a KBE in 1955. In 1947, he became the first President of the Royal Institute of Navigation, and in 1951, the Institute’s highest award, the Gold Medal, was named after him.

Sir Frank Dyson • Astronomer Royal • Nautical Almanac Office • Abinger • Herstmonceux Castle • Isaac Newton Telescope • British Horological Institute • International Astronomical Union • Royal Astronomical Society • knighted • KBE • Royal Institute of Navigation

Personal life

Sir Harold Spencer Jones had a wife named Lady Gladys Mary Owens Spencer Jones. Together, they had two sons named John and David. John worked as a jet pilot in the Royal Air Force when he began his career.

Retirement and later life

Spencer Jones retired as Astronomer Royal at the end of 1955. After retiring, he kept working with many science groups. He passed away on 3 November 1960 at the age of 70.

Opinions about space travel

After Harold Spencer Jones left his role, his successor, Richard Woolley, was misquoted by the press in 1956 as saying that traveling to space was not possible. There is also a popular story that Spencer Jones himself once said traveling to space was not practical just before the Sputnik 1 launch in 1957. Even though some people now think he may not have said this exact phrase, it was printed in New Scientist magazine in 1959 while he was still alive.

In an article he wrote for the same magazine in 1957, twelve years before Apollo 11 landed on the Moon, Spencer Jones shared his belief. He thought it would take many generations for anyone to actually land on the Moon, and even if someone did, it would be very hard for them to come back to Earth to share their story. He also believed people would never travel beyond the Moon unless something went very wrong during a launch and the spacecraft went off course into space forever.

Honours and awards

Sir Harold Spencer Jones received many awards for his work. In 1943, he was given the Gold Medal of the Royal Astronomical Society and the Royal Medal. He also received the Prix Jules Janssen from the French astronomical society in 1945, and the Bruce Medal in 1949. Other honors include the Gold medal of the British Horological Institute in 1946 and the Lorimer Medal of the Astronomical Society of Edinburgh in 1953.

He was also recognized by being elected an International Member of the American Philosophical Society in 1942, the United States National Academy of Sciences in 1943, and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 1945. In 1944, he gave the Royal Institution Christmas Lecture on Astronomy in our Daily Life.

Features named after him include the crater Spencer Jones on the Moon, the crater Jones on Mars, and Asteroid 3282 Spencer Jones.