Radiation thermometers
Date
1856
Creator
Charles Piazzi Smyth (1819 - 1900, British) , Astronomer
Object type
Archive reference number
Material
Technique
Subject
Description
Stereoscopic view of Jessica 'Jessie' Piazzi Smyth observing two radiation thermometers mounted on a brick wall in the Guajara Station. The Sheepshank telescope is visible in the foreground.
Inscribed in ink on page underneath the photograph: 'The observation of the Radiation thermometers at Guajara'
These thermometers were likely a means of measuring the temperature of stars via the level of radiation they emit. Guajara was the first stop made by Smyth's party on their ascent to the peak of Tenerife, or Mount Teide. Jessie Piazzi Smyth, Charles Piazzi Smyth's wife, was a member of this party.
From the 'Tenerife Papers of Charles Piazzi Smyth', a scrapbook of watercolours and stereographs from his 1856 astronomical expedition to this volcanic mountain range in Tenerife.
Charles Piazzi Smyth (1819-1900) Italian Astronomer was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society in 1857, but resigned in 1874.
Inscribed in ink on page underneath the photograph: 'The observation of the Radiation thermometers at Guajara'
These thermometers were likely a means of measuring the temperature of stars via the level of radiation they emit. Guajara was the first stop made by Smyth's party on their ascent to the peak of Tenerife, or Mount Teide. Jessie Piazzi Smyth, Charles Piazzi Smyth's wife, was a member of this party.
From the 'Tenerife Papers of Charles Piazzi Smyth', a scrapbook of watercolours and stereographs from his 1856 astronomical expedition to this volcanic mountain range in Tenerife.
Charles Piazzi Smyth (1819-1900) Italian Astronomer was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society in 1857, but resigned in 1874.
Object history
Donated to the Royal Society by Charles Piazzi Smyth, 1857.
Associated place