Halley

=** Halley, Edmond** = {hal′-ee} [|How to Cite This Article] Edmond Halley, b. Nov. 8 (Oct. 29, O.S.), 1656, d. Jan. 14, 1742, was an English astronomer who discovered the [|proper motion] of stars and the periodicity of [|comets]. His activities also ranged from studying archaeology to serving as deputy comptroller of the mint at Chester. He was an integral part of the English scientific community at the height of its creativity. A graduate of Oxford, he became a member of the [|Royal Society] at the age of 22. From the island of [|Saint Helena], he cataloged (1676–78) the positions of about 350 Southern Hemisphere stars and observed a [|transit] of Mercury; he urged that the latter phenomenon and future transits of Venus be used to determine the distance of the Sun. He worked out a theory of cometary orbits, concluding that the comet of 1682 (which still bears his name; see[|Halley's comet] ) was periodic and correctly predicting that it would return in 76 years. In 1710, comparing current star positions with those listed in [|Ptolemy] 's catalog, he deduced that the stars must have a slight motion of their own, and he detected this proper motion in three stars.  Halley was appointed Savilian professor of geometry at Oxford in 1704, and in 1720 he succeeded John [|Flamsteed] as astronomer royal. At the [|Royal Greenwich Observatory] he used the first [|transit] instrument and devised a method for determining longitude at sea by means of lunar observations. <span style="display: block; font-family: Verdana,san-serif; font-size: 0.9em; font-weight: normal; line-height: 1.25em; text-align: left;"> Halley played an active role in the events and controversies of his time. He supported Isaac <span style="color: #3300ff; font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: 0.9em; line-height: 1.2em;">[|Newton] morally and financially, pacified astronomer Johannes <span style="color: #3300ff; font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: 0.9em; line-height: 1.2em;">[|Hevelius] regarding the disputed accuracy of methods for measuring stellar positions, and infuriated Flamsteed by scheming with Newton to publish Flamsteed's observations before they were complete.

<span style="font-family: Verdana,san-serif; font-size: 1.05em; line-height: 1.15em; margin-top: 1.7em;">**Further Reading:**
<span style="display: block; font-family: Verdana,san-serif; font-size: 0.85em; font-weight: normal; line-height: 1.25em; margin-top: 0em; text-align: left;">Cook, Alan, //Edmond Halley : Charting the Heavens and the Seas// (1998). <span style="display: block; font-family: Verdana,san-serif; font-size: 0.85em; font-weight: normal; line-height: 1.25em; margin-top: 0em; text-align: left;">Lancaster-Brown, Peter, // Halley and His Comet// (1985). <span style="display: block; font-family: Verdana,san-serif; font-size: 0.85em; font-weight: normal; line-height: 1.25em; margin-top: 0em; text-align: left;">Ronan, Colin A., //Edmond Halley // (1969). <span style="display: block; font-family: Verdana,san-serif; font-size: 0.85em; font-weight: normal; line-height: 1.25em; margin-top: 0em; text-align: left;">Thrower, Norman J., ed. , //Standing on the Shoulders of Giants// (1990).

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<span style="display: inline; font-family: Verdana,san-serif; font-size: 0.85em; line-height: 1.15em; margin-top: 2em;">**MLA (Modern Language Association) style:**
<span style="display: block; font-family: Verdana,san-serif; font-size: 0.8em; font-weight: normal; line-height: 1.25em; text-align: left;">"Halley, Edmond." //Grolier Multimedia Encyclopedia.// Grolier Online, 2011. Web. 24 Feb. 2011.

<span style="display: inline; font-family: Verdana,san-serif; font-size: 0.85em; line-height: 1.15em; margin-top: 2em;">**Chicago Manual of Style:**
<span style="display: block; font-family: Verdana,san-serif; font-size: 0.8em; font-weight: normal; line-height: 1.25em; text-align: left;">"Halley, Edmond." //Grolier Multimedia Encyclopedia.// Grolier Online http://gme.grolier.com/article?assetid=0130650-0 (accessed February 24, 2011).

<span style="display: inline; font-family: Verdana,san-serif; font-size: 0.85em; line-height: 1.15em; margin-top: 2em;">**APA (American Psychological Association) style:**
<span style="display: block; font-family: Verdana,san-serif; font-size: 0.8em; font-weight: normal; line-height: 1.25em; text-align: left;">Halley, Edmond. (2011). //Grolier Multimedia Encyclopedia.// Retrieved February 24, 2011, from Grolier Online http://gme.grolier.com/article?assetid=0130650-0