George Phillips Bond

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This article is about the astronomer. For the Methodist missionary, see George John Bond.

George Phillips Bond
George Phillips Bond
Born	May 20, 1825
Died	February 17, 1865
Nationality	United States
Fields	astronomy
Known for	astrophotography

George Phillips Bond (May 20, 1825 – February 17, 1865) was an American astronomer. He was the son of William Cranch Bond. Some sources give his year of birth as 1826.

His early interest was in nature and birds, but after his elder brother William Cranch Bond Jr. died, he felt obliged to follow his father into the field of astronomy. He succeeded his father as director of Harvard College Observatory from 1859 until his death. His cousin was Edward Singleton Holden, first director of Lick Observatory.

He took the first photograph of a star in 1850 (Vega) and of a double star in 1857 (Mizar). He suggested photography could be used to measure a star's magnitude.

He discovered numerous comets and calculated their orbits. He studied Saturn and the Orion Nebula. He and his father jointly discovered Saturn's moon Hyperion (which was also independently discovered by William Lassell).

He also surveyed the White Mountains of New Hampshire.

He died of tuberculosis.

[edit] Honors

He won the Gold Medal of the Royal Astronomical Society in 1865.
Mount Bond, West Bond, and Bondcliff among the White Mountains are all named after him.
G. Bond crater on the Moon is named after him.
Bond crater on Mars is named after him.
The Bond albedo which is important for describing a planetary body's energy balance is named after him.