Harold Spencer Jones
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| Sir Harold Spencer Jones | |
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| Born | March 29, 1890 Kensington, London, England |
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| Died | November 3, 1960 (aged 70) |
| Known for | Astronomer Royal Quote: "Space travel is bunk" |
Sir Harold Spencer Jones KBE (March 29, 1890 Kensington, London – November 3, 1960)[1] was an English astronomer. Although born "Jones", his surname became "Spencer Jones".
In 1913 he became Chief Assistant at the Royal Greenwich Observatory. In 1933 he became Astronomer Royal. He was president of the International Astronomical Union from 1945 to 1948.
He determined the solar parallax from observations of 433 Eros during its close approach in 1930–1931.
He famously said "Space travel is bunk" two weeks before the Sputnik launch.[citation needed]
[edit] Honours and awards
Awards
- Gold Medal of the Royal Astronomical Society (1943)
- Royal Medal (1943)
- Bruce Medal (1949)
Named after him
- Spencer Jones crater on the Moon
- Jones crater on Mars
- Asteroid 3282 Spencer Jones
[edit] References
- ^ GRO Register of Births: JUN 1890 1a 111 KENSINGTON - Harold Spencer Jones (forenames = Harold Spencer, surname = Jones)
- Smart, W.M. (June 1961). "Sir Harold Spencer Jones, 1890-1960". Journal of the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada 55 (3): 117. Bibl code:1961JRASC..55..117S.
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