Denbigh's Stargazing pioneer
Post categories: Denbigh,ÌýHistory & Memories
| 14:07 UK time, Tuesday, 4 January 2011
The ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ's Stargazing Live series has been encouraging viewers to become amateur astronomers by showing us what we can see in the night sky.
An amateur astronomer who became a pioneer of astrophotography, , came from Groes, near Denbigh.
Born in 1829, he spent his early years near Denbigh before moving with his family to Liverpool, but despite never returning to the area he didn't forget his Welsh roots.
His greatest achievement is considered to be a photograph of the , 2.5 million light years away from our Solar System.
It was taken in 1888 at a time when few people even owned cameras.
The photograph is significant because it revealed detail of the spiral structure of the nebula never seen before.
Roberts died in 1904, leaving behind a wife, Dorethea Klumpke, herself a keen amateur astronomer, and leaving money to the universities of Bangor, Cardiff and Liverpool in his will.
Glyndwr University is holding a event on 12 January so amateur astronomers who may be keen to follow in the footsteps of Roberts can find out more about the night sky.
