Tom Boles
Thomas Boles (born 1944 in Lennoxtown in Scotland) is a Scottish amateur astronomer, discoverer of astronomical objects, author, broadcaster and former communications and computer engineer, who observes from his private "Coddenham Observatory" (234 ) in Coddenham, Suffolk, United Kingdom.[1] [2] He is known for having discovered a record number of supernovae.[3] [4] The main-belt asteroid 7648 Tomboles is named in his honor.[1]
He was President of the British Astronomical Association from 2003 to 2005 and Vice President from 2005 to 2007. He is a Fellow of the Royal Astronomical Society and an Examinations Moderator in astronomy with the International Baccalaureate. At the International Astronomical Union, he was a member of Division VIII Galaxies & the Universe and "Commission 28" until 2012 and 2015, respectively, and is a member of IAU's division C and J (Education, Outreach and Heritage; Galaxies and Cosmology).[5]
Boles has co-authored three text books on popular astronomy and has published numerous articles in Astronomy Now , Sky and Telescope ; the Austrian The Star Observer, the Journal of the British Astronomical Association , and in the journal The Astronomer.[citation needed ] In 2007 he co-authored a research paper about a "giant outburst two years before the core-collapse of a massive star" in the journal Nature .[6]
Boles holds a bachelor's degree in biochemistry from the Open University. He held director level appointments over a period of 18 years with four multinational computer companies. He retired in 2001 to dedicate himself to astronomy work and to help with the public Outreach of astronomy.[citation needed ]
Discoveries
[edit ]He holds the record of spotting the most supernovae by one person: 149 supernovae.[4] As of 2003, Boles and Mark Armstrong are the "most successful exploding star hunters in history."[3] He broke the record after discovering his 124th supernova '2009ij', followed by supernova number 125 '2009io' a few nights later. The previous record holder was Swiss astronomer Fritz Zwicky, who discovered 123 supernovae before his death in 1974. The record was unbroken for 36 years.[8]
Boles has also discovered a nova in the Andromeda Galaxy and 84417 Ritabo, an asteroid in the middle region of the main-belt, which he named after his wife Rita Boles.[9]
Awards
[edit ]In 2008 he was awarded the Merlin Medal by the British Astronomical Association in recognition of his contribution to the advancement of astronomy. In 2008 the inner main-belt asteroid 7648 Tomboles, discovered by Japanese astronomers Yoshikane Mizuno and Toshimasa Furuta, was named after him in recognition of his contribution to astronomy.[1] He received the George Alcock Award from The Astronomer Magazine. He presented the Inaugural Thomas Tannahill Memorial lecture in 2009 at the request of the Astronomical Society of Glasgow .
Public outreach
[edit ]Boles has co-authored three text books on popular astronomy:
- 2008 Yearbook of Astronomy, edited by Sir Patrick Moore – (Pan Macmillan)
- More Small Astronomical Observatories, edited by Sir Patrick Moore – (Springer Science+Business Media)
- The Science and Art of CDD Astronomy, edited Ratledge – (Springer Science+Business Media)
Boles's Television broadcasts include: Co-presenting BBC Tomorrow's World and guest appearances on several BBC programmes such as The Sky at Night , Final Frontiers, All Night Star Party (from Jodrell Bank); BBC Astronomers and ITV Vera Productions. Radio Broadcasts include Radio 2, Suffolk Radio, BBC Essex, Radio Northampton, Three Counties Radio, Radio Scotland, World Radio (Netherlands) and BBC Citizen Science.[citation needed ]
See also
[edit ]- Discoverers of minor planets § T. Boles
- History of supernova observation § Telescope observation
- Supernova § Naming convention
References
[edit ]- ^ a b c "7648 Tomboles (1989 TB1)". Minor Planet Center. Retrieved 12 October 2016.
- ^ "Homepage". Coddenham Astronomical Observatory. Retrieved 12 October 2016.
- ^ a b Whitehouse, David (16 September 2003). "Exploding star hunters make history". BBC News . Retrieved 12 October 2016.
- ^ a b "List of Supernovae". IAU Central Bureau for Astronomical Telegrams. IAU – International Astronomical Union. Retrieved 12 October 2016.
- ^ "Individual Members – Thomas Boles". IAU – International Astronomical Union. Retrieved 12 October 2016.
- ^ Zampieri, L.; Xu, D.; Turatto, M.; Stanishev, V.; Smoker, J. V.; Nielsen, T. B.; Nakano, S.; Meng, X.; Mazzali, P. A.; Lorenzi, V.; Iijima, T.; Keenan, F. P.; Harutyunyan, A.; Elias-Rosa, N.; Dennefeld, M.; Deng, J.; Cao, C.; Bufano, F.; Botticella, M. T.; Bonnet-Bidaud, J.-M; Boles, T.; Cappellaro, E.; Benetti, S.; Augusteijn, T.; Agnoletto, I.; Patat, F.; Valenti, S.; Navasardyan, H.; Yamaoka, H.; et al. (14 June 2007). "A giant outburst two years before the core-collapse of a massive star". Nature. 447 (7146): 829–832. arXiv:astro-ph/0703663v2 . Bibcode:2007Natur.447..829P. doi:10.1038/nature05825. PMID 17568740. S2CID 4409319.
- ^ "Minor Planet Discoverers (by number)". Minor Planet Center. 4 September 2016. Retrieved 12 October 2016.
- ^ "Amateur British astronomer takes world record for most supernova". Telegraph.co.uk . 11 September 2009. Archived from the original on 15 September 2009. Retrieved 26 August 2010.
'2009ij' in August 2009 ... number 125 or '2009io' a few nights later
- ^ Schmadel, Lutz D. (2006). "(84417) Ritabo [2.70, 0.17, 11.3]". Dictionary of Minor Planet Names. Springer Berlin Heidelberg. p. 234. doi:10.1007/978-3-540-34361-5_2785. ISBN 978-3-540-34361-5.
External links
[edit ]- Q&A with Tom Boles, in Astronomy & Geophysics , Volume 54, Issue 6, Pp. 6.9, 6 December 2013
- Coddenham Astronomical Observatory, Tom Boles' robotic observatory
- arXiv.org Search Results for Tom Boles
- A giant outburst two years before the core-collapse of a massive star