author
James Edward Keeler
1857–1900
A gifted American astronomer, he helped prove that Saturn’s rings are made of countless small particles rather than a single solid band. He also pushed astronomical photography forward, capturing remarkably detailed images of nebulae and distant star systems at the end of the 19th century.
1 Audiobook
Photographs of Nebulæ and Clusters, Made with the Crossley Reflector
by James Edward Keeler
About the author
Born in La Salle, Illinois, in 1857, James Edward Keeler became one of the most admired American astronomers of his time. He studied at Johns Hopkins University and worked with several important observatories, including Allegheny Observatory in Pittsburgh and Lick Observatory in California.
Keeler is especially remembered for showing through observation that Saturn’s rings do not move as one solid object. Instead, their motion supported the idea that the rings are made up of huge numbers of small particles. His work in spectroscopy and telescope observing also helped strengthen the young field of astrophysics in the United States.
Later in his career, he returned to Lick Observatory as director and used its powerful Crossley reflector to produce striking photographs of spiral nebulae and other faint objects in the sky. He died in San Francisco in 1900 at just forty-two, but his research left a lasting mark on astronomy.