Charles Todd makes Adelaide Observatory the South Australia science hub including cutting-edge astronomy
Charles Todd star gazing at the Adelaide Observatory on West Terrace, Adelaide city. Top right: Todd (from row, second from left) with others at an interstate astronomers conference in Adelaide In about 1908. Others pictured are – Front row: P. Barrachi (Victoria.), W.E. Cooke (Western Australia.), H.A. Lenehan (New South Wales.). Standing:. G.F. Dodwell (South Australia), H. Spowers (Queensland.), H.C. Kingsmill (Tasmania), R.F. Griffiths (South Australia.), S.W. Chettle (South Australia). Bottom right: An image tribute to Todd and his work at the Adelaide Observatory (later demolished to make way for Adelaide High School).
Images (including by Henry Krischock) courtesy State Library of South Australia
Charles Todd, as South Australian government astronomer, gave transits of Venus (1874 and 1882), the cloudy haze over Jupiter (1876 ) and the parallax of Mars (1878) as valued scientific contributions from the Adelaide Observatory on West Terrace, Adelaide city.
Todd’s life as an astronomer started at 15 when employed by George Airy, astronomer royal at London’s Greenwich observatory, as a supernumerary astronomical computer. In 1847, he became an assistant astronomer to professor James Challis at Cambridge University observatory where he learned his craft as an astronomer with an attention to detail. Todd returned to Greenwich in 1854 and, having solved a difficult problem with the time ball at Deal in Kent, he was recommended by Airy as South Australian’s astronomical and meteorological observer and superintendent of the electric telegraph, age age 28.
Soon after arriving in Adelaide in 1855, Todd commissioned the building of its observatory on West Terrace. Completed in 1860, it became South Australia’s science hub.
Seven years later, systematic astronomical observations were started using the Simms Transit telescope. Further capacity was added a year later with an equatorially mounted telescope and a building to house it. Todd was part in a global astronomers network who observed the transit of Venus (twice), a step in measuring the size of the solar system. He also noted the presence of a Venutian atmosphere, reported on comet 1881B, observed the parallax of Mars, and published a long series of notes on the phenomena of Jupiter’s satellites in the Journal of the Royal Astronomical Society. One journal entry suggested Todd saw the aurora on Jupiter as he mentions; “Polar caps” that included “curious dark shadings”. He also mentioned colours like whites, red, pink, blues and black. These later were confirmed using the Hubble telescope.
Todd’s work in astronomy was quoted as a reason for his conferral (without academic qualifications) of an honorary master of arts of the Cambridge University in 1886. Professor J. C. Adams, a co discoverer of the Neptune, was his sponsor. Three years later, Todd was made a fellow of the Royal Astronomical Society and many of his scientific papers were printed in the monthly notices of the society.
Fully developing Todd's beloved astronomy depended on the spread of the telegraphic network and getting modern instruments to provide a complete observatory. By the early 1880s, he had organised constant general astronomical work, time services, a standard point for geodetic surveys, and gradual improvement in the accuracy of climatic statistics. The Adelaide Observatory boasted refracting and transit telescopes, a time service and a seismograph. The equipment enabled Todd to do geodetic surveys and observe comets, planetary satellites and other astronomical phenomena
Todd selected the site of the new observatory for Perth in 1895 and advised on the building and its instruments. In 1893. he supported setting up the Astronomical Society of South Australia and served as its president for 15 years until his death in 1910.
