Young Frank

RH says..... As we see Frank Dyson, only about 26, taking charge of the Observatory in his first month as Chief Assistant while the Astronomer Royal was away, we can imagine some of the awkwardness that must have existed between him and his older and more experienced, but junior ranking, colleagues. Some of this had been felt by H.H. Turner when he arrived at the age of 21, as shown in the quotation I posted earlier. I found this theme raised again in an obituary of Dyson from 1940: "The appointment of a young man who had hitherto had no great practical experience of astronomical observations to an important post at a great observatory may not appear a natural one, and at times such appointments have given rise to considerable criticism, but it must be admitted that such appointments at Greenwich have generally been justified by the results. It was particularly so in the case of Dyson."

Dyson seems to have quickly adapted himself to the practical work of the Observatory and worked chiefly on the Greenwich contribution to the international Carte du Ciel project, which was founded in 1887 to photograph, measure and catalogue millions of stars. His work ensured that by 1909 the ROG was the only one of the participating institutions to have completed its allotted programme.

Dyson, apparently, "combined charm with common sense" (according to his entry in the ODNB), which one can only assume would have eased his path at Greenwich.

Wednesday February 21, 1894

M^r Donough came to fix dew cap & adapters &c at eye end of the 28ⁱⁿ telescope.
Meeting of International Catalogue Com^ee at R.S. saw M^r Awdry & Cap^t Wharton at Adm^y.

William Christie, Astronomer Royal

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To Oxford at night. Inaugural Lecture on Friday Feb 23 on the Photographic Chart. To Greenwich Sat night.

H.H. Turner, Chief Assistant

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RH says.....  As Turner looked to pastures new in Oxford, life at Greenwich continued for Christie, although experimentation with the new 28-inch telescope had to be interspersed with negotations with the ROG's paymasters at the Admiralty and representation on a Royal Society committee. The Carte du Ciel, or photographic chart of the skies, continued to be a particular interest of Turner's. His fascinating 1912 book, The Great Star Map, being a brief general account of the international project known as the astrographic chart, can be found online.