Astro*Dictionary
by Michael Erlewine

1 article for
"Henderson, Thomas"

(1798-1844) Scottish astronomer. Born at Dundee, Angus; died at Edinburgh.

Became director of the observatory at the Cape of Good Hope, in 1831. He measured the parallax of Alpha Centauri, yielding a distance of 4.3 light-years, but did not publish until 1839 (after Bessel). It is the second closest star to the Sun; the closest known is Proxima Centauri (at 4.28 light-years).

 

See also: ♦ Annual Parallax ♦ Bessel, Friedrich Wilhelm