Simon Newcomb
- Category : Science-Astronomy
- Type : MGE
- Profile : 5/1 - Heretical / Investigator
- Definition : Single
- Incarnation Cross : LAX Informing 1
Biography
Canadian astronomer who, on September 15, 1877, became director of the Nautical Almanac Office in Washington, D.C. In January 1857 he began working on astronomical calculations in Cambridge, MA. Newcomb also published a science-fiction book in 1900 entitled, "Wisdom, The Defender," and another book entitled, "Reminiscences of an Astronomer," in 1903.
Until the edition of 1984, the ephemerides of the planets up to Mars annually published in the Astronomical Almanac were based on Newcomb's tables and theories. The planetary calculations by Astrodienst, made public in the software module PLACALC, were also based directly on Newcomb's publications, until superseded in 1997 by Swiss Ephemeris, which is based on NASA/JPL numerical integration.
Newcomb died July 11, 1909, Washington, DC.