Person
Page, Arthur Anthony (1922 - 2011)
- Born
- 3 August 1922
Yokohama, Japan - Died
- 1 February 2011
Brisbane, Queenland, Australia - Occupation
- Astronomer and Physiotherapist
Summary
Arthur Page, by profession a physiotherapist, made significant contributions to Australian astronomy and built an international reputation. For many years he provided research support to the CSIRO Division of Radiophysics, observing flare stars and red dwarfs using visual, photographic and new technologies such as photoelectric photometry. In particular he collaborated with astronomer Bruce Slee. Between 1964 and 1977, using a multi-exposure technique, he took over 10,000 exposures for CSIRO Flare Star projects. Page established two observatories. In the 1960's, with his wife Berenice, he founded the North Chermside Observatory in Brisbane where he and Berenice made flare observations. After Berenice's death in 1970, and because of light pollution in Brisbane, he moved his observatory to Mt Tamborine in the hinterland of the Gold Coast. This was officially opened in 1973 and operated to 1994. From the 1980s Page played a key role in the development of the Mt. Kent Observatory in southern Queensland, joint venture of the Universities of Queensland and Southern Queensland. He donated the Tamborine telescope and other equipment, thereby effectively signalling the end of Mt Tamborine. Page published nearly 50 papers, including three star catalogues of flare stars and B emission stars. In 1972 Page founded the Berenice Page Medal, offered in alternate years by the Australian Society of Astronomy for excellence in amateur astronomy in Australia and its territories. This was later renamed the Arthur and Berenice Page Medal. The Astronomical Association of Queensland holds an annual Arthur Page Memorial Lecture. In 2008 the International Astronomical Union named Asteroid 11516 'Arthur Page' in his honour.
Details
Chronology
- 1941
- Life event - Arrived Fremantle with his family
- 1942 - 1946
- Military service - Served with the Australian Imperial Force in the south west Pacific as a translator, interpreter and interrogator for military intelligence
- 1950
- Education - Diploma of Physiotherapy, University of Queensland
- 1950 - 1972
- Military service - Served with the Australian Army Reserve, retiring with the rank of colonel
- 1958 - 1960
- Career position - President, Astronomical Society of Queensland
- 1963
- Career event - Visiting Observer, Mt Stromlo Observatory
- 1966 - 2011
- Career position - Foundation Member, Astronomical Society of Australia
- 1967 - ?
- Award - Fellow, Royal Astronomical Society
- 1967 - 1970
- Career position - Associate Member, American Astronomical Society
- 1969 - 1974
- Career position - President, Astronomers' Association of Queensland
- 1970 - ?
- Career position - Member, American Astronomical Society
- 1981 - 1983
- Career position - President, Astronomical Association of Queensland
- 1983
- Life event - Retired as Chief Physiotherapist, Commonwealth Rehabilitation Service in Queensland
- 1985
- Award - Elected Member, International Astronomic Union
- 1991 - 2011
- Award - Honorary Fellow, Australian Institute of Physics
- 1992 - 2011
- Award - Honorary Life Member, Astronomical Association of Queensland
- 1995
- Award - PhD honoris causa, University of Queensland
Related entries
Colleague
Published resources
Journal Articles
- Anderson, P, and Orchiston, W., 'Arthur Anthony Page: at the forefront of Queensland astronomy during the second half of the twentieth century', Journal of astronomical history and heritage, 26 (4) (2023), 833-64. Details
- Carter, B. D., Page, Meredith and Bond, Greg, ' Arthur A. Page (1922‒2011)', Bulletin of the American Astronomical Society, 45 (1) (2013), 1. https://baas.aas.org/pub/arthur-page-1922-2011/release/1. Details
- Page, A. A., 'The Tamborine telescope - reborn', Australian journal of astronomy, 6 (5) (1996), 169-74. Details
- Page, A.A. and Page, B., 'Multiple exposure techniques in flare-star photography', Journal of the British Astronomical Association, 79 (1) (1968), 26-35. Details
- Page, Arthur A., 'Mount Tamborine Observatory', International amateur-professional photoelectric photometry communication, 10 (1982), 26-32. https://articles.adsabs.harvard.edu//full/1982IAPP..10...26p/000027. Details
Resource Sections
- Anon, 'Dr Colonel Arthur Anthony Page (1922-2011)', Astronomical Association of Queensland, 2019, https://www.aaq.org.au/dr-colonel-arthur-anthony-page-1922-2011/. Details
Helen Cohn
Created: 28 May 2024