Edward Emerson Barnard

Edward Emerson Barnard grew up in extreme poverty in Nashville, Tennessee, but became one of the most gifted observational astronomers in history. As a young photographer's assistant, he bought his first telescope with prize money earned from discovering comets — eventually finding 16 comets visually. In 1892, using the great 36-inch refractor at Lick Observatory, Barnard discovered Amalthea, the fifth moon of Jupiter — the last planetary satellite to be discovered by visual observation rather than photography. In 1916, he discovered the star with the largest known proper motion, now called Barnard's Star, just 6 light-years away. Barnard was also a pioneer of wide-field astrophotography. His photographs of the Milky Way revealed vast dark regions that he correctly identified as clouds of obscuring dust — dark nebulae. His catalog of dark nebulae remains a standard reference.

• Discovered Barnard's Star — the star with the largest known proper motion • Discovered Amalthea, the fifth moon of Jupiter (1892) • Cataloged dark nebulae in the Milky Way (Barnard catalog) • Discovered 16 comets through visual observation • Pioneer of wide-field Milky Way astrophotography