Chinthamani Ragoonatha Chary

Chinthamani Ragoonatha Chary (1822 or "17 March" 1828 – 5 February 1880) was an Indian astronomer who worked at the Madras Observatory along with N.R. Pogson. He was the first Indian Fellow of the Royal Astronomical Society and is known for his studies of variable stars and the discovery of R Reticuli in 1867.

Early life

Little is known about Chary's personal life. It is believed that he was born in Madras in about 1822. However, in official records, his birthdate has been recorded as 1828 and given in some sources as 17 March.

During the solar eclipse of 18 August 1868, Chary was given the task of conducting observations from a village called Wanaparthy situated to the north of Kurnool, in the district of Mehaboobnagar.

Discoveries

Chary discovered the variable star R Reticuli in 1867.

Volume 28 (1867), p. 193, Occultations visible in the Month of August, 1868, at Madras, and along the Shadow Path of the Total Eclipse of the Sun in India. (communicated by N R Pogson)

Volume 31 (1871), p. 137, On the Total Eclipse of the Sun, on December the 11th, 1871, as visible in the Madras Presideency. (communicated by N R Pogson)

In 1874, Chary wrote a book on the transit of Venus in English and six Indian languages, Sanskrit, Kannada, Tamil, Telugu and Urdu in the form of a vivada or dialogue between two individuals.