Pictured above is the man known as Asaph Hall. Hall was an astronomer who's contributions came late in the 19th century. Hall is most commonly known for discovering the moons of Mars - Deimos and Phobos. Other contributions he made to astronomy included discovering the mass of mars and determining orbits of various satellites. Most, if not all of his contributions have had some relation to other discoveries made by past astronomers. Mathematics that were required to determine many of his discoveries were invented by other noted astronomers that came before his time such as Kepler and Newton.
To begin with, Asaph Hall's more accurate legal name was Asaph Hall the Third. Hall was born to Asaph Hall II and Mrs. Hannah Palmer. Asaph's father was a clockmaker and had a penchant for creativity. When Hall turned 13, his father passed away, resulting in financial troubles for the family. Subsequently, Asaph had to leave school to help support the family. Later in his life, after working as an apprentice carpenter, Asaph enrolled in school again and took up the study of mathematics. While studying at Central College, he met the love of his life - Angeline Stickney. To further his career in academics, Hall took up jobs at Harvard's observatory and the US Naval Observatory, respectively. Here at the US Naval Observatory, Hall obtained a UNSO 26 inch telescope which allowed him to see Mars' two moons, and determine the rotational period of saturn.
In the later years of Hall's life, he retired from the Navy, but not after making even more significant discoveries. Hall submitted a paper that defined pi in a series of experiments detailing random trials where a fine wire was tossed upon a wooden plate between two equidistant lines. Hall and his wife had four children, one was even named Percival! When Hall's wife passed away, Hall remarried to a woman named Mary Gauthier. In 1907, Hall died in the care of his son Angelo.
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