Solon Irving Bailey

Who was Solon Irving Bailey?

Solon Irving Bailey was an American astronomer who discovered the asteroid 504 Cora on June 30, 1902.

He joined the staff of Harvard College Observatory in 1887. He received an M.A. from there in 1888 in addition to his previous M.A. from Boston University.

After the observatory received the "Boyden Fund" bequest from the will of Uriah A. Boyden, Bailey played a major role in finding a site for "Boyden Station" in Arequipa, Peru, and was in charge of it from 1892 to 1919. He was also one of the first to carry out meteorological studies in Peru, traveling extensively in desolate areas at very high altitude. Boyden Station was moved to South Africa in 1927 due to better weather conditions and became known as the Boyden Observatory.

He made extensive studies of variable stars in globular clusters in the southern skies. He also measured the period of the light curve of 433 Eros during its 1903 opposition with great accuracy.

Bailey was acting director of Harvard College Observatory from 1919 to 1921 after the death of Edward Charles Pickering and prior to the appointment of Harlow Shapley. He worked as a senior colleague with Henrietta Swan Leavitt. He was elected a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 1892.