Sir Francis Graham-Smith is a British astronomer. He was the thirteenth Astronomer Royal from 1982 to 1990 and was knighted in 1986.
Graham Smith in 2009
Astronomer Royal is a senior post in the Royal Households of the United Kingdom. There are two officers, the senior being the astronomer royal dating from 22 June 1675; the junior is the astronomer royal for Scotland dating from 1834. The Astronomer Royal works to make observations to improve navigation, cartography, instrument design, and applications of geomagnetism. The position was created with the overall goal of discovering a way to determine longitude at sea when out of sight of land.
John Flamsteed, the first astronomer royal, by Thomas Gibson. Royal Society, London.
Image: John Flamsteed 1702
Image: Edmond Halley 072
Image: James Bradley by Thomas Hudson