Peter Francis Williams

Peter Francis Williams was an amateur astronomer from New South Wales, Australia. Born in Sydney in 1955, he specialized in early detection of declines in R Coronae Borealis-type stars and the long-term monitoring of several southern Mira variables and eclipsing binary stars, and was considered to be one of the pre-eminent southern hemisphere variable star observers[1]. Peter was awarded The Berenice Page Medal[2] in 1996 for his extensive visual observations of variable stars, especially the R Coronae Borealis variables. In the 54 years that he spent making variable star observations, he was just the 12th astronomer to pass the 200,000 observation milestone, doing so on 4th July 2021.[3]

In 1998, he discovered a comet now known as C/1998 P1[4], officially lodging the discovery shortly before New Zealand astronomer Alan Gilmore did so.[5] For this discovery, Peter was awarded the Edgar Wilson Award in 1999.[6]

He was the first person to detect the naked-eye Nova known as V382 Velorum in 1999[7] and seven years later he discovered the Nova Ophiuchi 2006.[8] Both discoveries brought him the Nova/Supernova Award of the American Association of Variable Star Observers.[9] In 2007 he received the Amateur Achievement Award of the Astronomical Society of the Pacific.[10] He was a life member of the Sutherland Astronomical Society.

Peter was an avid photographer, making significant contributions to online forums including Places of Pride[11] and Marine Traffic[12].

Peter died on 3 March 2026, after a short fight with melanoma.[13]

References

  1. ↑ "Vale Peter Williams - Pre-eminent Australian variable star observer". The American Association of Variable Star Observers. Retrieved 20 June 2026.
  2. ↑ "Berenice and Arthur Page Medal". Astronomical Society of Australia. Retrieved 8 July 2026.
  3. ↑ "Some Memories of Peter Francis Williams: Variable Star Section Circular No. 208 June 2026" (PDF). The British Astronomical Association. Retrieved 20 June 2026.
  4. ↑ "First ESO Image of New Comet 1998 P1". European Southern Observatory. Retrieved 8 July 2026.
  5. ↑ "A Stellar Performance". New Scientist. Retrieved 8 July 2026.
  6. ↑ "THE EDGAR WILSON AWARD; 1999". Central Bureau for Astronomical Telegrams. Retrieved 8 July 2026.
  7. ↑ "Alert Notice 259: 1040-51 Nova Velorum 1999 [V382 Vel]". American Association of Variable Star Observers. Retrieved 12 July 2014.
  8. ↑ "Alert Notice 338: 1709-29 V2576 Ophiuchi - Nova Ophiuchi 2006 Number 2". American Association of Variable Star Observers. Retrieved 12 July 2014.
  9. ↑ "The Nova/Supernova Award". American Association of Variable Star Observers. Retrieved 12 July 2014.
  10. ↑ "2007 ASP Annual Award Recipients". Astronomical Society of the Pacific. Retrieved 12 July 2014.
  11. ↑ "Places of Pride". Australian War Memorial. Retrieved 8 July 2026.
  12. ↑ "Marine Traffic". Retrieved 8 July 2026.
  13. ↑ "Some Memories of Peter Francis Williams: Variable Star Section Circular No. 208 June 2026" (PDF). Retrieved 20 June 2026.


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