27 January

Roberts was a British astronomer who was a pioneer in photography of nebulae. In 1885 he had built an observatory with a 20 inch reflector.

Using this instrument Roberts was to make considerable progress in the newly developing science of astrophotography. He photographed numerous celestial objects including the Orion Nebula and the Pleiades. Undoubtedly his finest work was a photograph showing the spiral structure of the Great Nebula in Andromeda, M31 on 29 December 1888.

In addition to his contribution to astrophotography, Roberts also devised a machine to be used to engrave stellar positions on copper plates, known as the 'Stellar Pantograver'.