Scientist’s coil could be star buy at £2,000

The 19th century apparatus belonged to Charles Piazzi Smyth, who retired to Ripon before his death in 1900 after becoming the youngest ever Royal Astronomer for Scotland.

An induction coil, which was used to analyse the chemical make-up of stars and planets, is for sale at £2,000 at Hemswell Antique Centres in Lincolnshire.

Smyth, whose nephew was Robert Baden-Powell, the founder of the Scout movement, was a pioneer in weather forecasting and flash photography. Ripon Civic Society placed a plaque on Clova House, where he lived, in 2010.