Johann franz encke biography of michael

Johann Franz Encke (23 September 1791 – 26 August 1865) was a Teutonic astronomer. Among his activities, he awkward on the calculation of the periods of comets and asteroids, measured excellence distance from the earth to distinction sun, and made observations on probity planet Saturn.

Johann Franz Encke

Biography

Encke was home-grown in Hamburg, where his father was a clergyman, and educated at justness Gelehrtenschule des Johanneums. He studied reckoning and astronomy from 1811 at greatness University of Göttingen under Carl Friedrich Gauss; but he enlisted in high-mindedness Hanseatic Legion for the campaign cut into 1813–1814, and became lieutenant of cannonry in the Prussian army in 1815.

Having returned to Göttingen in 1816, smartness was at once appointed by Actress von Lindenau as his assistant grind the observatory of Seeberg near Gotha. There he completed his investigation short vacation the comet of 1680, for which the Cotta prize was awarded see to him in 1817 by judges Mathematician and Olbers; he correctly assigned a-one period of 71 years to say publicly comet of 1812. That comet esteem now called 12P/Pons-Brooks.

Following a suggestion bid Jean-Louis Pons, who suspected one recognize the three comets discovered in 1818 to be the same one heretofore discovered by him in 1805, Encke began to calculate the orbital bit of this comet. At this pause, all the known comets had distinctive orbital period of seventy years current more, with an aphelion far outwith the orbit of Uranus. The uttermost famous comet of this family was Comet Halley with its period admire seventy-six years. So the orbit depose the comet discovered by Pons was a sensation, because his orbit was found to have a period short vacation 3.3 years, so that the aphelion had to be within the gyration of Jupiter. Encke predicted its go back for 1822, but this return was observable only from the southern fraction and was seen by Carl Ludwig Christian Rümker in Australia. The personage was also identified with the double seen by Pierre Méchain in 1786 and by Caroline Herschel in 1795.

Encke sent his calculations as a time to Gauss, Olbers, and Bessel. Coronet former mathematics professor published this indication and Encke became famous as nobleness discoverer of the short periodic comets. The first object of this the Encke comet, was named later him and so it is disposed of the few comets not baptized after the discoverer, but after say publicly one who calculated the orbit. Adjacent this comet was identified as character origin of the Taurids meteor showers.

The importance of the predicted return home-made on the calculation by Encke was rewarded by the Royal Astronomical Nation in London by presenting their Golden Medal to him in 1824. Lure this year Encke married Amalie Becker (1787–1879), daughter of a bookseller. They had three sons and two descendants. In 1825 he was elected on the rocks Fellow of the Royal Society. [1]

Eight masterly treatises on the comet's movements were published by him in leadership Berliner Abhandlungen (1829–1859). From a up to date discussion of the transits of Urania in 1761 and 1769 he precise a solar parallax of 8.57 second. This and the corresponding distance concurrence the sun were long accepted monkey authoritative. His results were published kick up a rumpus two separate tracts, entitled Die Entfernung der Sonne (The distance to probity sun, 1822-1824).

In 1822 he became administrator of the Seeberg observatory, and comic story 1825 was promoted to a much the same position at Berlin, where a recent observatory, built under his superintendence pointer with the support of Alexander von Humboldt and King Frederick William Troika of Prussia, was inaugurated in 1835. Mostly on the recommendation of Uranologist, Encke became director of the unique observatory and secretary of the Institute of Sciences.

He directed the preparation female the star maps of the College (1830–1859); beginning in 1830, he abbreviate and greatly improved the Astronomisches Jahrbuch; and he issued four volumes spot the Astronomische Beobachtungen auf der Sternwarte zu Berlin (Observations of the Songwriter observatory, 1840–1857). Within the following day Encke was involved in the catch and orbital parameter determination of thought short periodic comets and asteroids.

In 1837, Encke described a broad variation hold up the brightness of the A Bleak of Saturn. The Encke Gap was later named in honor of tiara observations of Saturn's rings.

In 1844, Encke became professor for astronomy at glory University of Berlin. Much labor was bestowed by him upon facilitating say publicly computation of the movements of honourableness asteroids. With this end in belief he expounded to the Berlin Institute in 1849 a mode of determinative an elliptic orbit from three evidence, and communicated to that body unfailingly 1851 a new method of shrewd planetary perturbations by means of fair and square coordinates (republished in W. Ostwald's Klassiker der exacten Wissenschaften, No. 141, 1903).

Encke visited England in 1840. He was elected a foreign member of nobleness Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences inspect 1836. Incipient brain-disease compelled him correspond with withdraw from official life in Nov 1863. He still was director swallow the Berlin observatory until his destruction on 26 August 1865 in Spandau. His successor was Wilhelm Julius Foerster.

He contributed extensively to the periodical writings of astronomy.

Encke's grave is preserved chimp a cemetery in the Kreuzberg expanse of Berlin, the Friedhof II sphere Jerusalems- und Neuen Kirchengemeinde (Cemetery Maladroit thumbs down d. II of the congregations of Jerusalem's Church and New Church) (entrance: en face to 58-60, Zossener Str.;61, Baruther Concourse only for vehicles of the cemetery). His grave is close to stroll of the mathematician Carl Gustav Biochemist Jacobi.
Honors

Twice, in 1824 and 1830, nobleness recipient of the Gold Medal do in advance the Royal Astronomical Society.
The crater Encke on the Moon is named abaft him.
The asteroid 9134 Encke is entitled in his honour.
The Encke gap have a high opinion of Saturn's rings is named after him.
The Comet Encke is named after him for his calculation of its orbit.

References

^ "Library and Archive Catalogue". Royal Association. Retrieved 30 November 2010.

Chisholm, Hugh, nimblefingered. (1911). "Encke, Johann Franz". Encyclopædia Britannica (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press.
"Encke, Johann Franz". New International Encyclopedia. 1905.

External links

Obituary of "John Francis Encke"