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Adolf Berberich
Adolf Joseph Berberich (16 November 1861 – 27 April 1920) was a German astronomer best known for his work on calculating the orbits of minor planets and double stars. The minor planet 776 Berbericia was named in his honour. Early life Adolf Berberich was born on 16 November 1861 in Überlingen, Baden, to Katharina Hirt and Michael, a postman in Rastatt. From 1871 – 1880 he attended a gymnasium in Rastatt and then went on to study astronomy at the University of Strasbourg until 1884, during which his family reportedly encountered serious financial difficulties. During his time there, he found himself unsatisfied by the insufficient funding for astronomy, which he blamed partly on Friedrich Winnecke and Wilhelm Schur, who headed the astronomy department and directed the Strasbourg observatory. Berberich originally planned to devote himself to the study of observational astronomy, but severe myopia, or near-sightedness, forced him to turn to theoretical astronomy. Career ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Gymnasium (Germany)
''Gymnasium'' (; German plural: ''Gymnasien''), in the German education system, is the most advanced and highest of the three types of German secondary schools, the others being ''Hauptschule'' (lowest) and ''Realschule'' (middle). ''Gymnasium'' strongly emphasizes academic learning, comparable to the British sixth form system or with prep schools in the United States. A student attending ''Gymnasium'' is called a ''Gymnasiast'' (German plural: ''Gymnasiasten''). In 2009/10 there were 3,094 gymnasia in Germany, with students (about 28 percent of all precollegiate students during that period), resulting in an average student number of 800 students per school.Federal Statistical office of Germany, Fachserie 11, Reihe 1: Allgemeinbildende Schulen – Schuljahr 2009/2010, Wiesbaden 2010 Gymnasia are generally public, state-funded schools, but a number of parochial and private gymnasia also exist. In 2009/10, 11.1 percent of gymnasium students attended a private gymnasium. The ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Meteor Shower
A meteor shower is a celestial event in which a number of meteors are observed to radiate, or originate, from one point in the night sky. These meteors are caused by streams of cosmic debris called meteoroids entering Earth's atmosphere at extremely high speeds on parallel trajectories. Most meteors are smaller than a grain of sand, so almost all of them disintegrate and never hit the Earth's surface. Very intense or unusual meteor showers are known as meteor outbursts and meteor storms, which produce at least 1,000 meteors an hour, most notably from the Leonids. The Meteor Data Centre lists over 900 suspected meteor showers of which about 100 are well established. Several organizations point to viewing opportunities on the Internet. NASA maintains a daily map of active meteor showers. Historical developments A meteor shower in August 1583 was recorded in the Timbuktu manuscripts.Abraham, Curtis"Stars of the Sahara" ''New Scientist'', issue 2617,15 August 2007, page 39–41 In ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Comet
A comet is an icy, small Solar System body that, when passing close to the Sun, warms and begins to release gases, a process that is called outgassing. This produces a visible atmosphere or coma, and sometimes also a tail. These phenomena are due to the effects of solar radiation and the solar wind acting upon the nucleus of the comet. Comet nuclei range from a few hundred meters to tens of kilometers across and are composed of loose collections of ice, dust, and small rocky particles. The coma may be up to 15 times Earth's diameter, while the tail may stretch beyond one astronomical unit. If sufficiently bright, a comet may be seen from Earth without the aid of a telescope and may subtend an arc of 30° (60 Moons) across the sky. Comets have been observed and recorded since ancient times by many cultures and religions. Comets usually have highly eccentric elliptical orbits, and they have a wide range of orbital periods, ranging from several years to potentially several mill ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ephemeris
In astronomy and celestial navigation, an ephemeris (pl. ephemerides; ) is a book with tables that gives the trajectory of naturally occurring astronomical objects as well as artificial satellites in the sky, i.e., the position (and possibly velocity) over time. Historically, positions were given as printed tables of values, given at regular intervals of date and time. The calculation of these tables was one of the first applications of mechanical computers. Modern ephemerides are often provided in electronic form. However, printed ephemerides are still produced, as they are useful when computational devices are not available. The astronomical position calculated from an ephemeris is often given in the spherical polar coordinate system of right ascension and declination, together with the distance from the origin if applicable. Some of the astronomical phenomena of interest to astronomers are eclipses, apparent retrograde motion/planetary stations, planetary es, sidereal tim ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Berliner Astronomisches Jahrbuch
The ''Berliner Astronomisches Jahrbuch'' (abbrev. B.A.J.) is an astronomical ephemeris almanac and one of the longest publication series in astronomy. It was a compendium of ephemerides of all large Solar System bodies and of fundamental stars which define the celestial reference system. The ''B.A.J.'' series was founded by Johann Elert Bode, and is thus sometimes referred to as Bode's Astronomisches Jahrbuch. It began publication in 1776 and continued until 1960 when it was merged into the international edition of the ''Astronomical Ephemeris'' and ''Apparent Places of Fundamental Stars'' (APFS). This merger was decided in 1959 by the IAU. Starting in 1907 it contained accurate apparent places of the first international fundamental catalogue which was compiled for astrometry; later these data were actualized within the framework of the Catalogues of Fundamental Stars FK3 and FK4. In the 1940s the Almanac was edited in co-operation with the ''Astronomisch-Geodätisches Jahrbuch'' ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Fritz Cohn
Fritz Cohn, RAS Associate (12 May 1866 – 14 December 1922) was a German astronomer and professor of astronomy at the University of Berlin. Throughout his career he worked at numerous observatories and was director of the Astronomical Calculation Institute. His main work was in astrometry and minor planets, although he published star catalogues and oversaw the production of journals in his later life. The minor planet 972 Cohnia is named in honour of him. Early life Fritz Cohn was born on 12 May 1866 in Königsberg, Prussia, the second of three sons to the merchant Callman Cohn and his wife Henriette Rosenberg. When he was 11 his father died, after which his family experienced serious financial troubles. From 1872 he attended the Altstadt Gymnasium in his hometown, passing his matriculation exam in Easter 1883, at the age of 17. The following years were devoted to the study of mathematics, physics, and astronomy, as well as geography and history, at the University of Köni ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Theoretical Astronomy
Theoretical astronomy is the use of analytical and computational models based on principles from physics and chemistry to describe and explain astronomical objects and astronomical phenomena. Theorists in astronomy endeavor to create theoretical models and from the results predict observational consequences of those models. The observation of a phenomenon predicted by a model allows astronomers to select between several alternate or conflicting models as the one best able to describe the phenomena. Ptolemy's ''Almagest'', although a brilliant treatise on theoretical astronomy combined with a practical handbook for computation, nevertheless includes compromises to reconcile discordant observations with a geocentric model. Modern theoretical astronomy is usually assumed to have begun with the work of Johannes Kepler (1571–1630), particularly with Kepler's laws. The history of the descriptive and theoretical aspects of the Solar System mostly spans from the late sixteenth century ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Near-sightedness
Near-sightedness, also known as myopia and short-sightedness, is an eye disease where light focuses in front of, instead of on, the retina. As a result, distant objects appear blurry while close objects appear normal. Other symptoms may include headaches and eye strain. Severe near-sightedness is associated with an increased risk of retinal detachment, cataracts, and glaucoma. The underlying mechanism involves the length of the eyeball growing too long or less commonly the lens being too strong. It is a type of refractive error. Diagnosis is by eye examination. Tentative evidence indicates that the risk of near-sightedness can be decreased by having young children spend more time outside. This decrease in risk may be related to natural light exposure. Near-sightedness can be corrected with eyeglasses, contact lenses, or a refractive surgery. Eyeglasses are the easiest and safest method of correction. Contact lenses can provide a wider field of vision, but are associated with ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Observational Astronomy
Observational astronomy is a division of astronomy that is concerned with recording data about the observable universe, in contrast with theoretical astronomy, which is mainly concerned with calculating the measurable implications of physical models. It is the practice and study of observation, observing celestial objects with the use of telescopes and other astronomical instruments. As a space science, science, the study of astronomy is somewhat hindered in that direct experiments with the properties of the distant universe are not possible. However, this is partly compensated by the fact that astronomers have a vast number of visible examples of stellar phenomena that can be examined. This allows for observational data to be plotted on graphs, and general trends recorded. Nearby examples of specific phenomena, such as variable stars, can then be used to infer the behavior of more distant representatives. Those distant yardsticks can then be employed to measure other phenomena ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Observatory Of Strasbourg
The Observatory of Strasbourg is an astronomical observatory in Strasbourg, France. Following the Franco-Prussian War of 1870–71, the city of Strasbourg became part of the German Empire. The University of Strasbourg was refounded in 1872 and a new observatory began construction in 1875 in the Neustadt district. The main instrument was a 50 cm Repsold refractor, which saw first light in 1880 (see Great refractor). At the time this was the largest instrument in the German Empire. In 1881, the ninth General Assembly of the Astronomische Gesellschaft met in Strasbourg to mark the official inauguration. The observatory site was selected primarily for instruction purposes and political symbolism, rather than the observational qualities. It was a low-lying site that was prone to mists. During the period up until 1914, the staff was too small to work the instruments and so there was little academic research published prior to World War I. The main observations were of co ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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