Adolf Joseph Berberich (16 November 1861 – 27 April 1920) was a German
astronomer
An astronomer is a scientist in the field of astronomy who focuses their studies on a specific question or field outside the scope of Earth. They observe astronomical objects such as stars, planets, natural satellite, moons, comets and galaxy, g ...
best known for his work on calculating the
orbit
In celestial mechanics, an orbit is the curved trajectory of an object such as the trajectory of a planet around a star, or of a natural satellite around a planet, or of an artificial satellite around an object or position in space such as a p ...
s of
minor planet
According to the International Astronomical Union (IAU), a minor planet is an astronomical object in direct orbit around the Sun that is exclusively classified as neither a planet nor a comet. Before 2006, the IAU officially used the term ''minor ...
s and
double star
In observational astronomy, a double star or visual double is a pair of stars that appear close to each other as viewed from Earth, especially with the aid of optical telescopes.
This occurs because the pair either forms a binary star (i.e. a bi ...
s.
The
minor planet
According to the International Astronomical Union (IAU), a minor planet is an astronomical object in direct orbit around the Sun that is exclusively classified as neither a planet nor a comet. Before 2006, the IAU officially used the term ''minor ...
776 Berbericia was named in his honour.
Early life
Adolf Berberich was born on 16 November 1861 in
Ãœberlingen
Überlingen is a German city on the northern shore of Lake Constance (Bodensee) in Baden-Württemberg near the border with Switzerland. After the city of Friedrichshafen, it is the second largest city in the Bodenseekreis (district), and a cent ...
,
Baden
Baden (; ) is a historical territory in South Germany, in earlier times on both sides of the Upper Rhine but since the Napoleonic Wars only East of the Rhine.
History
The margraves of Baden originated from the House of Zähringen. Baden is ...
,
to Katharina Hirt and Michael, a postman in
Rastatt
Rastatt () is a town with a Baroque core, District of Rastatt, Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It is located in the Upper Rhine Plain on the Murg river, above its junction with the Rhine and has a population of around 50,000 (2011). Rastatt was an ...
.
From 1871 – 1880 he attended a
gymnasium in Rastatt and then went on to study
astronomy
Astronomy () is a natural science that studies astronomical object, celestial objects and phenomena. It uses mathematics, physics, and chemistry in order to explain their origin and chronology of the Universe, evolution. Objects of interest ...
at the
University of Strasbourg
The University of Strasbourg (french: Université de Strasbourg, Unistra) is a public research university located in Strasbourg, Alsace, France, with over 52,000 students and 3,300 researchers.
The French university traces its history to the ea ...
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
Adolph Christian Wilhelm Schur, RAS Associate (15 April 1846 – 1 July 1901) was a German astronomer and professor of astronomy at the University of Göttingen. He held important positions at multiple observatories throughout his career, namely d ...
, who headed the astronomy department and directed the
Strasbourg observatory. Berberich originally planned to devote himself to the study of
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 m ...
, but severe
myopia
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 ...
, or near-sightedness, forced him to turn to
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 theoretica ...
.
Career
Berberich's proficiency at making calculations was quickly noticed by the astronomy community, with his long-time friend
Fritz Cohn noting his "infallible dexterity in arithmetic."
In October 1884 he was inducted, as a part-time staff member, into the
Astronomical Calculation Institute (ACI),
of which Cohn would later become the director. On 1 April 1897, he attained a permanent position at the institute and by December 1903 he was a professor. Initially, Berberich split his time at the institute between assisting in the production of the ''
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 whi ...
'' (BAJ)
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 vel ...
and calculating the
orbit
In celestial mechanics, an orbit is the curved trajectory of an object such as the trajectory of a planet around a star, or of a natural satellite around a planet, or of an artificial satellite around an object or position in space such as a p ...
s of
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 ar ...
s, with a calculation of his first appearing in Volume 117 of the BAJ.
He went on to spend 35 years working on the BAJ and at one point was its director. He quickly became engrossed in the study of
minor planet
According to the International Astronomical Union (IAU), a minor planet is an astronomical object in direct orbit around the Sun that is exclusively classified as neither a planet nor a comet. Before 2006, the IAU officially used the term ''minor ...
s and devoted as much of his office hours as he could to it, as well as frequently continuing his work at home. He published numerous papers detailing methods by which to predict and calculate the movement of astronomical objects and was instrumental in devising the basic principles by which to predict
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 extre ...
s.
As the number of minor planets grew rapidly, the ACI began to discuss prioritising other less daunting research, but Berberich persuaded the institute to continue their work.
His influence within the ACI expanded until, eventually, he oversaw or managed many of the institute's projects.
From 1883 – 1905 he edited the astrophysics section of the ''Fortschritte der Physik'' journal published by the
German Physical Society
The German Physical Society (German: , DPG) is the oldest organisation of physicists. The DPG's worldwide membership is cited as 60,547, as of 2019, making it the largest physics society in the world. It holds an annual conference () and multiple ...
. Following the unexpected death of
Walter Wislicenus in 1905, Berberich continued to edit and publish the ''
Astronomischer Jahresbericht'' journal with the help of the ACI. Even with the growing workload, he continued to calculate orbits, albeit at a slower rate. When Fritz Cohn became the director of the ACI in 1909 he found Berberich to be "overworked on the fringes of his forces"
and gave him a holiday, which he spent catching up on research into the minor planets.
Berberich enjoyed great recognition and respect both among his local colleagues and internationally, with the
French Academy of Sciences
The French Academy of Sciences (French: ''Académie des sciences'') is a learned society, founded in 1666 by Louis XIV of France, Louis XIV at the suggestion of Jean-Baptiste Colbert, to encourage and protect the spirit of French Scientific me ...
awarding him the
Valz Prize
The Valz Prize ''(Prix Valz)'' was awarded by the French Academy of Sciences, from 1877 through 1970, to honor advances in astronomy.
History
The Valz Prize was established in June 1874 when the widow of astronomer Benjamin Valz, Marie Madeleine J ...
in 1893
and the Faculty of Philosophy at the
University of Wrocław
, ''Schlesische Friedrich-Wilhelms-Universität zu Breslau'' (before 1945)
, free_label = Specialty programs
, free =
, colors = Blue
, website uni.wroc.pl
The University of Wrocław ( pl, Uniwersytet Wrocławski, U ...
making him an
honorary doctorate
An honorary degree is an academic degree for which a university (or other degree-awarding institution) has waived all of the usual requirements. It is also known by the Latin phrases ''honoris causa'' ("for the sake of the honour") or ''ad hon ...
in 1911. His close friend and colleague
Max Wolf
Maximilian Franz Joseph Cornelius Wolf (21 June 1863 – 3 October 1932) was a German astronomer and a pioneer in the field of astrophotography. He was the chairman of astronomy at the University of Heidelberg and director of the Heidelberg-Kà ...
said the following of Berberich and another close friend and colleague,
Johann Palisa
Johann Palisa (6 December 1848 – 2 May 1925) was an Austrian astronomer, born in Troppau, Austrian Silesia, now Czech Republic. He was a prolific discoverer of asteroids, discovering 122 in all, from 136 Austria in 1874 to 1073 Gel ...
:
In the final half of his last year, Berberich fell extremely ill and could no longer make the considerable journey to the institute. Nevertheless, he continued to work from home and sent valuable calculations up until the final weeks of his life, during which he took an extended vacation. On the night of 23 April 1920, Berberich suffered a stroke.
He failed to recover and died in the morning hours of 27 April
in
Berlin
Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitue ...
.
Fritz Cohn described the numbers of attendance at his funeral procession as "countless."
Personal life
Berberich was a generally reserved character. He spent most of his time alone and only married in the last year of his life.
His two closest friends were observational astronomers
Max Wolf
Maximilian Franz Joseph Cornelius Wolf (21 June 1863 – 3 October 1932) was a German astronomer and a pioneer in the field of astrophotography. He was the chairman of astronomy at the University of Heidelberg and director of the Heidelberg-Kà ...
, who named a minor planet in Berberich's honour, and
Johann Palisa
Johann Palisa (6 December 1848 – 2 May 1925) was an Austrian astronomer, born in Troppau, Austrian Silesia, now Czech Republic. He was a prolific discoverer of asteroids, discovering 122 in all, from 136 Austria in 1874 to 1073 Gel ...
, for whom Wolf also named a minor planet.
Unbeknownst to most of his colleagues and friends until after his death, Berberich was a devout
Catholic
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...
and was active in the
Tempelhof
Tempelhof () is a locality of Berlin within the borough of Tempelhof-Schöneberg. It is the location of the former Tempelhof Airport, one of the earliest commercial airports in the world. The former airport and surroundings are now a park called ...
Catholic community, especially as a benefactor and adviser to the poor.
Honours
Awards
*
Valz Prize
The Valz Prize ''(Prix Valz)'' was awarded by the French Academy of Sciences, from 1877 through 1970, to honor advances in astronomy.
History
The Valz Prize was established in June 1874 when the widow of astronomer Benjamin Valz, Marie Madeleine J ...
in 1893 for his calculations of the orbits of
double star
In observational astronomy, a double star or visual double is a pair of stars that appear close to each other as viewed from Earth, especially with the aid of optical telescopes.
This occurs because the pair either forms a binary star (i.e. a bi ...
s, comets, and
planet
A planet is a large, rounded astronomical body that is neither a star nor its remnant. The best available theory of planet formation is the nebular hypothesis, which posits that an interstellar cloud collapses out of a nebula to create a you ...
s;
Namesakes
*
776 Berbericia, named by close friend and colleague Max Wolf;
See also
*
Max Wolf
Maximilian Franz Joseph Cornelius Wolf (21 June 1863 – 3 October 1932) was a German astronomer and a pioneer in the field of astrophotography. He was the chairman of astronomy at the University of Heidelberg and director of the Heidelberg-Kà ...
, close friend of Berberich.
*
Johann Palisa
Johann Palisa (6 December 1848 – 2 May 1925) was an Austrian astronomer, born in Troppau, Austrian Silesia, now Czech Republic. He was a prolific discoverer of asteroids, discovering 122 in all, from 136 Austria in 1874 to 1073 Gel ...
, close friend of Berberich.
*
418 Alemannia, asteroid named by Berberich.
*
54P/de Vico–Swift–NEAT,
periodic comet
Periodic comets (also known as short-period comets) are comets with orbital periods of less than 200 years or that have been observed during more than a single perihelion passage (e.g. 153P/Ikeya–Zhang). "Periodic comet" is also sometimes used ...
which was correctly identified by Berberich after it was
lost
Lost may refer to getting lost, or to:
Geography
*Lost, Aberdeenshire, a hamlet in Scotland
* Lake Okeechobee Scenic Trail, or LOST, a hiking and cycling trail in Florida, US
History
*Abbreviation of lost work, any work which is known to have bee ...
.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Berberich, Adolf
20th-century German astronomers
1861 births
1920 deaths
19th-century German astronomers
University of Strasbourg alumni