Karl Theodor Robert Luther (April 16, 1822,

Świdnica Świdnica (; german: Schweidnitz; cs, Svídnice; szl, Świdńica) is a city in south-western Poland in the region of Silesia. As of 2019, it has a population of 57,014 inhabitants. It lies in Lower Silesian Voivodeship, being the seventh larges ...

– February 15, 1900

Düsseldorf Düsseldorf ( , , ; often in English sources; Low Franconian and Ripuarian: ''Düsseldörp'' ; archaic nl, Dusseldorp ) is the capital city of North Rhine-Westphalia, the most populous state of Germany. It is the second-largest city in th ...

), normally published as Robert Luther, 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 ...

. While working at the

Bilk Observatory Bilk is a quarter (''Stadtteil'') of Düsseldorf. Together with Oberbilk, Unterbilk, Hamm, Flehe and Volmerswerth it constitutes Borough 3, which is the most populous borough of Düsseldorf. Bilk has an area of , and 41,150 inhabitants (2020) ...

in Düsseldorf, Germany, he searched for

asteroid An asteroid is a minor planet of the inner Solar System. Sizes and shapes of asteroids vary significantly, ranging from 1-meter rocks to a dwarf planet almost 1000 km in diameter; they are rocky, metallic or icy bodies with no atmosphere. ...

s and discovered 24 of them between 1852 and 1890. Seven times

Lalande Prize The Lalande Prize (French: ''Prix Lalande'' also known as Lalande Medal) was an award for scientific advances in astronomy, given from 1802 until 1970 by the French Academy of Sciences. The prize was endowed by astronomer Jérôme Lalande in 1801 ...

winner.

Biography

Karl Theodor Robert Luther was born on April 16, 1822 to August Luther and Wilhelmine von Ende. He was home schooled and studied in the local high school. In 1841, he moved to Breslau where he studied until 1843. In 1843 Luther moved to Berlin to study astronomy. He was a student of

Johann Franz Encke Johann Franz Encke (; 23 September 179126 August 1865) was a German astronomer. Among his activities, he worked on the calculation of the periods of comets and asteroids, measured the distance from the Earth to the Sun, and made observations ...

and helped him in his astronomical calculations and creating the astronomical almanac. In 1850 he became a second observer. In 1851,

Franz Brünnow Franz Friedrich Ernst Brünnow (18 November 1821 – 20 August 1891) was a German astronomer. He was the first foreigner to become director of an American observatory, serving as director of Detroit Observatory (at the University of Michiga ...

invited Luther to the

Düsseldorf-Bilk Observatory The Sternwarte Düsseldorf (a.k.a. Sternwarte Bilk, Sternwarte Charlottenruhe; Bilk Observatory or Düsseldorf-Bilk Observatory in English) in Düsseldorf-Bilk was a private observatory founded in 1843 by Johann Friedrich Benzenberg. The observat ...

to become a director of the observatory after him. Luther married Caroline (nee Marker) and they had one son, William. Luther died in 1900 after a short illness in

Discoveries

Luther discovered 24 of them between 1852 and 1890. Two of his discoveries are now known to have unusual properties:

90 Antiope Antiope (minor planet designation: 90 Antiope) is a double asteroid in the outer asteroid belt. It was discovered on October 1, 1866, by Robert Luther. In 2000, it was found to consist of two almost-equally-sized bodies orbiting each other. At a ...

, a binary asteroid with equal components, and the extremely slow-rotating

288 Glauke Glauke ( minor planet designation: 288 Glauke) is a stony, tumbling asteroid and slow rotator from the intermediate asteroid belt, approximately 32 kilometers in diameter. It was discovered on 20 February 1890, by Robert Luther at Düsseldorf-B ...

Honors and awards

The asteroid

1303 Luthera 1303 Luthera, provisional designation , is a dark asteroid and the parent body of the Luthera family, located in the outermost regions of the asteroid belt. It measures approximately 90 kilometers in diameter. The asteroid was discovered on 16 M ...

and the lunar crater ''

Luther Luther may refer to: People * Martin Luther (1483–1546), German monk credited with initiating the Protestant Reformation * Martin Luther King Jr. (1929-1968), American minister and leader in the American civil rights movement * Luther (give ...

'' were named in his honour. He was awarded the

seven times, in 1852, 1853, 1854, 1855, 1859, 1860 and 1861.

Royal Astronomical Society (Whatever shines should be observed) , predecessor = , successor = , formation = , founder = , extinction = , merger = , merged = , type = NGO ...

Fellow A fellow is a concept whose exact meaning depends on context. In learned or professional societies, it refers to a privileged member who is specially elected in recognition of their work and achievements. Within the context of higher education ...

since June 1854., digitized=13 Jul 2010 In 1869, a commemorative medal honoring the discovery of the 100th asteroid shows the profiles of John Russel Hind,

Hermann Goldschmidt Hermann Mayer Salomon Goldschmidt (June 17, 1802 – August 30 or September 10 1866) was a German-French astronomer and painter who spent much of his life in France. He started out as a painter, but after attending a lecture by the famous Fren ...

and Robert Luther.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Luther, Karl Theodor Robert 1822 births 1900 deaths Discoverers of asteroids * 19th-century German astronomers Recipients of the Lalande Prize