Carl Ernst Albrecht Hartwig (14 January 1851 in Frankfurt – 3 May 1923 in

Bamberg Bamberg (, , ; East Franconian: ''Bambärch'') is a town in Upper Franconia, Germany, on the river Regnitz close to its confluence with the river Main. The town dates back to the 9th century, when its name was derived from the nearby ' castle. C ...

) was a German astronomer. On 20 August 1885, Hartwig discovered a new star, SN 1885A (S Andromedae), in the Andromeda Galaxy, which was the first

supernova A supernova is a powerful and luminous explosion of a star. It has the plural form supernovae or supernovas, and is abbreviated SN or SNe. This transient astronomical event occurs during the last evolutionary stages of a massive star or when ...

that was ever seen that was outside the Milky Way. He is also credited for the discovery and co-discovery of three parabolic and hyperbolic comets, namely C/1879 Q2, C/1880 S1 and C/1886 T1. In 1882, Hartwig observed the transit of Venus in Argentina. During the 1883 observation campaign of comet

6P/d'Arrest 6P/d'Arrest (also known as d'Arrest's Comet or Comet d'Arrest) is a periodic Jupiter-family comet in the Solar System, orbiting between Mars and Jupiter. It passed from the Earth on August 12, 1976. The most recent perihelion passage took pla ...

he found five NGC objects working at the

Strasbourg Observatory 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 an ...

. In 1874 he became assistant at the

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 ...

, 1884 astronomer at Dorpat Observatory and 1887 director of the

Remeis Observatory This is a list of observatory codes (IAU codes or MPC codes) published by the Minor Planet Center. For a detailed description, ''see observations of small Solar System bodies Observations of minor planets as well as comets and natural satellites ...

at Bamberg. 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 ...

awarded him the Prix Valz in 1902 for his heliometer observations and work on variable stars. Lunar

crater Crater may refer to: Landforms *Impact crater, a depression caused by two celestial bodies impacting each other, such as a meteorite hitting a planet *Explosion crater, a hole formed in the ground produced by an explosion near or below the surfac ...

''Hartwig'' and Martian crater ''Hartwig'' were both named in his honor.

References

External links

Short biography

Additional data on page 21

E. Hartwig
@ Astrophysics Data System

Obituary

AN 219 (1923) 185/186
1851 births 1923 deaths 19th-century German astronomers Discoverers of comets Discoverers of supernovae 20th-century German astronomers {{Germany-astronomer-stub