Edmund Weiss (26 August 1837 – 21 June 1917) was an

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

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, moons, comets and galaxies – in either ...

. He was born in Frývaldov,

Austrian Silesia Austrian Silesia, (historically also ''Oesterreichisch-Schlesien, Oesterreichisch Schlesien, österreichisch Schlesien''); cs, Rakouské Slezsko; pl, Śląsk Austriacki officially the Duchy of Upper and Lower Silesia, (historically ''Herzogth ...

, now

Jeseník Jeseník (; until 1947 Frývaldov (); german: Freiwaldau, pl, Frywałdów) is a spa town in the Olomouc Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 11,000 inhabitants. Administrative parts Villages of Bukovice and Dětřichov are administrative ...

Czech Silesia Czech Silesia (, also , ; cs, České Slezsko; szl, Czeski Ślōnsk; sli, Tschechisch-Schläsing; german: Tschechisch-Schlesien; pl, Śląsk Czeski) is the part of the historical region of Silesia now in the Czech Republic. Czech Silesia is, ...

. His father, Josef Weiss (1795–1847), was a pioneer of

hydrotherapy Hydrotherapy, formerly called hydropathy and also called water cure, is a branch of alternative medicine (particularly naturopathy), occupational therapy, and physiotherapy, that involves the use of water for pain relief and treatment. The term ...

. His twin brother, Adolf Gustav Weiss (1837–1894), became a botanist.

Biography

In 1869 he became a professor at the

University of Vienna The University of Vienna (german: Universität Wien) is a public research university located in Vienna, Austria. It was founded by Duke Rudolph IV in 1365 and is the oldest university in the German-speaking world. With its long and rich hist ...

. He was named the director of the

Vienna Observatory The Vienna Observatory (german: Universitätssternwarte Wien) is an astronomical observatory in Vienna, Austria. It is part of the University of Vienna. The first observatory was built in 1753–1754 on the roof of one of the university buildings ...

in 1878. He also served as president of the Austrian ''österreichischen Gradmessungskommission'', the degree measurement commission. He published a number 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 ...

observations and ephemeris' in the '' Astronomische Nachrichten'' between 1859 and 1909. In 1892 he published "Atlas der Sternenwelt", a pictorial atlas of astronomy in German. Weiss died in Vienna on 21 June 1917. The lunar crater '' Weiss'' is named after him. Asteroid 229 Adelinda, discovered by Johann Palisa in 1882, was named after his wife, Adelinde Fenzel Weiss, with whom he had seven children. The asteroid's name was given by the ''

Astronomische Gesellschaft __NOTOC__ The ''Astronomische Gesellschaft'' is an astronomical society established in 1863 in Heidelberg, the second oldest astronomical society after the Royal Astronomical Society. In 1882, the ''Astronomische Gesellschaft'' founded the Centra ...

'' during its meeting in Vienna in September 1883. Adelinde Weiss also named the asteroid 583 Klotilde after their daughter. Asteroids 265 Anna,

266 Aline Aline (minor planet designation: 266 Aline) is a fairly large main belt asteroid that was discovered by Johann Palisa on 17 May 1887 in Vienna and is thought to have been named after the daughter of astronomer Edmund Weiss. It is a dark C-type a ...

and

722 Frieda 722 Frieda ('' prov. designation:'' ''or'' ) is a bright background asteroid and slow rotator from the inner regions of the asteroid belt. It was discovered by Austrian astronomer Johann Palisa at the Vienna Observatory on 18 October 1911. The ...

were also named after members of his family.

References

External links

Obituary Edmund Weiss
'' Astronomische Nachrichten'', 1917 1837 births 1917 deaths 20th-century Austrian astronomers 19th-century Austrian astronomers People from Austrian Silesia People from Jeseník {{europe-astronomer-stub