Ercole (Hercules) Dembowski (12 January 1812 – 19 January 1881) was an Italian

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 ...

. He was born in

Milan Milan ( , , Lombard: ; it, Milano ) is a city in northern Italy, capital of Lombardy, and the second-most populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of about 1.4 million, while its metropolitan city h ...

. He inherited the title of "Baron" as the son of

Jan Dembowski Jan Dembowski may refer to: * Jan Dembowski (general) (1770–1823), Polish general and politician * Jan Dembowski (biologist) (1889–1963), Polish biologist and politician {{Hndis, Dembowski, Jan ...

(Dębowski), one of

Napoleon Napoleon Bonaparte ; it, Napoleone Bonaparte, ; co, Napulione Buonaparte. (born Napoleone Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French military commander and political leader who ...

Polish Polish may refer to: * Anything from or related to Poland, a country in Europe * Polish language * Poles, people from Poland or of Polish descent * Polish chicken *Polish brothers (Mark Polish and Michael Polish, born 1970), American twin screenwr ...

generals. He served in the navy of

Austria-Hungary Austria-Hungary, often referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire,, the Dual Monarchy, or Austria, was a constitutional monarchy and great power in Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. It was formed with the Austro-Hungarian Compromise of ...

until 1843 when he retired for health reasons to

Naples Naples (; it, Napoli ; nap, Napule ), from grc, Νεάπολις, Neápolis, lit=new city. is the regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 909,048 within the city's adminis ...

. He was a tireless observer 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 and made tens of thousands of

micrometer Micrometer can mean: * Micrometer (device), used for accurate measurements by means of a calibrated screw * American spelling of micrometre The micrometre ( international spelling as used by the International Bureau of Weights and Measures; ...

measurements. In particular, he remeasured many double stars from Friedrich Struve's ''Dorpat Catalogue'', noting how some of them had changed position over the years due to their mutual orbit as

binary star A binary star is a system of two stars that are gravitationally bound to and in orbit around each other. Binary stars in the night sky that are seen as a single object to the naked eye are often resolved using a telescope as separate stars, in wh ...

s. He won the

Gold Medal of the Royal Astronomical Society The Gold Medal of the Royal Astronomical Society is the highest award given by the Royal Astronomical Society (RAS). The RAS Council have "complete freedom as to the grounds on which it is awarded" and it can be awarded for any reason. Past awar ...

in 1878. The crater

Dembowski Dembowski (meaning ''one from Dębowa'') may refer to: Astronomy * Dembowski (crater), an impact crater on the Moon * 349 Dembowska, a main belt asteroid People * Bronisław Dembowski (1927–2019), Polish bishop * Edward Dembowski (1822–1 ...

on the

Moon The Moon is Earth's only natural satellite. It is the fifth largest satellite in the Solar System and the largest and most massive relative to its parent planet, with a diameter about one-quarter that of Earth (comparable to the width of ...

is named after him, as well as 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 ...

349_Dembowska Dembowska (minor planet designation: 349 Dembowska) is a large asteroid of the main belt, discovered on 9 December 1892, by the French astronomer Auguste Charlois while working at the observatory in Nice, France. It is named in honor of the Baron ...

References

External links

Awarding of RAS gold medal: MNRAS 38 (1878) 249

Portrait of Ercole Dembowski from the Lick Observatory Records Digital Archive, UC Santa Cruz Library's Digital Collections
{{DEFAULTSORT:Dembowski, Ercole 1812 births 1881 deaths Scientists from Milan Italian people of Polish descent Clan of Jelita Barons of Italy Barons of Poland 19th-century Italian astronomers Recipients of the Gold Medal of the Royal Astronomical Society