Herbert Raab (born 24 January 1969 in

Linz Linz ( , ; cs, Linec) is the capital of Upper Austria and third-largest city in Austria. In the north of the country, it is on the Danube south of the Czech border. In 2018, the population was 204,846. In 2009, it was a European Capital of ...

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 ...

) is an Austrian

software engineer Software engineering is a systematic engineering approach to software development. A software engineer is a person who applies the principles of software engineering to design, develop, maintain, test, and evaluate computer software. The term ''p ...

amateur astronomer Amateur astronomy is a hobby where participants enjoy observing or imaging celestial objects in the sky using the unaided eye, binoculars, or telescopes. Even though scientific research may not be their primary goal, some amateur astronomers m ...

and discoverer of

astronomical object An astronomical object, celestial object, stellar object or heavenly body is a naturally occurring physical entity, association, or structure that exists in the observable universe. In astronomy, the terms ''object'' and ''body'' are often us ...

Biography

Raab finished his studies of computer science at the

Johannes Kepler University of Linz The Johannes Kepler University Linz (German: ''Johannes Kepler Universität Linz'', short: ''JKU'') is a public institution of higher education in Austria. It is located in Linz, the capital of Upper Austria. It offers bachelor's, master's, d ...

in 1995 as a graduate engineer. In 2012, he received the

Master of Science A Master of Science ( la, Magisterii Scientiae; abbreviated MS, M.S., MSc, M.Sc., SM, S.M., ScM or Sc.M.) is a master's degree in the field of science awarded by universities in many countries or a person holding such a degree. In contrast to ...

in ''Management for Engineers'' at the LIMAK business school in Linz, where he also graduated as

Master of Business Administration A Master of Business Administration (MBA; also Master's in Business Administration) is a postgraduate degree focused on business administration. The core courses in an MBA program cover various areas of business administration such as accounti ...

in 2013. He works as a software engineer in the field of commercial software. In 1983, he joined the Astronomical Society of Linz (german: Linzer Astronomische Gemeinschaft, link=no), and has been president of the society from 1996 until 2017. Since 1990, he has been developing the widely used software ''Astrometrica'', which is used for

astrometric Astrometry is a branch of astronomy that involves precise measurements of the positions and movements of stars and other celestial bodies. It provides the kinematics and physical origin of the Solar System and this galaxy, the Milky Way. Histor ...

and photometric analysis of images of

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

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. Raab's most important observations include precise

astrometry Astrometry is a branch of astronomy that involves precise measurements of the positions and movements of stars and other celestial bodies. It provides the kinematics and physical origin of the Solar System and this galaxy, the Milky Way. His ...

of the

comet Shoemaker–Levy 9 Comet Shoemaker–Levy 9 ( formally designated D/1993 F2) broke apart in July 1992 and collided with Jupiter in July 1994, providing the first direct observation of an extraterrestrial collision of Solar System objects. This generated a l ...

, which he observed together with Erich Meyer and Erwin Obermair in 1993. These observations have significantly contributed to the subsequent prediction of the

impact Impact may refer to: * Impact (mechanics), a high force or shock (mechanics) over a short time period * Impact, Texas, a town in Taylor County, Texas, US Science and technology * Impact crater, a meteor crater caused by an impact event * Impact ...

of this comet on the planet

Jupiter Jupiter is the fifth planet from the Sun and the List of Solar System objects by size, largest in the Solar System. It is a gas giant with a mass more than two and a half times that of all the other planets in the Solar System combined, but ...

. On 10 August 1997, he discovered the asteroid 13682 Pressberger together with Erich Meyer at the private observatory Meyer/Obermair in Davidschlag (municipality

Kirchschlag bei Linz Kirchschlag bei Linz is a municipality in the district of Urfahr-Umgebung in the Austrian state of Upper Austria Upper Austria (german: Oberösterreich ; bar, Obaöstareich) is one of the nine states or of Austria. Its capital is Linz. Upp ...

, Austria). Furthermore, he was involved in three other discoveries of asteroids which were assigned as site discoveries to the observatory Davidschlag by the

International Astronomical Union The International Astronomical Union (IAU; french: link=yes, Union astronomique internationale, UAI) is a nongovernmental organisation with the objective of advancing astronomy in all aspects, including promoting astronomical research, outreac ...

''(see :Discoveries by the Davidschlag Observatory)''. During the

Occultation An occultation is an event that occurs when one object is hidden from the observer by another object that passes between them. The term is often used in astronomy, but can also refer to any situation in which an object in the foreground blocks ...

of the star

HIP In vertebrate anatomy, hip (or "coxa"Latin ''coxa'' was used by Celsus in the sense "hip", but by Pliny the Elder in the sense "hip bone" (Diab, p 77) in medical terminology) refers to either an anatomical region or a joint. The hip region is ...

76293 by the asteroid 1177 Gonnessia on 18 May 2007, Raab discovered that the star is a close

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 ...

, whose components have a separation of just 0.04". In May 1996, asteroid 3184 Raab was named in his honor, following a proposal of

Brian G. Marsden Brian Geoffrey Marsden (5 August 1937 – 18 November 2010) was a British astronomer and the longtime director of the Minor Planet Center (MPC) at the Center for Astrophysics Harvard & Smithsonian (director emeritus from 2006 to 2010). ...

and Gareth V. Williams from the

Minor Planet Center The Minor Planet Center (MPC) is the official body for observing and reporting on minor planets under the auspices of the International Astronomical Union (IAU). Founded in 1947, it operates at the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory. Function ...

(). On 4 April 1997, Raab was presented the Gold Medal for Services to the Republic of Austria.Recipients of Medals of Honour for Services to the Republic of Austria
(German). Retrieved 2015-01-13. His wife Agnes Raab (born 1969) is also an amateur astronomer and long-time member of the Astronomical Society of Linz. In early 2004, asteroid 49109 Agnesraab, was .

References

External links

Publications by Herbert Raab in the SAO/NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Freie Sicht auf die Sonnenfinsternis ''(Clear view on the solar eclipse)''
nachrichten.at, March 2015

astrometrica.at {{DEFAULTSORT:Raab, Herbert 1969 births 20th-century Austrian astronomers 21st-century Austrian astronomers Austrian computer scientists Discoverers of asteroids Living people People from Linz-Land District