Joseph Rheden (5 April 1873 – 6 August 1946) 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, natural satellite, moons, comets and galaxy, g ...

, born in

Amlach Amlach is a municipality in the district of Lienz in the Austrian state of Tyrol Tyrol (; historically the Tyrole; de-AT, Tirol ; it, Tirolo) is a historical region in the Alps - in Northern Italy and western Austria. The area was histor ...

East Tyrol East Tyrol, occasionally East Tirol (german: Osttirol), is an exclave of the Austrian state of Tyrol, separated from the main North Tyrol part by the short common border of Salzburg and Italian South Tyrol (''Südtirol'', it, Alto Adige). It is c ...

, known for his astrographic observations of planets, minor planets and comets, and for the asteroids 744 Aguntina, 771 Libera, and 844 Leontina, which he discovered in 1913 and 1916, respectively. After his studies in astronomy 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 histor ...

between 1897 and 1901, he worked at 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 ...

, where he made his discoveries of three asteroids. Rheden was the son-in-law of astronomer

Johann Palisa Johann Palisa (6 December 1848 – 2 May 1925) was an Austrian astronomer, born in Troppau, Austrian Silesia, now Czech Republic. He was a prolific discoverer of asteroids, discovering 122 in all, from 136 Austria in 1874 to 1073 Gel ...

, a prolific discoverer of 122 minor planets, with whom he worked at the observatory. The asteroid

710 Gertrud 710 Gertrud is a Themistian asteroid, which means it is a member of the Themis family of asteroids. It was discovered by Austrian astronomer Johann Palisa on 28 February 1911 from Vienna. The light curve In astronomy, a light curve is a graph ...

was named after his daughter Gertrud Rheden and granddaughter of the discoverer,

. In 1946 he died at the age of 73 in

Lienz Lienz (; Southern Bavarian: ''Lianz'') is a Town privileges, medieval town in the Austrian state of Tyrol (state), Tyrol. It is the administrative centre of the Lienz (district), Lienz district, which covers all of East Tyrol. The municipality a ...

, Tyrol.

References

External links

Astronomisches Mäzenatentum

Communications in Asteroseismology, Vienna Observatory, p. 121
1873 births 1946 deaths People from Opava 20th-century Austrian astronomers Discoverers of asteroids University of Vienna alumni Austro-Hungarian astronomers {{europe-astronomer-stub