Olof Petrus (or Peter) Hiorter (or Hjorter) (1696–1750) was a

Swedish Swedish or ' may refer to: Anything from or related to Sweden, a country in Northern Europe. Or, specifically: * Swedish language, a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Sweden and Finland ** Swedish alphabet, the official alphabet used by ...

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 ...

. After studying in the Netherlands, he was appointed lecturer at the University of Uppsala in 1732 to fill the vacant position of Anders Celsius then on his grand tour of European observatories. From 1737 onwards, he studied together with Celsius the aurora phenomenon and a number of astronomy subjects (solar eclipse, comet like the one of 1744, latitude measurements). Hiorter was the first to connect the aurora to magnetic disturbances. Pehr Wilhelm Wargentin was his pupil. Hiorter was elected a member of the

Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences ( sv, Kungliga Vetenskapsakademien) is one of the Swedish Royal Academies, royal academies of Sweden. Founded on 2 June 1739, it is an independent, non-governmental scientific organization that takes special ...

in 1745 and appointed ''Observator Regius'' - "Royal Astronomer" in 1747.

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Olof Hiorter
1696 births 1750 deaths 18th-century Swedish astronomers Members of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences {{Sweden-scientist-stub