Carl Rolf Brahde (15 March 1918 – 25 May 2009) was a Norwegian astronomer. He was born in Tvedestrand as Carl Rolf Henriksen. He was the son of teacher Bredo Henriksen (1888–1974) and Edna Lucy Brahde Davidsen (1891–1967). He changed his last name to Brahde in 1933. He finished his secondary education in Skien in 1937, and enrolled at the University of Oslo in the same year. His studies were interrupted by World War II. He fought in the Norwegian Campaign in 1940, and during the subsequent German occupation of Norway he was a member of the clandestine resistance group XU. He was eventually discovered, but fled to

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic country located on ...

in 1944. He was decorated with the

Defence Medal 1940 – 1945 Defense or defence may refer to: Tactical, martial, and political acts or groups * Defense (military), forces primarily intended for warfare * Civil defense, the organizing of civilians to deal with emergencies or enemy attacks * Defense industr ...

. He continued his studies in

Stockholm Stockholm () is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, largest city of Sweden as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in Scandinavia. Approximately 980,000 people liv ...

, and was an assistant for

Bertil Lindblad Bertil Lindblad (Örebro, 26 November 1895 – Saltsjöbaden, outside Stockholm, 25 June 1965) was a Swedish astronomer. After finishing his secondary education at Örebro högre allmänna läroverk, Lindblad matriculated at Uppsala Univer ...

at Stockholm Observatory from 1944 to 1946. He then returned to Norway and graduated with the cand.real. degree. He was married to Luisa Aall Barricelli, a daughter of Marna Aall and professor Maurizio Barricelli, from 1948 to 1961. Brahde married stenographer Elsie Unn Axelsen in 1963. Already one year after graduating, in 1948, Brahde was hired as observer at the University of Oslo. In this position, he was responsible for the construction of

Harestua Solar Observatory Harestua Solar Observatory ( no, Solobservatoriet på Harestua) is a solar observatory near Harestua in the municipality of Lunner, Oppland, Norway. It was used for solar research purposes from 1954 to 1986, and was subordinated the University ...

north of Oslo. He lectured in celestial mechanics and spherical astronomy, and also researched optics related to astronomical instruments as well as calculating the tidal force and the

lunar eclipse A lunar eclipse occurs when the Moon moves into the Earth's shadow. Such alignment occurs during an eclipse season, approximately every six months, during the full moon phase, when the Moon's orbital plane is closest to the plane of the Earth ...

. He pioneered the use of computers in astronomy in Norway. He also published popular science books and articles, he was a common guest in radio and television programmes and provided commentary for the

Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation NRK, an abbreviation of the Norwegian ''Norsk Rikskringkasting AS'', generally expressed in English as the Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation, is the Norwegian government-owned radio and television public broadcasting company, and the largest ...

during the television coverage of the Apollo 11 Moon landing. He was promoted to professor in 1987, but retired when reaching the age limit of 70 in 1988. He was a professor emeritus for the rest of his life. He continued doing the calculations for the official Norwegian almanac until 1991, having started in 1967. During this entire period the almanac was edited by

Eberhart Jensen Eberhart Jensen (22 July 1922 – 16 January 2003) was a Norwegian astrophysicist. He was born in Røyken as a son of farmer Edvard Jensen (1850–1930) and Berthe Marie Kristiansen (1883–1961). He finished his secondary education in 1942 and g ...

. Brahde lived at Haslum. He died in May 2009.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Brahde, Rolf 1918 births 2009 deaths Norwegian astronomers University of Oslo alumni Academic staff of the University of Oslo Norwegian resistance members XU Norwegian expatriates in Sweden People from Tvedestrand