Valentin Stansel or Stanzel (1621 – 18 December 1705) was a Czech Jesuit

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, moons, comets and galaxies – in either ...

who worked in Brazil.

Biography

Valentin Stanzel was born in Olomouc, Moravia. His family were of German minority ethnicity in Moravia. He entered the

Society of Jesus , image = Ihs-logo.svg , image_size = 175px , caption = ChristogramOfficial seal of the Jesuits , abbreviation = SJ , nickname = Jesuits , formation = , founders ...

on 1 October 1637, and taught rhetoric and mathematics at

University of Olomouc A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, the ...

and in

Prague Prague ( ; cs, Praha ; german: Prag, ; la, Praga) is the capital and List of cities in the Czech Republic, largest city in the Czech Republic, and the historical capital of Bohemia. On the Vltava river, Prague is home to about 1.3 milli ...

. After being ordained, he requested an appointment to the Jesuit mission in India, and went to Portugal to await an opportunity of taking ship for his destination. Meantime, he lectured on astronomy at the college of Évora. While there, in order to conform to the language of the country, he changed his name to the form "Estancel", in which form it appears on the title pages of most of his published works. He was unable to procure passage to India, traveling instead to Brazil, where he was attached to the Jesuit College and Seminary of Salvador, Bahia, as professor of Moral Theology. He also later served as the institution's Superior. At the same time he continued his astronomical work, and made extensive observations, particularly on

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 ...

s, the results of which he was sending to Europe for publication. On 5 March 1668 Valentin Stanzel discovered a bright comet.Journal of the British Astronomical Association, vol.112, no.1, p. 21
/ref> His observations of the comet of 1668 are mentioned in Newton's Principia. Valentin Stanzel died in Salvador, Bahia, Brazil.

Chief works

*' (Prague, 1652 or 1654) *' (Olmütz, 1655) *' (Évora, 1658) *' *' (Évora, 1675) *' (Prague, 1683) *' (Antwerp and Ghent, 1685) *'

Notes

References

* Cites ** Sommervogel, Carlos, ''Bibl. de la C. de J.'', VII (Brussels, 1896) * 1621 births 1705 deaths Czech Jesuits Czech astronomers Moravian-German people Clergy from Olomouc Catholic clergy scientists Jesuit missionaries in Brazil Academic staff of the University of Évora 17th-century astronomers Jesuit scientists Czech Roman Catholic missionaries Czech expatriates in Brazil Academic staff of Palacký University Olomouc Scientists from Olomouc {{Europe-astronomer-stub

Biography

Chief works

See also

Notes

References