Alfred Jensch

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On the occasion of the 80th birthday of Alfred Jensch, the 2 m reflector telescope of the Thuringian State Observatory was named "Alfred Jensch Telescope"

Alfred Jensch (born June 19, 1912 in Hirschberg , Silesia ; † October 6, 2001 in Jena ) was a German astronomer and designer . Until 1977 he was chief designer in the development department for astronomical devices and planetariums at Carl Zeiss in Jena. Jensch spent his childhood and youth in Hirschberg. His father's small company gave him the opportunity in his free time to try out solving technical problems. He built his first telescope out of wood and cardboard.

In 1933 he received an observer position at the observatory in Sonneberg with Cuno Hoffmeister . In addition to his successful work on the telescope (e.g. the detection of the then shortest known period on a variable star ; CY Aquarii ) and the evaluation of photo plates , he also dealt with theoretical questions of astronomy. He published an article about the possibility of determining the speed of light from observations of the change of light at the aforementioned CY Aquarii. He used his technical expertise to maintain and improve the observatory's instruments.

After five years in Sonneberg, he started working in a design office at Zeiss in Jena. In addition, he attended lectures at Jena University . He was called up in 1942 and had to do service in a surveying unit on the Eastern Front. He fell into American captivity, from which he returned in 1948.

At that time, the astronomer Hans Kienle promoted the construction of a large new telescope in Germany by means of a memorandum for the academy and government . The company Carl Zeiss Jena wanted to realize this project. Alfred Jensch was commissioned to carry out a study for this. He had to break off a distance learning course that he had started under pressure from management in order to carry out the huge telescope project. He received the in-house title of chief designer . The fact that he was never allowed to complete his university education did not prevent him from becoming an internationally recognized specialist in his field.

After more than ten years of work, the 2 m universal reflecting telescope of today's Thuringian State Observatory (TLS) Karl Schwarzschild Observatory was inaugurated near Tautenburg near Jena . This telescope is still in full use.

In the following years a large number of astronomical devices were created by Alfred Jensch and under his direction. His role model effect in technical and human terms resulted in an efficient team of committed designers. In 1977 he left Carl Zeiss Jena for reasons of age, but remained active and interested in all new technical and scientific developments until his death.

Services

Alfred Jensch telescope of the Thuringian State Observatory
Jensch- Coelostat
Jensch support mount (on the 2-meter PCC telescope of the Ondřejov observatory )

Appreciations

  • 1966 - Honorary Award of the Azerbaijan Academy of Sciences
  • 1967 - National Prize of the GDR for science and technology (together with other employees at Carl Zeiss Jena)
  • 1977 - Jan Krizik Medal of the Czechoslovak Academy of Sciences
  • 1985 - the planetoid 3245 is named Jensch
  • 1992 - the 2 m universal reflector telescope of the Thuringian State Observatory is named Alfred Jensch Telescope

Works

  • Alfred Jensch: The synchronous motor as telescope tracking , in Die Sterne , 17 (1937), issue 5
  • Alfred Jensch: Size classes of the stars - stars appearance and reality , in Jenaer Rundschau , 4 (1959), issue 3, p. 91
  • Alfred Jensch: A new 2 m reflector telescope system from Jena , in Jenaer Rundschau , 11 (1966), issue 3, p. 198

literature

  • Helmut Artus, Alfred Karnapp, Hans-Jürgen Kiel, Manfred Steinbach, Karl-Heinz Weßlau: Alfred Jensch - memories of him and his work. In: Jena yearbook on technology and industrial history. Vol. 4 (2002), ISBN 3-931743-56-X , pp. 9-42
  • Rolf Riekher: Telescopes and their masters: A history of the development of telescope technology . 2nd, heavily edited edition. Verlag Technik, Berlin 1990, ISBN 3-341-00791-1 , pp. 350–359.

Web links

Commons : Alfred Jensch  - Collection of images, videos and audio files
personal data
SURNAME Jensch, Alfred
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German astronomer and designer
DATE OF BIRTH June 19, 1912
PLACE OF BIRTH Hirschberg (Silesia)
DATE OF DEATH October 6, 2001
Place of death Jena