Christian Gärtner
Christian Gärtner (born May 6, 1705 in Tolkewitz near Dresden ; † December 31, 1782 there ) was a German telescope maker and astronomer .
Life
Gärtner was instrumental in confirming the return of Halley's Comet predicted by Edmond Halley for 1758 . After seven years without a tail star, Gärtner discovered the comet named after him from 1757. He was the role model, sponsor and competitor of Johann Georg Palitzsch , who finally had the good fortune of the able to discover the expected 1P / Halley .
Gardener earned his living as a yarn bleacher and twist dealer. After his and an older brother's interest in astronomy was supported in the Leuben school, he was later able to make contact with mechanics, booksellers and students at the Leipzig trade fair and finally learn to grind glass in order to be able to manufacture and sell telescopes himself.
In Dresden he was supported by the inspectors of the mathematical-physical salon Georg Gottlieb Haubold and Johann Gottlob Rudolph .
In 1748 Gärtner and the royal electoral family in the Dresden Zwinger observed a solar eclipse through one of his telescopes. Then he was by August III. (Friedrich August II.) Arranged to build a larger observatory. This building ruined gardeners because the seven years war prevented the promised payment of the costs.
Gärtner died completely impoverished in 1782 and was buried in the Leuben churchyard .
Honors
The moon crater Gärtner and the minor planet (132445) Gaertner are named after Gärtner .
literature
- Jürgen Helfricht : Astronomical history of Dresden . Hellerau-Verlag, Dresden 2001, ISBN 3-910184-76-6
- Christian Heermann: The Astronomus zu Tolkewitz: from the yarn bleacher and thread dealer Christian Gärtner, who reached for the stars. In: Dresdner Latest News from August 2, 1995, p. 8
- Jürgen Helfricht , Siegfried Koge: Chr. Gärtner and JG Palitzsch - farmer astronomers from Tolkewitz and Prohlis near Dresden. Publications of the Pulsnitz observatory in 1990
- (anonymous): Silhouettes of noble Germans . Volume 3, Hendel, Halle 1784, pp. 119–157
- Report by Abraham Gotthelf Kästner in: Hamburgisches Magazin. Hamburg and Leipzig 1758, Volume 20, Item 3, p. 347
Web links
- Silhouette in the digital portrait archive Digiporta (PDF 196 kB, probably from silhouettes of noble Germans 1784)
- Text excerpt from prohlis-online.de , from silhouettes of noble Germans 1784, the portrait there most likely shows Johann Ludewig
- District history Dresden , die-infoseiten.de; PDF; 0.8 MB ( memento from January 8, 2014 in the Internet Archive )
Remarks
- ↑ "C / 1757 R1 (Gärtner)" see: Gary W. Kronk : Cometography: Volume 1, Ancient-1799. Cambridge University Press, 1999, p. 418
- ↑ Helfricht, Koge 1990, p. 3; Silhouette 1784, p. 123f.
- ↑ Helfricht, Koge 1990, p. 4; Silhouette 1784, pp. 126f., 130f.
- ↑ Helfricht, Koge 1990, p. 5f .; Silhouette 1784, p. 131f.
- ↑ The asteroid (132445) Gaertner ( (NASA) (IAU) ) was discovered by Maik Meyer , a modern Saxon amateur astronomer.
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Gardener, Christian |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | German telescope maker and astronomer |
| DATE OF BIRTH | May 6, 1705 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Tolkewitz near Dresden |
| DATE OF DEATH | December 31, 1782 |
| Place of death | Tolkewitz near Dresden |