Paul Guthnick

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Paul Guthnick (born January 12, 1879 in Hitdorf am Rhein, † September 6, 1947 in Berlin ) was a German astronomer .

Life

Guthnick became known as a specialist in the measurement of star brightness using a photocell on the basis of the work of Julius Elster and Hans Geitel . This process, known as photoelectric photometry, was the first objective method for determining the brightness of stars. Guthnick developed this process together with Richard Prager from 1913 at the royal observatory in Berlin-Neubabelsberg  - from 1918 university observatory - to perfection. Joel Stebbins followed a similar path in the USA without achieving reproducible results before 1931/1932. Guthnick's techniques could only be simplified considerably in the 1950s through the use of correspondingly light-sensitive electron tubes .

After training as an astronomer, he worked as an observer at the royal observatory in Berlin from 1901 . He dealt with variable stars and also wrote his dissertations on Mira Ceti.

When the observation conditions there got worse and worse due to the rapid growth of the city, he carried out test observations in the vicinity from June 9, 1906 and then suggested the Babelsberg Palace Park as the ideal location. On November 1, 1906, the result was forwarded to the Ministry of Culture, which finally approved the proposal.

After the Berlin observatory moved and its completion in Neubabelsberg, he moved there and worked on the study of variable stars using photoelectric photometry. In 1918 he discovered minimal fluctuations in the brightness of the Vega . This brightest star in the northern sky had previously served as one of the reference stars for brightness measurements .

As early as January 24, 1916, Guthnick was appointed associate professor for astrophysics at Berlin's Friedrich Wilhelms University . Finally, in 1921, he became director of the Berlin-Neubabelsberg observatory. In the following years he tried to achieve international recognition in this institute through broad-based research, which he succeeded. At the same time he taught astronomy at the University of Berlin. Some outstanding astronomers emerged from his apprenticeship, such as Bohumil Šternberk , the first director of the Ondřejov observatory . Guthnick wrote a. a. Article for the quarterly journal of the Astronomical Society , of which he was a member from 1924 to 1929. He then withdrew a little, but remained a member of society for life.

In the early 1920s, Paul Guthnick developed the idea of ​​photographic sky surveillance for the systematic search for stars with variable brightness over a long period of time. In 1926, Cuno Hoffmeister began at the Sonneberg observatory to put this project for observing the northern starry sky into practice as part of the Sonneberg sky monitoring . This project continues to this day.

In 1929 he made an expedition to Windhoek in South West Africa . There he supplemented his research with the stars of the southern hemisphere. But he was also instrumental in setting up the astronomical station in Windhoek. In 1933 he was elected a member of the Leopoldina .

After the National Socialists came to power in 1933, Guthnick adapted to the new circumstances. Due to his scientific success, however, he was able to repeatedly attack the power structures. In an expert report, he condemned the world ice theory favored by Himmler as Bolshevik, without incurring any consequences. In 1938, in collaboration with Cuno Hoffmeister , he succeeded in getting Paul Ahnert back into the civil service, contrary to the regulations.

In 1970, a lunar crater about 36 kilometers in diameter was named after him.

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personal data
SURNAME Guthnick, Paul
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German astronomer
DATE OF BIRTH January 12, 1879
PLACE OF BIRTH Hitdorf on the Rhine
DATE OF DEATH September 6, 1947
Place of death Berlin