Johann Bayer (astronomer)
Johann Bayer (also Johannes Bayer ; * 1572 in Rain ; † March 7, 1625 in Augsburg ) was a German astronomer and lawyer . He created an important celestial atlas , the Uranometria .
Life
Bayer attended the Latin school in Rain and later probably went to a secondary school in Augsburg . From 1592 he studied philosophy and law at the University of Ingolstadt . He completed his studies at the end of the 16th century as a "licentiate in law" and settled as a lawyer in Augsburg.
Bayer also worked intensively in the fields of mathematics , archeology and astronomy . During a stay in Rome , he took part in excavations on the Via Nomentana and made drawings of the most important finds.
His main astronomical work was the Uranometria sky atlas , published in Augsburg in 1603 . The atlas, which was partly based on the then very precise observation data of the Tycho Brahe , was the first to cover the entire celestial sphere. It contained 51 maps: one each for the 48 Ptolemaic constellations , one for the southern starry sky, and two planispheres with the entire northern and southern sky.
In the Uranometria, Bayer introduced a system for naming stars with Greek and Latin letters, the " Bayer designations ". In addition, he added new ones to the classic constellations of antiquity that are still in use today.
The impact crater Bayer on the moon was named in memory of Bayer . In his hometown of Rain, Johannes-Bayer-Straße (since 1946) and the Johannes-Bayer-Grundschule (since 1994) remind of him.
literature
- Karl Christian Bruhns : Bayer, Johann . In: Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie (ADB). Volume 2, Duncker & Humblot, Leipzig 1875, p. 188.
- Winfried Berberich (editor): Uranometria by Johannes Bayer 1603, facsimile, Gerchsheim 2010. ISBN 978-3-934223-35-6
- Jürgen Hamel : The sky measurement of Johann Bayer , companion book to Uranometria , Gerchsheim 2010. ISBN 978-3-934223-36-3 . Both volumes ISBN 978-3-934223-37-0
- Christine Zerbe: The astronomer Johannes Bayer (1572-1625) - life and work. An approximation . In: Markus Würmseher, René Brugger (Hrsg.): Crossing borders between Old Bavaria and Swabia. History, politics and art on both sides of the Lech . 1st edition. Verlag Schnell & Steiner, Regensburg 2016, ISBN 978-3-7954-3118-1 , p. 173-183 .
See also
Web links
- Literature by and about Johann Bayer in the catalog of the German National Library
- A digitized edition of the Uranometria
- Short biography on the homepage of the city of Rain
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Bayer, Johann |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Bayer, Johannes |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | German astronomer and lawyer |
| DATE OF BIRTH | 1572 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Rain |
| DATE OF DEATH | March 7, 1625 |
| Place of death | augsburg |