Johann Hecker
Johann (es) Hecker (born May 22, 1625 in Danzig ; † August 27, 1675 there ) was a German astronomer.
Life
From 1642 Hecker attended the old town high school in Altstadt (Königsberg) . He studied at several European universities and met René Descartes . When he returned to Danzig, he worked scientifically with his cousin Johannes Hevelius . In 1651 he became councilor of the old town of Gdansk and from 1654 to 1664 was a senior member of the aldermen's college. Important for astronomy was Hecker's call in 1672 to the astronomers of the scientific world of that time to observe the passage of Mercury (planet) in front of the solar disk on May 6, 1674. He had calculated this event himself. He asked for a review of the calculations on the basis of Kepler's tables and the heliocentricity and for the transmission of the individual observations. It was the beginning of a wide-ranging collaboration between scientists . According to these tables by Tycho Brahe and Johannes Kepler , he edited the ephemeris for the years 1666–1680 (4 editions). In it he fought astrology . By giving a list of geographic coordinates for the conversion of the observations, he determined them for 206 cities.
Individual evidence
- ↑ Przypkowski, Tadeusz: Hecker, Johannes (Polish nobility 1660). In: New German Biography (NDB). Volume 8, Duncker & Humblot, Berlin 1969, ISBN 3-428-00189-3 , p. 182 ( digitized version ).
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Hecker, Johann |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Hecker, Johannes (full name) |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | German astronomer |
| DATE OF BIRTH | May 22, 1625 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Danzig |
| DATE OF DEATH | August 27, 1675 |
| Place of death | Danzig |