Josef Ferdinand Menke

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Josef Ferdinand Menke (born April 21, 1913 in Büren / Westphalia; † May 16, 1995 in Glücksburg ) was a German engineer and physicist. His specialty was infrared technology.

He founded the Menke observatory and the Menke planetarium in Glücksburg (Baltic Sea) in the 1960s . The facility is the northernmost observatory in Germany . The Menke observatory is used by Sternfreunde Flensburg-Glücksburg eV.

Because of his support for the Astronomical Institute in Bonn , he was honored in 1968 as "a great friend of the astronomical sciences".

In 1969 at the time of the Apollo 11 moon landing, extensive measurement programs in the visible and infrared range were carried out with the Flensburg observatory and the Jensch coelostat upstream.

Menke's successful research led to 32 patents, which were economically evaluated by his company Elektro Optik . Many measurements were carried out between the mainland and our own laboratory ship and also led to the development and patenting of the Menkematic folding propeller. He also modified and improved the design of the spinnaker .

His commitment led to the founding of the Republic of Ireland's first and so far only planetarium in Schull (County Cork) in 1989 .

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ 1913 registry office Büren / Westphalia
  2. ↑ 1995 registry office Glücksburg / Baltic Sea
  3. ↑ Menke Planetarium in Glücksburg - observatory. In: ostsee.de. Retrieved December 19, 2019 .
  4. ↑ https://www.planetarium-gluecksburg.de/
  5. ↑ https://www.sternwarte-gluecksburg.de/
  6. ↑ J. Pesch: An IR multi-channel photometer . In: Communications from the Astronomical Society. , 1968, Volume 25, pp. 164-165
  7. ^ Inventions by Josef F. Menke at Google Patents
  8. ↑ Folding propeller for sailing yachts with auxiliary engine . January 9, 1973 ( google.com [accessed December 19, 2019]).
  9. ↑ About. In: schullplanetarium.com. Retrieved December 19, 2019 .
personal data
SURNAME Menke, Josef Ferdinand
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German engineer and physicist, specialist in infrared technology
DATE OF BIRTH April 21, 1913
PLACE OF BIRTH Büren (Westphalia)
DATE OF DEATH May 16, 1995
Place of death Glücksburg (Baltic Sea)