Robert Henseling

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Robert Henseling (born October 19, 1883 in Hameln , † April 1, 1964 in Berlin ) was a German astronomer and freelance writer . He became known in wide circles for his committed promotion of amateur astronomy , many popular scientific publications and the founding of two public observatories and the Association of Star Friends .

A dedicated teacher

Henseling grew up in Dresden in his youth. From 1897 he attended the Freiherrlich von Fletcher teachers' seminar there and from 1904 to 1907 he spent his compulsory years as a teacher in Radebeul . Here he was also interested in curative educational problems and taught a.o. a. a class with stuttering kids. At an early age he also came into contact with the Dürerbund and Ferdinand Avenarius , who published the magazine Der Kunstwart . A lung disease forced him to stay in a healing facility in Görbersdorf / Silesia, where the management asked him to work as a teacher for the patients. This work encouraged him to stay longer in Görbersdorf.

His work on the " Schlesische Heimatbl Blätter " also dates from this time . He also published the collection "Heb mich auf" there, and from 1908 to 1911 the calendar "Gesundbrunnen". It also occurred to him to publish his own astronomical calendar - the so-called Sternbüchlein . It quickly became known, appeared from 1910 to 1953 and became the model for today's Kosmos- Himmelsjahr .

With the establishment of this yearbook series, Henseling began extensive literary activity in the field of astronomy , to which he felt more and more drawn. In addition, he took a critical look at astrology and resolutely opposed the world ice theory , which was widely used in the 1930s. He also dealt with the astronomy of the Mayas and the astronomy of the Chinese Han dynasty. At the same time he published a rotatable star map .

Promoter of amateur astronomy

In 1921 Henseling founded the magazine Die Sterne - magazine for all areas of celestial science . It was published monthly in Leipzig until 1996 and was merged with the monthly magazine Sterne und Weltraum (Heidelberg) in 1997 . Also in 1921, Henseling founded the Bund der Sternfreunde (BdS) for amateur astronomers throughout Germany. The association's activities also spread to Austria, where the Astronomical Association was founded in 1924 . After the war in 1952, the BdS was re-established by another party as the Association of Star Friends .

Henseling was also a co-founder of the Stuttgart observatory in 1922 , where he was massively committed to amateur astronomy . He encouraged the construction of the observatory, gave lectures and made a decisive contribution to the organization of a planetarium . In 1928 he became the first director of the Stuttgart planetarium , but at the end of the year he moved to Berlin to take over the management of the planetarium there for a short time. But he soon gave up this activity in order to work exclusively as a writer with great success. From 1933 he lived in Berlin-Frohnau and in his last years in Berlin-Waidmannslust. During the Third Reich he was not allowed to give ideological lectures.

Robert Henseling died on April 1, 1964 as a result of a traffic accident.

The asteroid (27710) Henseling was named after him.

Henseling was a role model for many astronomers and star friends who were interested in the spread of astronomy. Endeavoring to educate broad sections of the population, in addition to the dissemination of facts, he repeatedly saw the lower value of astronomical education. In his work "Das All und Wir" he wrote: "The cosmically oriented man ceases to offend the origin of all things by some humanizing image and by the inadequacy of a name. There is only one attitude of man towards creation and its soul : Mute awe. "

His wife was Elfriede Fliethmann- Henseling, his son the chemist Karl Otto Henseling .

See also:

Works

  • Sternbüchlein . 1910–1940 Franckh'sche Verlagbuchhandlung, Stuttgart. From 1941 to 1953 in other publishers (not published in 1945 due to the events of the war)
Henseling Astronomy f.All I ° .JPG
  • Little astronomy . Franckh'sche Verlagsbuchhandlung, Stuttgart 1919.
  • Star pointers . Franckh'sche Verlagsbuchhandlung, Stuttgart 1922.
  • Becoming and essence of astrology . Franckh'sche Verlagsbuchhandlung, Stuttgart 1924.
  • Mars - Its puzzles and history . Franckh'sche Verlagsbuchhandlung, Stuttgart 1925.
  • Picture planetarium . Franckh'sche Verlagsbuchhandlung, Stuttgart 1927.
  • Guide for the Planetarium of the City of Stuttgart Stuttgart, 1928.
  • Astronomy for everyone. An introduction to the worldview of the present. 471 p., Franckh'sche Verlagsbuchhandlung, Stuttgart 1929.
  • The newly discovered sky , Stuttgart 1930 (2nd edition Berlin 1939).
  • World islands . Franckh'sche Verlagsbuchhandlung, Stuttgart 1931.
  • New stereoscopic images of the starry sky (3 series), Stuttgart 1931.
  • Cosmic home . Königstein i Taunus / Leipzig, 1932.
  • Cosmic distance . Königstein i Taunus / Leipzig, 1932.
  • Little astronomy . Franckh'sche Verlagsbuchhandlung, Stuttgart 1932.
  • Look through the telescope . Franckh'sche Verlagsbuchhandlung, Stuttgart 1934.
  • Advance to the limits of space , in "The World in Progress", Berlin, 1935.
  • The universe and us . Berlin, 1936.
  • Cosmos star map . Stuttgart 1937.
  • Pocket star map, adjustable for any time . Stuttgart 1939.
  • Controversial worldview . Verlag Philipp Reclam jun., Leipzig 1939.
  • Lay questions to a star expert . Franckh'sche Verlagsbuchhandlung, Stuttgart 1939.
  • Radiant universe . Verlag Philipp Reclam jun., Leipzig 1940.
  • The constellations . Leipzig 1940.
  • Celestial calendar . 5 years, Leipzig 1941–1943, Berlin 1944 and 1947.
  • Planet panel with astronomical year overview ... . Berlin 1949.
  • Sky maps the twelve months ... . Berlin 1949.

Editor or editor

  • Heb me . Munich 1908.
  • Calendar Gesundbrunnen . 4 years. Munich 1908–1911.
  • Silesian homeland sheets . Hirschberg 1910-1911.
  • Silesian yearbook . Hirschberg 1913.
  • Merseburg district calendar . Merseburg 1914-1916.
  • Astronomical manual . Stuttgart, 1921.
  • The stars . Stuttgart, Potsdam, Leipzig 1921–1932.
  • World development and world ice theory . Leipzig, 1925.
  • World and man . Stuttgart, 1925ff.
  • The universe in a picture . Stuttgart 1925ff.
  • The star friend . Berlin 1926.

translation

  • Knut Lundmark, Life on Other Stars (from Swedish). Leipzig, 1930.

swell

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Stars and Space 1997/1: The magazine "Die Sterne". a review
  2. ↑ a b 1910–2010: One hundred years of the sky year - one hundred years of astronomy. In: Hans-Ulrich Keller: Kosmos Himmelsjahr 2010. Franckh-Kosmos Verlag GmbH & Co. KG, Stuttgart. ISBN 978-3-440-11532-9
personal data
SURNAME Henseling, Robert
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German astronomer and writer
DATE OF BIRTH October 19, 1883
PLACE OF BIRTH Hamelin
DATE OF DEATH April 1, 1964
Place of death Berlin