Arthur von Auwers

Table of Contents

Introduction References & Edit History Quick Facts & Related Topics

Read Next

Galaxy clusters like Abell 2744 can act as a natural cosmic lens, magnifying light from more distant, background objects through gravity. NASA's James Webb Space Telescope may be able to detect light from the first stars in the universe if they are gravitationally lensed by such clusters. (astronomy, space exploration, galaxies)

How Fast Is the Universe Expanding?

Where Did the Moon Come From?

solar eclipse, sun, moon, astronomy, space

How Do You Tell the Difference Between Total, Annular, Solar, and Lunar Eclipses?

Arrangement of the phases of the moon in total eclipse with Blood Moon

9 Celestial Omens

1 July 2002: The Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO) satellite reveals a massive solar eruption more than 30 times the Earth's diameter. The eruption formed when a loop of a magnetic field over the surface of the Sun trapped hot gas.

6 Questions About the Sun Answered

Discover

Why Do We Eat Turkey on Thanksgiving?

Mayer Amschel Rothschild (1744-1855), founder of the house of Rothschild; lithograph by Friedrich Lieder, c. 1830.

Where Do Anti-Semitic Conspiracy Theories About the Rothschild Family Come From?

Super Typhoon Noru over the western tropical Pacific Ocean as observed by the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on NASA Aqua satellite July 31 2017

What Is the Difference Between a Typhoon and a Super Typhoon?

Title: Senate Square, St. Petersburg, December 14, 1825: repression of the troop mutiny - watercolor by Carl Ivanovitch Kollman, 1825 depicts Decembrist uprising clashing with cavalry, with spectators watching. (new style December 26, 1825) Europe. Saint

8 of the Largest Empires in History

Woman tied to a ducking stool, a method of punishment by means of humiliation, beating, or death. (cucking stool)

8 Unusual Punishments Inflicted on Women Throughout History

Los Angeles Police Department wanted flyer on Elizabeth Short, aka the "Black Dahlia," who was brutally murdered in January 1947. The FBI supported the Los Angeles Police Department in the case, including by identifying Short through her fingerprints that

America’s 5 Most Notorious Cold Cases (Including One You May Have Thought Was Already Solved)

Iraqi Army Soldiers from the 9th Mechanized Division learning to operate and maintain M1A1 Abrams Main Battle Tanks at Besmaya Combat Training Center, Baghdad, Iraq, 2011. Military training. Iraq war. U.S. Army

8 Deadliest Wars of the 21st Century

Arthur von Auwers

German astronomer

Also known as: Georg Friedrich Julius Arthur von Auwers

Written and fact-checked by The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica

Article History

Quick Facts

In full:: Georg Friedrich Julius Arthur von Auwers

Born:: September 12, 1838, Göttingen, Hanover [Germany]

Died:: January 24, 1915, Berlin, Germany (aged 76)

Also Known As:: Georg Friedrich Julius Arthur von Auwers

See all related content

Arthur von Auwers (born September 12, 1838, Göttingen, Hanover [Germany]—died January 24, 1915, Berlin, Germany) was a German astronomer known for his star catalogs.

After receiving a Ph.D. in astronomy (1862) from the University of Königsberg, Auwers joined the Gotha Observatory. He became astronomer (1866) at the Academy of Science in Berlin and from 1878 served as its permanent secretary. From 1881 to 1889 Auwers was president of the Astronomical Society. He also was elected to the French Académie des Sciences.

Auwers’s observations and calculations allowed him to develop extremely accurate star catalogs. As part of this process, Auwers researched solar and stellar parallaxes, making a new reduction of James Bradley’s observations and measurements of star distances. In addition, Auwers is remembered for his observations of double stars and particularly for accurately computing the orbits of the companion stars of Sirius and Procyon before improved telescopes made it possible to observe them.

Nicolaus Copernicus. Nicolas Copernicus (1473-1543) Polish astronomer. In 1543 he published, forward proof of a Heliocentric (sun centered) universe. Coloured stipple engraving published London 1802. De revolutionibus orbium coelestium libri vi.

Britannica Quiz

All About Astronomy

This article was most recently revised and updated by Encyclopaedia Britannica.