Arthur Auwers facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Arthur Auwers
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Arthur Auwers in 1884
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| Born | 12 September 1838 |
| Died | 24 January 1915 (aged 76) |
| Nationality | German |
| Scientific career | |
| Fields | Astronomy |
Georg Friedrich Julius Arthur von Auwers (born September 12, 1838 – died January 24, 1915) was a famous German astronomer. He was born in Göttingen. Arthur Auwers spent his life studying stars and their movements. He made very careful measurements of where stars were in the sky.
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Arthur Auwers: A Star Detective
Arthur Auwers went to the University of Göttingen. Later, he worked at the University of Königsberg. He became an expert in astrometry. This is the science of measuring exactly where stars are and how they move. He made super precise measurements of stars.
He was like a detective for stars! He figured out that some stars, like Sirius and Procyon, had hidden companion stars. He could tell they were there just by watching how the main star wobbled. This was amazing because telescopes back then weren't strong enough to see these tiny companion stars directly.
Measuring the Solar System
From 1866, Arthur Auwers worked as a Secretary for the Berlin Academy. He led special trips to observe the transits of Venus. A transit of Venus happens when the planet Venus passes directly in front of the Sun. From Earth, it looks like a small black dot moving across the Sun's face.
By carefully timing these transits from different places on Earth, scientists could figure out the exact distance from Earth to the Sun. Knowing this distance helped them calculate the size of our entire Solar System much more accurately.
Mapping the Sky
Arthur Auwers was also very interested in creating better maps of the night sky. He started a big project to combine all the existing sky charts into one complete map. This idea began when he published his own list of nebulae (clouds of gas and dust in space) in 1862. He wanted to make sure everyone had the best possible information about where everything was in space.
Arthur Auwers passed away in Berlin.
Honors and Awards
Arthur Auwers received many important awards for his amazing work in astronomy.
- He became an Honorary Member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 1880.
- He won the prestigious Gold Medal of the Royal Astronomical Society in 1888.
- He received the James Craig Watson Medal in 1891.
- He was given the Pour le Mérite (a high German honor) in 1892.
- He won the Bruce Medal in 1899.
- A crater on the Moon is named after him. It is called Auwers.
