Elis Strömgren facts for kids

Svante Elis Strömgren (born May 31, 1870 – died April 5, 1947) was an important astronomer from both Sweden and Denmark. He spent much of his life studying the stars and how things move in space.

Early Life and Education

Svante Strömgren was born in 1870 in a city called Helsingborg in Sweden. He was a very bright student. He went to Lund University and earned his highest degree, a doctorate, in 1898. After that, he started teaching at the university right away.

In 1901, he moved to Germany to work at the University of Kiel. He also helped publish a famous astronomy magazine called Astronomische Nachrichten for a few years.

A Career in Astronomy

Svante Strömgren became a Professor of Astronomy in 1907. He also became the director of the Copenhagen Observatory at the University of Copenhagen in Denmark. This was a very important job where he led many studies about space.

He was very interested in how planets and comets move. This field is called celestial mechanics. He studied where comets come from and how they travel through space. He wrote many papers about these topics.

One interesting project he worked on was helping with the calculations for Jens Olsen's World Clock. This is a very complex clock that shows many different times and astronomical events. He helped with this project after 1928.

Family and Legacy

Svante Strömgren was married to Hedvig Lidforss, who was a dentist and a writer. His son, Bengt Strömgren, also became a famous astronomer. Bengt even took over his father's job at the Copenhagen Observatory in 1940.

To honor Svante Strömgren's contributions to astronomy, a small planet was named after him. It is called 1422 Strömgrenia. He passed away in Copenhagen in 1947.