Hermann Goldschmidt
| Hermann Goldschmidt | |
|---|---|
| Born |
June 17, 1802 Frankfurt, Germany |
| Died | April 26, 1866 (aged 63) Fontainebleau, France |
| Known for | discovery of the asteroid Lutetia |
| Notable awards | Lalande Prize (1852, 1854, 1855, 1857, 1858, 1861) |
Hermann Mayer Salomon Goldschmidt (June 17, 1802 – April 26, 1866) was a German-French astronomer and painter who spent much of his life in France. He started out as a painter, but after attending a lecture by the famous French astronomer Urbain Le Verrier turned to astronomy. His discovery of the asteroid Lutetia in 1852 was followed by further findings and by 1861 Goldschmidt had discovered 14 asteroids. He received the Gold Medal of the Royal Astronomical Society in 1861 for having discovered more asteroids than any other person up to that time. He died from complications of diabetes.
Goldschmidt was born in Frankfurt as the son of a Jewish merchant. During a journey to the Netherlands, Goldschmidt visited Dutch picture galleries. The impression of this visit convinced him to become a painter. He studied art in Munich for several years under supervision of such famous painters as Peter von Cornelius and Julius Schnorr von Carolsfeld. To complete his education, in 1836 Goldschmidt went to Paris.
In 1820, Goldschmidt discovered shadow bands in total solar eclipses.
Several lectures on astronomy were planned for the occasion of the lunar eclipse of March 31, 1847. Urbain Le Verrier, discoverer of Neptune, held one in the Sorbonne. By pure chance, Goldshmidt attended this lecture, which awakened his interest in astronomy and led him to pursue it as a career.
Goldschmidt bought a telescope with the diameter of 23 lines (52 millimeters (2.0 in)) with the money he got from selling two portraits of Galileo he painted during a stay in Florence. Goldschmidt set up the telescope in his apartment on the sixth floor above the Café Procope. Very soon he started updating the Star charts he had with new stars. During this work he observed the same area several times and was able to detect variable stars and moving objects like planets. He discovered his first new planet (today classified as asteroid) on November 15, 1852. Goldschmidt confirmed his observations with the help of François Arago at the Paris Observatory on November 18. Arago suggested the name Lutetium, based on the Latin name of Paris Lutetia used during the Roman occupation. The discovery of the new planet was published on November 23.
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