Heinrich Olbers, German Physician and Astronomer
Image details
Contributor:
Science History Images / Alamy Stock PhotoImage ID:
HRNR6DFile size:
30.3 MB (993.8 KB Compressed download)Releases:
Model - no | Property - noDo I need a release?Dimensions:
2850 x 3721 px | 24.1 x 31.5 cm | 9.5 x 12.4 inches | 300dpiPhotographer:
Photo ResearchersMore information:
This image could have imperfections as it’s either historical or reportage.
Heinrich Wilhelm Matthias Olbers (October 11, 1758 - March 2, 1840) was a German physician and astronomer. Olbers studied to be a physician, graduated in 1780 and began his practice, butiat night he dedicated his time to astronomical observation. He made the upper story of his home into an observatory and devised the first satisfactory method of calculating cometary orbits. In 1802, he discovered and named the asteroid Pallas. In 1807, he discovered the asteroid Vesta, which he allowed Carl Friedrich Gauss to name. In 1815, he discovered a periodic comet, now named after him (formally designated 13P/Olbers). Olbers' paradox, described by him in 1823, states that the darkness of the night sky conflicts with the supposition of an infinite and eternal static universe. He died in 1840 at the age of 81.