Friedrich Wilhelm Bessel (; 22 July 1784 – 17 March 1846) was a German astronomer, mathematician, physicist and geodesist.
Leipzig 1984 . Kasimir Ławrynowicz: Friedrich Wilhelm Bessel, 1784–1846.
This in turn led to an interest in astronomy as a way of determining longitude. Bessel came to the attention of a major figure of German astronomy at the time, Heinrich Wilhelm Olbers, by producing a refinement on the orbital calculations for Halley's Comet in 1804, using old observation data taken from Thomas Harriot and Nathaniel Torporley in 1607. Two years later Bessel left Kulenkamp and became Johann Hieronymus Schröter's assistant at Lilienthal Observatory near Bremen.
There he worked on James Bradley's stellar observations to produce precise positions for some 3,222 stars. Despite lacking any higher education, especially at university, Bessel was appointed director of the newly founded Königsberg Observatory by King Frederick William III of Prussia in January 1810, at the age of 25.
On the recommendation of fellow mathematician and physicist Carl Friedrich Gauss (with whom he regularly corresponded) he was awarded an honorary doctor degree from the University of Göttingen in March 1811. Around that time, the two men engaged in an epistolary correspondence.
As a preliminary result he produced tables of atmospheric refraction that won him the Lalande Prize from the French Academy of Sciences in 1811.
The Königsberg Observatory began operation in 1813. Starting in 1819, Bessel determined the position of over 50,000 stars using a meridian circle from Reichenbach, assisted by some of his qualified students.
The Königsberg Observatory began operation in 1813. Starting in 1819, Bessel determined the position of over 50,000 stars using a meridian circle from Reichenbach, assisted by some of his qualified students.
In 1838 Bessel announced that 61 Cygni had a parallax of 0.314 arcseconds; which, given the diameter of the Earth's orbit, indicated that the star is 10.3 ly away.
His method simplified the calculation to such an extent, without sacrificing accuracy, that it is still in use today. Bessel's work in 1840 contributed to the discovery of Neptune in 1846 at Berlin Observatory, several months after Bessel's death.
Friedrich Wilhelm Bessel (; 22 July 1784 – 17 March 1846) was a German astronomer, mathematician, physicist and geodesist.
One of their sons was the renowned Egyptologist Adolf Erman. After several months of illness Bessel died in March 1846 at his observatory from retroperitoneal fibrosis. == Work == While the observatory was still in construction Bessel elaborated the Fundamenta Astronomiae based on Bradley's observations.
His method simplified the calculation to such an extent, without sacrificing accuracy, that it is still in use today. Bessel's work in 1840 contributed to the discovery of Neptune in 1846 at Berlin Observatory, several months after Bessel's death.
One unpublished new chart enabled Johann Gottfried Galle to find Neptune near the position calculated by LeVerrier in 1846. In the second decade of the 19th century while studying the dynamics of 'many-body' gravitational systems, Bessel developed what are now known as Bessel functions.
Leipzig 1876. == See also == Carlos Ibáñez e Ibáñez de Ibero – 1st president of the International Committee for Weights and Measures and president of the International Geodetic Association == References == John Frederick William Herschel, A brief notice of the life, researches, and discoveries of Friedrich Wilhelm Bessel, London: Barclay, 1847 (on-line) Jürgen Hamel: Friedrich Wilhelm Bessel.
Leipzig 1876. == See also == Carlos Ibáñez e Ibáñez de Ibero – 1st president of the International Committee for Weights and Measures and president of the International Geodetic Association == References == John Frederick William Herschel, A brief notice of the life, researches, and discoveries of Friedrich Wilhelm Bessel, London: Barclay, 1847 (on-line) Jürgen Hamel: Friedrich Wilhelm Bessel.
Leipzig 1984 . Kasimir Ławrynowicz: Friedrich Wilhelm Bessel, 1784–1846.
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