Wilhelm Tempel

Summary

Ernst Wilhelm Leberecht Tempel (4 December 1821 – 16 March 1889), normally known as Wilhelm Tempel, was a German astronomer who worked in Marseille until the outbreak of the Franco-Prussian War in 1870, then later moved to Italy.[2]

Wilhelm Tempel
Asteroids discovered: 5 [1]
64 Angelina 4 March 1861
65 Cybele 8 March 1861
74 Galatea 29 August 1862
81 Terpsichore 30 September 1864
97 Klotho 17 February 1868

Tempel was born at Niedercunnersdorf, Saxony. He was a prolific discoverer of comets, discovering or co-discovering 21 in all, including Comet 55P/Tempel-Tuttle, now known to be the parent body of the Leonid meteor shower, and 9P/Tempel, the target of the NASA probe Deep Impact in 2005. Other periodic comets that bear his name include 10P/Tempel and 11P/Tempel-Swift-LINEAR.

In 1861, he was awarded the Lalande Prize. He won the Prix Valz for the year 1880.[3] The main-belt asteroid 3808 Tempel and the lunar crater Tempel are named after him.[4]

References edit

  1. ^ "Minor Planet Discoverers (by number)". Minor Planet Center. 22 June 2016. Retrieved 5 July 2016.
  2. ^ Wilhelm Tempel - Catholic Encyclopedia article
  3. ^ "Prix Valz". Comptes rendus hebdomadaires des séances de l'Académie des sciences. Vol. Tomes XCII à CXXI, 3 Janvier 1881 à 30 Décembre 1895. Paris: Gauthier-Villars. 1900. p. 1574.
  4. ^ Schmadel, Lutz D. (2007). "(3808) Tempel". Dictionary of Minor Planet Names – (3808) Tempel. Springer Berlin Heidelberg. p. 322. doi:10.1007/978-3-540-29925-7_3801. ISBN 978-3-540-00238-3.

External links edit

  • Bianchi, S.; Gasperini, A.; Galli, D.; Palla, F.; Brenni, P.; Giatti, A. (2010). "Wilhelm Tempel and his 10.8-cm Steinheil Telescope" (PDF). Journal of Astronomical History and Heritage. 13 (1): 43–58. Bibcode:2010JAHH...13...43B. ISSN 1440-2807. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2016-03-04. Retrieved 2015-08-10.
  • John Dreyer (1890). "Obituary". Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society. 50 (4): 179–182. Bibcode:1890MNRAS..50..179.. doi:10.1093/mnras/50.4.179.
  • W. Tempel @ Astrophysics Data System