Johann Palisa

Johann Palisa (December 6 1848–May 2 1925) was an Austrian astronomer, born in Troppau in Austrian Silesia (now in the Czech Republic).^[1]

Johann Palisa

He was a good finder of asteroids, finding 122 in all, from 136 Austria in 1874 to 1073 Gellivara in 1923. Some of the notable asteroids he found include 153 Hilda, 216 Kleopatra, 243 Ida, 253 Mathilde, 324 Bamberga, and the Amor asteroid 719 Albert.

The asteroid 914 Palisana and the Palisa crater on the Moon were named in his honour.

Early work

From 1866 to 1870, Palisa studied mathematics and astronomy at the University of Vienna; however, he did not graduate until 1884. Despite this, by 1870 he was an assistant at the University's observatory, and a year later gained a position at the observatory in Geneva. A few years later, in 1872, at the age of 24, Palisa became the leader of the Austrian Naval Observatory in Pola. While at Pola, he found his first asteroid, 136 Austria, on March 18, 1874. Along with this, he found twenty-seven minor planets and one comet. During his stay in Pola he used a small six-inch refractor telescope to aid in his research.

Family

Palisa named some of the asteroids after his family: (320) Katharina after his mother, Katherina,^[2] (321) Florentina after his daughter Florentine.^[3] His second wife is Anna.^[4]

Sources

1. Herbert Raab. "Johann Palisa, the most successful visual discoverer of asteroids" (PDF). Astrometrica. Archived from the original (PDF) on 28 September 2007. Retrieved 3 July 2016.
2. Schmadel, Lutz D. (2007). "(320) Katharina". Dictionary of Minor Planet Names – (320) Katharina. Springer Berlin Heidelberg. p. 42. doi:10.1007/978-3-540-29925-7_321. ISBN 978-3-540-00238-3. Retrieved December 20, 2018.
3. Schmadel, Lutz D. (2007). "(321) Florentina". Dictionary of Minor Planet Names – (321) Florentina. Springer Berlin Heidelberg. p. 42. doi:10.1007/978-3-540-29925-7_322. ISBN 978-3-540-00238-3. Retrieved December 20, 2018.
4. Schmadel, Lutz D. (2007). "(996) Hilaritas". Dictionary of Minor Planet Names – (996) Hilaritas. Springer Berlin Heidelberg. p. 86. doi:10.1007/978-3-540-29925-7_997. ISBN 978-3-540-00238-3. Retrieved December 20, 2018.

Obituaries

• (in German) von Hepperger, J. (November 1925). "Anzeige des Todes von Johann Palisa". Astronomische Nachrichten. 225 (7): 125–127. Bibcode:1925AN....225..125V. doi:10.1002/asna.19252250706.