Eduard Schönfeld (22 December 1828 – 1 May 1891) was a Germanastronomer.
Schönfeld was born atHildburghausen, in the Duchy ofSaxe-Meiningen, where he had a distinguished career at thegymnasium. On leaving the gymnasium, he desired to devote himself to astronomy, but abandoned the idea in deference to his father's wishes. He went first toHanover, and afterwards toKassel to studyarchitecture, for which he seems to have had little inclination. 1849 found him studyingchemistry underBunsen atMarburg, where his love for astronomy was revived byGerling's lectures.[1]
In 1851, he visited theBonn Observatory and studied astronomy underFriedrich Wilhelm Argelander. In 1853, he was appointed assistant, and in the following year won a doctor's degree with his treatiseNova elementa Thetidis. At Bonn he took an important part in preparing theDurchmusterung of the northern heavens. He took up the investigation of the light-changes invariable stars, devoting to this work nights which, on account ofmoonlight, were unsuitable for zone observations. The results of these researches were published in theSitz. Berich. Wien. Akad. vol. xlii.[1]
For a short time he was aPrivatdozent at Bonn, but in 1859 he was appointed director of theMannheim Observatory. The instrumental equipment of that observatory was somewhat antiquated, his largest telescope being a smallrefractor of 73 linesaperture, but he selected a line of work to suit the instruments at his disposal, observingnebulae and variable stars and keeping a watch oncomets and newplanets. The results of his observations of nebulae are contained in two catalogues published in theAstronomische Beobachtungen der Grossherzoglichen Sternwarte zu Mannheim, 1st and 2nd parts (1862 and 1875), and those of his variable star observations appeared in theJahresberichte des Mannheimer Vereins für Naturkunde, Nos. 32 and 39 (1866 and 1875).[1]
On the death of Argelander, which occurred on 17 February 1875, Schönfeld was appointed to succeed him as director of the Bonn Observatory, and soon after his appointment he began his last and greatest piece of work, the extension, on Argelander's plan, of the survey of the heavens down to 23 degrees of southdeclination. The experience gained on the northern survey under Argelander's direction enabled Schönfeld to introduce some improvements in the methods employed, which increased the accuracy of this work, which was practically accomplished in March 1881, some revision only remaining to be done. These zone observations afforded 363,932 separate places of stars, and form the groundwork of the catalogue of 133,659 stars between 2 and 23 degrees south declination, which was published in 1886 as the eighth volume of the Bonn observations.[1]
Schönfeld was a member of theAstronomische Gesellschaft from its foundation in 1863, being a member of council up to 1869, and in 1875 becoming editor of its publications and secretary in conjunction withWinnecke. In 1878 he was elected a Foreign Associate of theRoyal Astronomical Society.[1]
Minor planet5926 Schönfeld is named in his honor.
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This article incorporates text from a publication now in thepublic domain: Rambaut, Arthur Alcock (1911). "Schönfeld, Eduard". InChisholm, Hugh (ed.).Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 24 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 258.| International | |
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