Johann Elert Bode | |
|---|---|
 Bodec. 1800 | |
| Born | 19 January 1747 |
| Died | 23 November 1826(1826-11-23) (aged 79) |
| Known for | Titius–Bode law |
| Scientific career | |
| Fields | Astronomy |
| Doctoral advisor | Johann Georg Büsch |
| Doctoral students | Johann Pfaff |
Johann Elert Bode (German:[ˈboːdə]; 19 January 1747 – 23 November 1826) was a Germanastronomer known for his reformulation and popularisation of theTitius–Bode law. Bode determined theorbit ofUranus and suggested the planet's name.
Bode was born inHamburg. As a youth, he suffered from a serious eye disease that particularly damaged his right eye; he continued to have trouble with his eyes throughout his life.[1]
His early promise in mathematics brought him to the attention ofJohann Georg Büsch, who allowed Bode to use his own library for study.He began his career with the publication of a short work on the solar eclipse of 5 August 1766. This was followed by an elementary treatise on astronomy entitledAnleitung zur Kenntniss des gestirnten Himmels (1768, 10th ed. 1844), the success of which led to his being invited to Berlin byJohann Heinrich Lambert[2] in 1772 for the purpose of computingephemerides on an improved plan. There in 1774, he founded theAstronomisches Jahrbuch. He later compiled and issued 51 yearly volumes of it.[3]
He became director of theBerlin Observatory in 1786, from which he retired in 1825.[3]There he published theUranographia in 1801, a celestial atlas that aimed both at scientific accuracy in showing the positions ofstars and otherastronomical objects, as well as the artistic interpretation of the stellarconstellation figures. TheUranographia marks the climax of an epoch of artistic representation of the constellations. Later atlases showed fewer and fewer elaborate figures until they were no longer printed on such tables.
Bode also published another smallstar atlas, intended for astronomical amateurs (Vorstellung der Gestirne). He is credited with the discovery ofBode's Galaxy (M81). Comet Bode (C/1779 A1) is named after him; its orbit was calculated byErik Prosperin. Asteroid998 Bodea, discovered on 6 August 1923 byKarl Reinmuth at Heidelberg, was also christened in his honour, the letter 'a' added to its name to fulfil the convention that asteroids were given feminine names.
His name became attached to the 'law' discovered byJohann Daniel Titius in 1766. Bode first makes mention of it in theAnleitung zur Kenntniss des gestirnten Himmels in a footnote, and although it is often officially called theTitius–Bode law, it is also commonly just called Bode's law. This law attempts to explain the distances of the planets from the Sun in a formula although ironically it breaks down for the planetNeptune which was later discovered in Berlin. It was the discovery of Uranus at a position predicted by the law which aroused great interest in it. There was a gap (with no planet) between Mars and Jupiter, and Bode urged a search for a planet in this region which culminated in a group formed for this purpose, the so-called "celestial police". However before the group initiated a search, they were trumped by the discovery of the asteroidCeres byGiuseppe Piazzi fromPalermo in 1801, at Bode's predicted position.
Latterly, the law fell out of favour when it was realised that Ceres was only one of a small number of asteroids and when Neptune was found not to be in a position required by the law. The discovery of planets around other stars has brought the law back into discussion.
Bode himself was directly involved in research leading from the discovery of a planet – that of Uranus in 1781. Although Uranus was the first planet to be discovered by telescope, it is just about visible with thenaked eye. Bode consulted older star charts and found numerous examples of the planet's position being given while being mistaken for a star, for example, John Flamsteed,Astronomer Royal in Britain, had listed it in his catalogue of 1690 as a star with the name34 Tauri. These earlier sightings allowed an exact calculation of the orbit of the new planet.
Bode was also responsible for giving the new planet its name. The discovererWilliam Herschel proposed to name it afterGeorge III which was not accepted so readily in other countries. Bode opted for Uranus, with the apparent logic that just as Saturn was the father of Jupiter, the new planet should be named after the father of Saturn.[4][5] There were further alternatives proposed, but ultimately Bode's suggestion became the most widely used – however it had to wait until 1850 before gaining official acceptance in Britain when the Nautical Almanac Office switched from using the nameGeorgium Sidus toUranus.In 1789, Bode's Royal Academy colleagueMartin Klaproth was inspired by Bode's name for the planet to name his newly discovered element "uranit", then changed to "uranium" in order to conform with the names of other metals.[6]
From 1787 to 1825 Bode was director of theAstronomisches Rechen-Institut. In 1794, he was elected a foreign member of theRoyal Swedish Academy of Sciences. In April 1789 he was elected afellow of the Royal Society.[7]
Bode died in Berlin on 23 November 1826, aged 79.
His works were highly effective in diffusing throughout Germany a taste for astronomy.[3]
