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Anton Karl Thraen (17 January 1843,Holungen,Province of Saxony – 18 February 1902,Dingelstädt) was a Germanastronomer and named twominor planets,442 Eichsfeldia and443 Photographica.
Thraen was born on 17 January 1843 in Holungen, in thePrussianProvince of Saxony, where he attended the elementary school at that time. In 1863, he completed his schooling inHeiligenstadt and went toWestfälische Wilhelms-Universität Münster (1863–66), and theUniversity of Paderborn (1866–68) and learned theology. Already in Munster, he also knew mathematical and astronomical lectures and helped at the observatory.
From 1883 up to his death, he worked as a minister in Dingelstädt. Here, he organised charitable collections for the development of the hospital and the parish church. By night he often observed the sky with histelescope, particularly working on the orbits ofcomets and minor planets, publishing his results in international technical periodicals.
Despite going blind in his left eye, this work was continued. He observed the short-period Comet III (Wolf) in 1884-85 with 950 observations and in 1891-92 with 681 observations, and calculated its orbit to forecast the third return. Thraen also discovered several new asteroids, which received the name "Eichsfeldia" and the name "Photographica" from Professor Wolf.
Thraen was honoured by thePrussian state in 1900 with the award of the Roten-Adlerordens, IV class. Only in 1902 at a conference inGöttingen did he become personally acquainted with many astronomers, with whom he had previously only been in contact with by post. In August of that year, he fell ill with incurable gastric trouble, and died on 18 December 1902.
Asteroid4098 Thraen, discovered by Dr. Börngen of theKarl Schwarzschild Observatory inTautenberg in 1987 is named for the Dingelstädter minister and astronomer. At his parents' house in Holungen in 1956, a plaque was attached in his memory. The city ofDingelstädt has a street named after Thraen.
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