Karl Ludwig Hencke | |
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| Born | (1793-04-08)8 April 1793 Driesen, Brandenburg (nowDrezdenko, Poland) |
| Died | 21 September 1866(1866-09-21) (aged 73) Marienwerder, Prussia (nowKwidzyn) |
| Known for | discoveringminor planets |
Karl Ludwig Hencke (8 April 1793 – 21 September 1866) was a Germanamateur astronomer and discoverer ofminor planets. He is sometimes confused withJohann Franz Encke, anotherGerman astronomer.[1][2]
Hencke was born in Driesen,Brandenburg (nowDrezdenko, Poland). He volunteered in theWars of Liberation (Befreiungskriege) forPrussia but was wounded atLützen. Thereafter he served as post official at various places and finally was erected post master. After his retirement at age 45 for health reasons he lived in his city of birth where he served as city court judge.[2]
He discovered twoasteroids from his private observatory at #9, Kietz (now #43, Kietzerstraße), Driesen, by comparing star maps with the sky seen through his telescope. The first,5 Astraea, was the first asteroid discovered after the long gap that followed the last of the original four,4 Vesta, which was discovered already in 1807. Other astronomers had abandoned their searches for more asteroids, convinced that there were only four. However, Hencke began searching in 1830, and fifteen years later met with success.[3] Two years later he discovered his second asteroid6 Hebe. He also worked on the improvement of star maps.[2]
He died at the age of 73 in the Prussian town ofMarienwerder.[2] The asteroid2005 Hencke – a main-belt asteroid of theEunomia family, discovered by Swiss astronomerPaul Wild in 1973, was named in his memory (M.P.C. 4238).[1]
| 5 Astraea | 8 December 1845 |
| 6 Hebe | 1 July 1847 |
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