Jürgen Hamel (born 6 June 1951) is a German astronomy historian. His research areas are the history of astronomy in the Middle Ages and the early modern period, the period around 1800, the history of astrophysics, astronomy and cultural history, and the history of astronomical instruments.
Life and career Hamel was born in Stralsund. After an apprenticeship as a vocational trainee with Abitur, he studied philosophy, history and education at the University of Leipzig and then worked as a university lecturer at the University of Rostock, where he obtained his doctorate in 1982 with a thesis on the early history of astrophysics. From 1978 to 1991, Hamel worked at the Archenhold Observatory as a student of Dieter B. Herrmann. In addition to his scientific work, he was involved in popularising astronomy, gave numerous lectures within the framework of the Gesellschaft zur Verbreitung wissenschaftlicher Kenntnisse and was active on the editorial board of the journal Astronomy and Astronautics published by the Cultural Association of the GDR. From 1990 onwards, Hamel was a contributor to the publication of the Collected Works of Nicolaus Copernicus and Johannes Kepler. In 1996, as part of a scholarship from the Gerda Henkel Foundation, he worked on The First German Translation of the Major Astronomical Work of Nicolaus Copernicus 1586. From 1998 to 2000, he worked at the Museum für Astronomie und Technikgeschichte in Kassel. For many years he lectured on the "History of Astronomy" and the "Introduction to Astronomy" at the University of Koblenz and Landau. On 17 May 2001, Hamel was elected member of the Leibniz-Sozietät der Wissenschaften zu Berlin. He is co-founder and co-editor of the publication series Acta Historica Astronomiae, editor-in-chief of the journal Astronomie + Raumfahrt im Unterricht as well as, since 2019, of the scientific yearbook for the history of Pomerania Baltic Studies.
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