astronomy

Otto Zacharias

Otto Zacharias is a astronomy topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Otto Zacharias rather than just read about it. In short: Emil Otto Zacharias (January 27, 1846, Leipzig – October 2, 1916, Kiel) was a German zoologist and plankton researcher, as well as popularizer of science and journalist. Life After a training as a mechanic, Otto Zacharias immersed himself autodidactically into the study of astronomy and studied in Leipzig, including mathematics, philosophy and zoology.

Key takeaways

Otto Zacharias belongs to astronomy; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Otto Zacharias to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Otto Zacharias from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Emil Otto Zacharias (January 27, 1846, Leipzig – October 2, 1916, Kiel) was a German zoologist and plankton researcher, as well as popularizer of science and journalist.

Life After a training as a mechanic, Otto Zacharias immersed himself autodidactically into the study of astronomy and studied in Leipzig, including mathematics, philosophy and zoology. For many years he worked as a tutor in Italy, where he devoted himself mainly to the popular science presenting complex issues of biology. Zacharias held a long correspondence with leading researchers and writers in Prussia and elsewhere, including Ernst Haeckel, Charles Darwin, Rudolf Virchow, Joseph Kürschner and Wilhelm Bölsche. In 1891, Zacharias was supported financially by the Prussian government and several private individuals to establish, on Großer Plöner See, the first "Biological Station" for limnology (freshwater research) based on German soil as a private research institute. The inspiration for this was the Stazione Zoologica founded in 1870 in Naples by Anton Dohrn, which was already highly recognized. Zacharias was an advocate of Darwinism. He supported the evolutionary ideas of Charles Darwin and Ernst Haeckel. In 1877, Zacharias came across a strange monstrosity at a marketplace, a pig with thumbs developed on both forelimbs. Intrigued about the possibility of atavism, he purchased the pig and sent one of the feet to Darwin to ask for his opinion. As the director Zacharias published research reports from 1893 on the activities at Plön station, which were recorded from 1905 in the Archives of Hydrobiology. In so-called "summer schools" Zacharias trained teachers and laity interested in working with the microscope. The Centre became known as the Max Planck Institute of Limnology. As of 2008 the Institute is no longer in the original building but still in Plön. It was renamed in April 2007 as part of the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Biology. Zacharias has a water mite Arrenurus zachariae Koenike, 1886 named after him.

Selected works Charles Darwin und die kulturhistorische Bedeutung seiner Theorie vom Ursprung der Arten. Berlin 1882. Über gelöste und ungelöste Probleme der Naturforschung. 2. Aufl. Leipzig 1891. Katechismus des Darwinismus. Leipzig 1891. Die Tier- und Pflanzenwelt des Süßwassers. 2 Bde. Leipzig 1891. Das Plankton. Leipzig 1907.

References

Further reading Andreas W. Daum, Wissenschaftspopularisierung im 19. Jahrhundert: Bürgerliche Kultur, naturwissenschaftliche Bildung und die deutsche Öffentlichkeit, 1848–1914. Munich: Oldenbourg, 1998, ISBN 3-486-56337-8, 2nd. ed. 2002. N. Wetzel, R. Nöthlich: Vom „Homo literatus“ zum „Self made man“ – Der Werdegang des Emil Otto Zacharias. In: Mauritiana, 19 (2006), Heft 3, p. 463–477. R. Nöthlich, N. Wetzel, U. Hoßfeld, L. Olsson: „Ich acquirirte das Schwein sofort, ließ nach dem Niederstechen die Pfoten abhacken u. schickte dieselben an Darwin“ - Der Briefwechsel von Otto Zacharias mit Ernst Haeckel (1874–1898). Annals of the History and Philosophy of Biology, 11 (2006), p. 177–248.

External links Das Plankton (1907) by Otto Zacharias (in German)

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Otto Zacharias

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Otto Zacharias claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In astronomy, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Otto Zacharias before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Otto Zacharias ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Otto Zacharias

In research: Otto Zacharias appears in astronomy research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Otto Zacharias in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Otto Zacharias is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics 1846 births, 1916 deaths, 19th-century German zoologists, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Otto Zacharias outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Otto Zacharias in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Otto Zacharias means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Otto Zacharias out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Otto Zacharias in simple terms?

Emil Otto Zacharias (January 27, 1846, Leipzig – October 2, 1916, Kiel) was a German zoologist and plankton researcher, as well as popularizer of science and journalist. Life After a training as a mechanic, Otto Zacharias immersed himself autodidactically into the study of astronomy and studied in…

Why does Otto Zacharias matter?

Because it connects several astronomy ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Otto Zacharias?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Otto Zacharias.