astronomy

Placidus Fixlmillner

Placidus Fixlmillner 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 Placidus Fixlmillner rather than just read about it. In short: Placidus Fixlmillner (May 28, 1721 – August 27, 1791) was a Benedictine monk and priest, and was one of the first astronomers to compute the orbit of Uranus. Biography Born in the village of Achleuthen near Kremsmünster, Austria, Fixlmillner was educated in Salzburg, where he displayed an aptitude in mathematics.

Key takeaways

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

Reference excerpt

Placidus Fixlmillner (May 28, 1721 – August 27, 1791) was a Benedictine monk and priest, and was one of the first astronomers to compute the orbit of Uranus.

Biography Born in the village of Achleuthen near Kremsmünster, Austria, Fixlmillner was educated in Salzburg, where he displayed an aptitude in mathematics. At the age of 16, he joined the Benedictine monks of Kremsmünster Abbey, where his uncle was the abbot. In 1756, he published a small non-astronomical treatise entitled Reipublicæ sacræ origines divinæ, which was interrupted in 1761 when he returned to studying the transit of Venus. He was appointed director of an observatory at the abbey, which had been established by his uncle. He continued in charge of the observatory until his death. Outside astronomy, he was in charge of the college connected with the abbey and acted as professor of canon law. He was honoured by the Holy See with the office of Notary Apostolic of the Roman Court. He was one of the first to compute the orbit of Uranus after its discovery by Herschel. His numerous observations of Mercury were of much service to Lalande in constructing tables of that planet. Besides the treatise already mentioned he was the author of Meridianus speculæ astronomicæ cremifanensis (Steyer, 1765), which treats of his observations in connexion with the latitude and longitude of his observatory, and Decennium astronomicum (Steyer, 1776). After his death, his successor, Thaddäus Derflinger, published the Acta cremifanensia a Placido Fixlmillner (Steyer, 1791), which contain his observations from 1776 to 1791. He died at Kremsmünster on 27 August 1791.

See also List of Roman Catholic scientist-clerics

References

This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Herbermann, Charles, ed. (1913). "Placidus Fixlmillner". Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Robert Appleton Company.

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Placidus Fixlmillner

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Placidus Fixlmillner 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 Placidus Fixlmillner 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 Placidus Fixlmillner 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 Placidus Fixlmillner

In research: Placidus Fixlmillner 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 Placidus Fixlmillner 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: Placidus Fixlmillner is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics 1721 births, 1791 deaths, 18th-century Austrian Roman Catholic priests, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Placidus Fixlmillner 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 Placidus Fixlmillner in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Placidus Fixlmillner 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 Placidus Fixlmillner out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Placidus Fixlmillner in simple terms?

Placidus Fixlmillner (May 28, 1721 – August 27, 1791) was a Benedictine monk and priest, and was one of the first astronomers to compute the orbit of Uranus. Biography Born in the village of Achleuthen near Kremsmünster, Austria, Fixlmillner was educated in Salzburg, where he displayed an aptitude…

Why does Placidus Fixlmillner 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 Placidus Fixlmillner?

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 Placidus Fixlmillner.