astronomy

Wilhelm Gotthelf Lohrmann

Wilhelm Gotthelf Lohrmann 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 Wilhelm Gotthelf Lohrmann rather than just read about it. In short: Wilhelm Gotthelf Lohrmann (31 January 1796 – 20 February 1840) was a Saxon cartographer, astronomer, meteorologist and patron of the sciences. He was born in Dresden, the son of a brickmaster.

Key takeaways

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

Reference excerpt

Wilhelm Gotthelf Lohrmann (31 January 1796 – 20 February 1840) was a Saxon cartographer, astronomer, meteorologist and patron of the sciences. He was born in Dresden, the son of a brickmaster. In 1810 he attended school at the Pfeilschmidtschen Garnisonsschule, then studied architecture. His mother died in 1812, his father in 1817, and his first wife Christiane Amalie died in 1827. The couple had married in 1819, and she had borne six children. Wilhelm would marry again in 1828 to Henriette. In 1821 he made observations of the Moon, enabling him to produce a Mondkärtchen (lunar map). This map was further developed in 1824 as Topographie der sichtbaren Mondoberfläche ("Topography of the visible surface of the moon"), and the four sections are now stored as a historical work at the Technische Universität Dresden library. His maps were completed in 1836, but were not published before his death. In 1878, Johann Schmidt edited and published all 25 sections of the map as Mondkarte in 25 Sektionen. These were republished in 1963. The maps used orthographic projection of the surface as viewed at mean libration. He was responsible for the founding of the Technische Bildungsanstalt Dresden (Dresden Technical School) on May 1, 1828, and was the first director of that institution. The Lohrmann Observatory is named after him. Wilhelm's instrument would later be used by Samuel Heinrich Schwabe for his observations of the Sun and sunspots. The asteroid 4680 Lohrmann was named after him, as was the crater Lohrmann on the Moon.

References Lohrmann, WG, "Topographie der Sichtbaren Mondoberflache", Dresden-Leipzig, 1824. Lohrmann, Wilhelm Gotthelf; Schmidt, Johann Friedrich Julius; Ahnert, Paul, "Mondkarte in 25 Sektionen", Leipzig, J. A. Barth, 1963. Birmingham, J., "Review (Lohrmann's Lunar Map)", Astronomical Register, vol. 16, 1878.

External links Über Lohrmann

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Wilhelm Gotthelf Lohrmann

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Wilhelm Gotthelf Lohrmann 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 Wilhelm Gotthelf Lohrmann 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 Wilhelm Gotthelf Lohrmann 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 Wilhelm Gotthelf Lohrmann

In research: Wilhelm Gotthelf Lohrmann 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 Wilhelm Gotthelf Lohrmann 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: Wilhelm Gotthelf Lohrmann is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics 1796 births, 1840 deaths, 19th-century German astronomers, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Wilhelm Gotthelf Lohrmann 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 Wilhelm Gotthelf Lohrmann in 20 minutes

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

Frequently asked questions

What is Wilhelm Gotthelf Lohrmann in simple terms?

Wilhelm Gotthelf Lohrmann (31 January 1796 – 20 February 1840) was a Saxon cartographer, astronomer, meteorologist and patron of the sciences. He was born in Dresden, the son of a brickmaster.

Why does Wilhelm Gotthelf Lohrmann 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 Wilhelm Gotthelf Lohrmann?

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 Wilhelm Gotthelf Lohrmann.