astronomy

Wilhelm Klinkerfues

Wilhelm Klinkerfues 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 Klinkerfues rather than just read about it. In short: Ernst Friedrich Wilhelm Klinkerfues (29 March 1827 in Hofgeismar – 28 January 1884 in Göttingen) was a German astronomer and meteorologist. He discovered six comets and published weather reports of varying accuracy based on his meteorological measurements.

Key takeaways

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Reference excerpt

Ernst Friedrich Wilhelm Klinkerfues (29 March 1827 in Hofgeismar – 28 January 1884 in Göttingen) was a German astronomer and meteorologist. He discovered six comets and published weather reports of varying accuracy based on his meteorological measurements.

Early life Klinkerfues was born in Hofgeismar, the son of army doctor Johann Reinhard Klinkerfues and his wife Sabine (née Dedolph). After the early death of his parents, he was brought up by relatives, and after attending high school qualified as a surveyor in Kassel. In this capacity he subsequently worked on the new Frankfurt - Kassel railway. From 1847 to 1851 Klinkerfues studied mathematics and astronomy at the University of Marburg. He then became an assistant to Carl Friedrich Gauss at Göttingen Observatory, where he completed his Ph.D. with a thesis on orbit calculations of double stars. After Gauss's death in 1855, the mathematician W. E. Weber replaced him as director, but Klinkerfues was to be temporarily responsible for the observatory from 1861.

Career Klinkerfues discovered 6 comets, and in 1860 led an expedition to Spain to observe a solar eclipse. He was finally appointed "director for practical astronomy" at Göttingen in 1868. However, the role of Klinkerfues's section of the observatory was solely to deal with practical work, the theoretical work being placed in the hands of Ernst Schering. Klinkerfues was, like his predecessor, allowed to live in the eastern wing of the observatory, but the division of the observatory's organisation between the two teams was to be a source of constant conflict. In his 1871 book Theoretische Astronomie Klinkerfues described how the orbits of celestial bodies in the Solar System could be calculated. In the same period he compiled a catalogue of around 6900 observed stars. Klinkerfues also had an abiding interest in meteorology, developing a hygrometer, patented in 1877, that was later manufactured in Göttingen by Wilhelm Lambrecht. His weather forecasts, published in newspapers, proved to be often incorrect, which led to them cruelly parodying his last name as "Flunkerkies". Undeterred by this criticism, he published a book on the hygrometer's use in 1875, and developed a detonator for use in Göttingen's gas street lighting. He also continued to supervise doctoral students, one of whom was Hermann Kobold. Klinkerfues was plagued by debt for much of his life, exacerbated by ill-advised business ventures. He attempted to persevere with his astronomical work, in the course of which, as his obituary in the Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society noted, he published many papers that were "singularly readable, and often contained the most original and suggestive ideas. Occasionally, indeed, they were altogether of a quaintly humorous character, introducing, for instance, the alleged wonderful discoveries of an imaginary Professor Monkhouse". Nevertheless, he continued to encounter problems with professional advancement:

"It would be useless and almost impossible to attempt to describe how the warm-hearted and genial astronomer failed to take that position amongst his colleagues to which his undoubtedly great natural talents entitled him. His extreme carelessness in late years in his outward appearances was certainly much against him, but the unflagging zeal with which he delivered a whole course of lectures, if need were, even to a single student, ought to have told in his favour, as to some extent it doubtless did." In 1881 he published Tobias Mayer's grössere Mondkarte nebst Detailzeichnungen, a large Moon map and set of drawings by Tobias Mayer that had gathered dust in the observatory library for 130 years.

Death He shot himself on 28 January 1884.

Honors The asteroid 112328 Klinkerfues is named in his honour, as were 6 non-periodic comets:

C/1853 L1 (a.k.a. 1853 III) C/1854 L1 (a.k.a. 1854 III) C/1854 R1 (a.k.a. 1854 IV) C/1857 M1 (a.k.a. 1857 III) C/1857 Q1 (a.k.a. 1857 V) C/1863 G1 (a.k.a. 1863 II)

Works Theoretische Astronomie, 1871, 1899, Theorie des Bifilar-Hygrometers, 1875 Prinzipien der Spektralanalyse, 1879

References

Sources Siegmund Günther: Klinkerfues, Wilhelm. In: Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie (ADB). Bd. 51, Duncker & Humblot, Leipzig 1906, S. 231–233. H. Michling: Im Schatten des Titanen – das tragische Leben des Astronomen Klinkerfues. Teile I bis IV. Göttinger Monatsblätter, März–Juni 1975

External links AN 108 (1884) 65/66 (in German) MNRAS 45 (1885) 203 Obs 7 (1884) 117 Portrait of Ernst Friedrich Wilhelm Klinkerfuss from the Lick Observatory Records Digital Archive, UC Santa Cruz Library's Digital Collections

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Wilhelm Klinkerfues

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Wilhelm Klinkerfues 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 Klinkerfues 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 Klinkerfues 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 Klinkerfues

In research: Wilhelm Klinkerfues 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 Klinkerfues 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 Klinkerfues is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics 1827 births, 1884 deaths, 19th-century German astronomers, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Wilhelm Klinkerfues 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 Klinkerfues in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Wilhelm Klinkerfues 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.
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Frequently asked questions

What is Wilhelm Klinkerfues in simple terms?

Why does Wilhelm Klinkerfues 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 Klinkerfues?

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 Klinkerfues.