Reinmuth KarlDied 6 May 1979 at age 87 (born 4 Apr 1892).Karl Wilhelm Reinmuth was a German astronomer, the world's foremost asteroid hunter before automated search techniques. His discoveries (1914-1957) of 389 such minor planets include some of the first found outside of the Solar System's asteroid belt. His Ph.D. thesis was 'Photographische Positionsbestimmung von 356 Schultzschen Nebelflecken' (Photographic Location of 356 Schultz's Nebulae, 1916). He had started a few years earlier, in 1912, volunteering his time to assist Maximillian Wolf, director at the Königstuhl Observatory, Heidelberg. He learned how to study photographic plates to find asteroids, from Wolf, the first astronomer to utilize such technique. On 15 Oct 1914, the minor planet (796) Sarita was the first Reinmuth identified. In 1937, he named Hermes, the asteroid which made the closest then known approach to Earth.« |
