Johann Daniel Titius
Encyclopedia
Johann Daniel Titius was a German
astronomer
and a professor at Wittenberg
.
Titius was born in Konitz (Chojnice)
, Royal Prussia
, and died in Wittenberg. His original name was Johann Dietz, but as was customary in the 18th century, when he became a university professor, he Latinized his surname to Titius.
He is best known for formulating the Titius-Bode law
, and for using this rule to predict the existence of a celestial object at 2.8 AU
from the sun. This happened in 1766, when he inserted his observation on planetary distances into a German translation of Charles Bonnet's book Contemplation de la Nature. His suggestion that the object would necessarily be small was later superseded by the claim of Johann Elert Bode
for a planet
-like object, subsequently identified as being Ceres
. In part because of the Titius-Bode law, the first four minor planets were at first labeled full-fledged planets. After a fifteen-year hiatus, other minor planets started to be discovered at steadily increasing rates, and Ceres and company were eventually relabeled "minor planet
s" or "asteroid
s". Because of its spherical shape, Ceres was reclassified as a dwarf planet
in 2006.
The asteroid 1998 Titius
and the crater Titius
on the Moon
are named in his honour.
References: The Titius-Bode Law of Planetary Distances, by Michael Nieto (1972), Pergamon Press.
Introduction to Asteroids, by Clifford J. Cunningham (1988), Willmann-Bell Inc., Richmond, Virginia.
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
astronomer
Astronomer
An astronomer is a scientist who studies celestial bodies such as planets, stars and galaxies.Historically, astronomy was more concerned with the classification and description of phenomena in the sky, while astrophysics attempted to explain these phenomena and the differences between them using...
and a professor at Wittenberg
Wittenberg
Wittenberg, officially Lutherstadt Wittenberg, is a city in Germany in the Bundesland Saxony-Anhalt, on the river Elbe. It has a population of about 50,000....
.
Titius was born in Konitz (Chojnice)
Chojnice
Chojnice is a town in northern Poland with 39 670 inhabitants , near famous Tuchola Forest, Lake Charzykowskie and many other water reservoirs. It is the capital of the Chojnice County....
, Royal Prussia
Royal Prussia
Royal Prussia was a Region of the Kingdom of Poland and of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth . Polish Prussia included Pomerelia, Chełmno Land , Malbork Voivodeship , Gdańsk , Toruń , and Elbląg . It is distinguished from Ducal Prussia...
, and died in Wittenberg. His original name was Johann Dietz, but as was customary in the 18th century, when he became a university professor, he Latinized his surname to Titius.
He is best known for formulating the Titius-Bode law
Titius-Bode law
The Titius–Bode law is a hypothesis that the bodies in some orbital systems, including the Sun's, orbit at semi-major axes in a function of planetary sequence...
, and for using this rule to predict the existence of a celestial object at 2.8 AU
Astronomical unit
An astronomical unit is a unit of length equal to about or approximately the mean Earth–Sun distance....
from the sun. This happened in 1766, when he inserted his observation on planetary distances into a German translation of Charles Bonnet's book Contemplation de la Nature. His suggestion that the object would necessarily be small was later superseded by the claim of Johann Elert Bode
Johann Elert Bode
Johann Elert Bode was a German astronomer known for his reformulation and popularization of the Titius-Bode law. Bode determined the orbit of Uranus and suggested the planet's name.-Biography:...
for a planet
Planet
A planet is a celestial body orbiting a star or stellar remnant that is massive enough to be rounded by its own gravity, is not massive enough to cause thermonuclear fusion, and has cleared its neighbouring region of planetesimals.The term planet is ancient, with ties to history, science,...
-like object, subsequently identified as being Ceres
1 Ceres
Ceres, formally 1 Ceres, is the smallest identified dwarf planet in the Solar System and the only one in the asteroid belt. With a diameter of about 950 km, Ceres is by far the largest and most-massive asteroid, comprising about a third of the mass of the asteroid belt. Discovered on 1 January 1801...
. In part because of the Titius-Bode law, the first four minor planets were at first labeled full-fledged planets. After a fifteen-year hiatus, other minor planets started to be discovered at steadily increasing rates, and Ceres and company were eventually relabeled "minor planet
Minor planet
An asteroid group or minor-planet group is a population of minor planets that have a share broadly similar orbits. Members are generally unrelated to each other, unlike in an asteroid family, which often results from the break-up of a single asteroid...
s" or "asteroid
Asteroid
Asteroids are a class of small Solar System bodies in orbit around the Sun. They have also been called planetoids, especially the larger ones...
s". Because of its spherical shape, Ceres was reclassified as a dwarf planet
Dwarf planet
A dwarf planet, as defined by the International Astronomical Union , is a celestial body orbiting the Sun that is massive enough to be spherical as a result of its own gravity but has not cleared its neighboring region of planetesimals and is not a satellite...
in 2006.
The asteroid 1998 Titius
1998 Titius
1998 Titius is an asteroid. It is named after the German astronomer Johann Daniel Titius, best known for formulating the Titius-Bode law along with Johann Elert Bode....
and the crater Titius
Titius (crater)
Titius is a lunar crater that is located on the Moon's far side, beyond the eastern limb. It lies to the west of the Lacus Solitudinis, a small lunar mare...
on the Moon
Moon
The Moon is Earth's only known natural satellite,There are a number of near-Earth asteroids including 3753 Cruithne that are co-orbital with Earth: their orbits bring them close to Earth for periods of time but then alter in the long term . These are quasi-satellites and not true moons. For more...
are named in his honour.
References: The Titius-Bode Law of Planetary Distances, by Michael Nieto (1972), Pergamon Press.
Introduction to Asteroids, by Clifford J. Cunningham (1988), Willmann-Bell Inc., Richmond, Virginia.