Joseph Johann Littrow
Encyclopedia
Joseph Johann von Littrow (March 13, 1781, Horšovský Týn
– November 30, 1840, Vienna) was an Austria
n astronomer
. In 1837, he was ennobled with the title Joseph Johann Edler von Littrow. He was the father of Karl Ludwig Edler von Littrow
and the mentor of the mathematician
Nikolai Brashman
. His work took him to Russia for a time, which is where his son who succeeded him was born.
He became director of the Vienna Observatory
in 1819. He served in this position until his death in 1840. He created the only conformal retroazimuthal map projection
, which is known as the Littrow projection
.
Von Littrow is often associated with a proposal to dig a large circular canal in the Sahara desert and fill it with burning kerosene, thus communicating the fact of human intelligence to aliens who may be observing earth. However, Von Littrow's connection with this scheme may be apocryphal.
The crater Littrow
on the Moon
is named in his honour.
Horšovský Týn
Horšovský Týn is a town in the Plzeň Region of the Czech Republic. It lies on the River Radbuza, some south-west of the region capital Plzeň.- History :...
– November 30, 1840, Vienna) was an Austria
Austria
Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...
n 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...
. In 1837, he was ennobled with the title Joseph Johann Edler von Littrow. He was the father of Karl Ludwig Edler von Littrow
Karl L. Littrow
Karl Ludwig Edler von Littrow was an Austrian astronomer.Born in Kazan, Russian Empire, son of Joseph Johann Littrow. He succeeded his father as director of the Vienna Observatory...
and the mentor of the mathematician
Mathematician
A mathematician is a person whose primary area of study is the field of mathematics. Mathematicians are concerned with quantity, structure, space, and change....
Nikolai Brashman
Nikolai Brashman
Nikolai Dmitrievich Brashman was a Russian mathematician of Austrian origin. He was a student of Joseph Johann Littrow, and the advisor of Pafnuty Chebyshev....
. His work took him to Russia for a time, which is where his son who succeeded him was born.
He became director of the Vienna Observatory
Vienna Observatory
Universitäts-Sternwarte Wien is an astronomical observatory in Vienna, Austria. It is part of the University of Vienna. The first observatory was built in 1753–1754 on the roof of one of the university buildings....
in 1819. He served in this position until his death in 1840. He created the only conformal retroazimuthal map projection
Map projection
A map projection is any method of representing the surface of a sphere or other three-dimensional body on a plane. Map projections are necessary for creating maps. All map projections distort the surface in some fashion...
, which is known as the Littrow projection
Littrow projection
The Littrow projection is the only conformal retroazimuthal map projection. A retroazimuthal projection is one in which the direction to a fixed location B corresponds to the direction on the map from A to B.The Littrow projection allows direct measurement of the azimuth from any point on the...
.
Von Littrow is often associated with a proposal to dig a large circular canal in the Sahara desert and fill it with burning kerosene, thus communicating the fact of human intelligence to aliens who may be observing earth. However, Von Littrow's connection with this scheme may be apocryphal.
The crater Littrow
Littrow (crater)
Littrow is a lunar crater that is located in the northeastern part of the Moon's near side, on the east edge of Mare Serenitatis. Some distance to the northeast is the prominent crater Römer, while to the south is Vitruvius....
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...
is named in his honour.
Timeline
- 1799 Entered Charles University
- 1802 Graduated in jurisprudence and theology
- 1803 Became the private tutor of count J. Renard in SilesiaSilesiaSilesia is a historical region of Central Europe located mostly in Poland, with smaller parts also in the Czech Republic, and Germany.Silesia is rich in mineral and natural resources, and includes several important industrial areas. Silesia's largest city and historical capital is Wrocław...
- 1807 Appointed professor of astronomy Krakau UniversityJagiellonian UniversityThe Jagiellonian University was established in 1364 by Casimir III the Great in Kazimierz . It is the oldest university in Poland, the second oldest university in Central Europe and one of the oldest universities in the world....
- 1810 Established the observatory at Kazan University
- 1816 Became co-director of the observatory at Ofen (BudaBudaFor detailed information see: History of Buda CastleBuda is the western part of the Hungarian capital Budapest on the west bank of the Danube. The name Buda takes its name from the name of Bleda the Hun ruler, whose name is also Buda in Hungarian.Buda comprises about one-third of Budapest's...
) - 1819 Appointed professor of astronomy at the University of ViennaUniversity of ViennaThe University of Vienna is a public university located in Vienna, Austria. It was founded by Duke Rudolph IV in 1365 and is the oldest university in the German-speaking world...
and became director of the first university observatory Vienna, which he reorganized completely
External links
- Atlas des Gestirnten Himmels, published in Stuttgart in 1839. - Full digital facsimile, Linda Hall Library
- Atlas des gestirnten himmels, Stuttgart 1854 da www.atlascoelestis.com