Gottfried Adolf Kinau (4 January 1814 – 9 January 1888) was a German
Protestant
Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that emphasizes Justification (theology), justification of sinners Sola fide, through faith alone, the teaching that Salvation in Christianity, salvation comes by unmerited Grace in Christianity, divin ...
minister and
astronomer
An astronomer is a scientist in the field of astronomy who focuses on a specific question or field outside the scope of Earth. Astronomers observe astronomical objects, such as stars, planets, natural satellite, moons, comets and galaxy, galax ...
.
Born in
Aschersleben
Aschersleben () is a town in the Salzlandkreis district, in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. It is situated approximately 22 km east of Quedlinburg, and 45 km northwest of Halle (Saale).
Geography
Aschersleben lies near the confluence of the ...
into a family of ministers and teachers, Kinau studied theology in
Halle and
Magdeburg
Magdeburg (; ) is the Capital city, capital of the Germany, German States of Germany, state Saxony-Anhalt. The city is on the Elbe river.
Otto I, Holy Roman Emperor, Otto I, the first Holy Roman Emperor and founder of the Archbishopric of Mag ...
from 1833 to 1840. Until 1851, he had several appointments as teacher. Until 1861, he was minister in
Rohr in
Thuringia
Thuringia (; officially the Free State of Thuringia, ) is one of Germany, Germany's 16 States of Germany, states. With 2.1 million people, it is 12th-largest by population, and with 16,171 square kilometers, it is 11th-largest in area.
Er ...
. Until his death he was minister at the Kreuzkirche in
Suhl
Suhl () is a city in Thuringia, Germany, located SW of Erfurt, NE of Würzburg and N of Nuremberg. With its 37,000 inhabitants, it is the smallest of the six urban districts within Thuringia. Together with its northern neighbour-town Zella ...
, Thuringia. He had several offices in charity and school system.
Kinau was known as a
selenographer
Selenography is the study of the surface and physical features of the Moon (also known as geography of the Moon, or selenodesy). Like geography and areography, selenography is a subdiscipline within the field of planetary science. Historically, ...
, who had specialised in
lunar rills. In 1847 he discovered six lunar rilles and continued to make lunar drawings all his life. The
lunar crater
Lunar craters are impact craters on Earth's Moon. The Moon's surface has many craters, all of which were formed by impacts. The International Astronomical Union currently recognizes 9,137 craters, of which 1,675 have been dated.
History
The wo ...
Kinau is named after him.
References
* Kinau in "Wöchentliche Unterhaltungen für Dilettanten und Freunde der Astronomie, Geographie und Witterungskunde, herausgegeben von G.A. Jahn", 2ter Jahr., nr. 25 (1848), pp. 201-204
* J.C. Houzeau, A. Lancaster: "Bibliographie générale de l'astronomie jusqu'en 1880", Tome II, column 1247
* Olaf Kretzer: "Gottfried Adolf Kinau: Ein Pfarrer aus Suhl, verewigt auf dem Mond?" Sterne und Weltraum (Oktober/2005) S. 84 ff
* Gottfried Adolf Kinau, ''Zur Mondtopographie. In: Sirius. Zeitschrift für populäre Astronomie'', Band 10, Neue Serie, 1882, p. 19
* Gottfried Adolf Kinau, ''Zeichnung der Mondkrater Manzinus and Mutus'', Sirius Band 10, report #9, 1882, p. 217
* Olaf Kretzer, ''Gottfried Adolf Kinau: Ein Pfarrer aus Suhl, verewigt auf dem Mond?,'' Sterne und Weltraum, octobre 2005, p. 84
Robert A. Garfinkel, Bernd Pfeiffer, ''Discovery of the real person behind the name of the lunar crater Kinau'' Journal of the British Astronomical Association 117, 2007.
1814 births
1888 deaths
19th-century German astronomers
Martin Luther University of Halle-Wittenberg alumni
People from Aschersleben
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