Anders Donner (November 5, 1854 – April 15, 1938) was a

professor Professor (commonly abbreviated as Prof.) is an Academy, academic rank at university, universities and other tertiary education, post-secondary education and research institutions in most countries. Literally, ''professor'' derives from Latin ...

astronomy Astronomy is a natural science that studies celestial objects and the phenomena that occur in the cosmos. It uses mathematics, physics, and chemistry in order to explain their origin and their overall evolution. Objects of interest includ ...

at the

University of Helsinki The University of Helsinki (, ; UH) is a public university in Helsinki, Finland. The university was founded in Turku in 1640 as the Royal Academy of Åbo under the Swedish Empire, and moved to Helsinki in 1828 under the sponsorship of Alexander ...

observatory An observatory is a location used for observing terrestrial, marine, or celestial events. Astronomy, climatology/meteorology, geophysics, oceanography and volcanology are examples of disciplines for which observatories have been constructed. Th ...

between 1883 and 1915. Before that, he served as a docent of astronomy between 1881 and 1883. He was the rector of the university between 1911 and 1915 and acting chancellor 1917–1919 and 1921–1926. Under the leadership of Donner, the observatory participated in the international star directory and star map project "

Carte du Ciel The Carte du Ciel (; literally, 'Map of the Sky') and the Astrographic Catalogue (or Astrographic Chart) were two distinct but connected components of a massive international astronomical project, initiated in the late 19th century, to catalogue ...

". The star directory photograph work began in 1890 in Helsinki and it was ready in 1937. The Helsinki directory contains about 285,000 stars, their luminance and precise positions. Donner donated most of the work to the university. The crater Donner on the

far side of the Moon The far side of the Moon is the hemisphere of the Moon that is facing away from Earth, the opposite hemisphere is the near side. It always has the same surface oriented away from Earth because of synchronous rotation in the Moon's orbit. C ...

and the asteroid 1398 Donnera are named after him.

References

Finnish astronomers 19th-century astronomers from the Russian Empire Scientists from the Grand Duchy of Finland 1854 births 1938 deaths Scientists from Helsinki 19th-century astronomers Academic staff of the University of Helsinki Corresponding members of the Saint Petersburg Academy of Sciences Donner family Rectors of the University of Helsinki Chancellors of the University of Helsinki 20th-century Russian astronomers {{Europe-astronomer-stub

See also

References