__NOTOC__

The ''Astronomische Gesellschaft'' is an

astronomical society A list of notable groups devoted to promoting astronomy research and education. International * Astronomers for Planet Earth (A4E) * Astronomers Without Borders (AWB) *International Astronomical Union (IAU) *International Meteor Organization * Ne ...

established in 1863 in

Heidelberg Heidelberg (; ; ) is the List of cities in Baden-Württemberg by population, fifth-largest city in the States of Germany, German state of Baden-Württemberg, and with a population of about 163,000, of which roughly a quarter consists of studen ...

, the second oldest astronomical society after the

Royal Astronomical Society The Royal Astronomical Society (RAS) is a learned society and charitable organisation, charity that encourages and promotes the study of astronomy, planetary science, solar-system science, geophysics and closely related branches of science. Its ...

History

In 1882, the ''Astronomische Gesellschaft'' founded the

Central Bureau for Astronomical Telegrams The Central Bureau for Astronomical Telegrams (CBAT) is an official international clearing house for information relating to transient astronomical events. The CBAT collects and distributes information on comets, natural satellites, novae, mete ...

Kiel Kiel ( ; ) is the capital and most populous city in the northern Germany, German state of Schleswig-Holstein. With a population of around 250,000, it is Germany's largest city on the Baltic Sea. It is located on the Kieler Förde inlet of the Ba ...

, where it remained until during

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

when it was moved to the

Østervold Observatory Østervold Observatory (or Copenhagen University Observatory; ) is a former astronomical observatory ( IAU code 035) in Copenhagen, Denmark owned and operated by the University of Copenhagen (Københavns Universitet). It opened in 1861 as a repla ...

Copenhagen Copenhagen ( ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a population of 1.4 million in the Urban area of Copenhagen, urban area. The city is situated on the islands of Zealand and Amager, separated from Malmö, Sweden, by the ...

, Denmark, to be operated there by the

Copenhagen University Observatory Copenhagen ( ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a population of 1.4 million in the Urban area of Copenhagen, urban area. The city is situated on the islands of Zealand and Amager, separated from Malmö, Sweden, by the ...

. Around the turn of the 20th century the A.G. initiated the most important star catalog of this time, the ''

Astronomische Gesellschaft Katalog The ''Astronomische Gesellschaft Katalog'' (AGK) is an astrometric star catalogue of the Northern hemisphere. It was published in 3 versions from 1890 until 1975, named AGK1, AGK2 and AGK3. History Compilation for the first version, Astronomische ...

'' (AGK). The assembly in Danzig (now

Gdańsk Gdańsk is a city on the Baltic Sea, Baltic coast of northern Poland, and the capital of the Pomeranian Voivodeship. With a population of 486,492, Data for territorial unit 2261000. it is Poland's sixth-largest city and principal seaport. Gdań ...

) in August 1939 was the last until a meeting at

Göttingen Göttingen (, ; ; ) is a college town, university city in Lower Saxony, central Germany, the Capital (political), capital of Göttingen (district), the eponymous district. The River Leine runs through it. According to the 2022 German census, t ...

in 1947, when it was re-commenced as ''Astronomische Gesellschaft in der Britischen Zone''. The post-war editorial board consisted of Chairman

Albrecht Unsöld Albrecht Otto Johannes Unsöld (20 April 1905 – 23 September 1995) was a German astrophysicist known for his contributions to spectroscopic analysis of stellar atmospheres. Career Albrecht Unsöld was born in Bolheim, Württemberg, Germany. ...

(Kiel), Otto Heckmann, J. Larink, B. Straßl, Paul ten Bruggencate, and also Max Beyer representing the amateurs of the society.

Presidents

* 1863–1864: Julius Zech * 1864–1867:

Friedrich Wilhelm Argelander Friedrich Wilhelm August Argelander (22 March 1799 – 17 February 1875) was a German astronomer. He is known for his determinations of stellar brightnesses, positions, and distances. Life and work Argelander was born in Memel in the Kingd ...

* 1867–1878:

Otto Wilhelm von Struve Otto Wilhelm von Struve (May 7, 1819 (Julian calendar: April 25) – April 14, 1905) was a Russian astronomer of Baltic German origins. In Russian, his name is normally given as Otto Vasil'evich Struve (Отто Васильевич Струве). ...

* 1878–1881:

Adalbert Krueger Karl Nikolaus Adalbert Krueger (9 December 1832 – 21 April 1896) was a German astronomer. Born in Marienburg, Prussia (now Malbork, Poland), he was editor of ''Astronomische Nachrichten ''from 1881 until his death. Krueger died of a heart cond ...

* 1881–1889: Arthur Auwers * 1889–1896: Hugo Gyldén * 1896–1921:

Hugo von Seeliger Hugo von Seeliger (23 September 1849 – 2 December 1924), also known as Hugo Hans Ritter von Seeliger, was a German astronomer, often considered the most important astronomer of his day. Biography He was born in Biala, completed high school in ...

* 1921–1930: Svante Elis Strömgren * 1930–1932:

Max Wolf Maximilian Franz Joseph Cornelius Wolf (21 June 1863 – 3 October 1932) was a German astronomer and a pioneer in the field of astrophotography. He was the chairman of astronomy at the University of Heidelberg and director of the Heidelberg-K� ...

* 1932–1939: Hans Ludendorff * 1939–1945:

August Kopff August Kopff (February 5, 1882 – April 25, 1960) was a German astronomer and discoverer of several comets and asteroids. Kopff studied and worked in Heidelberg, getting his PhD there in 1906 and he then joined the Humboldt University of Berli ...

* 1945–1947: ''vacant'' * 1947–1949:

* 1949–1952: Friedrich Becker * 1952–1957: Otto Heckmann * 1957–1960: Paul ten Bruggencate * 1960–1966: Hans Haffner * 1966–1969: Rudolf Kippenhahn * 1969–1972: Walter Fricke * 1972–1975:

Hans-Heinrich Voigt Hans-Heinrich Voigt (18 April 1921 – 17 November 2017) was a German astronomer and director of the Göttingen Observatory. Voigt was ordinary professor of astronomy at the University of Göttingen and directed the Göttingen Observatory from 1 ...

* 1975–1978: Wolfgang Priester * 1978–1981: Theodor Schmidt-Kaler * 1981–1984: Gustav Andreas Tammann * 1984–1987: Michael Grewing * 1987–1990: Egon Horst Schröter * 1990–1993: Wolfgang Hillebrandt * 1993–1996: Hanns Ruder * 1996–1999: Werner Pfau * 1999–2002: Erwin Sedlmayr * 2002–2005: Joachim Krautter * 2005–2008: Gerhard Hensler * 2008–2011: Ralf-Jürgen Dettmar * 2011–2014: Andreas Burkert * 2014–2017: Matthias Steinmetz * 2017–2020: Joachim Wambsganß * since 2020: Michael Kramer

Honorary members

With dates of appointment: *

(1989) * Wilhelm Becker (1992) * Erich Kirste (1992) *

Martin Schwarzschild Martin Schwarzschild (May 31, 1912 – April 10, 1997) was a German-American astrophysicist. The Schwarzschild criterion, for the stability of stellar gas against convention, is named after him. Biography Schwarzschild was born in Potsdam ...

(1993) *

Reimar Lüst Reimar Lüst (; 25 March 1923 – 31 March 2020) was a German astrophysicist. He worked in European space science from its beginning, as the scientific director of the European Space Research Organisation (ESRO) from 1962 and as Director Genera ...

(1998) *

(2007) *

Klaus Tschira Klaus Tschira (7 December 1940 – 31 March 2015) was a German billionaire entrepreneur and the co-founder of the German software company SAP AG. Life After gaining his Diplom in physics and working at IBM, Tschira co-founded the German softw ...

(2011) * Rudolf Kippenhahn (2016)

Awards

The astronomical society awards the following awards and prizes: * ''

Karl Schwarzschild Medal The Karl Schwarzschild Medal, named after the astrophysicist Karl Schwarzschild, is an award presented by the Astronomische Gesellschaft (German Astronomical Society) to eminent astronomers and astrophysicists. Recipients SourceGerman Astronomical ...

'' * '' Ludwig Biermann Förderpreis'' ( :de:Ludwig-Biermann-Förderpreis) * '' Bruno H. Bürgel Award'' * '' Hans Ludwig Neumann Award'' ( :de:Hans-Ludwig-Neumann-Preis) The '' Hanno and Ruth Roelin Prize'' is also awarded at the society's annual meeting, but it is administered by the

Max Planck Institute for Astronomy The Max-Planck-Institut für Astronomie (Max Planck Institute for Astronomy, MPIA) is a research institute of the Max Planck Society (MPG). It is located in Heidelberg, Baden-Württemberg, Germany near the top of the Königstuhl (Odenwald), Kön ...

References

External links

* {{Authority control Astronomy organizations Astronomy in Germany Scientific organisations based in Germany 1863 establishments in Baden Scientific organizations established in 1863 Heidelberg