Hans Friedrich Elsässer (March 29, 1929 in

Aalen Aalen (; Swabian German, Swabian: ''Oole'') is a town located in the eastern part of the German state of Baden-Württemberg, about east of Stuttgart and north of Ulm. It is the seat of the Ostalbkreis district and is its largest town. It is ...

– June 10, 2003 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 ...

) was a German astronomer and founding director of 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 ...

in Heidelberg.

Education and career

Elsässer studied astronomy, physics and mathematics at the

University of Tübingen The University of Tübingen, officially the Eberhard Karl University of Tübingen (; ), is a public research university located in the city of Tübingen, Baden-Württemberg, Germany. The University of Tübingen is one of eleven German Excellenc ...

from 1948 to 1953, where he received his doctorate in 1953 under

Heinrich Siedentopf Heinrich Friedrich Siedentopf (1 December 1906 – 28 November 1963) was a German astronomer and physicist. Life & work He was born in Hanover. In 1930, he became an assistant to Heinrich Vogt (astronomer), Heinrich Vogt, then joined the national ...

and his habilitation in 1959. From 1953 to 1955 he worked at the High Altitude Research Stations on the Swiss Jungfraujoch and at the

Boyden Observatory Boyden Observatory is an astronomical research observatory and science education centre located in Maselspoort, north-east of the city of Bloemfontein in Free State, South Africa. The observatory is managed by the Physics Department of the U ...

Bloemfontein Bloemfontein ( ; ), also known as Bloem, is the capital and the largest city of the Free State (province), Free State province in South Africa. It is often, and has been traditionally, referred to as the country's "judicial capital", alongsi ...

, South Africa. From 1955 to 1956, Elsässer was part of

European Southern Observatory The European Organisation for Astronomical Research in the Southern Hemisphere, commonly referred to as the European Southern Observatory (ESO), is an intergovernmental organization, intergovernmental research organisation made up of 16 m ...

's visual expeditions in South Africa. He then worked as a research assistant, first in Tübingen, then at the university observatory in Göttingen. In 1962 he became a full professor of astronomy at the

University of Heidelberg Heidelberg University, officially the Ruprecht Karl University of Heidelberg (; ), is a public university, public research university in Heidelberg, Baden-Württemberg, Germany. Founded in 1386 on instruction of Pope Urban VI, Heidelberg is List ...

. He was also head of the

Heidelberg-Königstuhl State Observatory Heidelberg-Königstuhl State Observatory () is a historic astronomical observatory located near the summit of the Königstuhl hill in the city of Heidelberg in Germany. It is operated by the ''Center for Astronomy (ZAH)'' at the University of He ...

until 1975. Elsässer carried out various rocket and balloon experiments that were necessary for the successful implementation of the Helios A and B and

Infrared Space Observatory The Infrared Space Observatory (ISO) was a space telescope for infrared light designed and operated by the European Space Agency (ESA), in cooperation with ISAS (now part of Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, JAXA) and National Aeronautics and ...

(ISO) projects. He also researched in the areas of interstellar matter, star formation, active galaxies and large-scale structures in the cosmos. In 1962, Elsässer founded the German language popular science magazine ''Sterne und Weltraum'' (Stars and Space) together with Karl Schaifers and Rudolf Kühn. Elsässer remained co-editor until his death. In the 1960s, telescopes were in short supply in Germany. Elsässer worked intensively to eliminate this deficiency. In 1968, Elsässer was founding director of the

(MPIA) in Heidelberg, having been in contact with the

Max Planck Society The Max Planck Society for the Advancement of Science (; abbreviated MPG) is a formally independent non-governmental and non-profit association of German research institutes. Founded in 1911 as the Kaiser Wilhelm Society, it was renamed to the M ...

since 1964. Elsässer remained managing director of the MPIA until 1994. He retired in 1997.

Honors and awards

In 1983, Elsässer was elected a member of the

German National Academy of Sciences Leopoldina The German National Academy of Sciences Leopoldina (), in short Leopoldina, is the national academy of Germany, and is located in Halle (Saale). Founded on 1 January 1652, based on academic models in Italy, it was originally named the ''Academi ...

. Since 1972 he has been a full member of the

Heidelberg Academy of Sciences The Heidelberg Academy of Sciences and Humanities (German: ''Heidelberger Akademie der Wissenschaften''), established in 1909 in Heidelberg, Germany, is an assembly of scholars and scientists in the German state of Baden-Wuerttemberg. The acade ...

. In recognition of his achievements, the asteroid (4385) Elsässer was named after him.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Elsässer, Hans 1929 births 2003 deaths People from Aalen Officers Crosses of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany University of Tübingen alumni Max Planck Society people 20th-century astronomers Max Planck Institute directors German astronomers Academic staff of Heidelberg University