Jakob Bartsch or Jacobus Bartschius ( – 26 December 1633) was a German

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 ...

Biography

Bartsch was born in Lauban (Lubań) in

Lusatia Lusatia (; ; ; ; ; ), otherwise known as Sorbia, is a region in Central Europe, formerly entirely in Germany and today territorially split between Germany and modern-day Poland. Lusatia stretches from the Bóbr and Kwisa rivers in the eas ...

. He was taught how to use the

astrolabe An astrolabe (; ; ) is an astronomy, astronomical list of astronomical instruments, instrument dating to ancient times. It serves as a star chart and Model#Physical model, physical model of the visible celestial sphere, half-dome of the sky. It ...

by Sarcephalus (Christopher Hauptfleisch), a librarian in Breslau (Wrocław). He also studied

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 ...

and

medicine Medicine is the science and Praxis (process), practice of caring for patients, managing the Medical diagnosis, diagnosis, prognosis, Preventive medicine, prevention, therapy, treatment, Palliative care, palliation of their injury or disease, ...

at the University of Strassburg (Strasbourg).Ioan James. ''Remarkable Physicists: From Galileo to Yukawa''. Cambridge University Press, 2004. Tigris

In 1624 Bartsch published a book titled ''Usus astronomicus planisphaerii stellati'' containing star charts that depicted six new constellations introduced around 1613 by

Petrus Plancius Petrus Plancius (; born Pieter Platevoet ; 1552 – 15 May 1622) was a Dutch- Flemish astronomer, cartographer and clergyman. Born, in Dranouter, now in Heuvelland, West Flanders, he studied theology in Germany and England. At the age of 24 ...

on a celestial globe published by Pieter van den Keere. These six new constellations were

Camelopardalis Camelopardalis is a large but faint constellation of the northern sky representing a giraffe. The constellation was introduced in 1612 or 1613 by Petrus Plancius. Some older astronomy books give Camelopardalus or Camelopardus as alternative form ...

, Gallus, Jordanis,

Monoceros Monoceros ( Greek: , "unicorn") is a faint constellation on the celestial equator. Its definition is attributed to the 17th-century cartographer Petrus Plancius. It is bordered by Orion to the west, Gemini to the north, Canis Major to the s ...

(which he called Unicornu),

Tigris The Tigris ( ; see #Etymology, below) is the eastern of the two great rivers that define Mesopotamia, the other being the Euphrates. The river flows south from the mountains of the Armenian Highlands through the Syrian Desert, Syrian and Arabia ...

and

Vespa Vespa () is an Italian brand of scooters and mopeds manufactured by Piaggio. The name means wasp in Italian. The Vespa has evolved from a single model motor scooter manufactured in 1946 by Piaggio & Co. S.p.A. of Pontedera, Italy, to a ...

. He also mentioned but did not depict

Rhombus In plane Euclidean geometry, a rhombus (: rhombi or rhombuses) is a quadrilateral whose four sides all have the same length. Another name is equilateral quadrilateral, since equilateral means that all of its sides are equal in length. The rhom ...

, a separate invention by Isaac Habrecht II. Bartsch was often wrongly credited with having invented these figures. Only Camelopardalis and Monoceros survive today. Bartsch married

Johannes Kepler Johannes Kepler (27 December 1571 – 15 November 1630) was a German astronomer, mathematician, astrologer, Natural philosophy, natural philosopher and writer on music. He is a key figure in the 17th-century Scientific Revolution, best know ...

's daughter Susanna on 12 March 1630 and helped Kepler with his calculations.''Christian Pamphlets''. Protestant Episcopal Society for the Promotion of Evangelical Knowledge. 1852. After Kepler's death in 1630, Bartsch edited Kepler's posthumous work '' Somnium''. He also helped gather money from Kepler's estate for his widow. Bartsch died in Lauban in 1633.

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External links

* Bartsch, Jacob
''Usus Astronomicus Planisphaerii Stellati''
1624. (Scans by Felice Stoppa.) The first cartographic use of the term planisphere. {{DEFAULTSORT:Bartsch, Jakob 1600s births 1633 deaths People from Lubań 17th-century German astronomers