Kaspar Uttenhofer (1588 – 31 May 1621) was a German

astronomer An astronomer is a scientist in the field of astronomy who focuses their studies on a specific question or field outside the scope of Earth. They observe astronomical objects such as stars, planets, moons, comets and galaxies – in either o ...

Life

Kaspar Uttenhofer was born in Nuremberg in 1588, the seventh son of the second marriage of Georg Uttenhofer, a tailor. His father died on January 9, 1563, leaving the family in good economic conditions. One of his brothers was Anthoni Uttenhofer (1542-1609), an artist specialized in

etching Etching is traditionally the process of using strong acid or mordant to cut into the unprotected parts of a metal surface to create a design in intaglio (incised) in the metal. In modern manufacturing, other chemicals may be used on other type ...

. His personal life is little known, according to the mathematician Daniel Schwenter, Uttenhofer devoted most of his life to improving his knowledge being self-taught. He wrote various books, the most renowned is probably the ''Pes mechanicus'' in which the author explained how to easily build a

sundial A sundial is a horological device that tells the time of day (referred to as civil time in modern usage) when direct sunlight shines by the apparent position of the Sun in the sky. In the narrowest sense of the word, it consists of a fl ...

. He wrote the ''Judicium de nupero Cometa astrologico-historicum'' after spotting

comet A comet is an icy, small Solar System body that, when passing close to the Sun, warms and begins to release gases, a process that is called outgassing. This produces a visible atmosphere or Coma (cometary), coma, and sometimes also a Comet ta ...

(

C/1618 W1 The year 1618 in science and technology involved some significant events. Astronomy * March 8 – May 15 – Johannes Kepler formulates the third law of planetary motion. * July 21 – Pluto (not known at this time) reaches an aphelion. It next ...

) in the Boötes constellation. He died in his home city of Nuremberg in 1621.

Works

* ''Pes Mechanicus. Oder Werckschuh/ Das ist: Ein gar leuchte Weise/ allerley gemeine Sonnen-Uhren auß einem außgetheilten Werckschuch zu machen'' Nürnberg: Halbmayer, 1615 * ''Judicium de nupero Cometa Astrologo Historicum. Kurzer Bericht und Erklärung / Was von dem neuen Cometen / oder geschwentzten Stern / so sich dieses zu endlauffenden'' 1618. Jars ..uhalten. Nürnberg: Simon Halbmayer, 1619 *

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Uttenhofer, Kasper 17th-century German astronomers 1588 births 1621 deaths Scientists from Nuremberg