Richard Reinhard Emil Schorr (20 August 1867,

Kassel Kassel (; in Germany, spelled Cassel until 1926) is a city on the Fulda River in North Hesse, northern Hesse, in Central Germany (geography), central Germany. It is the administrative seat of the Regierungsbezirk Kassel (region), Kassel and the d ...

– 21 September 1951, Badgastein,

Salzburg Salzburg is the List of cities and towns in Austria, fourth-largest city in Austria. In 2020 its population was 156,852. The city lies on the Salzach, Salzach River, near the border with Germany and at the foot of the Austrian Alps, Alps moun ...

), 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 ...

, who served as the director of the Hamburger Stemwarte at the end of the 19th century.

Early life and education

Career

From 1889 to 1891, Schorr worked as an assistant editor of

Astronomische Nachrichten ''Astronomische Nachrichten'' (''Astronomical Notes''), one of the first international journals in the field of astronomy, was established in 1821 by the German astronomer Heinrich Christian Schumacher. It claims to be the oldest astronomical jour ...

, at the observatory at

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 ...

. In 1892 Schorr became observer (observator) at the Hamburger Sternwarte (

Hamburg Observatory Hamburg Observatory () is an astronomical observatory located in the Bergedorf borough of the city of Hamburg in northern Germany. It is owned and operated by the University of Hamburg, Germany since 1968, although it was founded in 1825 by the ...

) Schorr was the director of the Hamburger Sternwarte (

). The former director

George Rümker George may refer to: Names * George (given name) * George (surname) People * George (singer), American-Canadian singer George Nozuka, known by the mononym George * George Papagheorghe, also known as Jorge / GEØRGE * George, stage name of Gior ...

had started the movement of the observatory to the outer parts of Hamburg but became seriously ill and died in 1899. After Rümker's death, Schorr became director, and the building of Germany's second largest observatory in Hamburg-Bergedorf became his task. The new observatory opened in 1912. Schorr's main interests had been star positions (

astrometry Astrometry is a branch of astronomy that involves precise measurements of the positions and movements of stars and other Astronomical object, celestial bodies. It provides the kinematics and physical origin of the Solar System and this galaxy, th ...

proper motion Proper motion is the astrometric measure of changes in the apparent places of stars or other celestial objects as they move relative to the center of mass of the Solar System. It is measured relative to the distant stars or a stable referenc ...

of stars and

solar eclipse A solar eclipse occurs when the Moon passes between Earth and the Sun, thereby obscuring the view of the Sun from a small part of Earth, totally or partially. Such an alignment occurs approximately every six months, during the eclipse season i ...

observations. Schorr initiated many catalog projects (most popular is the AGK2). From 1905 to 1928 Schorr organized 8 big expeditions to observe solar eclipses at different parts in the world. At 7 he took part himself. The observations for the AGK2 took place between 1913 and 1920. Several astronomers at Hamburg observatory took more than 1700 photographic plates. After measuring the plates Schorr and the Danish astronomer Holger Thiele used them too for searching and position determination of comets and asteroids. They discovered 30 new asteroids and one new comet, D/1918 W1 (Schorr), during this time. Under Schorr's directorship the optician

Bernhard Schmidt Bernhard Woldemar Schmidt (, Naissaar, Nargen, Estonia – 1 December 1935, Hamburg) was an Estonian optician. In 1930 he invented the Schmidt camera, Schmidt telescope, which corrected for the optical errors of spherical aberration, coma, and a ...

got rooms and time to experiment with new optical assemblies. Schmidt constructed several new telescope constructions for the observatory. In 1930 Schmidt invented the

Schmidt camera A Schmidt camera, also referred to as the Schmidt telescope, is a catadioptric astrophotographic telescope designed to provide wide fields of view with limited aberrations. The design was invented by Bernhard Schmidt in 1930. Some notable ...

, a telescope with a very wide field of view and free from image elongations in the plate edges far from the optical axis. Schorr urged Schmidt to build the first Schmidt Camera at Bergedorf observatory. In 1937

Nazi Germany Nazi Germany, officially known as the German Reich and later the Greater German Reich, was the German Reich, German state between 1933 and 1945, when Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party controlled the country, transforming it into a Totalit ...

Schorr had to resign the directorship due to his age. His first choice candidate as his follower was

Walter Baade Wilhelm Heinrich Walter Baade (March 24, 1893 – June 25, 1960) was a German astronomer who worked in the United States from 1931 to 1959. Early life and education Baade was born the son of a teacher in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. He fin ...

who refused because of better astronomical working conditions at the Californian Mt. Wilson and

Palomar observatory The Palomar Observatory is an astronomical research observatory in the Palomar Mountains of San Diego County, California, United States. It is owned and operated by the California Institute of Technology (Caltech). Research time at the observat ...

which was under construction. In spite of the wishes of Nazi organisations Schorr could call Otto Heckmann as his follower in 1941.

Personal life and death

In 1951, he died in Badgastein,

Honors and awards

The lunar crater '' Schorr'' and the asteroid 1235 Schorria are named after him. Asteroid 725 Amanda is named after his wife, Amanda.

References

Literature

* J. Schramm, Sterne über Hamburg - Die Geschichte der Astronomie in Hamburg, 2nd edition
Kultur- & Geschichtskontor
Hamburg 2010,

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Schorr, Richard 19th-century German astronomers 1867 births 1951 deaths 20th-century German astronomers Scientists from Kassel