1. Hermann Goldschmidt started out as a painter, but after attending a lecture by the famous French astronomer Urbain Le Verrier turned to astronomy.
14 Facts About Hermann Goldschmidt
1. 2.
Hermann Goldschmidt received the Gold Medal of the Royal Astronomical Society in 1861 for having discovered more asteroids than any other person up to that time.
3.
Hermann Goldschmidt studied art in Munich for several years under supervision of such famous painters as Peter von Cornelius and Julius Schnorr von Carolsfeld.
4.
In 1820, Hermann Goldschmidt discovered shadow bands in total solar eclipses.
5.
Hermann Goldschmidt bought a telescope with the diameter of 23 lines with the money he got from selling two portraits of Galileo he painted during a stay in Florence.
6.
Hermann Goldschmidt set up the telescope in his apartment on the sixth floor above the Cafe Procope.
7.
Hermann Goldschmidt discovered his first new planet on November 15,1852.
8.
In subsequent years, Hermann Goldschmidt bought larger telescopes, one with 30 lines diameter.
9.
Hermann Goldschmidt combined his abilities as a painter with his love for astronomy as exemplified by his paintings of the Great Comet of 1858 and of the solar eclipse he observed in Spain July 1860.
10.
Hermann Goldschmidt's updated star charts and the discovery of several variable stars were appreciated by his colleagues.
11.
Hermann Goldschmidt was never employed at the Paris Observatory and therefore his income was insecure.
12.
Hermann Goldschmidt stayed in Fontainebleau for three years and died there on April 26,1866.
13.
Hermann Goldschmidt was awarded the Lalande Prize seven times.
14.
Hermann Goldschmidt was awarded chevalier of the Legion d'honneur in 1857.