Johann Palisa

Johann Palisa (6 December 1848 – 2 May 1925) was an Austrian astronomer, born in Troppau, Austrian Silesia, now Czech Republic.[1] He was a prolific discoverer of asteroids, discovering 122 in all, from 136 Austria in 1874 to 1073 Gellivara in 1923.[2] Some of his notable discoveries include 153 Hilda, 216 Kleopatra, 243 Ida, 253 Mathilde, 324 Bamberga, and the near-Earth asteroid 719 Albert. Palisa made his discoveries without the aid of photography, and he remains the most successful visual (non-photographic) asteroid discoverer of all time.[3] He was awarded the Valz Prize from the French Academy of Sciences in 1906.[4] The asteroid 914 Palisana, discovered by Max Wolf in 1919, and the lunar crater Palisa were named in his honour.[5]

Johann Palisa
Born(1848-12-06)6 December 1848
Troppau, Austrian Silesia, Austrian Empire
Died2 May 1925(1925-05-02) (aged 76)
Vienna, Austria
NationalityAustrian
Known forasteroids
AwardsLalande Prize, 1876
Valz Prize, 1906
Scientific career
Fieldsastronomy
InstitutionsUniversity of Vienna

Biography
A view of the City of Pula

Palisa was born on 6 December 1848, in Troppau in Austrian Silesia (now called Opava and located in the Czech Republic).[1] From 1866 to 1870, Palisa studied mathematics and astronomy at the University of Vienna; however, he did not graduate until 1884. Despite this, by 1870 he was an assistant at the University's observatory, and a year later gained a position at the observatory in Geneva. A few years later, in 1872, at the age of 24, Palisa became the director of the Austrian Naval Observatory in Pula. While at Pula, he discovered his first asteroid, 136 Austria, on 18 March 1874. Along with this, he discovered twenty-seven minor planets and one comet. During his stay in Pula he used a small six-inch refractor telescope to aid in his research.[1]

Palisa became director of the Pula observatory, with the rank of commander, until 1880.[6] In 1880 Palisa moved to the new Vienna Observatory. While at the observatory he discovered 94 comets by visual means.[1]

In 1883 he joined a French expedition to Caroline Island to observe the Solar eclipse of 6 May 1883. During the expedition, he joined to observations for the search for the hypothetical planet Vulcan, as well as collecting samples of insects for the Vienna Museum of Natural History.[1] In memory of this expedition, he named the asteroid 235 Carolina after Caroline Island.[7]

In 1885, Palisa offered to sell the naming rights of some of the minor planets he discovered, in order to fund his travels to observe the Solar eclipse of 29 August 1886.[8] However he sold just a small number of these naming rights and apparently did not go.[1]

Palisa and Max Wolf worked together to create the first star atlas created by photographic plates, the Palisa–Wolf Sternkarten, published in 1899, 1902, 1908.[1][6] In 1908, Palisa published the Sternenlexikon, mapping the skies from declinations −1° to +19°.[1] That same year, he became the vice director of the Vienna Observatory. He retired from administrative duties in 1919, but kept observation rights. Palisa continued to discover asteroids until 1923. He died on 2 May 1925.

Discoveries
253 Mathilde as seen by NEAR

Between 1874 and 1923 Palisa discovered 122 asteroids ranging from 136 Austria to 1073 Gellivara and the much later numbered Mars-crosser 14309 Defoy, respectively (see table below).[2] He made his discoveries at the Austrian Naval Observatory at Pola (538) and at the Vienna Observatory. He also discovered the parabolic comet C/1879 Q1 in August 1879.[1][9]

One of his discoveries was 253 Mathilde, a 50-kilometer sized C-type asteroid in the intermediate asteroid belt, which was visited by the NEAR Shoemaker spacecraft on 27 June 1997. The robotic probe passed within 1200 km of Mathilde at 12:56 UT at 9.93 km/s, returning imaging and other instrument data including over 500 images which covered 60% of Mathilde's surface.[10] Only a small number of minor planets have been visited by spacecraft.

Palisa made all of his asteroid discoveries visually. Even though Max Wolf had revolutionised the process of asteroid discovery by introducing photography in the 1890s,[11] Palisa continued to trust on visual observations. His final discovery, 1073 Gellivara, was the last asteroid that was found visually. Johann Palisa remains the most successful visual (non-photographic) asteroid discoverer of all time.[3]

136 Austria18 March 1874list
137 Meliboea21 April 1874list
140 Siwa13 October 1874list
142 Polana28 January 1875list
143 Adria23 February 1875list
151 Abundantia1 November 1875list
153 Hilda2 November 1875list
155 Scylla8 November 1875list
156 Xanthippe22 November 1875list
178 Belisana6 November 1877list
182 Elsa7 February 1878list
183 Istria8 February 1878list
184 Dejopeja28 February 1878list
192 Nausikaa17 February 1879list
195 Eurykleia19 April 1879list
197 Arete21 May 1879list
201 Penelope7 August 1879list
204 Kallisto8 October 1879list
205 Martha13 October 1879list
207 Hedda17 October 1879list
208 Lacrimosa21 October 1879list
210 Isabella12 November 1879list
211 Isolda10 December 1879list
212 Medea6 February 1880list
214 Aschera29 February 1880list
216 Kleopatra10 April 1880list
218 Bianca4 September 1880list
219 Thusnelda30 September 1880list
220 Stephania19 May 1881list
221 Eos18 January 1882list
222 Lucia9 February 1882list
223 Rosa9 March 1882list
224 Oceana30 March 1882list
225 Henrietta19 April 1882list
226 Weringia19 July 1882list
228 Agathe19 August 1882list
229 Adelinda22 August 1882list
231 Vindobona10 September 1882list
232 Russia31 January 1883list
235 Carolina28 November 1883list
236 Honoria26 April 1884list
237 Coelestina27 June 1884list
239 Adrastea18 August 1884list
242 Kriemhild22 September 1884list
243 Ida29 September 1884list
244 Sita14 October 1884list
248 Lameia5 June 1885list
250 Bettina3 September 1885list
251 Sophia4 October 1885list
253 Mathilde12 November 1885list
254 Augusta31 March 1886list
255 Oppavia31 March 1886list
256 Walpurga3 April 1886list
257 Silesia5 April 1886list
260 Huberta3 October 1886list
262 Valda3 November 1886list
263 Dresda3 November 1886list
265 Anna25 February 1887list
266 Aline17 May 1887list
269 Justitia21 September 1887list
273 Atropos8 March 1888list
274 Philagoria3 April 1888list
275 Sapientia15 April 1888list
276 Adelheid17 April 1888list
278 Paulina16 May 1888list
279 Thule25 October 1888list
280 Philia29 October 1888list
281 Lucretia31 October 1888list
286 Iclea3 August 1889list
290 Bruna20 March 1890list
291 Alice25 April 1890list
292 Ludovica25 April 1890list
295 Theresia17 August 1890list
299 Thora6 October 1890list
301 Bavaria16 November 1890list
304 Olga14 February 1891list
309 Fraternitas6 April 1891list
313 Chaldaea30 August 1891list
315 Constantia4 September 1891list
320 Katharina11 October 1891list
321 Florentina15 October 1891list
324 Bamberga25 February 1892list
326 Tamara19 March 1892list
569 Misa27 July 1905list
583 Klotilde31 December 1905list
652 Jubilatrix4 November 1907list
671 Carnegia21 September 1908list
687 Tinette16 August 1909list
688 Melanie25 August 1909list
689 Zita12 September 1909list
703 Noëmi3 October 1910list
710 Gertrud28 February 1911list
711 Marmulla1 March 1911list
716 Berkeley30 July 1911list
718 Erida29 September 1911list
719 Albert3 October 1911list
722 Frieda18 October 1911list
723 Hammonia21 October 1911list
724 Hapag21 October 1911list
725 Amanda21 October 1911list
728 Leonisis16 February 1912list
730 Athanasia10 April 1912list
734 Benda11 October 1912list
750 Oskar28 April 1913list
782 Montefiore18 March 1914list
783 Nora18 March 1914list
794 Irenaea27 August 1914list
795 Fini26 September 1914list
803 Picka21 March 1915list
827 Wolfiana29 August 1916list
828 Lindemannia29 August 1916list
867 Kovacia25 February 1917list
876 Scott20 June 1917list
902 Probitas3 September 1918list
903 Nealley13 September 1918list
932 Hooveria23 March 1920list
941 Murray10 October 1920list
964 Subamara27 October 1921list
975 Perseverantia27 March 1922list
996 Hilaritas21 March 1923list
1073 Gellivara14 September 1923list
14309 Defoy22 September 1908list

Family
Grave of the astronomer Johann Palisa at the Vienna Central Cemetery

Palisa married his second wife, Anna Benda, in 1902. Asteroid 734 Benda is named after her.[12][13] He also named minor planets after other members of his family: 320 Katharina after his mother, Katherina,[14] 321 Florentina for his daughter Florentine.[15]

His granddaughter was Gertrud Rheden, wife of astronomer Joseph Rheden. Asteroid 710 Gertrud is named after her.[16]

Honors and awards

In 1876 Palisa was awarded the Lalande Prize.

Palisa was awarded the Valz Prize from the French Academy of Sciences in 1906.[4]

The Phocaea main-belt asteroid 914 Palisana, discovered by Max Wolf in 1919, and the lunar crater Palisa were named in his honour.[5] Minor planets 902 Probitas, 975 Perseverantia, and 996 Hilaritas that he discovered were given names after his death for traits qualities associated with him: adherence to the highest principles and ideals, perseverance and happy or contented mind. Names were given by Joseph Rheden with the support of Palisa's second wife, Anna.[17]

Minor planet 1152 Pawona is named after both Johann Palisa and Max Wolf, in recognition of their cooperation. The name was proposed by Swedish astronomer Bror Ansgar Asplind. Pawona is a combination of "Palisa" and "Wolf" (Pa, Wo) joined with a Latin feminine suffix.[18]

References
  1. Herbert Raab. "Johann Palisa, the most successful visual discoverer of asteroids" (PDF). Astrometrica. Archived from the original (PDF) on 28 September 2007. Retrieved 3 July 2016.
  2. "Minor Planet Discoverers (by number)". Minor Planet Center. 28 October 2018. Retrieved 12 February 2019.
  3. Raab, Herbert, Johann Palisa, the most successful visual discoverer of asteroids (PDF), archived from the original (PDF) on 28 September 2007, retrieved 28 April 2019
  4. Lockyer, Sir Norman (3 January 1907). "Prizes Awarded and Proposed by the Paris Academy of Sciences". Nature. 75 (1940): 231–232. Bibcode:1907Natur..75R.231.. doi:10.1038/075231b0.
  5. Schmadel, Lutz D. (2007). "(914) Palisana". Dictionary of Minor Planet Names – (914) Palisana. Springer Berlin Heidelberg. p. 82. doi:10.1007/978-3-540-29925-7_915. ISBN 978-3-540-29925-7.
  6. "Johann Palisa". Britannica.com. Retrieved 8 January 2019.
  7. Schmadel, Lutz D. (2007). "(235) Carolina". Dictionary of Minor Planet Names – (235) Carolina. Springer Berlin Heidelberg. p. 36. doi:10.1007/978-3-540-29925-7_236. ISBN 978-3-540-00238-3.
  8. Schmadel, Lutz D. (2007). "(250) Bettina". Dictionary of Minor Planet Names – (250) Bettina. Springer Berlin Heidelberg. p. 37. doi:10.1007/978-3-540-29925-7_251. ISBN 978-3-540-00238-3.
  9. "JPL Small-Body Database Browser: C/1879 Q1 (Palisa)". Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Retrieved 3 July 2016.
  10. Williams, David R. (18 December 2001). "NEAR Flyby of Asteroid 253 Mathilde". NASA. Retrieved 12 February 2019.
  11. Barnard, E. E. (1898), "Development of photography in astronomy", Popular Astronomy, 6: 425–455, Bibcode:1898PA......6..425B
  12. Schmadel, Lutz D. (2007). "(734) Benda". Dictionary of Minor Planet Names – (734) Benda. Springer Berlin Heidelberg. p. 70. doi:10.1007/978-3-540-29925-7_735. ISBN 978-3-540-00238-3.
  13. Schmadel, Lutz D. (2007). "(996) Hilaritas". Dictionary of Minor Planet Names – (996) Hilaritas. Springer Berlin Heidelberg. p. 86. doi:10.1007/978-3-540-29925-7_997. ISBN 978-3-540-00238-3.
  14. Schmadel, Lutz D. (2007). "(320) Katharina". Dictionary of Minor Planet Names – (320) Katharina. Springer Berlin Heidelberg. p. 42. doi:10.1007/978-3-540-29925-7_321. ISBN 978-3-540-00238-3.
  15. Schmadel, Lutz D. (2007). "(321) Florentina". Dictionary of Minor Planet Names – (321) Florentina. Springer Berlin Heidelberg. p. 42. doi:10.1007/978-3-540-29925-7_322. ISBN 978-3-540-00238-3.
  16. Schmadel, Lutz D. (2007). "(710) Gertrud". Dictionary of Minor Planet Names – (710) Gertrud. Springer Berlin Heidelberg. p. 68. doi:10.1007/978-3-540-29925-7_711. ISBN 978-3-540-00238-3.
  17. Schmadel, Lutz D. (2007). "(902) Probitas". Dictionary of Minor Planet Names – (902) Probitas. Springer Berlin Heidelberg. p. 81. doi:10.1007/978-3-540-29925-7_903. ISBN 978-3-540-00238-3.
  18. Schmadel, Lutz D. (2007). "(1152) Pawona". Dictionary of Minor Planet Names – (1152) Pawona. Springer Berlin Heidelberg. p. 97. doi:10.1007/978-3-540-29925-7_1153. ISBN 978-3-540-00238-3.

Obituaries
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