Jakob Bartsch

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Jakob Bartsch or Jacobus Bartschius (ca. 1600 – 26 December 1633) was a German astronomer.

[edit] Biography

Bartsch was born in Lauban (Lubań) in Lusatia. He was taught how to use the astrolabe by Sarcephalus (Christopher Hauptfleisch), a librarian in Breslau (Wrocław). He also studied astronomy and medicine at the University of Strassburg (Strasbourg).^[1]

In 1624 Bartsch published several star charts, titled Usus astronomicus planisphaerii stellati, which included several new constellations introduced around 1613 by Petrus Plancius on a celestial globe published by Pieter van den Keere. These included Camelopardalis, Crux, Monoceros, and Reticulum.

Bartsch married Johannes Kepler's daughter Susanna on March 12, 1630^[2] and helped Kepler with his calculations.^[3] 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.^[1]

Bartsch died in Lauban in 1633.

[edit] Related quotes

“	if there is anything that can bind the heavenly mind of man to this dusty exile of our earthy home and can reconcile us with our fate so that we can enjoy living – then it is verily the enjoyment of ... the mathematical sciences and astronomy.	”
—Johannes Kepler in a letter to Bartsch^[4]

[edit] References

This article incorporates text translated from the corresponding German Wikipedia article as of November 28, 2006.

^ ^a ^b Ioan James. Remarkable Physicists: From Galileo to Yukawa. Cambridge University Press, 2004. ISBN 0-521-01706-8
^ James A. Connor. Kepler's Witch. HarperCollins, 2004. ISBN 0-06-052255-0
^ Christian Pamphlets. Protestant Episcopal Society for the Promotion of Evangelical Knowledge. 1852.
^ Norman Davidson. Sky Phenomena. SteinerBooks, 2004. ISBN 1-58420-026-X