Wilhelm Tempel

Wilhelm Tempel
Asteroids discovered: 5 [1]
64 Angelina 4 March 1861
65 Cybele 8 March 1861
74 Galatea 29 August 1862
81 Terpsichore 30 September 1864
97 Klotho 17 February 1868

Ernst Wilhelm Leberecht Tempel (4 December 1821 – 16 March 1889), normally known as Wilhelm Tempel, was a German astronomer who worked in Marseille until the outbreak of the Franco-Prussian War in 1870, then later moved to Italy.[2]

Tempel was born at Niedercunnersdorf, Saxony. He was a prolific discoverer of comets, discovering or co-discovering 21 in all, including Comet 55P/Tempel-Tuttle, now known to be the parent body of the Leonid meteor shower, and 9P/Tempel, the target of the NASA probe Deep Impact in 2005. Other periodic comets that bear his name include 10P/Tempel and 11P/Tempel-Swift-LINEAR.

In 1861, he was awarded the Lalande Prize. He won the Prix Valz for the year 1880.[3] The main-belt asteroid 3808 Tempel and the lunar crater Tempel are named after him.[4]

  1. ^ Cite error: The named reference MPC-Discoverers was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ Wilhelm Tempel - Catholic Encyclopedia article
  3. ^ "Prix Valz". Comptes rendus hebdomadaires des séances de l'Académie des sciences. Vol. Tomes XCII à CXXI, 3 Janvier 1881 à 30 Décembre 1895. Paris: Gauthier-Villars. 1900. p. 1574.
  4. ^ Cite error: The named reference springer was invoked but never defined (see the help page).