Godfried Wendelen | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Portrait of Godfried Wendelen at the age of 68 by Philip Fruytiers (1648) | |
| Born | 6 June 1580 Herk-de-Stad, Prince-Bishopric of Liège (now Belgium) |
| Died | 24 October 1667 (aged 87) Ghent, County of Flanders (now Belgium) |
| Education | liberal arts, utriusque juris |
| Alma mater | University of Leuven |
| Known for | study of lunar eclipses in Eclipses lunares ab anno 1573 ad 1643 observatae (1644); defence of heliocentrism in Tetralogica Cometica (1652) |
| Scientific career | |
| Fields | astronomy, metereology, patristics |
Godfried Wendelen or Govaert Wendelen, Latinized Godefridus Wendelinus, or sometimes Vendelinus and in French-language sources referred to as Godefroy Wendelin[1] (6 June 1580 – 24 October 1667) was an astronomer and Catholic priest sometimes referred to as the Ptolemy of his time. He was a supporter of Copernican heliocentrism, the astronomical model which positioned the Sun at the center of the universe, with Earth and the other planets orbiting around it. He made more accurate measurements of the distance to the Sun as previously made by the ancient Greek astronomer Aristarchus of Samos. He is considered by some as a precursor of Kepler and Newton. He stayed in the Provence where he met Peiresc with whom he remained in contact throughout his life.[2] The crater Vendelinus on the Moon is named after him.[3]
- ^ His first name also given as Govaart, Govaert , Godefroid or Gottfried
- ^ Philippe Malburet, Godfried Wendelen: 1580-1667 : l'ami flamand de Peiresc, Publishroom factory, 2021
- ^ Govaert Wendelen – the Ptolemy of Renaissance at Sci Hi Blog