Johannes Franz Hartmann

Johannes Franz Hartmann
Born(1865-01-11)11 January 1865
Erfurt, Saxony
Died13 September 1936(1936-09-13) (aged 71)
Göttingen
NationalityGerman
CitizenshipGerman
Alma materUniversity of Leipzig
Known forDiscovering interstellar medium
Scientific career
FieldsAstronomy
InstitutionsAstrophysical Observatory Potsdam
Doctoral advisorHeinrich Bruns
Minor planets discovered: 3 [1]
965 Angelica 4 November 1921 MPC
1029 La Plata 28 April 1924 MPC
1254 Erfordia 10 May 1932 MPC

Johannes Franz Hartmann (11 January 1865 – 13 September 1936) was a German physicist and astronomer. In 1904, while studying the spectroscopy of Delta Orionis he noticed that most of the spectrum had a shift, except the calcium lines, which he interpreted as indicating the presence of interstellar medium.[2][3]

He was the director of the La Plata Astronomical Observatory, Argentina, from November 1922 to May 1934, and was also known under the name Juan Hartmann. He oriented the work of the observatory towards astrophysics and discovered the three asteroids of the main-belt, 965 Angelica, 1029 La Plata and 1254 Erfordia at La Plata between 1921 and 1932.[1]

His doctorate was from the University of Leipzig in 1891 on lunar eclipses.[4]

The lunar crater Hartmann on the far side of the Moon was named in his honor. Note, however, that the asteroid 3341 Hartmann was named after William K. Hartmann and is unrelated to him.[5]

Hartmann at the 1910 Fourth Conference International Union for Cooperation in Solar Research at Mount Wilson Observatory
  1. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference MPC-Discoverers was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ Asimov, Asimov's Biographical Encyclopedia of Science and Technology 2nd Revised edition
  3. ^ Cite error: The named reference Hartmann-1904 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  4. ^ Cite error: The named reference Encyclopedia-of-Astronomers was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  5. ^ Cite error: The named reference springer was invoked but never defined (see the help page).