Work

Elias von Löwen (Crätschmair): An unrecognized pioneer of the research on optical libration of the Moon

Year: 2025

Type: article

Abstract: Johannes Hevelius is credited with being the first astronomer to systematically describe the optical libration of the Moon in his Selenographia (1647) and to present a quantitative model of the phenomenon in De motu Lunae libratorio. . . (1654). However, from the correspondence that Hevelius conducted in 1650 with Elias von Löwen (Crätschmair) and his wife Maria Cunitia, it follows that the first model of optical libration of the Moon, allowing predict the changing position of lunar spots relative to the edge of the lunar disk, was developed by von Löwen. In this article I will compare the predictions of von Löwen’s and Hevelius’s models for the years 1650–51 and present a chronology of early research on libration supplemented with von Löwen’s account.

Source: Journal for the History of Astronomy

DOI: 10.1177/00218286241240072

Author: Jarosław Włodarczyk

Institutions: Instytut Historii Nauki im. Ludwika i Aleksandra Birkenmajerów Polskiej Akademii Nauk, Polish Academy of Sciences

Language: English

Topic: History and Developments in Astronomy

Subfield: Astronomy and Astrophysics

Field: Physics and Astronomy

Domain: Physical Sciences

Open Access status: bronze

Funders: Narodowe Centrum Nauki, Narodowym Centrum Nauki

Award: G6118449584