Eduard Heis
German mathematician and astronomer
Died when: 71 years 132 days (856 months)Star Sign: Aquarius
Eduard Heis (18 February 1806, Cologne – 30 June 1877 in Münster) was a German mathematician and astronomer.He completed his education at the University of Bonn in 1827, then taught mathematics at a school in Cologne.
In 1832 he taught at Aachen, and remained there until 1852.He was then appointed by King Frederick William IV to a chair position at the Academy of Münster in 1852.
In 1869 he became rector of the Academy.While at the academy he made a series of observations of the night sky, including the Milky Way, zodiacal light, stars, and shooting stars.
These were published in the following works, among others:
* Atlas Coelestis Novus, Cologne, 1872. * Zodiakal-Beobachtungen. * Sternschnuppen-Beobachtungen. * De Magnitudine, 1852.His star atlas, which was based on Argelander's Uranometria Nova (1843), helped define the constellation borders in the northern sky.
His other publications included a treatise on the eclipses during the Peloponnesian war, Halley's comet, and some mathematical text books.
He was also the first person to record a count of the Perseid meteor shower in 1839, giving an hourly rate of 160.
Observers have recorded the hourly count every year since that time.
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