Article ID: CBB001200857

Olbers's Planetary Explosion Hypothesis: Genesis and Early Nineteenth-Century Interpretation (2013)

unapi

The article discusses astronomer Wilhelm Olbers' role in the development of the planetary catastrophic explosion hypothesis concerning the formation of asteroids. After explaining Olbers' discovery of the asteroid Pallas, the author explains Olbers' correspondence with astronomers Carl Gauss, Nevil Maskelyne, and William Herschel, which helped him develop the notion that asteroids were created by a larger planet being struck by a comet. The way in which the journal of astronomer Baron Franz von Zach spread Olbers' hypothesis across Europe is detailed. Reactions to the hypothesis from French astronomers such as Pierre-Simon Laplace and Joseph Louis Lagrange are also explained.

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Citation URI
https://data.isiscb.org/isis/citation/CBB001200857/

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Authors & Contributors
Cunningham, Clifford J.
Orchiston, Wayne
Marsden, Brian G.
Reich, Karin
Julia Remchin
Figueiredo, Fernando B.
Concepts
Astronomy
Asteroids
Solar system; planets
Correspondence and corresponding
Planetary science
Communication within scientific contexts
Time Periods
19th century
18th century
20th century
20th century, early
17th century
Places
Germany
Italy
Catalonia (Spain)
United States
Spain
Portugal
Institutions
Heidelberg-Königstuhl State Observatory
Olbers-Gesellschaft, Bremen
Marburg. Universität
United States. National Aeronautics and Space Administration
Royal Society of London
International Astronomical Union (IAU)
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