Georg Merz
Georg Merz | |
|---|---|
| File:Georg Merz.jpg portrait of Georg Merz | |
| Born | 26 January 1793 |
| Died | 12 January 1867 (aged 73) |
| Occupation | optician |
| Known for | Merz astronomical telescopes |
Georg Merz (26 January 1793 – 12 January 1867) was a Bavarian optician and manufacturer of astronomical telescopes and other optical instruments.
Life
[edit | edit source]Merz was born on 26 January 1793 in Bichl, in Bad Tölz-Wolfratshausen, now in Bavaria, Germany.[1] At the age of 15 he went to work in the glassworks recently set up by Joseph von Utzschneider in the nearby deconsecrated monastery of Benediktbeuern. There he became the assistant of Joseph Fraunhofer.[2] From 1826, when Fraunhofer died, Merz was in charge of the optical division of the business. On the death of von Utzschneider in 1839 Merz, in partnership with Joseph Mahler, bought the firm.[3] After Mahler's death he ran the business in partnership with his sons Ludwig and Sigmund. When Ludwig died in 1858 the name was changed to G. & S. Merz.[3]
Georg Merz died in Munich on 12 January 1867.[1] In 1882 the firm passed to Jacob and Matthias Merz, Sigmund's cousins,[3] and in 1884 the Benediktbeuern works was closed. The company moved to Munich, and closed in 1903.[2]
Telescopes
[edit | edit source]- The 1845 Merz und Mahler 11″ refractor at the Cincinnati Observatory[4]
- The 1847 15″ Harvard Great Refractor at Harvard College Observatory [5]
- The 1839 Merz und Mahler 15″ refractor at Pulkovo Observatory[5]
- The 1838 Merz 6″ (160 mm) refractor at Leiden Observatory[6]
- The Yellow House Observatory in Dover, MA[7]
- 12½″ Merz refractor telescope at the Royal Observatory, Greenwich[8]
- 5″ (135 mm) G. & S. Merz equatorial refractor telescope at the Astronomical Observatory of Capodimonte, Naples, Italy[9]
- 8.05″ (218 mm) Merz refractor telescope at the Brera Astronomical Observatory, Italy[10][11]
- The 6.75" (17cm) Vince Refractor at Bayfordbury Observatory uses a Merz lens manufactured in 1860 [12]
- The 5.9″ (150 mm) refractor at the Round Tower Observatory uses a G. & S. Merz lens [13]
- Georg Merz and Sons, vintage 7¼″ refracting telescope at the Sydney Observatory[14][15]
- Georg Merz and Sons, vintage refracting telescope at the Quito Astronomical Observatory
- An equatorial mounted achromatic refractor from his firm was used in discovery of Neptune.[16]
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An 1875 Merz Telescope at the Quito Astronomical Observatory
References
[edit | edit source]- ^ a b Carl Preyß (1994). Merz, Georg (in German). In: Neue Deutsche Biographie, Volume 17. Berlin: Duncker & Humblot. Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).. p. 199.
- ^ a b John Hearnshaw (2014). The Analysis of Starlight: Two Centuries of Astronomical Spectroscopy. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).. p. 20.
- ^ a b c [s.n.] (2010). G. & S. Merz firm. Museo Galileo – Institute and Museum of the History of Science, Florence, Italy. Accessed March 2015.
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- ^ http://hutobservatory.com/historical-collection/ The HUT Observatory
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- ^ Telescopio equatoriale di Merz: Georg Merz, Sigmund Merz - Monaco (Germania) - 1863 (in Italian). Osservatorio Astronomico di Capodimonte: Museo degli Strumenti Astronomici.
- ^ Cupola Schiaparelli e Telescopio Merz Archived 22 March 2015 at the Wayback Machine (in Italian). Università degli Studi di Milano: Museo Astronomico e Orto Botanico di Brera. Accessed April 2015.
- ^ Andrea Bernagozzi, Antonella Testa, Pasquale Tucci (2004). Observing Mars with Schiaparelli's telescope. In: Proceedings of the Third European Workshop on Exo-Astrobiology, 18 – 20 November 2003, Madrid, Spain. Noordwijk, Netherlands: ESA Publications Division. Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).. ESA SP-545: 157 - 158. Accessed April 2015.
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- ^ http://www.sciencephoto.com/media/480704/view sciencephoto
- ^ http://observatoryhilleec.nsw.edu.au/ Archived 8 April 2015 at the Wayback Machine Sydney Observatory
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