Bernhard Voldemar Schmidt
At a glance:
- Series: Dictionary of World Biography: Twentieth Century
- Categories: Science, Technology, Inventions
- Subcategories: Scientists, Inventors, Physics, Physicists, Astronomy, Astronomers, Cosmology
- Curriculum: 20th & 21st Century European History, 19th Century European History, German History
Article abstract: In 1930, Schmidt invented an optical system that revolutionized astronomy by significantly widening the field of vision of the largest telescopes then in use. The Schmidt photographic telescope used a spherical mirror in combination with a glass plate to capture celestial images on photographic plates. For the first time, wide areas of the sky could be photographed with sharp definition across the entire field, edge to edge.
Early Life
Bernhard Voldemar Schmidt was born on Naissaar, an island in Estonia in 1879. His family was poor, and...
[The entire page is 1690 words long]
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