Wilhelm Beer 432861 218586623 2008-06-11T09:04:14Z SmackBot 433328 Date the maintenance tags or general fixes {{Unreferenced|date=June 2008}} [[Image:Wilhelm Beer.jpg|thumb|Wilhelm Beer]] '''Wilhelm Wolff Beer''' ([[4 January]] [[1797]] – [[27 March]] [[1850]]) was a [[banker]] and [[astronomer]] from [[Berlin]], [[Kingdom of Prussia|Prussia]], and the brother of [[Giacomo Meyerbeer]]. == Astronomy == Beer's fame derives from his hobby, [[astronomy]]. He built a private [[observatory]] with a 9.5 cm [[refractor]] in [[Tiergarten]], Berlin. Together with [[Johann Heinrich Mädler]] he produced the first exact map of the [[Moon]] (entitled ''[[Mappa Selenographica]]'') in [[1834]]-[[1836]], and in [[1837]] published a description of the Moon (''Der Mond nach seinen kosmischen und individuellen Verhältnissen''). Both remained the best descriptions of the Moon for many decades. In [[1830]], Beer and Mädler created the first globe of the planet [[Mars (planet)|Mars]]. In [[1840]] they made a map of Mars and calculated its [[rotation period]] to be 24 h 37 min 22.7 s, only 0.1 seconds different from the actual period as it is known today. == Other work == Beer was multi-talented. In addition to his hobby of astronomy, he helped with the establishment of a [[railway]] system in [[Prussia]], and promoted the [[Jew]]ish community in Berlin. In his last decade of life, he worked as a writer and [[politician]]. In [[1849]] he was elected as an MP for the first chamber of the Prussian parliament. ==Named after Beer== [[Beer (crater on Mars)|Beer crater]] on Mars is named in Wilhelm Beer's honor and lies near [[Mädler (crater on Mars)|Mädler crater]]. There is also a [[Beer (lunar crater)|Beer crater]] on the [[Moon]] and an [[asteroid]] [[1896 Beer]]. ==External links== *http://humbabe.arc.nasa.gov/mgcm/fun/mars_chro.html * http://www.uapress.arizona.edu/onlinebks/mars/chap04.htm * http://www.exploringmars.com/history/1800.html {{DEFAULTSORT:Beer, Wilhelm}} [[Category:1797 births]] [[Category:1850 deaths]] [[Category:German Jews]] [[Category:German astronomers]] [[Category:People from Berlin]] [[Category:People from the Margraviate of Brandenburg]] [[Category:Selenographers]] [[da:Wilhelm Beer]] [[de:Wilhelm Beer]] [[es:Wilhelm Beer]] [[fr:Guillaume Beer]] [[lb:Wilhelm Beer]] [[ja:ヴィルヘルム・ベーア]] [[sk:Wilhelm Wolff Beer]] [[sl:Wilhelm Wolff Beer]] [[sv:Wilhelm Beer]] [[uk:Беер Вільгельм]]