Johannes Hevelius

Johannes Hevelius (in German also known as Hevel; Polish: Jan Heweliusz; 28 January 1611 – 28 January 1687) was a councillor and chairman of the city council of the Old Town, Gdańsk in the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth. He was also a famous astronomer.

As an astronomer, Hevelius became known for his work on the Moon's surface, earning the title "the founder of lunar topography". He also described ten new constellations during his studies, and seven of these are still used by astronomers today.

Besides his scientific work, Hevelius served the city of Gdańsk, showing his importance in both science and local government. For information about ships named after him, see MS Jan Heweliusz and ORP Heweliusz.

Etymology

Johannes Hevelius's name has many versions. It started from an old spelling of the word hawk, which changed over time. In Poland, he is called Jan Heweliusz. Other spellings include Hewel, Hevel, and Höfelcke. Early in his life, he sometimes signed his name as Hoefelius. Later, his name was also written as Johannes Höffelius Dantiscanus and Hans Höwelcke.

Early life

Johannes Hevelius was born to Abraham Hewelke and Kordula Hecker, who were wealthy merchants from Bohemia. They spoke German and followed the Lutheran faith. As a young boy, Johannes went to Gądecz to learn the Polish language.

He later studied at a secondary school and then went on to study law in Leiden. He traveled to England and France, meeting famous thinkers along the way. In 1634, he returned home and married Katharine Rebeschke. He also became part of the beer-brewing guild and led it starting in 1643.

Astronomy

Johannes Hevelius loved studying the stars and the Moon. He built his own observatory on the roofs of his houses and used special tools to watch the sky. He made a very long telescope, maybe the longest one at the time, and used it to study the Moon and other objects.

Hevelius discovered new patterns in the sky, called constellations, and wrote books about what he saw. He also watched the Sun and found interesting spots on it. Even when a big fire destroyed his observatory, he kept studying the stars and even created a new constellation to honor a battle won by a king he admired.

Works

Johannes Hevelius wrote many important books about his discoveries in the sky. Some of his well-known works include Selenographia from 1647 and Mercurius in Sole visus Gedani from 1662, which talked about watching Mercury pass in front of the Sun.

One of his biggest works was Prodromus Astronomiae which was finished after his death by his wife. This book included a list of stars and a star map with new star patterns, seven of which are still used today. These include patterns named Canes Venatici, Lacerta, Leo Minor, Lynx, Scutum, Sextans, and Vulpecula.