Joseph von Fraunhofer was a German optician and physicist who discovered and influenced how astronomers view the dark line spectrum, the spectrum of the sun and the diffraction of light. His discoveries turned him as a glassmaker with humble beginnings into a scientists whose discoveries would allow scientists after him to calculate the distances of stars and lead them to recognize that the universe is expanding. On March 6, 1787 in Straubing, Bavaria, Joseph Ritter von Fraunhofer was born into a poor family where his father Franz Xaver Fraunhofer was a watch glass maker. At the age of 10, Joseph’s mother, Maria Anna Frohlich passed away, only a year after his father’s death. This left Fraunhofer orphaned and forced to start working as an
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Although Fraunhofer discovered the absorption spectrum, it was left to Gustav Kirchoff to explain that dark lines are the result of photons being absorbed as light passes and the reasoning behind the different frequencies in 1859. Now with Fraunhofer lines, astronomers are able to learn a lot about the similarities and differences that others stars have with our sun by studying and comparing the star’s unique …show more content…
fThough, years before his passing his revolutionary career lead him to earn an honorary doctorate from the University of Erlangen in 1822 and in 1824 was awarded the Merit Order of the Bavarian Crown in which he received a knighthood, making him an honorary citizen of Munich. However, his legacy still lives on. Currently in Germany there is the Fraunhofer Society, that is a German research organization with 67 institutes, each focusing on different fields of applied science, and a Joseph Von Fraunhofer award that was established in 1982 that recognizes significant research accomplishments in the field of optical engineering. With his many accomplishments and the legacy he left behind, it is apparent that without Joseph Von Fraunhofer and his inventions and innovations, astronomy and the world as we know it, would not be the same. Perhaps Joseph von Utzschneider, who took care of and advised Fraunhofer as he was living in the castle, said it best in Fraunhofer’s eulogy; “he brought us closer to the
Although Fraunhofer discovered the absorption spectrum, it was left to Gustav Kirchoff to explain that dark lines are the result of photons being absorbed as light passes and the reasoning behind the different frequencies in 1859. Now with Fraunhofer lines, astronomers are able to learn a lot about the similarities and differences that others stars have with our sun by studying and comparing the star’s unique …show more content…
fThough, years before his passing his revolutionary career lead him to earn an honorary doctorate from the University of Erlangen in 1822 and in 1824 was awarded the Merit Order of the Bavarian Crown in which he received a knighthood, making him an honorary citizen of Munich. However, his legacy still lives on. Currently in Germany there is the Fraunhofer Society, that is a German research organization with 67 institutes, each focusing on different fields of applied science, and a Joseph Von Fraunhofer award that was established in 1982 that recognizes significant research accomplishments in the field of optical engineering. With his many accomplishments and the legacy he left behind, it is apparent that without Joseph Von Fraunhofer and his inventions and innovations, astronomy and the world as we know it, would not be the same. Perhaps Joseph von Utzschneider, who took care of and advised Fraunhofer as he was living in the castle, said it best in Fraunhofer’s eulogy; “he brought us closer to the