Heidelberg University Faculty of Physics and Astronomy
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The Faculty of Physics and Astronomy is one of twelve faculties at the University of Heidelberg. It comprises the Kirchhoff Institute of Physics, the Institute of Physics, Theoretical Physics, Environmental Physics and Theoretical Astrophysics.[1]
The Kirchhoff-Institut für Physik (Kirchhoff Institute of Physics, KIP), built in 2002, is a research institute located in Heidelberg, Germany. It shares faculty with the physics and astronomy departments at the University of Heidelberg. The institute is named after Gustav Kirchhoff, who collaborated in Heidelberg in 1854 with Robert Bunsen in spectroscopic work.
Facilities include (apart from several laboratories) a cleanroom, an ASIC laboratory, an experimental hall and, as it is also serves undergraduates, there are 2 auditoriums with a capacity of over 300 people, several seminar rooms and a CIP pool. Current director is Prof. Dr. Markus Oberthaler.[2]
The Zentrum für Astronomie der Universität Heidelberg (Center for Astronomy of Heidelberg University) was founded in 2005 and is an association of three research institutes: the Astronomical Calculation Institute, the Institute of Theoretical Astrophysics and the Landessternwarte Heidelberg-Königstuhl (the Heidelberg-Königstuhl State Observatory).
It is the most important international institution for astronomical data calculations. The Astronomisches Rechen-Institut is responsible among other things for the Gliese catalog of nearby stars, the fundamental catalog FK5 and FK6 and the annual published Apparent places, a high precision catalog with pre-calculated positions for over 3 thousand stars for each day.
The ARI[7] was founded in 1700 in Berlin-Dahlem by Gottfried Kirch. It has its origin from the catalog patent application in this time by Frederick I of Prussia, who introduced a monopoly on publishing star catalogs in Prussia. In 1945 the Institute was moved by the occupying force (Americans) nearer to their headquarters in Heidelberg. Since January 1, 2005 it has been integrated into the Center of Astronomy and as of today is not limited to publishing star catalogs but has a wide research scope.
Institute of Theoretical Astrophysics
The Institute of Theoretical Astrophysics was founded in 1976.[8]
Wilhelm Gliese was a German astronomer who specialized in the study and cataloging of nearby stars.
Alpha Sculptoris, Latinized from α Sculptoris, is the Bayer designation for a blue-white star in the southern constellation of Sculptor. It has an apparent visual magnitude of +4.30, which makes it the brightest star in this generally faint constellation. Parallax measurements collected during the Hipparcos mission provide a distance estimate for this star, placing it at roughly 780 light-years, with a 4% margin of error.
Kappa Telescopii is a solitary, yellow-hued star in the southern constellation of Telescopium. With an apparent visual magnitude of +5.20, it is visible to the naked eye. Based upon an annual parallax shift of 12.00 mas as seen from Earth, it is located around 272 light years from the Sun.
Rho Virginis is the Bayer designation for a star in the constellation Virgo. It has an apparent visual magnitude of +4.9, making it a challenge to view with the naked eye from an urban area. The distance to this star has been measured directly using the parallax method, which places it 118.3 light-years away with a margin of error of about a light year.
The Max-Planck-Institut für Astronomie is a research institute of the Max Planck Society (MPG). It is located in Heidelberg, Baden-Württemberg, Germany near the top of the Königstuhl, adjacent to the historic Landessternwarte Heidelberg-Königstuhl astronomical observatory. The institute primarily conducts basic research in the natural sciences in the field of astronomy.
98 Aquarii is a star in the equatorial constellation of Aquarius. 98 Aquarii is the Flamsteed designation, although it also bears the Bayer designation b1 Aquarii. It is visible to the naked eye with an apparent visual magnitude of +3.97. The distance to this star, 163 light-years, is known from parallax measurements made with the Hipparcos spacecraft.
Tau2 Aquarii, Latinized from τ2 Aquarii, is the Bayer designation for a single star in the equatorial constellation of Aquarius. It is visible to the naked eye with an apparent visual magnitude of +4.0. Because the star lies near the ecliptic it is subject to occultations by the Moon. The star is located at a distance of approximately 318 light years from the Sun based on parallax.
Kappa Aquilae, Latinized from κ Aquilae, is the Bayer designation for a star in the equatorial constellation of Aquila. It is a faint star at apparent visual magnitude +4.957, but bright enough to be seen with the naked eye in dark suburban skies. The annual parallax is only 1.94 mas, which equates to a distance of approximately 1,700 light-years from Earth.
Zeta Arietis, Latinized from ζ Arietis, is the Bayer designation for a star in the northern constellation of Aries. It is dimly visible to the naked eye with an apparent visual magnitude of +4.89. Based upon an annual parallax shift of 12.77 mas, the distance to this star is 255 ± 7 light-years. This is an A-type main sequence star with a stellar classification of A1 V. It has a high rate of rotation with a projected rotational velocity of 133 km/s. The star is shining at an effective temperature of 9,500 K, giving it the characteristic white-hued glow of an A-type star.
38 Aquarii is a star in the equatorial constellation of Aquarius. 38 Aquarii is its Flamsteed designation; its Bayer designation is e Aquarii. It is a faint star but visible to the naked eye, with an apparent visual magnitude of +5.43. Based on parallax measurements, it is around 450 light-years away; it is 0.28 degree south of the ecliptic.
49 Arietis is a single star in the northern constellation of Aries. 49 Arietis is the Flamsteed designation. It is visible to the naked eye as a faint, white hued star with an apparent visual magnitude of 5.90. The star is located at a distance of about 218 light-years distant from Earth based on parallax.
26 Arietis is a variable star in the northern constellation of Aries. 26 Arietis is the Flamsteed designation; it also bears the variable star designation UU Arietis. The apparent visual magnitude of this star is 6.14, which, according to the Bortle Dark-Sky Scale, is within the naked eye visibility limit in dark rural skies. The annual parallax shift of 13.78 mas is equivalent to a distance of approximately 215 light-years from Earth. The star is receding from the Earth with a heliocentric radial velocity of +15 km/s.
19 Aquilae is a single star located 142 light-years away from the Sun in the equatorial constellation of Aquila. 19 Aquilae is the Flamsteed designation. It is visible to the naked eye as a dim, yellow-white hued star with an apparent visual magnitude of 5.23. The star is moving closer to the Earth with a heliocentric radial velocity of −46.7 km/s.
Omega Carinae, Latinized from ω Carinae, is a star in the constellation Carina. With a declination greater than 70 degrees south of the celestial equator, it is the most southerly of the bright stars of Carina, and it is part of a southern asterism known as the Diamond Cross. This star has an apparent visual magnitude of 3.3 and is located at a distance of about 342 light-years from Earth.
The Zentrum für Astronomie der Universität Heidelberg in Heidelberg, Germany, founded in 2005, is an association of three, formerly state-run research institutes: the Astronomisches Rechen-Institut, the Institut für Theoretische Astrophysik and the Landessternwarte Heidelberg-Königstuhl.
The Astronomical Calculation Institute is a research institute in Heidelberg, Germany, dating from the 1700s. Beginning in 2005, the ARI became part of the Center for Astronomy at Heidelberg University. Previously, the institute directly belonged to the state of Baden-Württemberg.
The Berliner Astronomisches Jahrbuch is an astronomical ephemeris almanac and one of the longest publication series in astronomy. It was a compendium of ephemerides of all large Solar System bodies and of fundamental stars which define the celestial reference system.
Eva K. Grebel is a German astronomer. Since 2007 she has been co-director of the Astronomisches Rechen-Institut at the University of Heidelberg in Germany. Eva Grebel is an expert in the study of stellar populations and galaxy formation.
Hartmut Jahreiß is a German astronomer associated with Astronomisches Rechen-Institut specializing in the study of nearby stars.
Steven Andrew Balbus FRS is an American-born astrophysicist who is the Savilian Professor of Astronomy at the University of Oxford and a professorial fellow at New College, Oxford. In 2013, he shared the Shaw Prize for Astronomy with John F. Hawley.
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