Minor planet renamed after scientist from Potsdam
Discovered on February 14, 2012 by Bernd Thinius in Potsdam-Bornim, Mr Thinius handed over his idea to the IAU to name this minor planet after Axel Schwope, scientist at the Leibniz Institute for Astrophysics Potsdam. It was Schwope, who enabled Bernd Thinius to observe with the AIP's 70 cm telescope.
Photographic image of the discovery of "Schwope“. The image contains four single shots merged to one. (Photo: B. Thinius).
Detailed Information: http://www.minorplanetcenter.net/db_search/show_object?object_id=278513
Science contact: Dr. Axel Schwope, 0049 331 7499 232, aschwope@aip.de Press contact: Kerstin Mork, 0049 331 7499 469, presse@aip.de |
The key topics of the Leibniz Institute for Astrophysics are cosmic magnetic fields and extragalactic astrophysics. A considerable part of the institute's efforts aim at the development of research technology in the fields of spectroscopy, robotic telescopes, and e-science. The AIP is the successor of the Berlin Observatory founded in 1700 and of the Astrophysical Observatory of Potsdam founded in 1874. The latter was the world's first observatory to emphasize explicitly the research area of astrophysics. Since 1992 the AIP is a member of the Leibniz Association.