This book results from presentations and discussions of a group of astronomers and historians during the first workshop in a series dedicated to historical aspe... » 

This book results from presentations and discussions of a group of astronomers and historians during the first workshop in a series dedicated to historical aspects of observational astrophysics in the 19th and early 20th century. The basic principle of these meetings is to reflect on the work and personality of a single individual or a group of persons avoiding the really dominant figures that typify the age. The spirit of the era under consideration is evoked by focusing on key people who epitomize a way of thinking and working that has formed many of the ideas by which astrophysical research is done today.In 1858 the German physicist Karl Friedrich Zllner introduced a new type of astronomical photometer which became a bestseller in the second half of the nineteenth century and which led him to the first German professorship in astrophysics. This type of photometer allowed most accurate photometric measurements and was used by several observatories for almost half a century. «