Jürgen Hamel (born 6 June 1951) is a German astronomy historian. His research areas are the history of astronomy in the Middle Ages and the early modern period, the period around 1800, the history of astrophysics, astronomy and cultural history, and the history of astronomical instruments.[1]

Archenhold-Sternwarte
Hauptwirkungsstätte von Jürgen Hamel

Life and career

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Hamel was born in Stralsund. After an apprenticeship as a vocational trainee with Abitur [de], he studied philosophy, history and education at the University of Leipzig and then worked as a university lecturer at the University of Rostock, where he obtained his doctorate in 1982 with a thesis on the early history of astrophysics.

From 1978 to 1991, Hamel worked at the Archenhold Observatory as a student of Dieter B. Herrmann. In addition to his scientific work, he was involved in popularising astronomy, gave numerous lectures within the framework of the Gesellschaft zur Verbreitung wissenschaftlicher Kenntnisse and was active on the editorial board of the journal Astronomy and Astronautics published by the Cultural Association of the GDR. From 1990 onwards, Hamel was a contributor to the publication of the Collected Works of Nicolaus Copernicus and Johannes Kepler. In 1996, as part of a scholarship from the Gerda Henkel Foundation [de], he worked on The First German Translation of the Major Astronomical Work of Nicolaus Copernicus 1586. From 1998 to 2000, he worked at the Museum für Astronomie und Technikgeschichte [de] in Kassel. For many years he lectured on the "History of Astronomy" and the "Introduction to Astronomy" at the University of Koblenz and Landau.

On 17 May 2001, Hamel was elected member of the Leibniz-Sozietät der Wissenschaften zu Berlin [de].[1] He is co-founder and co-editor of the publication series Acta Historica Astronomiae,[2] editor-in-chief of the journal Astronomie + Raumfahrt im Unterricht [de] as well as, since 2019, of the scientific yearbook for the history of Pomerania Baltic Studies.

Publications (selection)

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Introductions to the history of astronomy
  • Astronomie in alter Zeit. (Archenhold-Sternwarte Berlin-Treptow. Vorträge und Schriften. 60). 2nd ed. edition. Berlin-Treptow 1981.
  • Bearbeitung der deutschsprachigen Ausgabe von Angel Bonov: Sternbilder, Sternsagen: Mythen und Legenden um Sternbilder. Übers. aus dem Bulgarischen von Leo Korniljew. 2nd edition. Leipzig/ Jena/ Berlin 1986, ISBN 3-332-00031-4.
  • Astronomiegeschichte in Quellentexten. Von Hesiod bis Hubble. Springer Spektrum, 1996, ISBN 3-8274-0072-4.
  • Geschichte der Astronomie. Von den Anfängen bis zur Gegenwart. Birkhäuser Verlag, Basel/ Boston/ Berlin 1998, ISBN 3-7643-5787-8. 2nd edition. Kosmos-Franckh, Stuttgart 2002, ISBN 3-440-09168-6.
  • History of astronomy. In Texten von Hesiod bis Hubble. 2. erw. Auflage. Magnus Verlag, Essen 2004, ISBN 3-88400-421-2.
  • Meilensteine der Astronomie. Von Aristoteles bis Hawking. Kosmos, 2006, ISBN 3-440-10179-7.
Biographies and special topics
Classics Studies
Criticisms of astrology

References

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  1. ^ a b „Vorgestellt.“ 24 January 2002. Auf Leibniz-Sozietät, retrieved 21 March 2021.
  2. ^ Wolfgang R. Dick, Jürgen Hamel (ed.): Acta Historica Astronomiae, ISSN 1422-8521. At Universitätsverlag Leipzig, retrieved 21 March 2021.

Further reading

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  • Wolfgang R. Dick, Dietmar Fürst (ed.): Lebensläufe und Himmelsbahnen. Festschrift zum 60. Geburtstag von Jürgen Hamel. (Acta Historica Astronomiae. Vol. 52). Leipzig 2014, ISBN 978-3-944913-42-1.
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