Carl Gustav Witt | |
Birth Date: | 29 October 1866 |
Birth Place: | Berlin, Kingdom of Prussia |
Nationality: | German |
Field: | Astronomy |
Work Institution: | Friedrich-Wilhelms-Universität, Urania Sternwarte Berlin |
Alma Mater: | Friedrich-Wilhelms-Universität |
Doctoral Advisor: | Julius Bauschinger |
Known For: | discovery of asteroids |
Prizes: | Iron Cross 2nd Class, 2732 Witt is named after him |
8 October 1896 | ||
13 August 1898 |
Carl Gustav Witt (29 October 1866 – 3 January 1946) was a German astronomer and discoverer of two asteroids who worked at the Berlin Urania Observatory, a popular observatory of the Urania astronomical association of Berlin.
He wrote a doctoral thesis under the direction of Julius Bauschinger.
Witt discovered two asteroids, most notably 433 Eros, the first asteroid with a male name, and the first known near-Earth object. His first minor planet discovery was the main-belt asteroid 422 Berolina, that bears the Latin name of his adoptive city.
The minor planet 2732 Witt – an A-type asteroid from the main-belt, discovered by Max Wolf at Heidelberg Observatory in 1926 – was named in his memory by American astronomer and MPC's longtime director, Brian G. Marsden. Naming citation was published on 22 September 1983 .