Quick Facts
- Born:
- June 9, 1812, near Gräfenhainichen, Prussian Saxony
- Died:
- July 10, 1910, Potsdam, Ger. (aged 98)
- Subjects Of Study:
- Neptune
Adding us as a Preferred Source tells Google you trust our content, so our articles show up more often in your Google Search, Discover feed, and AI Overviews.
verifiedCite
While every effort has been made to follow citation style rules, there may be some discrepancies.
Please refer to the appropriate style manual or other sources if you have any questions.
Select Citation Style
Johann Gottfried Galle
German astronomer
Johann Gottfried Galle (born June 9, 1812, near Gräfenhainichen, Prussian Saxony—died July 10, 1910, Potsdam, Ger.) was a German astronomer who on Sept. 23, 1846, was the first to observe the planet Neptune.
Galle joined the staff of the Berlin Observatory, where he served as assistant director under J.F. Encke from 1835 until 1851. He studied the rings of Saturn and suggested a method, later successful, of measuring the scale of the solar system by observing the parallax of asteroids. He looked for Neptune at the request of the French astronomer U.-J.-J. Le Verrier, who had computed the planet’s probable position before it was seen. From 1851 until 1897 Galle was director of the Breslau Observatory.
This article was most recently revised and updated by Encyclopaedia Britannica.
Discover the fascinating events that shaped the world, straight from our editors.
By clicking “Sign Up”, you consent to the Britannica
Privacy Policy
and
Terms of Use.