- Original name in full:
- Maria Margaretha Winckelmann
- Born:
- Feb. 25, 1670, Panitzsch, near Leipzig, Saxony [Germany]
- Died:
- Dec. 29, 1720, Berlin, Prussia [Germany] (aged 50)
- Subjects Of Study:
- comet
Maria Kirch
-
Who was Maria Kirch?
Maria Kirch (1670–1720) was a German astronomer, recognized as the first woman to discover a comet.
Educated by her father and uncle, Kirch studied astronomy under Christoph Arnold, where she met her husband, astronomer Gottfried Kirch. They married in 1692 and collaborated on calendars with astronomical information. In 1700, Gottfried became astronomer royal in Berlin, and Maria continued her observations.
In 1702, Maria discovered a previously unknown comet, but Gottfried initially took credit. Following Gottfried's death in 1710, Maria's request to continue producing calendars for the Royal Berlin Academy of Sciences was rejected. Despite facing gender bias, Kirch persisted in astronomy, assisting her son Christfried and daughters. Her career ended when she was reprimanded for her prominence and removed from the observatory in 1717.
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What was Maria Kirch known for in astronomy?
Maria Kirch, a German astronomer, is known as the first woman to discover a comet.
She was educated in astronomy by her father and later by Christoph Arnold, through whom she met her husband, astronomer Gottfried Kirch. Maria joined Gottfried in producing calendars with astronomical information. In 1700, Gottfried became the astronomer royal in Berlin, and Maria worked with him at a private observatory. In 1702, Maria discovered a previously unknown comet, but Gottfried took credit until 1710. After Gottfried's death, Maria's request to continue producing calendars was rejected by the Royal Berlin Academy of Sciences. Despite this, she continued to work as an astronomer, assisting her son Christfried, who later became the astronomer royal.
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Where and when did Maria Kirch live?
Maria Kirch, born on February 25, 1670, in Panitzsch, near Leipzig, Saxony (Germany), died on December 29, 1720, in Berlin, Prussia (Germany). She was a German astronomer and the first woman to discover a comet.
In 1700, her husband, Gottfried Kirch, was appointed astronomer royal in Berlin. The Kirches initially worked at Bernhard Friedrich Baron von Krosigk’s private observatory while the Royal Observatory was under construction. After her husband's death in 1710, Maria petitioned to continue producing calendars but was rejected. She then worked at von Krosigk’s observatory and later as an assistant in Danzig. In 1716, she and her son declined an invitation from the Russian Tsar Peter the Great to work in Russia. Later, she assisted her son, Christfried, at the Royal Observatory until she was asked to leave in 1717, effectively ending her scientific career.
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What important discovery did Maria Kirch make?
Maria Kirch, a German astronomer, achieved renown for being the first woman to discover a comet. In 1702, while working with her husband, Gottfried Kirch, at a private observatory, she spotted a previously unknown comet. However, because of concerns about how their close collaboration would be perceived, Gottfried initially took credit for the discovery, only admitting the truth in 1710. Maria also published observations on the aurora borealis in 1707 and wrote about the conjunction of the Sun, Saturn, and Venus. Despite facing gender bias, she continued astronomical work and collaborated with her son and daughters.
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How did social attitudes about women affect Maria Kirch’s work?
Social attitudes about women significantly affected Maria Kirch's astronomical work. Despite her crucial role alongside her husband, Gottfried Kirch, in producing calendars and making observations, she faced considerable challenges and biases.
After her husband's death, Kirch's petition to continue producing calendars for the Royal Berlin Academy of Sciences was rejected because the academy members felt it would be an embarrassment for a woman to produce their calendar. Even after she and her son took over Hevelius's observatory in Danzig, she was reprimanded for being too prominent in observatory life and was ultimately removed from her residence at the observatory, effectively ending her scientific career.
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Maria Kirch (born Feb. 25, 1670, Panitzsch, near Leipzig, Saxony [Germany]—died Dec. 29, 1720, Berlin, Prussia [Germany]) was a German astronomer who was the first woman to discover a comet.
Winckelmann was educated by her father, a Lutheran minister, and—after her father’s death—by an uncle. She studied astronomy under Christoph Arnold, a local self-taught astronomer. It was through Arnold that Winckelmann met astronomer Gottfried Kirch, who had studied under astronomer Johannes Hevelius. Winckelmann and Kirch married in 1692. Gottfried, with his three sisters, had been producing calendars that included vital astronomical information such as the phases of the Moon, times of sunrise and sunset, and the positions of the planets. Kirch joined him in this work.
In 1700 Gottfried was offered the post of astronomer royal at the court of the elector of Brandenburg, Frederick III, in Berlin, where a new observatory was to be built. While the observatory (which was not finished until 1711) was being built, the Kirches worked at the private observatory of Bernhard Friedrich Baron von Krosigk, an avid amateur astronomer. Kirch and her husband worked together, taking turns observing the sky. In 1702 Kirch discovered a previously unknown comet. However, Gottfried claimed it as his own discovery, because of his reticence about revealing how closely he and Kirch worked together, and did not admit the truth until 1710. In 1707 Kirch published her observations of the aurora borealis, and in 1709 she published a paper about an upcoming conjunction of the Sun, Saturn, and Venus, which took place in 1712.
Gottfried died in 1710, and Kirch asked the Royal Berlin Academy of Sciences that she and her son Christfried be allowed to continue producing calendars. Kirch noted that during her husband’s illness, she herself had been being doing the work required. The president of the academy, mathematician Gottfried Leibniz, was alone in supporting Kirch’s petition, which was rejected because other academy members felt that a woman’s producing its calendar would be an embarrassment. However, Kirch was allowed to stay in the housing that had been provided to her family. An inexperienced astronomer, Johann Heinrich Hoffmann, was appointed astronomer royal with the responsibility of producing calendars instead. In 1712 Kirch moved to von Krosigk’s observatory. That year she also wrote a paper about an upcoming conjunction of Jupiter and Saturn in 1714. After von Krosigk’s death in 1714, Kirch became an assistant to a mathematician in Danzig. Kirch and Christfried took over Hevelius’s observatory in Danzig at the request of his family. In 1716 the Russian tsar Peter the Great asked Kirch and Christfried to go to Russia, but they refused. That same year Hoffmann died, and Christfried was appointed to the post of astronomer royal. Kirch and two of her daughters, Christine and Margaretha, worked as Christfried’s assistants. In 1717 the Academy reprimanded Kirch for being too prominent in observatory life, especially at public functions. She was removed from residence at the observatory, which ended her scientific career.