Historedia
Person

Friedrich Bessel

Events
1
Episodes
2
Years
1837–1838

Every event in Historedia whose sources name Friedrich Bessel, with the role they cite and all of that event’s episodes. This is not a biography, and mentions are grouped by name, so two people with the same name can share this page.

Events and episodes

  1. Friedrich Bessel measures the distance to a star (61 Cygni)

    1837–1838

    Role: Astronomer

    1. 1837–1838 · Königsberg ObservatoryBessel Measures 61 Cygni Parallax

      Friedrich Bessel conducted an observational campaign in 1837–1838 at Königsberg Observatory, measuring the parallax of 61 Cygni using a Fraunhofer heliometer.

    2. 1838 · Königsberg ObservatoryPublication of Parallax Results

      Bessel published his findings in 1838, establishing the first reliable distance scale to stars through trigonometric parallax measurements.

Sources

  1. Stellar parallax Wikipedia, revision of 2026-07-09
  2. Friedrich Wilhelm Bessel Wikipedia, revision of 2026-08-29
  3. 61 Cygni Wikipedia, revision of 2026-09-30