Maurice Loewy

LOEWY, MAURICE (1833–1907), astronomer. Loewy was born in Pressburg (Bratislava), where he trained in the local observatory. In 1861 Loewy was appointed assistant astronomer of the Paris observatory and astronomer in 1864. After the death of Amédée E.B. Mouchez in 1892, he was put in charge of the great international enterprise of the photographic "Carte du Ciel," and later became director of the observatory. He devised several new observational methods. His particular interest was the moon, and together with his collaborator, P.H. Puiseux, he produced a large photographic atlas, which has remained a masterpiece. He was a pioneer in astronomical photography, and the inventor of the "elbow" telescope. He received many honors including the Gold Medal of the Royal Astronomical Society in London.

Sources: Encyclopaedia Judaica. © 2007 The Gale Group. All Rights Reserved.