| |
| | Bessel, Friedrich Wilhelm (1784-1846) |
 | | Bessel was a superb observer and made many important contributions to positional astronomy, including, in 1838, the first direct measurement of a star's distance, that of 61 Cygni, by trigonometric parallax. |
 | | Bessel argued against the existence of life on the Moon at a time when several notable compatriots of his, including Gauss, Gruithuisen, Littrow, and Olbers, were in the pro-selenite camp. |
 | | In particular, he noted the sharpness with which stars are occulted by the Moon, indicating the absence of a lunar atmosphere. |
| www.daviddarling.info /encyclopedia/B/Bessel.html (355 words) |
|