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Ole Rømer

File:Rømer,_Ole_(ur_Berømte_danske_maend).jpg · Wikimedia Commons · See Wikimedia Commons

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Ole Rømer

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Also known as Olaus Roemer, Ole Christensen Romer, Ole Christensen Rømer

Danish astronomer (*1644 – †1710)

AI overview

Ole Rømer was a Danish astronomer from the 17th-18th centuries who made important contributions to understanding the cosmos during the early modern period of scientific discovery. His work helped advance astronomical knowledge when the field was undergoing major developments through improved observation and mathematical analysis.

AI-generated from the Wikipedia summary — may contain errors.

Wikidata facts

Instance of
human
Given name
Ole
Gender
male
Citizenship
Danish Realm
Place of birth
Aarhus
Place of death
Copenhagen
Occupation
police officer
Employer
University of Copenhagen
Languages spoken
Danish
Religion
Lutheranism
Notable work
Rømer's determination of the speed of light
Field of work
astronomy
Image
Rømer, Ole (ur Berømte danske maend).jpg
Residence
Copenhagen
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Commons category
Ole Rømer
date of birth
1644-09-25
date of death
1710-09-19
Commons Creator page
Ole Rømer
member of
Royal Prussian Academy of Sciences
name in native language
Ole Christensen Rømer
maintained by WikiProject
WikiProject Mathematics
P8168
Mourning Dove
Sources (2)

via Wikidata · CC0

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Encyclopedic overview

Ole Christensen Rømer ( Danish: [ˈoːlə ˈʁœˀmɐ]; 25 September 1644 – 19 September 1710) was a Danish astronomer who, in 1676, first demonstrated that light travels at a finite speed. Rømer also invented the modern thermometer showing the temperature between two fixed points, namely the points at which water boils and freezes.

Rømer made his discovery regarding the speed of light while working at the Royal Observatory in Paris and studying Jupiter's moon Io. He estimated that light takes about 11 minutes to travel from the Sun to Earth. Using today's knowledge of the Sun-Earth distance, this would amount to a speed of light of approximately 220,000 kilometers per second, compared to today's accepted value of just under 300,000 kilometers per second.

Excerpted from Wikipedia’s “Ole Rømer” article, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.

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