![[Christopher Scheiner]](ncd01137.jpg "10kb jpg detail of a portrait of Christopher Scheiner, date unknown, artist unknown; please do not write to ask about the image")
Jesuit astronomer
Born in 1575 near Mindelheim, Swabia; died in 1650 Neisse, Silesia.
While engaged in research at Ingolstadt he discovered the existence of sun-spots.
Prior discovery was claimed by Galileo, but Scheiner was the first to make continuous observations of scientific value.
In 1616 the Archduke Maximilian invited him to Innshruck; here he made important studies in optics.
He was the author of Rosa Utsina, a standard treatise on solar phenomena.
New Catholic Dictionary
