David Fabricius

David Fabricius (1564 to 1617) was a Frisian pastor who made two major discoveries in the early days of telescopic astronomy, together with his eldest son Johannes. Born at Esens, he studied at the University of Helmstedt from 1583 and served as pastor in small towns near his birthplace, first at Resterhafe and from 1603 at Osteel. Like many Protestant ministers of his day he dabbled in science, and astronomy was his particular interest; he corresponded with Johannes Kepler. In August 1596 he found Mira, the first known periodic variable star, which he first took for an ordinary nova until it brightened again in 1609. In 1611 he and his son turned telescopes on the Sun and recorded sunspots, and they invented camera obscura telescopy to protect their eyes and saw that the spots moved.