Axel Nielsen


Axel Vilfred Nielsen was a Danish astronomer at the Ole Rømer Observatory in Aarhus from 1927 until his death in 1970.
In 1921, while still a student, Nielsen established his private observatory "Spica" in Glostrup. The observatory was located on the premises of a local enterprise, Glostrup Træskofabrik, where Nielsen's father, Peder Adolf Nielsen, was employed as a manager. Axel V. Nielsen graduated in 1926 from the University of Copenhagen. In 1927 Nielsen was employed as an assistant with the Ole Rømer Observatory in Aarhus, later as head of section. The Ole Rømer Observatory had been established in 1911; in 1956 it was handed over to the University of Aarhus.
The crater Nielsen on the Moon is named after Axel V. Nielsen and the American physicist Harald Herborg Nielsen. Nielsen is a 10 km wide impact crater in the Oceanus Procellarum. It is located north-east of Montes Agricola.
Nielsen published several books and articles on astronomy and the history of astronomy in Denmark. In 1944 he published a major work on the Danish astronomer Ole Rømer. Nielsen's publication record includes:
Axel V. Nielsen was the son of Peder Adolf Nielsen and Caroline Marie Nielsen. He grew up with his two younger brothers, Holger Marius Nielsen and Povl Erik Nielsen in Glostrup, 10 kilometres west of Copenhagen.