Obituary for Helmold Schleicher (1944-2025)
The Institute for Solar Physics (KIS) mourns the loss of its long-standing scientific colleague
Dr. Helmold Schleicher
* 03.10.1944
† 08.08.2025
He worked as a staff scientist at the former Kiepenheuer-Institut für Sonnenphysik from August 1968 to October 2009.
Born in Korbach, Helmold Schleicher graduated from high school there in 1964 and began studying physics in the same year, initially in Marburg. After completing his preliminary degree (Vordiplom), he transferred to the University of Göttingen and, during his main studies, increasingly turned his attention to astrophysics, graduating in April 1970. His diploma thesis, entitled ‘Rough analysis of the penumbra of a stable sunspot using the growth curve method,’ was prepared in the Department of Solar Physics in Göttingen under the supervision of the department head and later director of the Kiepenheuer Institute, Prof. E.H. Schröter.
In addition to spectral analysis methods, Helmold Schleicher was already then intensively involved in the use of computers for evaluating solar physics observations and comparing them with atmospheric models of the Sun. Further work in Göttingen and at the Sac. Peak Observatory (Sunspot, New Mexico, USA) ultimately led to his thesis on ‘Numerical investigations of selected Fraunhofer lines; derivation of a model of the higher layers of the solar atmosphere’. Helmold Schleicher completed his doctorate in December 1976 at the Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences at Göttingen University obtaining the grade ‘very good’, as he already had with his diploma.
From May 1968 to July 1976, our former colleague was employed as a research assistant and junior researcher at the University of Göttingen and its observatory. After an interlude at the Astronomical Institute of the Ruhr University Bochum, Helmold Schleicher returned to the University Observatory in Göttingen in November 1977 as a postdoctoral researcher for a total of nearly four years.
From September 1981 onwards, he contributed his expertise to the newly created Gesellschaft für wissenschaftliche Datenverarbeitung mbH (GWDG) in Göttingen for five years, supporting the Georg August University and the Max Planck Institutes based in Göttingen. Most recently, he headed the working group for numerical application software there.
In 1986, Helmold Schleicher moved to the Kiepenheuer Institute in Freiburg, dedicating his skills and experience to the evaluation and interpretation of observational data obtained at the newly established observatory on Tenerife. Until his retirement, Helmold Schleicher was one of the institute's prolific publishers, often collaborating with international colleagues and former KIS employees who now work at many scientific institutions involved in solar physics.
Helmold Schleicher's spectroscopy-based approach to research work placed great importance on the study of scientific literature and current publications. It was therefore only logical that he devoted himself increasingly to curating the institute's library becoming one of its most frequent users.
He remained so even after retirement. Until spring 2023, he took care of the library and continued spending a lot of time at the institute as a guest until this summer, keeping his knowledge up to date and attending the institute's internal colloquia and lectures.
We will certainly miss him and his friendly, calm and reserved manner.
May he rest in peace.
Freiburg, 15.08.2025
KIS Board
Prof. Dr. Hardi Peter
Dr. Johannes Heilmann
Solar Observatory at Schauinsland
Public Tours
The Schauinsland Observatory was the breeding ground of the Institute of Solar Physics (KIS). Erected during WW2, it hosted the early institute until the 1950s. The observatory is located at an altitude of 1200 m east of the Schauinsland summit in the Hofsgrund district, about a 45-minute drive from the center of Freiburg. The observatory has a solar tower telescope with a 45 cm opening and a Littrow spectrograph, as well as a Maksutov telescope with a 35 cm opening for star observation. Due to the weather conditions, around 100 observation days per year can be used for observations at Schauinsland.
Scientific observations at Schauinsland took place until the 1980s. Since then, research has concentrated on the Tenerife observatory while the Schauinsland observatory has been used intensively for student training in physics in cooperation with the University of Freiburg and for public outreach.
Open-hous day (Türöffnertag - Maustag)
Each year, on 3 October, the Sendung mit der Maus has its door-opening day. We also open the doors to you at the solar observatory on the Schauinsland mountain near Freiburg.
Of course, it's more fun when the weather is good. But then, even we solar physicists sometimes travel to a solar telescope just to find ourselves surrounded by clouds. Don't let that discourage you from visiting us anyway; you will enjoy it nevertheless. Depending on the weather, you will learn about topics such as:
- What is the sun, how big is it, and how far is it from the earth?
- How can we observe the sun and what can we actually see on it?
- How does a rainbow form, what do the colours in the light of the sun and the stars tell us?
- We'll take you through a (large) telescope (our telescope is so big you can walk around in it).
- What does one do at a solar observatory and why can't one observe the sun with all telescopes?
- How does a telescope work?
We can guide four tours, consisting of up to 10 children and their escorts. The tours start at 10:00, 11:00, 12:00 and 13:00 and last about an hour each.
Suppose you're enough English speaking people to make up an entire group. In that case, we are happy to offer tours in English but regretfully we cannot do mixed-language presentations. Please register early!
Please register and send further enquiries to: maustag@~@leibniz-kis.de
Weather:
As mentioned above, our plan is to experiment with sunlight and, for example, create an artificial rainbow and demonstrate a large telescope. Still, even if it is cloudy or raining, we can show you the telescope and explain many exciting things about the sun. So the event will take place even if the sun is not shining.
We look forward to your visit!