Eugene Karl Rabe was a German-American astronomer.

He was born in Berlin, Germany, the son of Hermann and Luise.

From 1937–1948 he was a member of the staff at the Heidelberg, Germany branch of the Astronomisches Rechen-Institut. After World War II

World War II

World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

, it was arranged for him to come to the United States. He then became professor of astronomy at the University of Cincinnati

University of Cincinnati

The University of Cincinnati is a comprehensive public research university in Cincinnati, Ohio, and a part of the University System of Ohio....

, while working at the Cincinnati Observatory

Cincinnati Observatory

The Cincinnati Observatory, located in Cincinnati, Ohio on top of Mt. Lookout. It consists of two observatory buildings housing an 11 inch and 16 inch aperture refracting telescope. It is the oldest professional observatory in the United States...

. His work included orbital motions of the Trojan asteroids, and particularly the orbit of 433 Eros

433 Eros

433 Eros is a near-Earth asteroid discovered in 1898, and the first asteroid to be orbited by a probe . It is an S-type asteroid approximately 34.4×11.2×11.2 km in size, the second-largest NEA after 1036 Ganymed, and belongs to the Amor group.Eros is a Mars-crosser asteroid, the first known...

. In 1951, he used twenty years worth of observations of Eros to determine the gravitational perturbations of the planets. From these, he calculated the most accurate masses to that date of Mercury

Mercury (planet)

Mercury is the innermost and smallest planet in the Solar System, orbiting the Sun once every 87.969 Earth days. The orbit of Mercury has the highest eccentricity of all the Solar System planets, and it has the smallest axial tilt. It completes three rotations about its axis for every two orbits...

, Venus

Venus

Venus is the second planet from the Sun, orbiting it every 224.7 Earth days. The planet is named after Venus, the Roman goddess of love and beauty. After the Moon, it is the brightest natural object in the night sky, reaching an apparent magnitude of −4.6, bright enough to cast shadows...

, Mars

Mars

Mars is the fourth planet from the Sun in the Solar System. The planet is named after the Roman god of war, Mars. It is often described as the "Red Planet", as the iron oxide prevalent on its surface gives it a reddish appearance...

 and the Moon

Moon

The Moon is Earth's only known natural satellite,There are a number of near-Earth asteroids including 3753 Cruithne that are co-orbital with Earth: their orbits bring them close to Earth for periods of time but then alter in the long term . These are quasi-satellites and not true moons. For more...

.

The minor planet

Minor planet

An asteroid group or minor-planet group is a population of minor planets that have a share broadly similar orbits. Members are generally unrelated to each other, unlike in an asteroid family, which often results from the break-up of a single asteroid...

 1624 Rabe

1624 Rabe

1624 Rabe is a main-belt asteroid discovered on October 9, 1931 by K. Reinmuth at Heidelberg.- External links :*...

 is named after him.

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