He found a convenient method of calculating the orbit of comets, and in 1802 and 1807, discovered the second and the fourth asteroids Pallas and Vesta.

In 1800, Olbers was one of 24 astronomers invited to participate in the group known as the "celestial police", dedicated to finding new planets in the solar system.

The current view of most scientists is that tidal effects from the planet Jupiter disrupted the planet-formation process in the asteroid belt.

Olbers' paradox, described by him in 1823 (and then reformulated in 1826), states that the darkness of the night sky conflicts with the supposition of an infinite and eternal static universe.

[1] Olbers' paradox, the argument that the dark sky at night shows that stars cannot be evenly distributed through infinite space, is named for him, though others had also advanced it.