Overview
- Biography of one of the most influential astronomers of the 20th century
- Written by Oort’s former student for a general audience interested in the history of astronomy
- Based on new research in the Oort Archives
Part of the book series: Springer Biographies (SPRINGERBIOGS)
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Table of contents (12 chapters)
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Front Matter
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Back Matter
Keywords
- Jan Hendrik Oort biography
- Oort Cloud comets
- Oort constants
- Galactic rotation
- Radio astronomy of the Milky Way
- Galactic Structure
- Leiden Observatory
- Spiral structure of Milky Way
- European Southern Observatory (ESO)
- 21-cm line
- Westerbork radio telescope
- Dwingeloo radio telescope
- 67P/Churyumov–Gerasimenko
- interstellar comet
About this book
This accessible and entertaining biography chronicles the life and triumphs of astronomer Jan Hendrik Oort, who helped lay the foundations of modern astronomy in the 20th century. The book puts into context some of Oort's most significant achievements, including his discovery that the Milky Way rotates, as well as his famous hypothesis that our Solar System is surrounded by a reservoir of comets — now simply known as the Oort Cloud.
Written by Oort’s former student, this fascinating story also delves into Oort’s pivotal role in the foundation of major astronomical facilities, including radio telescopes in the Netherlands and the European Southern Observatory (ESO), which now operates the most successful astronomical observatories in the world.
The book draws extensively on new archival research through the Oort Archives, along with personal reminiscences by Oort’s son and astronomer-grandson, to paint a more detailed picture of Oort’s life not just as an astronomer, but also as a husband, father, and citizen. The strong public interest in comets triggered by the Rosetta mission to comet 67P/Churyumov–Gerasimenko and the recently discovered interstellar comet in the Solar System make this book particularly timely.Authors and Affiliations
About the author
In Groningen he taught introductory astronomy and advanced level courses on structure and dynamics of galaxies for many years, the latter also at a Saas-Fee winter school in Switzerland and in university curricula in Porto, Portugal, in Santiago, Chile and in Beijing, China. He is a former director of the Kapteyn Astronomical Institute and has been a member and often chairman of numerous national and international boards and committees, notably President of Council of the European Southern Observatory and chairman of the Board for the Atacama Large Millimeter Array ALMA. In 2006 he received a Royal Decoration as Knight in the Order of the Dutch Lion.
Bibliographic Information
Book Title: Master of Galactic Astronomy: A Biography of Jan Hendrik Oort
Authors: Pieter C. van der Kruit
Series Title: Springer Biographies
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-55548-1
Publisher: Springer Cham
eBook Packages: Physics and Astronomy, Physics and Astronomy (R0)
Copyright Information: The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2021
Hardcover ISBN: 978-3-030-55547-4Published: 29 December 2020
Softcover ISBN: 978-3-030-55550-4Published: 12 May 2022
eBook ISBN: 978-3-030-55548-1Published: 28 December 2020
Series ISSN: 2365-0613
Series E-ISSN: 2365-0621
Edition Number: 1
Number of Pages: XIX, 356
Number of Illustrations: 135 b/w illustrations, 60 illustrations in colour
Additional Information: English translation of original Dutch edition published by Prometheus, 2020
Topics: Astronomy, Observations and Techniques, Astrophysics and Astroparticles, History and Philosophical Foundations of Physics, History of Science