Master of Galactic Astronomy: A Biography of Jan Hendrik Oort (Springer Biographies)

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 20 th 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. Preface 8 Acknowledgments 13 Contents 15 1 Youth in Oegstgeest and Leiden 18 1.1 Franeker 21 1.2 Oegstgeest 25 1.3 `Hoogere Burgerschool' in Leiden 32 2 Kapteyn and Galactic Astronomy Around 1920 38 2.1 Jacobus Cornelius Kapteyn 39 2.2 The Kapteyn System 48 3 Student at the University of Groningen 53 3.1 Student Life in Groningen 53 3.2 Kapteyn's Lectures 58 3.3 Astronomical Research 62 4 Via Yale to Leiden 69 4.1 Leiden Observatory (Sterrewacht Leiden) 70 4.2 The IAU in Rome 75 4.3 To America 81 4.4 Yale Observatory 85 4.5 Life in New Haven 89 4.6 To Leiden 91 5 Rotation and Dynamics of the Milky Way Galaxy 98 5.1 Absolute Declinations 101 5.2 PhD in Groningen 103 5.3 Johanna Maria Graadt van Roggen 108 5.4 The Rotation of the Galaxy 111 5.5 Harvard, Columbia or Leiden? 117 6 The Structure of Our and Other Galaxies 120 6.1 The Oort Limit 122 6.2 Perkins Observatory 125 6.3 The Succession of de Sitter 133 6.4 An Expedition to Kenya 138 6.5 General Secretary of the IAU 140 6.6 Absorption and the Structure of the Galaxy 141 6.7 The McDonald Inauguration 143 6.8 Mount Wilson 150 7 The Watershed: World War II 152 7.1 First Years of the War 153 7.2 Personal Matters and Scientific Research up to 1942 157 7.3 Nova Persei 1901 and the Crab Nebula 160 7.4 Astronomers Conferences 165 7.5 The Potbrummel at Hulshorst 166 7.6 Interstellar Medium 173 8 Breaking New Ground 180 8.1 Director of Sterrewacht Leiden 182 8.2 Recovery of the IAU 184 8.3 The Interstellar Medium 185 8.4 Yerkes, McDonald and Palomar 188 8.5 Kenya and South-Africa 193 8.6 The Oort Cloud 202 8.7 The Oort Family 204 9 From Kootwijk to Dwingeloo 211 9.1 The Discovery of the 21-cm Line 212 9.2 Spiral Structure of the Galaxy 217 9.3 Pasadena, Princeton and Gas Clouds 221 9.4 Back to the Crab 225 9.5 President of the IAU 230 9.6 The Dwingeloo Radio Telescope 237 10 The Structure of Our Galaxy and Dwingeloo 243 10.1 Administrative Work 244 10.2 Stellar Populations at the Vatican 247 10.3 South-Africa and Chile 253 10.4 More Dynamics 260 10.5 Research in Dwingeloo 266 11 Westerbork and Retirement 274 11.1 Personal Matters 274 11.2 Honors, Golden Quill and Vetlesen Prize 278 11.3 The Westerbork Synthesis Radio Telescope 281 11.4 Retirement 288 11.5 Westerbork and Nearby Galaxies 292 11.6 More Astronomical Research 296 11.7 Pocket Diaries and End-of-Year Highlights 299 12 The Last Horizon 304 12.1 Superclusters 306 12.2 Return of Halley 309 12.3 Balzan and Kyoto Prizes 310 12.4 Personal Matters 313 12.5 The End 317 A Astronomical Background 322 A.1 Kepler and the Orbit of Mars 322 A.2 Positional Astronomy 326 A.3 Properties of Stars 328 A.4 Stellar Evolution 331 B Honors and Genealogy 336 B.1 Awards, Prizes and Honorary Doctorates 336 B.2 Academic Genealogy 339 C Literature 345 References 348 Index 357