George Van Biesbroeck

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George Van Biesbroeck
Discoverer of minor planets
AwardsValz Prize (1928)
James Craig Watson Medal (1957)
Scientific career
FieldsAstronomy
InstitutionsYerkes Observatory
McDonald Observatory
Doctoral advisorKarl Schwarzschild

George A. Van Biesbroeck (or Georges-Achille Van Biesbroeck,

comets. He is notable for his long career as an observational astronomer.[2]

Life

He was born in

Royal Observatory of Belgium at Uccle.[3]

He then enrolled at

Potsdam Observatory under the direction of Max Wolf, Karl Schwarzschild and others.[3]

In 1915, as World War I was raging, he was invited to come to work at Yerkes Observatory. He and his family made the dangerous trip across wartime Europe and settled permanently in the United States. He became a U.S citizen in 1922. He then began his work on double stars, comets, asteroids, and variable stars. In 1945 he was forced into retirement at Yerkes at the age of 65. Relieved of administrative duties, he became an even more active observer at Yerkes and at the McDonald Observatory. He made the frequent automobile trips between the observatories in Wisconsin and Texas without complaint.[4]

He participated in numerous physically grueling astronomical expeditions to remote parts of the world throughout the late 1940s and 1950s. In 1952, at age 72, he traveled to

total eclipse that year. His measurements were in agreement with Einstein's predictions. His travels to Sudan were the subject of a Time magazine article.[5]

Discoveries

He discovered the periodic comet 53P/Van Biesbroeck, as well as two non-periodic comets: C/1925 W1 (Van Biesbroeck 1) and C/1935 Q1 (Van Biesbroeck 2).

He also discovered sixteen

double stars.[7]

Asteroids discovered: 16 [6]
990 Yerkes November 23, 1922 list
993 Moultona January 12, 1923 list
1024 Hale December 2, 1923 list
1027 Aesculapia November 11, 1923 list
1033 Simona September 4, 1924 list
1045 Michela November 19, 1924 list
1046 Edwin December 1, 1924 list
1079 Mimosa January 14, 1927 list
1270 Datura December 17, 1930 list
1312 Vassar July 27, 1933 list
1464 Armisticia
 November 11, 1939 list
2253 Espinette July 30, 1932 list
2463 Sterpin
 March 10, 1934 list
3211 Louispharailda
 February 10, 1931 list
3378 Susanvictoria
 November 25, 1922 list
3641 Williams Bay
 November 24, 1922 list

In 1961 he published the

double stars
.

Later life and death

In 1963 he came to the

Tucson Arizona to work under Gerard Kuiper. There he used his practical skills as a land surveyor to site the new Catalina Station now under the direction of Steward Observatory and that now houses the 1.6m Kuiper Telescope.[9]
He continued to observe and make contributions to astronomy up to a few months before his death. New scientific papers continued to be published under his name for several years afterward. He died on February 23, 1974, at the age of 94.

Honors and awards

Throughout his long and productive life he received many honors. This is a partial list.

Objects named for Van Biesbroeck

The George Van Biesbroeck Prize

The George Van Biesbroeck Prize, awarded by the American Astronomical Society, is named in his honor. The prize is a lifetime achievement award given to astronomers who have contributed long-term extraordinary or unselfish service to astronomy.

References

  1. ^ Charles Earle Funk (1936) What's the Name, Please?: A Guide to the Correct Pronunciation of Current Prominent Names, p.161
  2. doi:10.1063/1.3128713
    .
  3. ^
    Bibcode:1974LAstr..88Q.305M
    .
  4. ^ Osterbrock D. E. Yerkes Observatory, 1892-1950: The Birth, near Death, and Resurrection of a Scientific Research Institution. University of Chicago Press. p. 267.
  5. ^ "Decision in Khartoum". Time. December 22, 1952. Archived from the original on October 18, 2007.
  6. ^ a b "Minor Planet Discoverers (by number)". Minor Planet Center. September 4, 2016. Retrieved September 7, 2016.
  7. ^ "Washington Double Star Catalog". Archived from the original on February 14, 2011. Retrieved October 19, 2017.
  8. doi:10.1086/108457
    .
  9. Bibcode:1974JRASC..68..202H
    .
  10. ISBN 978-3-540-00238-3
    .

External links

Archival collections

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