Peter van de Kamp

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Peter van de Kamp
University of Utrecht, University of California, Berkeley
Known forAstrometry
AwardsJanssen Prize
Scientific career
Fieldsastronomy
InstitutionsSproul Observatory, University of Amsterdam

Piet van de Kamp (December 26, 1901 – May 18, 1995), known as Peter van de Kamp in the United States, was a Dutch

Barnard's star had a planetary system based on observed "wobbles" in its motion, but this is now known to be false.[1][2]
On November 14, 2018, the
Barnard's star hosts an exoplanet at least 3.2 times as massive as Earth, though this does not match either of the planets he had claimed.[3] In 2021, even this planet's existence was questioned.[4]

Life

Van de Kamp was the son of Lubbertus van de Kamp, who had an administrative job at a cigar factory, and Engelina C.A. van der Wal. His younger brother Jacob van de Kamp was also a successful scientist: an organic chemist, who spent most of his career in the United States.

National Academy of Sciences. There he assisted Samuel Alfred Mitchell with his extensive stellar parallax program and Harold Alden with the lengthy Boss
star project.

The following year Van de Kamp went to the

Nancy Grace Roman, who went on to become NASA's first Chief of Astronomy.[7]

His work consisted of assisting with the parallax program and continuing the proper motion work that he and Alden had begun. Van de Kamp and

Alexander N. Vyssotsky spent eight years measuring 18,000 proper motions. He did additional, smaller projects individually, including an investigation for general and selective absorption of light within the Milky Way
.

Barnard's Star affair

While at

Barnard's Star b), albeit of much lower mass than Van de Kamp could have detected;[3] however, the existence of this planet too was questioned in 2021.[4]

From the 1940s on Van de Kamp and his staff made similar claims of planetary systems around the nearby stars Lalande 21185, 61 Cygni, and many others, based on the same flawed photographic plates.[15] All of these claims have been refuted.[16] However, with the recent discoveries of numerous planetary systems, the idea that planetary systems are common—of which throughout his life Van de Kamp was a strong promoter—is being gradually proven correct.

Music

Van de Kamp was a talented musician, playing piano, viola, and violin, only forgoing a musical career in his youth because he considered this more difficult to achieve than a career in astronomy.[17] He helped to organize an orchestra in Charlottesville, which he conducted and included fellow astronomer Alexander Vyssotsky. He also composed music for orchestra as well as for piano. From 1944 to 1954 he was conductor of the Swarthmore College Symphony Orchestra. He combined his musical gifts with another hobby, movies, by playing silent films on Swarthmore campus and accompanying them on the piano.[6] At Swarthmore Van de Kamp performed with Peter Schickele, and made several films of Schickele's student performance, while on the occasion of his 70th birthday Schickele wrote a piano piece for him called The Easy Goin' P. v. d. K. Ever Lovin' Rag. Van de Kamp said that his fondest musical memory was playing chamber music with Albert Einstein, on the evening before the latter's commencement address at Swarthmore College in 1938.[6]

Later life and death

In 1972 he retired from Swarthmore and returned to the Netherlands, where he became Fulbright Professor to the University of Amsterdam. He died in suburban Amsterdam May 18, 1995, at the age of 93.[17]

Awards and honors

In 1965 he was awarded the Rittenhouse Medal by the Rittenhouse Astronomical Society. In 1982 he was awarded the

Société Astronomique de France.[18] In 2009 a new observatory at Swarthmore College was named for him.[19] Asteroid 1965 van de Kamp named after astronomer Peter van de Kamp.[20]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b Kent, Bill (2001). "Barnard's Wobble" (PDF). Bulletin. Swarthmore College. Retrieved August 9, 2006.
  2. ^
    S2CID 16738100
    .
  3. ^ a b Washington Post: "Signs of a ‘super Earth’ discovered around a nearby star"
  4. ^
  5. ^ John M. Chemerda, Biographical Notice of Jacob van de Kamp (1904–1973)
  6. ^ a b c Laurence W. Fredrick, Peter van de Kamp (1901–1995), Publications of the Astronomical Socitiey of the Pacific 108:556–559, July 1996
  7. ^ Roman, Nancy G. (August 19, 1980). "Nancy G. Roman". www.aip.org (Interview). Interviewed by David DeVorkin. College Park, MD USA: Niels Bohr Library & Archives, American Institute of Physics.
  8. .
  9. ^ George H. Bell: "The Search for the Extrasolar Planets: A Brief History of the Search, the Findings and the Future Implications"
  10. ^ "Astrobio.net: "The Barnard's Star Blunder"". Archived from the original on March 11, 2007. Retrieved January 26, 2006.
  11. ^ Weblore.com: "Barnard’s Star and the Detection of Extrasolar Planets" Archived September 7, 2011, at the Wayback Machine
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  17. ^ .
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  19. ^ Jeffrey Lott (July 2009). "New Peter van de Kamp Observatory Dedicated". Swarthmore College Bulletin. Retrieved December 12, 2009.
  20. .

External links