Observation

Just looked at Sagittarius and Scorpius rising on the horizon. Antares is as red and bright as ever.

Quarter 4 Astronomer Project: Jan Oort

Born in the Netherlands at the start of the twentieth century, Jan Oort was quick to pursue his dream: a career in science. Majoring in Physics at the University of Oegstegeest in Leiden, Oort was able to attend the lectures of the prestigious astronomer Jaccobus Kapteyn, who was the inspiration in turning Oort towards the career path of an astronomer, in the year 1917. In 1921 Oort took obtained his doctoral degree, but continued his studies in order to achieve the highest possible degree. It was during this time that Oort was placed as the assistant to Pieter Van Rhijn, who was an astronomer who worked alongside Oorts inspiration, Kapteyn. Soon Oort moved to the Yale Observatory, spending his time finding accurate positions of stars. While Oort was pleased with the experience he gained at the Yale Observatory, the tedious task of finding the positions of stars wasn’t what Oort wanted to spend all his time doing. Thus, when the opportunity arose, Oort moved back to Leiden to work as a research assistant.

            By 1935 Oort had achieved the status of “Professor Extraordinary” at the Leiden Observatory. It was during this time that Oort created his doctoral thesis regarding the high velocity of stars. It was within this thesis that Oort was able to take extremely complex equations created by Lindblad (another astronomer), and derive them into far simpler equations which explained the rotational motion of entire galaxies. It was with this information that Oort determined that the center of galaxies must be filled with an incredible mass, a theory contrary to the concepts supported by Lindblad. Soon, Oort was seen as the most prominent of the founders of galactic rotation. This discovery made Oort one of the most sought after astronomers of the time, receiving offers to work at both Harvard and Columbia. Oort, however, chose to stay in Leiden.

            Unfortunately for Oort, World War II broke out while he was still in the Netherlands. As Nazi Germany dominated continental Europe, an occupied Netherlands became extremely difficult to conduct astronomical research in. By 1942, as the Nazi’s were purging the inferior races within the university, Oort determined it best to disappear from the eyes of the Germans, and moved to a tiny village within the Netherlands, resigning from his position. While Oort was able to spend some time working on mathematical equations, in the grand scheme of things the time was ultimately wasted.

            When the war ended Oort was able to return to Leiden Observatory, and was quick to become the observatory’s director. During this time radio astronomy was becoming a reality, and Oort was quick to embrace the new technology. With the use of radio astronomy, Oort was able to prove with a group of other astronomers that the Milky Way Galaxy was in fact a spiral galaxy.

            In addition to studying galaxies, Oort also spent some time investigating the formation and existence of comets within our solar system. His belief that comets generally come from a single origin is what led to him being named after the Oort cloud, a ring of material surrounding our solar system which many comets pass through.

            Overall, Oorts contributions to modern astronomy were great. Oorts discoveries shape our views of the galaxy today, shedding light on its spiral structure and understanding the incredible mass that rests at their centers. Oort showed incredible ability in the area of mathematics, working to prove to his upmost ability every one of his hypotheses.

APOD 4.8

Pictured above is the space shuttle Endeavor, making its final voyage to the International Space Station. This is the second to last shuttle launch ever, and represents the end of a significant era of space exploration. The remarkable force the shuttle creates as it launches off the ground is made clear in this photo, showing just how much energy is required to escape our Earth's atmosphere. The shuttle burns through entire swimming pools of fuel in seconds, and its liftoff can be seen from across the state. The Endeavor, and other space shuttles of its kind, are truly a great feat of human engineering.

APOD 4.7

Shown above is an incredible picture of Saturn's moon Enceladus from the view of the Cassini spacecraft orbiting Saturn. This view gives incredible perspective from Saturn, making it more Earth-like. The crescent moon makes it so much more like Earth's moon, the craters becoming incredibly clear. This picture is one of many that highlights the beauty of our Solar System.

Astronomer Sources Quarter 4: Jan Oort

Print Source:

Complete Dictionary of Scientific Biography. Vol. 23. Detroit: Charles Scribner's Sons, 2008. p341-347. 


Web Sources:




http://bc.ub.leidenuniv.nl/bc/tentoonstelling/Jan_Oort/inhoud.htm

http://www.esa.int/esaSC/SEMBPC2PGQD_index_0.html

http://www.answers.com/topic/jan-oort

APOD 4.6

 

50 years ago to yesterday this rocket sent the first American into space. Back in the good old days when they used rockets to shoot people into space, Alan Shepard only spent 15 minutes in orbit before returning back to Earth. In the photo you can see gas being released out of the cracks of the rocket, making the rocket appear fairly dangerous. This moment 50 years ago was a momentous occasion, and was the start of the United States sending people into space.

APOD 4.5

This photo above is the remnant of the supernova observed by Tycho Brahe. What is so incredible about space is that we are able to see the effects of something that happened centuries ago, as it continues to evolve. This supernova was clearly enormous, the amount of dust that has been created is incredible. The remnant star, quite possibly a neutron star, is impossible to see on this spectrum, with such an incredible amount of dust in the way. The Supernova was visible to the naked eye when it occurred, giving an idea of how incredibly monstrous a supernova truly is.