Rudolph Minkowski | |
---|---|
Born | |
Died | January 4, 1976 | (aged 80)
Nationality | German |
Known for | supernovae |
Awards | Bruce Medal in 1961 |
Scientific career | |
Fields | Astronomy |
Institutions | Palomar Observatory |
Rudolph Minkowski (born Rudolf Leo Bernhard Minkowski /mɪŋˈkɔːfski, -ˈkɒf-/; [1] German: [mɪŋˈkɔfski]; May 28, 1895 – January 4, 1976) was a German-American astronomer. [2]
1620 Geographos | September 14, 1951 |
Minkowski was the son of Marie Johanna Siegel and physiologist Oskar Minkowski. [4] [5] His uncle was Hermann Minkowski, a mathematician and one of Einstein's teachers in Zürich. Rudolph studied supernovae and, together with Walter Baade, divided them into two classes ( Type I and Type II) based on their spectral characteristics. [6] He and Baade also found optical counterparts to various radio sources.
He headed the National Geographic Society – Palomar Observatory Sky Survey, a photographic atlas of the entire northern sky (and down to declination -22°) up to an apparent magnitude of 22. [2]
Together with Albert George Wilson, he co-discovered the near-Earth Apollo asteroid 1620 Geographos in 1951, [7] and he also discovered Planetary Nebula M2-9. He additionally discovered a correlation between the luminosity of early-type galaxies and their velocity dispersion, [8] which was later quantified by Faber and Jackson. He won the Bruce Medal in 1961. [2] The lunar crater Minkowski is named after him and his uncle. Also the Minkowski 2-9, planetary nebula [9] and the Minkowski's object dwarf galaxy near NGC 541 are named after him. [10]
Rudolph Minkowski | |
---|---|
Born | |
Died | January 4, 1976 | (aged 80)
Nationality | German |
Known for | supernovae |
Awards | Bruce Medal in 1961 |
Scientific career | |
Fields | Astronomy |
Institutions | Palomar Observatory |
Rudolph Minkowski (born Rudolf Leo Bernhard Minkowski /mɪŋˈkɔːfski, -ˈkɒf-/; [1] German: [mɪŋˈkɔfski]; May 28, 1895 – January 4, 1976) was a German-American astronomer. [2]
1620 Geographos | September 14, 1951 |
Minkowski was the son of Marie Johanna Siegel and physiologist Oskar Minkowski. [4] [5] His uncle was Hermann Minkowski, a mathematician and one of Einstein's teachers in Zürich. Rudolph studied supernovae and, together with Walter Baade, divided them into two classes ( Type I and Type II) based on their spectral characteristics. [6] He and Baade also found optical counterparts to various radio sources.
He headed the National Geographic Society – Palomar Observatory Sky Survey, a photographic atlas of the entire northern sky (and down to declination -22°) up to an apparent magnitude of 22. [2]
Together with Albert George Wilson, he co-discovered the near-Earth Apollo asteroid 1620 Geographos in 1951, [7] and he also discovered Planetary Nebula M2-9. He additionally discovered a correlation between the luminosity of early-type galaxies and their velocity dispersion, [8] which was later quantified by Faber and Jackson. He won the Bruce Medal in 1961. [2] The lunar crater Minkowski is named after him and his uncle. Also the Minkowski 2-9, planetary nebula [9] and the Minkowski's object dwarf galaxy near NGC 541 are named after him. [10]