George David Gatewood

George David Gatewood (born 1940) also known as George G. Gatewood, is an American astronomer and presently is professor emeritus at the University of Pittsburgh and at the Allegheny Observatory. He specializes in astronomy, astronomical instrumentation, statistical methods, stellar astrophysics, astrometric properties of nearby stars and the observational discovery and the study of planetary systems.[1]
He came to popular attention with his 1996 announcement of the discovery of a nearby multi-planet star system.[2] This discovery has yet to be confirmed and is regarded with skepticism today.[3]

Contents

Education

He received his B.A. in Astronomy from the University of South Florida in 1965.
He received his M.A. in Astronomy from the University of South Florida in 1968.
He received his Ph.D. in 1972 from the University of Pittsburgh.[1] His doctoral dissertation was an astrometric study of Barnard's Star.[4]

The Barnard's Star affair

Main article: Barnard's Star - Claims of a planetary system

In the 1960s astronomer Peter van de Kamp claimed that he had discovered a planet orbiting Barnard's Star using astrometry. The two papers from 1973 were most influential in discrediting this claim. The first paper by John L.Hershey identified systematic errors in the telescope that van de Kamp had used.[5] The second paper by was authored by Gatewood and Heinrich Eichhorn. They repeated the astrometry measurements made by van de Kamp with improved equipment and failed to detect any sign of Barnard's Star companions.[6]

The Lalande 21185 affair

Main article: Lalande 21185 - Claims of a planetary system

Despite his involvement in the Barnard's Star affair 23 years earlier, Gatewood himself created a similar controversy. Gatewood predicted the existence of planets around nearby stars and studied these stars intensely attempting to detect planets by astrometry. Gatewood began studying Lalande 21185 soon after completing his thesis in the early 1970s. He failed to detect any planets at that time but was not discouraged.[7] He continued to study this star and in 1996 he announced at an AAS meeting[8] and to the popular press[2] that a multiple-planet planetary system was present around this star, even though data from careful measurements he made himself a few years earlier indicated that large planets in this system were unlikely.[9] Numerous subsequent studies of this system have failed to confirm the presence of any planets and have gradually discredited his claim also.[3]
One popular science fiction novel, written in the mid-1980s, refers to Lalande 21185 as Gatewood's Star.[10] Likely Gatewood's name was chosen in response to the popular books and articles he wrote predicting the existence of possibly inhabited planets around this and other nearby stars at that time as this novel precedes his announcement of planets in this system by a decade.[11]

Continued research

George Gatewood continues to be very active in the study of nearby stars. In 2009 he published a refinement of the distance to Teegarden's star as well as several other dim stars that are nearby.[12]

Selected publications

Gatewood is a prolific researcher and writer with 157 publications since 1967. He has also authored several popular books on astronomy. The following is a list of recent publications listed on his Curriculum Vitae as well as the University website.

References

  1. ^ a b "George G. Gatewood". University of Pittsburgh. http://www.phyast.pitt.edu/people/fprofile.php?id=152. Retrieved 2009-05-31. 
  2. ^ a b John Wilford (1996-06-12). "Data Seem to Show a Solar System Nearly in the Neighborhood". The New York Times. p. 1. http://www.nytimes.com/1996/06/12/us/data-seem-to-show-a-solar-system-nearly-in-the-neighborhood.html. Retrieved 2009-05-29. 
  3. ^ a b Henry et al.; Baliunas, Sallie L.; Donahue, Robert A.; Fekel, Francis C.; Soon, Willie (March 1, 2000). "Photometric and Ca II H and K Spectroscopic Variations in Nearby Sun-like Stars with Planets. III". The Astrophysical Journal 531 (1): 415–437. Bibcode 2000ApJ...531..415H. doi:10.1086/308466. http://www.iop.org/EJ/article/0004-637X/531/1/415/50376.web.pdf?request-id=b98eea9d-4dc7-462a-9797-bd06712fd0ad. 
  4. ^ Gatewood, George David (1972). An Astrometric Study of Barnard's Star. University of Pittsburgh. Bibcode 1972PhDT.........5G. 
  5. ^ John L. Hershey (1973). "Astrometric analysis of the field of AC +65 6955 from plates taken with the Sproul 24-inch refractor" (PDF). The Astronomical Journal 78 (6): 421. Bibcode 1973AJ.....78..421H. doi:10.1086/111436. 
  6. ^ Gatewood et al.; Eichhorn, H. (October 1973). "An unsuccessful search for a planetary companion of Barnard's star BD +4°3561". The Astronomical Journal 78: 769–776. Bibcode 1973AJ.....78..769G. doi:10.1086/111480. 
  7. ^ Gatewood, G. (1974). "An astrometric study of Lalande 21185". The Astronomical Journal 79: 52–53. Bibcode 1974AJ.....79...52G. doi:10.1086/111530. 
  8. ^ Gatewood, G. (May 1996). "Lalande 21185". Bulletin of the American Astronomical Society (American Astronomical Society, 188th AAS Meeting, #40.11;) 28: 885. Bibcode 1996AAS...188.4011G. 
  9. ^ Gatewood et al.; Stein, John; De Jonge, Joost K.; Persinger, Timothy; Reiland, Thomas; Stephenson, Bruce (September 1992). "Multichannel astrometric photometer and photographic astrometric studies in the regions of Lalande 21185, BD 56°2966, and HR 4784" (PDF). The Astronomical Journal 104 (3): 1237–1247. Bibcode 1992AJ....104.1237G. doi:10.1086/116313. 
  10. ^ Vernor Vinge (1986). Marooned in Realtime. Bluejay Books/St. Martin's Press. 
  11. ^ Gatewood, G. (1980). In Search of Extrasolar Planets. KNUDSEN. Bibcode 1980CosSe...2...12G. 
  12. ^ George Gatewood, Louis Coban (January 2009). "Allegheny Observatory Parallaxes for Late M Dwarfs and White Dwarfs". The Astronomical Journal 137 (1): 402–405. Bibcode 2009AJ....137..402G. doi:10.1088/0004-6256/137/1/402. 

External links