Tom Gehrels

Tom Gehrels

Gehrels at Spacewatch Telescope 1980's
Born (1925-02-21)February 21, 1925
Haarlemmermeer, the Netherlands
Died July 11, 2011(2011-07-11) (aged 86)
Tucson, Arizona, United States
Nationality Dutch–American
Occupation Astronomer

Anton M.J. "Tom" Gehrels[1] (February 21, 1925 – July 11, 2011) was a Dutch–American[2] astronomer, Professor of Planetary Sciences, and Astronomer at the University of Arizona, Tucson.

Biography

Youth and education

Gehrels was born at Haarlemmermeer, the Netherlands on February 21, 1925. During World War II he was, as a teenager, active in the Dutch Resistance.[1] After he escaped to England, he was sent back by parachute as an organizer for Special Operations Executive SOE committing sabotage against the German forces.[1]

After the war, he attended the University of Leiden where he graduated with a degree in physics and astronomy in 1951. He continued his education at the University of Chicago where he obtained his doctorate in astronomy and astrophysics in 1956. In 1960 he moved to the University of Arizona along with Gerald Kuiper where he would remain for the next 50 years.[3]

Astronomical work

Gehrels pioneered the first photometric system of asteroids in the 1950s, and wavelength dependence of polarization of stars and planets in the 1960s, each resulting in an extended sequence of papers in the Astronomical Journal.

He discovered, jointly with the husband and wife team of Cornelis Johannes van Houten and Ingrid van Houten-Groeneveld, over 4000 asteroids, including Apollo asteroids, Amor asteroids, as well as dozens of Trojan asteroids. That was done in a sky survey using the 48-inch Schmidt telescope at Palomar Observatory and shipping the plates to the two Dutch astronomers at Leiden Observatory, who analyzed them for new asteroids. The trio are jointly credited with several thousand discoveries. Gehrels also discovered a number of comets.

He was Principal Investigator for the Imaging Photopolarimeter experiment on the Pioneer 10 and Pioneer 11 first flybys of Jupiter and Saturn in the 1970s.

Gehrels initiated the Space Science Series of textbooks, was General Editor for the first 30 volumes of the University of Arizona Press, and set the style by participating in the editing of six of them.[3] He also initiated the Spacewatch program in 1980 and was its Principal Investigator (PI) for electronic surveying to obtain statistics of asteroids and comets, including near-Earth asteroids. Bob McMillan was co-investigator and manager, and became the PI in 1997.

Gehrels taught an undergraduate course for non-science majors in Tucson in the Fall, and lectured a brief version of that in the Spring at the Physical Research Laboratory in Ahmedabad, India. That is in a UN Course for graduate students from countries as Uzbekistan and North Korea, for example.

His recent research was on universal evolution,[3] which was woven in as the guiding thread through these courses. He was the named winner of the 2007 Harold Masursky Award for his outstanding service to planetary science.

Comets discovered, for example:
64P/Swift-Gehrels*
78P/Gehrels 2
82P/Gehrels 3
90P/Gehrels 1

* in 1889 by Swift, rediscovered

Gehrels was requested by the Journal Nature to write a review on a book regarding Wernher von Braun, in which he quotes inmates of concentration camp Dora. He has therefore charged that von Braun was there regularly and much in charge, and that von Braun bears greater responsibility and guilt than his official biography would imply.[4] Towards the end of the book review it reads: Von Braun needs no phony defense, for he was a great man in his own scientific specialization... What is needed is a more sophisticated historical perspective....

Tom Gehrels was the husband of Aleida J. Gehrels (née de Stoppelaar) and father of Neil Gehrels, George Gehrels and Jo-Ann Gehrels. He died in Tucson, Arizona. The minor planet 1777 Gehrels was named in his honour.[5]

Career

Books

Asteroids discovered, for example:
1979 Sakharov
2247 Hiroshima
4065 Meinel
11184 Postma

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 The University of Arizona (July 12, 2011). "Astronomer Tom Gehrels, 1925-2011". Retrieved 2013-06-02.
  2. Radio Netherlands Worldwide (July 13, 2011). "Dutch-American astronomer Tom Gehrels dies". Retrieved 2013-06-02.
  3. 1 2 3 New Netherland Institute. "Anton (Tom) Gehrels [1925-2011]". Retrieved 2013-06-02.
  4. Of Truth and Consequences, Tom Gehrels (1994). Nature 372, 511-512
  5. Schmadel, Lutz D. (2003). Dictionary of Minor Planet Names – (1777) Gehrels. Springer Berlin Heidelberg. p. 142. ISBN 978-3-540-29925-7. Retrieved November 2015.

External links

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