Gerard Peter Kuiper   [1905-1973]

Gerard Kuiper is a Dutch born astronomer who is considered to be the father of modern planetary science, because of his wide-ranging studies of the solar system. Kuiper is also well known for the Kuiper Belt named after him. The Kuiper Belt was proposed by Kuiper in 1951, and consists of a disk-shaped region of minor planets outside the orbit of Neptune as a source of short-period comets. Short-period comets are comets, which make complete orbits around the sun, in less than 200 years.

Other major discoveries by Kuiper consisted of the atmosphere of Saturn’s satellite [moon] Titan in 1944, the carbon dioxide atmosphere of Mars in 1948, Uranus’s satellite Miranda also in 1948, and Neptune’s satellite Nereid in 1949.

Kuiper developed an early interest in astronomy, and was able to enter the University of Leiden to study astronomy. The University of Leiden at that time had a strong astronomy department, and Kuiper was able to work with well-known mentors as well as with students who later became well known in the field of astronomy. He befriended fellow students Bart Bok and Pieter Oosterhoff, and some of his mentors were Antonie Pannekoek, Willem de Sitter, Jan Woltjer, Jan Oort, Paul Ehrenfest, the physicist, and his doctoral supervisor Ejnar Hertzsprung.

Kuiper moved to the United States in 1933, following the completion of his doctoral dissertation on binary stars, at the University of Leiden. He became a fellow at the Lick Observatory in California, working with Robert Grant Aitken. In 1935 he joined the Harvard College Observatory, and in 1937 he moved to the Yerkes Observatory of the University of Chicago, where he retained his major affiliation until 1960.

During the 1960’s, Kuiper was the chief scientist for the Ranger lunar probe program, and was in charge of selecting landing crash sites on the moon through the analysis of Ranger photographs. Through his work on the moon landing program, he helped to identify landing sites for the Surveyor and Apollo Programs.

In 1975, Kuiper was honored posthumously by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration [NASA] for his pioneering work in the development of infrared astronomy. NASA named its airborne infrared telescope the “Kuiper Airborne Observatory”.

Kuiper also left a legacy through his involvement in the production of two encyclopedic works on astronomy. He was the editor of the four volume encyclopedia entitled, “The Solar System”, completed during the 1953 to 1958 time period, and later was the editor of the nine volume encyclopedia entitled, “Stars and Stellar Systems”, completed during the 1960 to 1968 time period.

Kuiper was also honored for his accomplishments in several other ways. In 1959, he won the Henry Norris Russell Lectureship of the American Astronomical Society. Several craters on the moon and on other planets have been named after him. There are Kuiper Craters on the Moon, on Mars and on Mercury. In addition he helped identify several binary stars, which received Kuiper numbers such as Kui 79.

Another posthumous recognition Kuiper received was the establishment of the Kuiper Prize by the American Astronomical Society Division of Planetary Sciences, an international association of professional planetary scientists. The prize was awarded for the first time in 1984. Since then, the Kuiper Prize has been awarded annually. The Kuiper Prize is the most distinguished award given by the American Astronomical Society to scientists whose achievements have most advanced the understanding of planetary systems. Winners of the Prize include Carl Sagan, James Van Allen and Eugene Shoemaker.

Gerard Kuiper was born in Harenkarspel, a small village in the province of North Holland, the Netherlands on December 7, 1905. He married Sarah Fuller on June 20, 1936. The couple had met when Kuiper was working at Harvard College Observatory. The following year, in 1937, Kuiper became an American citizen. Kuiper passed away while he was on vacation in Mexico with his wife, on December 23, 1973. He died from a heart attack.

 

 REFERENCES

Gerard Kuiper, Wikipedia

Gerard P. Kuiper Prize, www.answers.com/topic/gerard-p-kuiper-prize

Gerard Peter Kuiper, www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1E1-KuiperGer.html

 

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