Jacobus Cornelius Kapteyn - Kruit, Pieter C. van der

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Résumé :
Jacobus C. Kapteyn (1851-1922) was a Dutch astronomer who contributed heavily to major catalogs of star positions, such as the Cape Photographic Durchmusterung and the Harvard-Groningen Durchmusterung, and arranged extensive international collaboration through his Plan of Selected Areas. He contributed to the establishment of statistical astronomy and structure and dynamics of the Sidereal System. All aspects of Kapteyn?s life are discussed, from his birth in Barneveld, the Netherlands, to his death in Amsterdam, and his entire resume of scientific achievements in between. Kapteyn had some conflicts with others in his field, especially after the world became divided on how to handle scientific contributions from Germany post-World War I. Both Kapteyn's struggles and achievements are written against the backdrop of both the historical context of the world at that time as well as the scientific one.

Biographie:
Pieter C. van der Kruit is the Jacobus C. Kapteyn Honorary Professor of Astronomy at the Kapteyn Astronomical Institute in Groningen, the Netherlands. He obtained his PhD in astronomy from Leiden University in 1971 under Jan Hendrik Oort. He held a prestigious Carnegie postdoctoral Fellowship at the Mount Wilson and Palomar Observatories in Pasadena, California, before moving to the University of Groningen in 1975. He has held visiting positions at numerous institutions, including the Mount Stromlo Observatory in Canberra, Australia...

Sommaire:

Preface.- Acknowledgements.- Chapter 1: Growing up in Barneveld.- Chapter 2: Studies in Utrecht.- Chapter 3: Astronomer in Leiden.- Chapter 4: Professor in Groningen.- Chapter 5: From Kepler to Parallax.- Chapter 6: Cape Photographic Durchmusterung.- Chapter 7: An Astronomical Laboratory.- Chapter 8: Colors and Motions.- Chapter 9: Star Streams.- Chapter 10: Selected Areas.- Chapter 11: Extinction.- Chapter 12: Students.- Chapter 13: Mount Wilson.- Chapter 14: Tides, Statistics and the Art of Discovery.- Chapter 15: First Attempt.- Chapter 16: Finale.- Appendices.- Notes and References.- Index.