Gerard Kuiper

Netherlands-born American astronomer

Gerard Peter Kuiper (English: /ˈkpər/; Dutch pronunciation: [ˈkœypər]; born Gerrit Pieter Kuiper; December 7, 1905 – December 23, 1973) was a Dutch-born American astronomer.[1]The Kuiper belt is named after him. He discovered two natural satellites of planets in the solar system, namely Uranus's moon Miranda and Neptune's moon Nereid.

Gerard P. Kuiper
Gerard Kuiper in 1964
Born(1905-12-07)December 7, 1905
DiedDecember 23, 1973(1973-12-23) (aged 68)
NationalityDutch-American
Alma materUniversity of Leiden
Known forKuiper belt
Scientific career
FieldsAstronomy
InstitutionsUniversity of Chicago, University of Arizona

Kuiper went to college at the University of Leiden. He graduated in 1927 and went on to earn his doctorate in 1933. That same year, he moved to the United States and began working at the Lick Observatory in California. In 1935, he was a lecturer at Harvard University. In 1936, he moved to the University of Chicago, and in 1943 he became a professor there. He was the director of their observatories from 1947 until 1960. In 1960, Kuiper began work at the University of Arizona, and he started their lunar and planetary laboratory. He was the director of the laboratory until July 1973.[1]

Kuiper found groups of dwarf stars. He was the first person to figure out the diameter of Pluto, and where the poles and equator of Venus are. In the 1960s, he was one of the people who knew the most about the earth's moon, and he worked with NASA.[1]

References

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  1. 1.0 1.1 1.2 "Dr. Gerard Kuiper, Astronomer, Dies". The New York Times. 25 December 2019. Retrieved 27 June 2019.

Other websites

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  Media related to Gerard Kuiper at Wikimedia Commons