Aleksander Wolszczan

Infobox_Scientist
name = Aleksander Wolszczan

---

|300px
image_width = 200px
caption = Aleksander Wolszczan at Piwnice radio observatory
birth_date = April 29, 1946
birth_place = Szczecinek, Poland
death_date =
death_place =
nationality = Polish
field = Astronomer
work_institution =
alma_mater = Nicolaus Copernicus University in Toruń
doctoral_advisor =
doctoral_students =
known_for = Discovery of the first extrasolar planets and pulsar planets
societies = Polish Academy of Sciences, American Astronomical Society
prizes = Beatrice M. Tinsley Prize
spouse =
children =
religion =
website =
footnotes =

Aleksander Wolszczan (pronounced|alɛk'sandɛr 'vɔlʂt͡ʂan, audio|Pl-aleksander-wolszczan.ogg|listen) (Apr 29 1946 in Szczecinek, Poland) is a Polish astronomer. He was the discoverer of the first extrasolar planets and pulsar planets.

Scientific career

Educated in Poland (MSc in 1969 and PhD in 1975 at the Nicolaus Copernicus University in Toruń), Wolszczan moved in 1982 to the U.S. to work at Cornell University in Ithaca and Princeton University. Later he became an astronomy professor at the Pennsylvania State University. Concurrent with that appointment, since 1994 he has been a professor at the University in Toruń and a member of the Polish Academy of Sciences (PAN).

Working with Dale Frail, he carried out astronomical observations from the Arecibo Observatory which led them to the discovery of the pulsar PSR B1257+12 in 1990. The data analysis gathered thanks to the discovery showed that the pulsar is orbited by two planets with masses at least 3.4 and 2.8 times that of Earth's mass. Their orbits are 0.36 and 0.47 AU respectively. This planetary system was the first extra-solar system discovered in the Universe whose existence was proved.

Wolszczan and Frail published their findings in 1992 and 1994. In spite of initial misgivings of some experts, today this discovery is regarded as fully substantiated.

In 1996, Wolszczan was awarded the Beatrice M. Tinsley Prize by the American Astronomical Society, and in 2002, he was pictured on a Polish postage stamp. [http://www.science.psu.edu/alert/Wolszczan2-2002.htm]

In 2003 Maciej Konacki and Wolszczan determined the orbital inclinations of the two planets, showing that the actual masses are approximately 3.9 and 4.3 Earth masses.

In 2008 he was one of the candidates for the Nobel Prize in Physics. [ [http://www.polishmarket.com.pl/document/:18268?p=%2FMONITOR+GOSPODARCZY%2F Polish astronomer to receive Nobel Prize?] 2008-10-06]

Involvement with the security service

On September 17, 2008 Wolszczan acknowledged earlier allegations that from 1973 until 1988 he had been a paid informer of Służba Bezpieczeństwa, communist secret police. [cite news |url=http://wiadomosci.onet.pl/1827933,11,item.html |title=Wolszczan: nie wstydzę się |language=Polish |publisher=Onet.pl]

References

* [http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v355/n6356/abs/355145a0.html Wolszczan, A., and D.A. Frail. "A planetary system around the millisecond pulsar PSR 1257+12." Nature 355(6356):145-7, January 9, 1992.]
* Wolszczan, A. "Confirmation of Earth-mass planets orbiting the millisecond pulsar PSR B1257+12." Science 264(5158):538-42, April 22, 1994.
* [http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2003ApJ...591L.147K Konacki, M. and Wolszczan, A. "Masses and Orbital Inclinations of Planets in the PSR B1257+12 System" Astrophysical Journal, Volume 591, Issue 2, pp. L147-L150, 2003.]
* Maciej Marosz "Gazeta Polska", 17.09.2008

Notes

ee also

* Pulsar planet
* Extrasolar planet
* List of stars with confirmed extrasolar planets

External links

* [http://www.space.com/scienceastronomy/aas_earthsize_020329.html Earth Sized Planets Confirmed]
* [http://www.science.psu.edu/alert/Wolszczan8-2007.htm Planet Orbiting a Giant Red Star Discovered with Hobby-Eberly Telescope]

Persondata
NAME= Wolszczan, Aleksander
ALTERNATIVE NAMES=
SHORT DESCRIPTION= Polish Astronomer
DATE OF BIRTH= April 29, 1946
PLACE OF BIRTH= Szczecinek, Poland
DATE OF DEATH=
PLACE OF DEATH=