Robert Grant Aitken

Robert Grant Aitken

Infobox_Scientist
name = Robert Grant Aitken

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caption = Robert Grant Aitken (1864-1951)
birth_date = birth date|1864|12|31|mf=y
birth_place = Jackson, California
death_date = death date and age|1951|10|29|1864|12|31|mf=y
death_place = Berkeley, California
residence =
nationality =
field = Astronomy
work_institution = University of California
alma_mater =
doctoral_advisor =
doctoral_students =
known_for =
prizes =
religion =
footnotes =

Robert Grant Aitken (December 31 1864 – October 29 1951) was an American astronomer. cite encyclopedia | last = Daintith | first = John | title = Aitken, Robert Grant | encyclopedia = Biographical Encyclopedia of Scientists | volume = 1 | pages = 9 | publisher = Facts On File, Inc. | location = New York | date = 1981 | isbn = 0871963965 ]

He worked at Lick Observatory in California. He systematically studied double stars, measuring their positions and calculating their orbits around one another. He methodically created a very large catalog of such stars, which was published in 1932 and entitled "New General Catalogue of Double Stars Within 120o of the North Pole", with the orbit information enabling astronomers to calculate stellar mass statistics for a large number of stars.

Aitken also measured positions and computed orbits for comets and natural satellites of planets.

Aitken was partly deaf and used a hearing aid. He married Jessie Thomas around 1888, and had three sons and one daughter. His grandson, Robert Baker Aitken, is a widely-known Zen Buddhist teacher and author.

Honors

Awards
*Bruce Medal (1926)
*Gold Medal of the Royal Astronomical Society (1932)Named after him
*Asteroid 3070 Aitken
*Aitken crater on the Moon, part of the very large South Pole-Aitken basin

External links

* [http://www.phys-astro.sonoma.edu/BruceMedalists/Aitken/index.html Bruce Medal page]
* [http://adsabs.harvard.edu/full/seri/PASP./0038//0000002.000.html Awarding of Bruce Medal]
* [http://adsabs.harvard.edu//full/seri/MNRAS/0092//0000354.000.html Awarding of RAS gold medal]
* [http://adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-bib_query?bibcode=2000DDA....31.1205O&db_key=AST&high=40da997f7528021 Double Star Observer, Cataloguer, Statistician, and Observatory Director]

Obituaries

* [http://adsabs.harvard.edu//full/seri/IrAJ./0002//0000027.000.html IrAJ 2 (1952) 27] (one paragraph)
* [http://adsabs.harvard.edu//full/seri/JO.../0035//0000025.000.html JO 35 (1952) 25] (in French)
* [http://adsabs.harvard.edu//full/seri/JRASC/0046//0000028.000.html JRASC 46 (1952) 28]
* [http://adsabs.harvard.edu//full/seri/MNRAS/0112//0000271.000.html MNRAS 112 (1952) 271]
* [http://adsabs.harvard.edu//full/seri/PASP./0064//0000005.000.html PASP 64 (1952) 5]

References


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  • Robert Grant Aitken — Saltar a navegación, búsqueda Para otros usos de este término, véase Robert Aitken. Robert Grant Aitken (31 de diciembre de 1864 29 de octubre de 1951) fue un astrónomo estadounidense. Era parcialmente sordo, y debía usar un aparato auditivo. Se… …   Wikipedia Español

  • Robert Grant Aitken — (* 31. Dezember 1864 in Jackson, Kalifornien, USA; † 29. Oktober 1951 in Berkeley, USA) war ein US amerikanischer Astronom. Inhaltsverzeichnis …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Robert Grant Aitken — (31. december 1864 1951), amerikansk astronom som specialiserede sig i dobbeltstjerner, hvoraf han opdagede mere end 3.000 …   Danske encyklopædi

  • Robert Grant Aitken — Pour les articles homonymes, voir Aitken. Robert Grant Aitken Robert Grant Aitken (31 décembre 1864 – 29 octobre 1951) était un …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Robert Baker Aitken — School Zen Buddhism Lineage Harada Yasutani Personal Born …   Wikipedia

  • Aitken , Robert Grant — (1864–1951) American astronomer Born in Jackson, California, Aitken obtained his AB in 1887 and his AM in 1892 from Williams College, Massachusetts. He began his career at the University of the Pacific, then in San Jose, as professor of… …   Scientists

  • Aitken, Robert Grant — ▪ American astronomer born Dec. 31, 1864, Jackson, Calif., U.S. died Oct. 29, 1951, Berkeley, Calif.  American astronomer who specialized in the study of double stars (binary star), of which he discovered more than 3,000.       From 1891 to 1895… …   Universalium

  • Aitken (surname) — Aitken is a surname, and may refer to: *Adrian Aitken, Australian General Surgeon, Sale, Victoria *A.J. Aitken, Scottish lexicographer *Alexander Aitken, New Zealand mathematician * Anne Hopkins Aitken, American Buddhist * Bill Aitken, one of… …   Wikipedia

  • Robert Aitken — Saltar a navegación, búsqueda Robert Aitken puede referirse a una de las siguientes personas: Robert Grant Aitken (1864–1951), astrónomo. Se han nombrado en su honor: El Astreroide (3070) Aitken La Cuenca Aitken del Polo Sur lunar, donde se… …   Wikipedia Español

  • Aitken — steht für: Aitken (Mondkrater), einen Krater auf dem Mond, benannt nach [Robert Grant Aitken die Aitken Klassifikation der Epiphysiolyse, eine Verletzung des noch nicht ausgewachsenen Knochens Aitken Kern, ein Aerosolteilchen zwischen 0,01 und… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

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