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Harm Jan Habing | |
|---|---|
 Harm Habing in 1983 | |
| Born | (1937-08-31)August 31, 1937 (age 88) Tubbergen, Overijssel, Netherlands |
| Occupation | Professor of Astrophysics (emeritus) |
| Academic background | |
| Alma mater | Groningen University |
| Academic work | |
| Discipline | Astronomer |
| Institutions | Leiden University |
Harm Jan Habing (born 31 October 1937 inTubbergen, Overijssel,Netherlands) is a Dutch astronomer and emeritus professor of astrophysics atLeiden University.
Habing studied at theUniversity of Groningen, first chemistry and physics, after which he switched to astronomy. He obtained his doctorate in Groningen in 1968 with a thesis entitled "Studies of physical conditions in HI regions" supervised by Stuart Robert Pottasch andHendrik Christoffel van de Hulst.
In 1971 Habing was appointed lecturer in astrophysics at Leiden University and in 1979 he was promoted to full professor. He was director ofLeiden Observatory in the 80's and 90's. He has beenemeritus professor since 2003.
Ewine van Dishoeck,Xander Tielens,Peter Jenniskens andHuib Jan van Langevelde were among Harm Habing's PhD students.
Harm Habing was Editor-in-Chief ofAstronomy & Astrophysics from 1996 to 2002.
After his retirement, Habing wrote several books, including about the history of astronomy.[1]
Habing is known for his 1968 research into thefar-ultraviolet (between 91 and 240 nanometers) radiation field in the space between the stars.[2]
Later at the Leiden Observatory, his interests included masers, late stages ofstellar evolution (such as OH/IR stars), and star formation.
Habing was principal investigator of the Infrared Astronomical Satellite (IRAS), which was launched in 1983 and has enabled many discoveries in the field of infrared astronomy. In 1988, Habing received the Gilles Holst Medal.
