Professor Jean-Claude Pecker | |
|---|---|
 Pecker in 1973 | |
| Born | (1923-05-10)10 May 1923 |
| Died | 20 February 2020(2020-02-20) (aged 96) Île d'Yeu, France |
| Education | Lycée Michel-de-Montaigne |
| Alma mater | École normale supérieure University of Bordeaux University of Grenoble |
| Awards |
|
| Scientific career | |
| Fields | Theoretical astrophysics |
| Institutions | Professoremeritus at theCollège de France, Paris |
Jean-Claude Pecker (10 May 1923 – 20 February 2020)[1] was a French astronomer,astrophysicist and author, member of theFrench Academy of Sciences and director of theNice Observatory. He served as the secretary-general of theInternational Astronomical Union from 1964 to 1967. Pecker was the President of theSociété astronomique de France (SAF), the French amateur astronomical society, from 1973–1976.[2] He was awarded thePrix Jules Janssen by theFrench Astronomical Society in 1967. A minor planet (1629 Pecker) is named after him.[3] Pecker was a vocal opponent ofastrology andpseudo-science[4][5] and was the president of theAssociation française pour l'information scientifique (AFIS), askeptical organisation which promotes scientific enquiry in the face ofquackery andobscurantism.
Jean-Claude Pecker was born 10 May 1923, inReims, to Victor-Noël Pecker and Nelly Catherine née Hermann (a teacher of Philosophy and Literature), in the department ofMarne, France.[6] The grandson of Joseph Hermann,rabbi ofValenciennes and laterReims, Pecker was born in his maternal grandparents' house, moving later toBordeaux. In the summer of 1941 they moved to the Hermann house inParis because of anti-Jewish restrictions placed on his parents during theVichy regime.[7] In May 1944 both his parents were transported toAuschwitz where they died, while his grandmother, absent during the raid, was hidden by neighbour Ida Barrett who was later designated by the state of Israel as one of theRighteous Among the Nations for her actions to conceal the old lady until theliberation of Paris.[8] Pecker was interested in astronomy from a young age. He studied at theLycée Michel de Montaigne de Bordeaux but was forced to go into hiding during the Second World War.[9] After theLiberation of France he attended theÉcole Normale Supérieure in Paris. In October 1946 he joined theInstitut d'astrophysique de Paris and studied for theagrégation of physics and chemistry,[10] where he studied under, and had his doctoral thesis judged byNobel Prize winning physicistAlfred Kastler. He earned hisdoctorate in May 1950.[11] At the Institut d’Astrophysique he got to know and shared an office withEvry Schatzman with whom he collaborated for many years.[10]
From 1952 to 1955 Pecker was associate professor of astronomy and astrophysics at theUniversity of Clermont-Ferrand. From early in his career he held many international appointments including fellow of theHigh Altitude Observatory in Colorado, USA.[10][12] In 1955 he became astronomer for theParis Observatory followed by director of theNice Observatory in 1961. In 1963 Pecker became professor oftheoretical astrophysics at theCollège de France in Paris, a position he held until 1988 when he becamehonorary professor. He was also director of theFrench National Centre for Scientific Research (CNRS) Institute of Astrophysics from 1972–1978.[13] His main fields of work within astrophysics were solar and stellar atmospheres and Sun-Earth interactions. He was also known for questioning the standardBig Bang theory, positing "alternative but partial solutions" (a quasi-static model)[5] and was signatory, with 33 other scientists, to an open letter to the scientific community expressing concern over the dominance of the Big Bang and expansion of the Universe theories. They complained that thetired light theory in particular was generally discounted or ignored by most cosmologists at the time of writing.[12]
In the 1950s Pecker spent a year as associate fellow of theHigh Altitude Observatory at Boulder, Colorado.[12]Pecker was also associate member of the Royal Society of Science (Liege), associate of theRoyal Astronomical Society, member of the National Academy of Bordeaux, theRoyal Academies for Science and the Arts of Belgium, theEuropean Academy of Sciences and Arts[6] and honorary associate ofRationalist International,[15] member of theAcademia Europaea and sat on the international advisory board of the Institute for Science and Human Values. Pecker was also a member of theInternational Astronomical Union (IAU).[16]
Pecker wrote and co-wrote many books and over 700 academic papers on subjects such ascosmology,astronomy, astrophysics,human rights,pseudo-science, poetry and art. He also presented paintings at exhibitions in France.[17] He also wrotepopular science articles and books for the general public, some of which have been translated into other languages. His books include:
Pecker was vice-president of the FrenchUNESCO committee in 1990, afterwards becoming a French permanent representative to UNESCO on behalf of theInternational Humanist and Ethical Union (IHEU), an organisation which reflected hishumanist approach to his life's work. Pecker spoke out against the governments punitive immigration laws, publicly supporting the National Coordination of Sans Papiers (CNSP) organisation.[20] He was awarded the International Humanist Award for services toHumanism from theInternational Humanist and Ethical Union (IHEU) in 2005 and acted as a permanent representative to UNESCO on behalf of the IHEU.[13] Pecker was also a laureate of theInternational Academy of Humanism.[21]
Pecker married Charlotte Wimel in 1947 with whom he had three children: Martine Kemeny, Daniel and Laure. They divorced in 1964. In 1974 he married Anne-Marie Vormser who died in 2002. In addition to his scientific disciplines Pecker also wrote poetry and created works of art.[citation needed] When asked what astrophysics is for he replied,
Nothing, fortunately!..Astrophysics brings no financial reward, but nowadays the only reward that counts is economic! Astrophysics is used to understand the Universe. It is essentially an intellectual discipline, for the pleasure of understanding, the pleasure of knowing, for the accumulation of knowledge. Astrophysics is for creating happiness.[11]
Pecker also has aminor planet (1629) named in his honour, discovered by L. Boyer.[3]
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