Maarten Schmidt | |
|---|---|
 Schmidt in 1978 | |
| Born | (1929-12-28)28 December 1929 Groningen, Netherlands |
| Died | 17 September 2022(2022-09-17) (aged 92) Fresno, California, U.S. |
| Alma mater | Leiden Observatory |
| Known for | Quasars |
| Awards |
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| Scientific career | |
| Fields | Astronomy |
| Institutions | California Institute of Technology |
| Doctoral advisor | Jan Oort |
Maarten Schmidt (28 December 1929 – 17 September 2022) was a Dutch-born American astronomer who first measured the distances ofquasars. He was the first astronomer to identify a quasar, and so was pictured on the Marchcover ofTime magazine in 1966.
Schmidt was born inGroningen, TheNetherlands,[2] on 28 December 1929.[3] His father, Wilhelm, worked as an accountant for the Dutch government; his mother, Annie Wilhelmina (Haringhuizen), was a housewife. Schmidt studied math and physics at theUniversity of Groningen, graduating with abachelor's degree in 1949 before obtaining amaster's degree the following year. He then commenced doctoral studies atLeiden University underJan Oort. Schmidt was awarded aDoctor of Philosophy fromLeiden Observatory in 1956.[3]
After completing his doctorate, Schmidt resided in the United States for two years on aCarnegie Fellowship. He returned briefly to the Netherlands, but ultimately emigrated to the US on a permanent basis in 1959 to work at theCalifornia Institute of Technology.[3] In the beginning, he worked on theories about the mass distribution and dynamics ofgalaxies. Of particular note from this period was his formulation of what has become known as theSchmidt law, which relates thedensity ofinterstellar gas to the rate ofstar formation occurring in that gas.[4][5] He later began a study of the light spectra of radio sources. In 1963, using the 200-inchreflector telescope at thePalomar Observatory, Schmidt identified the visible object corresponding to one of these radio sources, known as3C 273 and also studied itsspectrum. While its star-like appearance suggested it was relatively nearby, the spectrum of 3C 273 proved to have what was at the time a highredshift of 0.158, showing that it lay far beyond theMilky Way, and thus possessed an extraordinarily highluminosity. Schmidt termed 3C 273 a "quasi-stellar" object or quasar; thousands have since been identified.[3]
Schmidt was featured on thecover ofTime magazine in March 1966.[3] He was later a co-recipient, withDonald Lynden-Bell, of the inaugural Kavli Prize for Astrophysics in 2008.[1]
He lectured a total of 33 times at theSummer Science Program.[6]
Schmidt married Cornelia Tom in 1955. They met at a party hosted by Oort, and remained married until her death in 2020. Together, they had three daughters: Anne, Elizabeth, and Marijke.[3]
Schmidt died on 17 September 2022 at his home inFresno, California. He was 92 years old.[3][7]
Awards
Named after him
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