Rudolph Minkowski | |
|---|---|
| Born | (1895-05-28)May 28, 1895 |
| Died | January 4, 1976(1976-01-04) (aged 80) |
| Nationality | German |
| Known for | supernovae |
| Awards | Bruce Medal in 1961 |
| Scientific career | |
| Fields | Astronomy |
| Institutions | Palomar Observatory |
Rudolph Minkowski (bornRudolf Leo Bernhard Minkowski/mɪŋˈkɔːfski,-ˈkɒf-/;[1]German:[mɪŋˈkɔfski]; May 28, 1895 – January 4, 1976) was a German-Americanastronomer.[2]
| 1620 Geographos | September 14, 1951 |
Minkowski was the son of Marie Johanna Siegel and physiologistOskar Minkowski.[4][5] His uncle wasHermann Minkowski, a mathematician and one of Einstein's teachers in Zürich. Rudolph studiedsupernovae and, together withWalter Baade, divided them into two classes (Type I andType II) based on their spectral characteristics.[6] He and Baade also found optical counterparts to variousradio sources.
He headed theNational Geographic Society – Palomar Observatory Sky Survey, a photographic atlas of the entire northern sky (and south todeclination -22°) down to an apparentmagnitude of 22.[2]
Together withAlbert George Wilson, he co-discovered the near-EarthApollo asteroid1620 Geographos in 1951,[7] and he also discoveredPlanetary Nebula M2-9. He additionally discovered a correlation between the luminosity ofearly-type galaxies and theirvelocity dispersion,[8] which was later quantified byFaber and Jackson. He won theBruce Medal in 1961.[2] The lunar craterMinkowski is named after him and his uncle.In the 1940's he created a catalog of nearly 200 planetary nebulae, includingMinkowski 2-9,[9] and a dwarf galaxy nearNGC 541, known asMinkowski's object, is named after him.[10]
Nebulae discovered by Minkowski:
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