Carl Otto Lampland (December 29, 1873 – December 14, 1951) was an American astronomer. He was involved with both of theLowell Observatory solar system projects, observations of the planetMars and the search forPlanet X.^[2][3][4][5]

Carl Otto Lampland was born nearHayfield inDodge County, Minnesota. He was born into a family of ten children. Both his father Ole Helliksen Lampland (1834–1914) and his mother Berit Gulliksdatter Skartum (1850–1943) were born in Norway.^[6]

He was educated first atValparaiso Normal School inValparaiso, Indiana, where he earned a B.S. degree in 1899. He then studied atIndiana University Bloomington, where he received a B.A. degree in astronomy in 1902, an M.A. in 1906, and an honorary LL.D in 1930.^[7]

He first went toLowell Observatory in 1902 when invited byPercival Lowell^[8] and Lampland was closely involved with Lowell in planetary observation. He designed cameras used for astronomy and also designed and maintained telescopes, including resilvering the mirror of the 40-inch (1,000 mm) telescope. He also constructedthermocouples and used them to measure temperatures of planets. He won theRoyal Photographic Society Medal in 1905 for the camera which he designed for the 24-inchClark telescope.^[9] Together withWilliam Coblentz, he measured large differences between the day and night temperatures on Mars which implied a thin Martian atmosphere. He discovered the asteroid1604 Tombaugh. In 1907 Lampland and Lowell won aRoyal Photographic Society exhibition medal for their photographs of Mars.^[2]

• Lampland was elected to theAmerican Academy of Arts and Sciences in 1915.^[10]
• Lampland was elected to theAmerican Philosophical Society in 1931.^[11]
• The asteroid1767 Lampland was named in his memory.^[3]
• The lunar craterLampland was named after him.^[12]
• The Martian craterLampland was also named after him.^[13]
• The C.O. Lampland Collection is maintained at the Lowell Observatory Archives in Flagstaff.^[14]
• His date of birth is the starting point for theMars Sol Date calendar.^[15]

• Slipher, Earl C. (1962)The Photographic Story of Mars (Cambridge Massachusetts: Sky Publishing)
• Croswell, Ken (1997)Planet Quest: The Epic Discovery of Alien Solar Systems (New York: The Free Press)ISBN 978-0684832524
• Hughes, Stefan (2012)Catchers of the Light: The Forgotten Lives of the Men and Women Who First Photographed the Heavens (ArtDeCiel Publishing)ISBN 978-1620509616.OCLC 826821840
• Littman, Mark (1990)Planets Beyond: Discovering the Outer Solar System (New York: Wiley)ISBN 978-0471510536
• Schilling, Govert (2009)The Hunt for Planet X: New Worlds and the Fate of Pluto (New York: Springer)ISBN 978-0387778044

• Lampland photographs of Mars

• 1873 births
• 1951 deaths
• American astronomers
• American people of Norwegian descent
• Discoverers of asteroids
• Indiana University Bloomington alumni
• People from Hayfield, Minnesota
• Valparaiso University alumni
• Fellows of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences
• Members of the American Philosophical Society

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