Cyril Hazard | |
|---|---|
 Hazard in 1981 | |
| Born | (1928-03-18)18 March 1928 Cumbria, England |
| Died | 14 June 2025(2025-06-14) (aged 97) Melbourn,Cambridgeshire, England |
| Alma mater | University of Manchester |
| Scientific career | |
| Fields | Astrophysics |
| Doctoral advisor | Robert Hanbury Brown |
Cyril Hazard (18 March 1928 – 14 June 2025) was a British astronomer. He is known for revolutionisingquasar observation withJohn Bolton in 1962. His work allowed other astronomers to findredshifts from theemission lines from other radio sources.[1]
Cyril Hazard was born on 18 March 1928 in No.6, Flosh Cottages,Cleator,Cumberland. Cyril Hazard grew up inCleator Moor,Cumberland.[citation needed]. He got his doctorate from theUniversity of Manchester, studying underSir Bernard Lovell andRobert Hanbury Brown. He worked first atJodrell Bank.[2]
In 1950, radioemission from theAndromeda Galaxy were detected byRobert Hanbury Brown and Hazard at theJodrell Bank Observatory.[3][4]
Two radio sources were involved3C 48 and3C 273.Radio measurements taken by Cyril Hazard[5] and John Bolton[6] during one of theoccultations using theParkes Radio Telescope allowedMaarten Schmidt to optically identify the object and obtain an optical spectrum using the200-inch Hale Telescope onMount Palomar. This spectrum revealed the same strange emission lines. Schmidt realized that these were actuallyspectral lines of hydrogen redshifted at the rate of 15.8 percent. This discovery showed that 3C 273 was receding at a rate of 47,000 km/s.[1]
As the source is occulting behind the moon ( viz. passing behind), Fresnel style diffraction patterns are produced which can be detected by very large radio telescopes and the exact locations calculated.[2]
Hazard died at his home inMelbourn,Cambridgeshire, on 14 June 2025, at the age of 97.[7][8]
The minor planet9305 Hazard, discovered on 7 October 1986 byTed Bowell, was named after him.[9]