Knut Lundmark | |
|---|---|
 Knut Lundmark as student in 1908 | |
| Born | (1889-06-14)14 June 1889 |
| Died | 23 April 1958(1958-04-23) (aged 68) Lund, Sweden |
| Alma mater | Uppsala University |
| Occupation | Astronomer |
| Scientific career | |
| Institutions | Lund University |
| Doctoral students | Frida Palmer |
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Knut Emil Lundmark (14 June 1889 inÄlvsbyn,Sweden – 23 April 1958 inLund, Sweden), was a Swedishastronomer, professor of astronomy and head of theobservatory atLund University from 1929 to 1955.
Lundmark received his astronomical education at theobservatory ofUppsala University. His dissertation (1920) was titled:The relations of the globular clusters and spiral nebulae to the stellar system. During the 1920s he worked at several observatories in theUSA, mainly theLick Observatory and theMount Wilson Observatory.
Knut Lundmark was one of the pioneers in the modern study of the galaxies and their distances. He was one of the first to suspect that the galaxies are remote stellar systems at vast distances and not nearby objects belonging to our own galaxy, theMilky Way. In 1919 he measured the distance to M31 – theAndromeda Galaxy, to 650,000 light years (about a fourth of the present day value) using magnitudes ofnovae found in M31 and comparing them to nearby ones with known distances. Lundmark's work contributed to the later famousGreat Debate over whethernebulae were galaxies or concentrations of glowing gas.
Lundmark also studied the light distribution in the galaxies, and discovered that the distribution could only properly be explained if the galaxies contained vast amounts of light-blocking dark clouds.
He was the leading writer ofpopular astronomy among the professional astronomers in Sweden from the 1930s and onwards. He also often appeared in the Swedish national radio with programs on popular astronomy and the history of science. He made generations of Swedes fascinated and interested in astronomy.
The lunar craterLundmark and the minor planet1334 Lundmarka were named after him.[1] TheWolf-Lundmark-Melotte Galaxy is named after Lundmark,Max Wolf andPhilibert Jacques Melotte.
Lundmark is also widely known by Chinese astronomers for his great work on the catalogue of novae.
A recently found publication from 1930 shows Knut Lundmark to be the first to realise that the universe must contain much more mass than we can observe, now known asdark matter.[2][3]
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