M K Das Gupta
Encyclopedia
Mrinal Kumar Das Gupta (September 1, 1923 – November 28, 2005, Kolkata
) was a noted India
n astronomer
. He was born in erstwhile Barishal district (in present-day Bangladesh
). He received his B.Sc and M.Sc degrees in Physics from Dhaka University in 1944 and 1945 respectively. Later he joined the department of Radio Physics and Electronics of the University of Calcutta as a researcher. In 1954, he obtained his Ph.D. from the University of Manchester. Later he became the head of the department of the Institute of Radio Physics and Electronics, Calcutta University. Das Gupta worked with Robert Hanbury Brown
and Roger Jennison
, in building the first intensity interferometer
s at radio wavelength in the early 1950s and measured the apparent angular structures of two radio sources, Cygnus A
and Cassiopeia A
. Das Gupta was elected as the Fellow of the National Academy of Science ( FNA ) in 1974 by the Indian National Science Academy ( INSA ), New Delhi and as the Fellow of the Academy of Science ( FASc ) by Indian Academy of Science, Bangalore. He died on 28 November 2005 in Kolkata.
Kolkata
Kolkata , formerly known as Calcutta, is the capital of the Indian state of West Bengal. Located on the east bank of the Hooghly River, it was the commercial capital of East India...
) was a noted India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
n astronomer
Astronomer
An astronomer is a scientist who studies celestial bodies such as planets, stars and galaxies.Historically, astronomy was more concerned with the classification and description of phenomena in the sky, while astrophysics attempted to explain these phenomena and the differences between them using...
. He was born in erstwhile Barishal district (in present-day Bangladesh
Bangladesh
Bangladesh , officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh is a sovereign state located in South Asia. It is bordered by India on all sides except for a small border with Burma to the far southeast and by the Bay of Bengal to the south...
). He received his B.Sc and M.Sc degrees in Physics from Dhaka University in 1944 and 1945 respectively. Later he joined the department of Radio Physics and Electronics of the University of Calcutta as a researcher. In 1954, he obtained his Ph.D. from the University of Manchester. Later he became the head of the department of the Institute of Radio Physics and Electronics, Calcutta University. Das Gupta worked with Robert Hanbury Brown
Robert Hanbury Brown
Robert Hanbury Brown, AC FRS was a British astronomer and physicist born in Aruvankadu, India. He made notable contributions to the development of radar and he later conducted pioneering work in the field of radio astronomy...
and Roger Jennison
Roger Clifton Jennison
Roger Clifton Jennison worked as a radio astronomer at Jodrell Bank under the guidance of Robert Hanbury Brown...
, in building the first intensity interferometer
Intensity interferometer
An intensity interferometer is the name given to devices that use the Hanbury-Brown and Twiss effect. In astronomy, the most common use of such an astronomical interferometer is to determine the apparent angular diameter of a radio source or star...
s at radio wavelength in the early 1950s and measured the apparent angular structures of two radio sources, Cygnus A
Cygnus A
Cygnus A is one of the most famous radio galaxies, and among the strongest radio sources in the sky.It was discovered by Grote Reber in 1939. In 1951, Cygnus A, along with Cassiopeia A, and Puppis A were the first "radio stars" identified with an optical source, of these, Cygnus A became the first...
and Cassiopeia A
Cassiopeia A
Cassiopeia A is a supernova remnant in the constellation Cassiopeia and the brightest astronomical radio source in the sky, with a flux density of 2720 Jy at 1 GHz. The supernova occurred approximately away in the Milky Way. The expanding cloud of material left over from the supernova is now...
. Das Gupta was elected as the Fellow of the National Academy of Science ( FNA ) in 1974 by the Indian National Science Academy ( INSA ), New Delhi and as the Fellow of the Academy of Science ( FASc ) by Indian Academy of Science, Bangalore. He died on 28 November 2005 in Kolkata.