Robert Grant Aitken
Encyclopedia
Robert Grant Aitken was an American astronomer
.
He worked at Lick Observatory
in California
. He systematically studied double star
s, measuring their positions and calculating their orbits around one another. He methodically created a very large catalog of such stars, which was published in 1932 and entitled New General Catalogue of Double Stars Within 120o of the North Pole, with the orbit information enabling astronomers to calculate stellar mass statistics for a large number of stars. Aitken also measured positions and computed orbits for comet
s and natural satellite
s of planet
s.
He was elected to serve as president in 1899 and 1915 of the Astronomical Society of the Pacific
.
Aitken was partly deaf and used a hearing aid
. He married Jessie Thomas around 1888, and had three sons and one daughter. His grandson, Robert Baker Aitken
, was a widely-known Zen
Buddhist
teacher and author.
Named after him
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 worked at Lick Observatory
Lick Observatory
The Lick Observatory is an astronomical observatory, owned and operated by the University of California. It is situated on the summit of Mount Hamilton, in the Diablo Range just east of San Jose, California, USA...
in California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
. He systematically studied double star
Double star
In observational astronomy, a double star is a pair of stars that appear close to each other in the sky as seen from Earth when viewed through an optical telescope. This can happen either because the pair forms a binary star, i.e...
s, measuring their positions and calculating their orbits around one another. He methodically created a very large catalog of such stars, which was published in 1932 and entitled New General Catalogue of Double Stars Within 120o of the North Pole, with the orbit information enabling astronomers to calculate stellar mass statistics for a large number of stars. Aitken also measured positions and computed orbits for comet
Comet
A comet is an icy small Solar System body that, when close enough to the Sun, displays a visible coma and sometimes also a tail. These phenomena are both due to the effects of solar radiation and the solar wind upon the nucleus of the comet...
s and natural satellite
Natural satellite
A natural satellite or moon is a celestial body that orbits a planet or smaller body, which is called its primary. The two terms are used synonymously for non-artificial satellites of planets, of dwarf planets, and of minor planets....
s of planet
Planet
A planet is a celestial body orbiting a star or stellar remnant that is massive enough to be rounded by its own gravity, is not massive enough to cause thermonuclear fusion, and has cleared its neighbouring region of planetesimals.The term planet is ancient, with ties to history, science,...
s.
He was elected to serve as president in 1899 and 1915 of the Astronomical Society of the Pacific
Astronomical Society of the Pacific
The Astronomical Society of the Pacific is a scientific and educational organization, founded in San Francisco on February 7, 1889. Its name derives from its origins on the Pacific Coast, but today it has members all over the country and the world...
.
Aitken was partly deaf and used a hearing aid
Hearing aid
A hearing aid is an electroacoustic device which typically fits in or behind the wearer's ear, and is designed to amplify and modulate sound for the wearer. Earlier devices, known as "ear trumpets" or "ear horns", were passive funnel-like amplification cones designed to gather sound energy and...
. He married Jessie Thomas around 1888, and had three sons and one daughter. His grandson, Robert Baker Aitken
Robert Baker Aitken
Robert Baker Dairyu Chotan Aitken Roshi was a Zen teacher in the Harada-Yasutani lineage. He co-founded the Honolulu Diamond Sangha in 1959...
, was a widely-known Zen
Zen
Zen is a school of Mahāyāna Buddhism founded by the Buddhist monk Bodhidharma. The word Zen is from the Japanese pronunciation of the Chinese word Chán , which in turn is derived from the Sanskrit word dhyāna, which can be approximately translated as "meditation" or "meditative state."Zen...
Buddhist
Buddhism
Buddhism is a religion and philosophy encompassing a variety of traditions, beliefs and practices, largely based on teachings attributed to Siddhartha Gautama, commonly known as the Buddha . The Buddha lived and taught in the northeastern Indian subcontinent some time between the 6th and 4th...
teacher and author.
Honors
Awards- Lalande PrizeLalande PrizeThe Lalande Prize was an award for scientific advances in astronomy, given from 1802 through 1970 by the French Academy of Sciences.The prize was named for, and endowed by, astronomer Jérôme Lalande in 1801...
(1906, with William HusseyWilliam HusseyWilliam Joseph Hussey was an American astronomer.He is most famous for the discovery and study of close binary stars. In the period from 1898 to 1899, he reobserved all binaries discovered by Otto Struve, with at least three observations of each...
) - Bruce MedalBruce MedalThe Catherine Wolfe Bruce Gold Medal is awarded every year by the Astronomical Society of the Pacific for outstanding lifetime contributions to astronomy. It is named after Catherine Wolfe Bruce, an American patroness of astronomy, and was first awarded in 1898...
(1926) - Gold Medal of the Royal Astronomical SocietyGold Medal of the Royal Astronomical Society-History:In the early years, more than one medal was often awarded in a year, but by 1833 only one medal was being awarded per year. This caused a problem when Neptune was discovered in 1846, because many felt an award should jointly be made to John Couch Adams and Urbain Le Verrier...
(1932)
Named after him
- AsteroidAsteroidAsteroids are a class of small Solar System bodies in orbit around the Sun. They have also been called planetoids, especially the larger ones...
3070 Aitken3070 Aitken3070 Aitken is a main belt asteroid discovered on April 4, 1949 by Goethe Link Observatory at Brooklyn.- External links :*... - AitkenAitken (crater)Aitken is a large lunar impact crater that lies on the far side of the Moon, named for Robert Grant Aitken, an American astronomer specializing in binary stellar systems. It is located to the southeast of the crater Heaviside, and north of the unusual formation Van de Graaff. Attached to the...
on the MoonMoonThe Moon is Earth's only known natural satellite,There are a number of near-Earth asteroids including 3753 Cruithne that are co-orbital with Earth: their orbits bring them close to Earth for periods of time but then alter in the long term . These are quasi-satellites and not true moons. For more...
, part of the very large South Pole-Aitken basinSouth Pole-Aitken basinThe South Pole-Aitken basin is an impact crater on Earth's Moon. Roughly in diameter and deep, it is one of the largest known impact craters in the Solar System. It is the largest, oldest and deepest basin recognized on the Moon. This moon basin was named for two features on opposing sides; the...
External links
- Bruce Medal page
- Awarding of Bruce Medal
- Awarding of RAS gold medal
- Biographical Memoir (1958) by Van Den Bos
- Double Star Observer, Cataloguer, Statistician, and Observatory Director
- Additional Photos from the Emilio Segre Visual Archive, American Institute of Physics
Obituaries
- IrAJ 2 (1952) 27 (one paragraph)
- JO 35 (1952) 25 (in French)
- JRASC 46 (1952) 28
- MNRAS 112 (1952) 271
- PASP 64 (1952) 5