Christian de Vegt
Christian de Vegt (* 1936 in Bremen ; † July 12, 2002 in Hamburg) was a German astronomer and university professor. He mainly dealt with astrometry , especially at the Hamburg observatory in Bergedorf .
His merits include the early use of CCD sensors in position astronomy , the promotion of block adjustment in astro- photogrammetry and the improvement of the FK5 fundamental system through distant, intergalactic radio sources . For several years he was president of an International Astronomical Union (IAU) special commission.
education and profession
Christian de Vegt grew up in his native Bremen and was trained as a precision mechanic . His membership in the Olbers Society encouraged him to pursue a second course of education and later to study physics and astronomy . He did his doctorate in 1966 under Professor Haner at the Bergedorf observatory with photographic astrometry ( investigation of the absolute proper motions of galactic star clusters ... ), for which he also used photo plates from the Vatican zone of the Astrographic Catalog (AC). The dissertation appeared in the treatises of the Hamburger Sternwarte, Volume 8.
In 1971 he became Scientific Councilor and in 1975 received a large sum from the Ministry of Research ( BMFT ) for a newly designed astrometry telescope - a 5-lens astrograph from Zeiss Oberkochen with a 6 × 6 ° field of view. De Vegt was able to further improve the instrument through special test procedures . Thanks to its distortion-free imaging, it was the best instrument in its class worldwide - similar to the later Zeiss BMK satellite camera . More than 2200 glass plates were recorded from 1978–1996 in order to determine the most precise optical positions of reference and radio stars in the vicinity of extragalactic sources.
When the observatory of the University of Hamburg was attached, de Vegt accepted a professorship in September 1977 and concentrated on the greatest problem of astrometry, the improvement of the astronomical coordinate system . He criticized the current practice of publishing research results in small parts, which he called "thin board drilling".
When the limits of meridian circle measurements became apparent (long before the invention of CCD ) , he suggested as early as the 1970s that the fundamental system be connected to quasi- inertial , extragalactic radio sources . In the following decade he further developed CCD astrometry, but also measuring machines for photo plates.
The perfectionist de Vegt explained to his students that "no data is better than bad data" and only allowed the observers to work under optimal weather conditions . As a strict teacher he was also a good companion for them, helped the graduates up the career ladder and recommended some e.g. B. to the US Naval Observatory (USNO), which was considered an astrometry Mecca. He worked with the US Naval Observatory from around 1975 until his death in 2002.
From 1991 to 1994 de Vegt was president of the IAU commission 24 ( photographic astrometry) and contributed to the spread of the novel block adjustment in computer programs. The close contacts to geodesy and photogrammetry led him to the compensation calculation and to the consultant for comparator measuring machines.
He worked with USNO director Ken Johnston on the Quasar reference system for radio astronomy and its - now very well-established - connection to the fundamental optical system. He cooperated in the Hipparcos Input Catalog, the and the project Full-sky Astrometric Mapping Explorer FAME, an astrometric satellite . In September 2001, Prof. de Vegt retired, but continued his research (evaluation of radio star words , design of a 1-meter astrograph with Uwe Laux / Tautenburg ). Before the second heart attack , he was able to finish the radio star article for the Astronomical Journal , and the USNO began realizing the astrograph.
Private
Christian de Vegt and his wife Annelise had two daughters and lastly 4 grandchildren. As a music lover of Bach and jazz, de Vegt liked to play the piano and on his Bechstein grand piano. Photography of birds was also one of his hobbies .
In addition to his international functions (see above), he was also a member of the Astronomical Society .
See also
Web links
- Publications by C. de Vegt in the Astrophysics Data System
- N. Zacharias: Christian de Vegt † Communications of the Astronomical Society, Vol. 86 (2003), pp. 17–18 (obituary)
- Scientific curriculum vitae de Vegts (obituary 2003) ( Memento from December 26, 2005 in the Internet Archive )
personal data | |
---|---|
SURNAME | Vegt, Christian de |
BRIEF DESCRIPTION | German astronomer |
DATE OF BIRTH | 1936 |
PLACE OF BIRTH | Bremen |
DATE OF DEATH | July 12, 2002 |
Place of death | unsure: Hamburg |