Martin Otto Harwit
Martin Otto Harwit (born March 9, 1931 in Prague ) is an American physicist and astronomer.
Life
In his first year and a half of school he was taught in Czech and German. When he was 8 years old, his father, a biochemist, became a professor in Istanbul , and he received further education in Turkish and English. At the age of 15 he immigrated to the USA. In 1960 he received his doctorate in physics from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). After further studies with Fred Hoyle in Cambridge, he moved to Cornell University .
He was one of the first to use rockets to lift infrared detectors above the earth's atmosphere, making him one of the pioneers of infrared astronomy . He later used aircraft observatories such as the Kuiper Airborne Observatory and various space telescopes . He was one of the original planners of NASA's Great Observatories program, consisting of the Compton Gamma Ray Observatory , Hubble Space Telescope , Chandra X-Ray Observatory, and Spitzer Space Telescope . From 1987 to 1995 he was director of the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum in Washington. His resignation from this position followed a public controversy over the portrayal of the first atomic bomb drop in a planned exhibition at the museum.
In 1987 he became a Fellow of the American Physical Society .
asteroid
The asteroid (12143) Harwit , discovered on September 24, 1960, was named after the astronomer.
Works
- Astrophysical Concepts (1st edition 1973, 4th edition 2006) ISBN 978-0-387-32943-7
- Cosmic Discovery: The Search, Scope and Heritage of Astronomy (1981) ISBN 978-0-7108-0089-3
- An Exhibit Denied: Lobbying the History of Enola Gay (1996) ISBN 978-0-387-94797-6
Honors
- Bruce Medal (2007)
Web links
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Harwit, Martin Otto |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | American physicist and astronomer |
| DATE OF BIRTH | March 9, 1931 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Prague , Czechoslovakia |