Ernst Julius Öpik

Ernst Julius Öpik (October 23, 1893 – September 10, 1985) was a notable Estonian astronomer and astrophysicist, who spent the last part of his career (1948–1981) at the Armagh Observatory in Northern Ireland. October 23 is the 296th day of the year (297th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 69 days remaining. ... 1893 was a common year starting on Sunday (see link for calendar). ... September 10 is the 253rd day of the year (254th in leap years). ... 1985 is a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... The Republic of Estonia is a country in Northern Europe, bordering the Baltic Sea to the west and the Gulf of Finland to the north. ... 1948 is a leap year starting on Thursday (link will take you to calendar). ... 1981 is a common year starting on Thursday. ... Armagh Observatory is an observatory in Ireland, based in Armagh, Northern Ireland. ... Northern Ireland is an administrative region and one of four parts of the United Kingdom. ...

Öpik specialized in the study of minor bodies, such as asteroids, comets, and meteors. An asteroid is a small, solid object in our Solar System, orbiting the Sun. ... Comet Hale-Bopp, showing a white dust tail and blue gas tail (February 1997) Comet (disambiguation). ... A meteor is the visible path of a meteoroid that enters the Earths (or another bodys) atmosphere, commonly called a shooting star. ...

In 1922 he correctly predicted the frequency of craters on Mars long before they were detected by space probes. 1922 was a common year starting on Sunday (see link for calendar). ... The word crater may refer to A landform resembling a pit or depression in the topography that can be formed in several ways: speculation exists that a meteorite impact with another body can cause an impact crater, an electrical discharge on any scale tends to form circular craters, volcanic activity... Mars is the fourth planet from the Sun in the solar system, named after the Roman god of war (the counterpart of the Greek Ares), on account of its blood red color as viewed in the night sky. ... Unmanned space missions are those using remote-controlled spacecraft. ...

In 1932 he postulated a theory concerning the origins of comets in our solar system. He believed that they originated in a cloud orbiting far beyond the orbit of Pluto. This cloud is now known to us as the Oort Cloud. 1932 is a leap year starting on a Friday. ... Mosaic of the planets of the solar system, excluding Pluto, and including Earths Moon. ... Atmospheric characteristics Atmospheric pressure 0. ... This diagram shows the presumed distance of the Oort cloud compared to the rest of the solar system. ...

He won the Gold Medal of the Royal Astronomical Society in 1975 and the Bruce Medal in 1976. The Gold Medal is the highest award of the Royal Astronomical Society. ... 1975 was a common year starting on Wednesday (the link is to a full 1975 calendar). ... The Catherine Wolfe Bruce gold medal is awarded every year by the Astronomical Society of the Pacific for outstanding lifetime contributions to astronomy. ... 1976 is a leap year starting on Thursday (link will take you to calendar). ...

The asteroid 2099 Öpik is named in his honour. An asteroid is a small, solid object in our Solar System, orbiting the Sun. ...

His grandson is Lembit Öpik, a politician in the United Kingdom. Lembit Öpik (born March 2, 1965) is a British politician in the Liberal Democrat Party. ... The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is a country in western Europe, and member of the Commonwealth of Nations, the G8, the European Union, and NATO. Usually known simply as the United Kingdom, the UK, or (inaccurately) as Great Britain or Britain, the UK has four constituent...