Gerard Kuiper, circa 1963.

Gerard Peter Kuiper (/ˈkaɪpə˞/), born Gerrit Pieter Kuiper (/kœypəʁ/) (Dec 7, 1905, Harenkarspel – Dec 23, 1973, Mexico City) was a Dutch astronomer. Image File history File links . Image from http://history. ... Image File history File links . Image from http://history. ... December 7 is the 341st day (342nd in leap years) of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1905 (MCMV) was a common year starting on Sunday (see link for calendar). ... Harenkarspel (population: 15,867 in 2004) is a municipality in the north-western Netherlands, in the province of North Holland. ... December 23 is the 357th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (358th in leap years). ... 1973 (MCMLXXIII) was a common year starting on Monday. ... (Spanish: Ciudad de México, México D.F. or simply México, pronounced IPA: ) is the capital city of the nation of Mexico. ... A giant Hubble mosaic of the Crab Nebula, a supernova remnant. ...

Kuiper, the son of a tailor in a rural village in North Holland, had an early interest in astronomy. He was blessed with a an extraordinarily sharp eyesight, allowing him to see magnitude 7.5 stars with the naked eyes, about four times fainter than visible to normal eyes. He went to study at Leiden University, where at the time a very strong number of astronomers had congegrated. He befriended fellow students Bart Bok and Pieter Oosterhoff and was taught by Ejnar Hertzsprung, Antonie Pannekoek, Willem de Sitter, Jan Woltjer, Jan Oort and the physicist Paul Ehrenfest. Kuiper finished his doctoral thesis on binary stars with Hertzsprung in 1933, after which he immediately traveled to California to become a fellow under Robert Grant Aitken at the Lick Observatory. In 1935 he left to work at the Harvard College Observatory where he met Sarah Parker Fuller, whom he married on June 20, 1936. Although he had planned to move to Java to work at the Bosscha Observatory, he took a position at the Yerkes Observatory of the University of Chicago and became an American citizen in 1937. Capital Haarlem Queens Commissioner Mr. ... Leiden University, located in the city of Leiden, is the oldest university in the Netherlands. ... Bart Jan Bok (Hoorn, April 28, 1906 – Tucson, August 5, 1983) was a Dutch-American astronomer. ... Pieter Theodorus Oosterhoff (1904-1978) was a Dutch astronomer. ... Ejnar Hertzsprung (October 8, 1873, Copenhagen – October 21, 1967, Roskilde) was a Danish chemist and astronomer. ... Anton Pannekoek Antonie (Anton) Pannekoek (January 2, 1873, Vaassen – April 28, 1960, Wageningen) was a Dutch astronomer and Marxist theorist. ... Willem de Sitter (May 6, 1872 – November 20, 1934) was a mathematician, physicist and astronomer. ... Jan Woltjer (Feb 2, 1849, Groningen – 1917, Amsterdam?) was a professor of Classical languages and literature at the Free University in Amsterdam. ... Jan Hendrik Oort (April 28, 1900 – November 5, 1992) was an internationally famous Dutch astronomer. ... Paul Ehrenfest Paul Ehrenfest (Vienna, January 18, 1880 – Amsterdam, September 25, 1933) was an Austrian physicist and mathematician, who obtained Dutch citizenship on March 24, 1922. ... Official language(s) English Capital Sacramento Largest city Los Angeles Area  Ranked 3rd  - Total 158,302 sq mi (410,000 km²)  - Width 250 miles (400 km)  - Length 770 miles (1,240 km)  - % water 4. ... Robert Grant Aitken (December 31, 1864 – October 29, 1951) was an American astronomer. ... The Lick Observatory is an astronomical observatory, owned and operated by the University of California. ... Harvard College Observatory, about 1900. ... This is the current Indonesian Collaboration of the fortnight. ... The Yerkes Observatory is an astronomy observatory of the University of Chicago, in Williams Bay, Wisconsin. ... The University of Chicago is a private university located principally in the Hyde Park neighborhood of Chicago. ... 1937 (MCMXXXVII) was a common year starting on Friday (link will take you to calendar). ...

Kuiper discovered two moons of planets in the solar system, namely Uranus's moon Miranda and Neptune's moon Nereid. In addition, he discovered carbon dioxide in the atmosphere of Mars and the existence of a methane-laced atmosphere above Saturn's moon Titan in 1944. Kuiper also pioneered airborne infrared observing using a Convair 990 aircraft in the 1960s. Moons of the Solar System scaled to Earths Moon A natural satellite is an object that orbits a planet or other body larger than itself and which is not man-made. ... The eight planets and three dwarf planets of the Solar System. ... Major features of the Solar System (not to scale): The Sun, the eight planets, the asteroid belt containing the dwarf planet Ceres, outermost there is the dwarf planet Pluto (the dwarf planet Eris not shown), and a comet. ... Atmospheric characteristics Atmospheric pressure 120 kPa Hydrogen 83% Helium 15% Methane 1. ... Atmospheric pressure 0 kPa Miranda (mÉ™r-an-dÉ™, IPA: ) is the smallest and innermost of Uranus major moons. ... Atmospheric characteristics Surface pressure ≫100 MPa Hydrogen - H2 80% ±3. ... Voyager 2 view of Nereid. ... Carbon dioxide is a chemical compound composed of one carbon and two oxygen atoms. ... Note: This article contains special characters. ... Methane is a significant and plentiful fuel which is the principal component of natural gas. ... Atmosphere is the general name for a layer of gases that may surround a material body of sufficient mass. ... Atmospheric characteristics Pressure 146. ... NASA Convair 990 The Convair 990 Coronado was a jet airliner produced by the Convair division of General Dynamics, a stretched version of their earlier Convair 880 produced in response to a request from American Airlines. ...

Kuiper spent most of his career at the University of Chicago, but moved to Tucson, Arizona in 1960 to found the Lunar and Planetary Laboratory at the University of Arizona. Kuiper was the laboratory's director until his death in 1973 while on vacation with his wife in Mexico. The University of Chicago is a private university located principally in the Hyde Park neighborhood of Chicago. ... Nickname: The Old Pueblo Location in Pima County and the state of Arizona Coordinates: Country United States State Arizona Counties Pima Mayor Bob Walkup (R) Area    - City 505. ... It has been suggested that Arizona Governors Mansion be merged into this article or section. ... 1960 (MCMLX) was a leap year starting on Friday (the link is to a full 1960 calendar). ... The Lunar and Planetary Laboratory (LPL) is a research center for planetary science located in Tucson, Arizona. ... The University of Arizona (UA or U of A) is a land-grant and space-grant public institution of higher education and research located in Tucson, Arizona, United States. ...

In 1959, Kuiper won the Henry Norris Russell Lectureship of the American Astronomical Society. The Henry Norris Russell Lectureship is awarded each year by the American Astronomical Society in recognition of a lifetime of excellence in astronomical research. ... The American Astronomical Society (AAS) is a US society of professional astronomers and other interested individuals, headquartered in Washington, DC. The main aim of the AAS is provide a political voice for its members and organise their lobbying. ...

In the 1960s, Kuiper helped identify landing sites on the moon for the Apollo program. The 1960s decade refers to the years from January 1, 1960 to December 31, 1969, inclusive. ... Mytravel Airbus A320 landing Landing is the last part of a flight, where a flying animal or aircraft returns to the ground. ... Bulk silicate composition (estimated wt%) SiO2 44. ... Description Role: Earth and Lunar Orbit Crew: 3; CDR, CM pilot, LM pilot Dimensions Height: 36. ...

Besides the Kuiper belt, Asteroid 1776 Kuiper, the Kuiper crater on the Moon, craters on Mars and Mercury, and the now-decommissioned Kuiper Airborne Observatory were named after him. Artists rendering of the Kuiper Belt and hypothetical more distant Oort cloud. ... 253 Mathilde, a C-type asteroid. ... Kuiper is a small lunar impact crater in a relatively featureless part of the Mare Cognitum. ... Bulk silicate composition (estimated wt%) SiO2 44. ... Tycho crater on Earths moon. ... 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. ... Note: This article contains special characters. ... Categories: Astronomy stubs | Astronomical observatories ...

The Kuiper Prize, named in his honor, is the most distinguished award given by the American Astronomical Society Division of Planetary Sciences, an international society of professional planetary scientists. The prize recognizes outstanding contributors to planetary science, and is awarded annually to scientists whose achievements have most advanced our understanding of planetary systems. Winners of this distinguished award include Carl Sagan, James Van Allen, and Eugene Shoemaker. The American Astronomical Society (AAS) is a US society of professional astronomers and other interested individuals, headquartered in Washington, DC. The main aim of the AAS is provide a political voice for its members and organise their lobbying. ... Planetary science, also known as planetology or planetary astronomy, is the science of planets, or planetary systems, and the solar system. ... Carl Edward Sagan (November 9, 1934 – December 20, 1996) was an American astronomer, astrobiologist, and highly successful science popularizer. ... James Van Allen at National Air & Space Museum (NASM), 1981, Photo courtesy of NASM. Explorer I model and Pioneer H probe in background James Alfred Van Allen (September 7, 1914 – August 9, 2006) was an American space scientist at the University of Iowa. ... Eugene Shoemaker at a stereoscopic microscope used for asteroid discovery Eugene Merle Shoemaker (or Gene Shoemaker) (April 28, 1928 – July 18, 1997) was one of the founders of the fields of planetary science and is best known for co-discovering the Comet Shoemaker-Levy 9 with his wife Carolyn...

External links

• Biography at the National Academic Press
• Gerard Peter Kuiper: NASA KAO's Namesake