List of astronomers

Last updated

The following is a list of astronomers, astrophysicists and other notable people who have made contributions to the field of astronomy. They may have won major prizes or awards, developed or invented widely used techniques or technologies within astronomy, or are directors of major observatories or heads of space-based telescope projects.

Contents

Notable astronomers

NameCountryBornDiedNotable for
Marc Aaronson United States19501987His work concentrated on three fields: the determination of the Hubble constant (H0) using the Tully–Fisher relation, the study of carbon rich stars, and the velocity distribution of those stars in dwarf spheroidal galaxies.

Aaronson was one of the first astronomers to attempt to image dark matter using infrared imaging. He imaged infrared halos of unknown matter around galaxies that could be dark matter.

George Ogden Abell United States19271983
Hiroshi Abe Japan1958
Michaël Gillon Belgium1974
Antonio Abetti Italy18471928
Giorgio Abetti Italy18821982
Charles Greeley Abbot United States18721973
Charles Hitchcock Adams United States18681951
John Couch Adams United Kingdom18191892His most famous achievement was predicting the existence and position of Neptune, using only mathematics. The calculations were made to explain discrepancies with Uranus's orbit and the laws of Kepler and Newton.
Walter Sydney Adams United States18761956
Saul Adelman United States1944
Petrus Alphonsi Spain10621110
Agrippa Greecefl. c.92Agrippa observed the occultation of a part of the Pleiades by the southernmost part of the Moon.
Paul Oswald Ahnert Germany18971989
Eva Ahnert-Rohlfs Germany19121954
George Biddell Airy United Kingdom18011892
Robert Aitken United States18641951
Makio Akiyama Japan1950
Abd Al-Rahman Al Sufi Persia903986
Albategnius (see Al-Batani) Syria c.858929Al-Battānī's observations of the Sun led him to understand the nature of annular solar eclipses. He accurately calculated the Earth's obliquity (the angle between the planes of the equator and the ecliptic)
Vladimir Aleksandrovich Albitzky Russia18911952
Albumasar Persia787886
George Alcock United Kingdom19132000
Harold Alden United States18901964
Hannes Alfvén Sweden19081995
Lawrence H. Aller United States19132003
Viktor Amazaspovich Ambartsumian Armenia 19121996One of the 20th century's top astronomers, he is widely regarded as the founder of theoretical astrophysics in the Soviet Union.
John August Anderson United States18761959
Wilhelm Anderson Estonia 18801940
Marie Henri Andoyer France18621929
Andronicus of Cyrrhus Greecefl. c.100 BC
Anders Jonas Ångström Sweden18141874
Eugène Michel Antoniadi Greece/France18701944He made the first map of Mercury (although his maps were flawed due to incorrectly assumming that Mercury had synchronous rotation with the Sun)
Masakatsu Aoki Japan1957
Petrus Apianus Germany14951557
François Arago France17861853
Masaru Arai Japan1952
Hiroshi Araki Japan
Sylvain Arend Belgium19021992
Friedrich Wilhelm Argelander Germany17991875
Aristarchus of Samos Greecec.310 BCc.230 BCHe presented the first known heliocentric model that placed the Sun at the center of the known universe, with the Earth revolving around the Sun once a year and rotating about its axis once a day.
Christoph Arnold Germany16501695
Halton Christian Arp United States19272013
Svante Arrhenius Sweden18591927The first to use the principles of physical chemistry to estimate the extent to which increases in the atmospheric carbon dioxide are responsible for the Earth's increasing surface temperature.
Aryabhata India476550Aryabhata correctly insisted that the earth rotates about its axis daily, and that the apparent movement of the stars is a relative motion caused by the rotation of the earth. Solar and lunar eclipses were scientifically explained by Aryabhata. Aryabhata calculated the sidereal rotation (the rotation of the earth referencing the fixed stars).
Arzachel Spain10281087
Asada Goryu Japan17341799
Atsuo Asami Japan
Giuseppe Asclepi Italy17061776
Joseph Ashbrook United States19181980
Arthur Auwers Germany18381915
Adrien Auzout France16221691
David Axon England19512012
Walter Baade Germany18931960
Harold D. Babcock United States18821968
Horace W. Babcock United States19122003
Oskar Backlund Sweden18461916
John N. Bahcall United States19342005
Yoshiaki Banno Japan19521991
Benjamin Baillaud France18481934
Jules Baillaud France18761960
Jean-Baptiste Baille France18411918
Jean Sylvain Bailly France17361793
Francis Baily United Kingdom17741844
John Bainbridge United Kingdom15821643
John E. Baldwin United Kingdom19312010
Sallie Baliunas United States1953
Zoltán Balog Hungary/United States1972
Benjamin Banneker United States17311806
Pietro Baracchi Italy/Australia18511926
Beatriz Barbuy Brazil1950
Edward Emerson Barnard United States18571923He is best known for his discovery of the high proper motion of Barnard's Star in 1916, which is named in his honor
Al Battani Iraq 850929
Stefi Baum United States1958
Julius Bauschinger Germany18601934
Johann Bayer Germany15721625
Antonín Bečvář Czechoslovakia19011965
Wilhelm Beer Germany17971850Together with Johann Heinrich Mädler he produced the first exact map of the Moon and of Mars
Sergei Ivanovich Belyavsky Russia18831953
Charles L. Bennett United States1956
Bhaskara I India600680
Bhaskara II India11141185
Jocelyn Bell Burnell United Kingdom1943Discovered the first radio pulsars, highly magnetized rotating neutron stars, in 1967
Friedrich Wilhelm Bessel Germany17841846The first to successfully calculate the distance to a star other than the sun
Somnath Bharadwaj India1964
Wilhelm Freiherr von Biela Austria17821856
Ludwig Biermann Germany19071986discovering the Biermann battery, a process by which a weak seed magnetic field can be generated from zero initial conditions. He predicted the existence of the solar wind which in 1947 he dubbed "solar corpuscular radiation"
Wolf Bickel Germany1942
Guillaume Bigourdan France18511932
James Binney United Kingdom1950
Al-Biruni Khwarezm/Persia9731048
Gennady S. Bisnovatyi-Kogan Russia1941
Adriaan Blaauw Netherlands19142010
Nathaniel Bliss United Kingdom17001764
Johann Elert Bode Germany17471826
Alfred Bohrmann Germany19042000
Bart Bok Netherlands19061983the discovery of Bok globules, which are small, densely dark clouds of interstellar gas and dust that can be seen silhouetted against brighter backgrounds.
Charles Thomas Bolton United States/Canada19432021was one of the first to present strong evidence of the existence of a stellar-mass black hole
John Gatenby Bolton United Kingdom/Australia19221993
William Cranch Bond United States17891859
Thomas Bopp United States19492018
Alphonse Borrelly France18421926
Rudjer Boscovich Croatia 17111787
Lewis Boss United States18461912
Alexis Bouvard France17671843
Rychard Bouwens United States1972
Edward L. G. Bowell United States1943
Ira Sprague Bowen United States18981973
Louis Boyer France19011999
Brian J. Boyle United Kingdom/Australia1960
Ronald N. Bracewell Australia/United States19212007
James Bradley United Kingdom16931762He is best known for two fundamental discoveries in astronomy, the aberration of light (1725–1728), and the nutation of the Earth's axis (1728–1748).
William A. Bradfield New Zealand/Australia19272014
Tycho Brahe Denmark 15461601Tycho Brahe was the first to discover a super nova, which he falsely believed was a newly created star (in reality a dying star), which was one of the major reasons to abandon the view that the universe was static and eternal.
Brahmagupta India598668 CE
John Alfred Brashear United States18401920
William Robert Brooks United States18441922
Theodor Brorsen Denmark18191895He is best known for his discovery of five comets, including the lost periodic comet, 5D/Brorsen
Dirk Brouwer Netherlands/United States19021966
Ernest William Brown United Kingdom18661938
Michael (Mike) E. Brown United States1965Co-discoverer of multiple dwarf planets beyond Pluto, including Quaoar in 2002, Makemake in 2005 and Eris in 2006. This triggered a debate on the definition of a planet.
Hermann Alexander Brück Germany19052000
Ismael Bullialdus France16051694
Margaret Burbidge United Kingdom/United States19192020
Miriam Burland Canada19021996
Robert Burnham Jr. United States19311993
Sherburne Wesley Burnham United States18381921
Schelte J. Bus United States1956
Bimla Buti India1933
Alastair G. W. Cameron Canada19252005He was one of the founders of the field of nuclear astrophysics, advanced the theory that the Moon was created by the giant impact of a Mars-sized object with the early Earth, and was an early adopter of computer technology in astrophysics.
William Wallace Campbell United States18621938
Annie Jump Cannon United States18631941
Luigi Carnera Italy18751962
Edwin Francis Carpenter United States18981963
James Carpenter United Kingdom18401899
Richard Christopher Carrington United Kingdom18261875
Sir John Carroll United Kingdom18991974
César-François Cassini de Thury France17141784
Dominique, comte de Cassini France17481845
Giovanni Domenico Cassini France16251712
Jacques Cassini France16771756
Corsono Carsono Spainfl. c.14th century
Bonaventura Cavalieri Italy15981647
Anders Celsius Sweden17011744
Vincenzo Cerulli Italy18591927
Jean Chacornac France18231873
Merieme Chadid France1969
James Challis United Kingdom18031882
Radha Gobinda Chandra Bangladesh/India 18781975
Subrahmanyan Chandrasekhar India/United States19101995He shared the 1983 Nobel Prize for Physics with William A. Fowler for "...theoretical studies of the physical processes of importance to the structure and evolution of the stars".
Carl Charlier Sweden18621934
Auguste Charlois France18641910
Lyudmila Ivanovna Chernykh Russia/Ukraine 19352017
Nikolai Stepanovich Chernykh Russia/Ukraine 19312004
James Christy United States1938Discovered the largest of Pluto's moons, Charon
Edwin Foster Coddington United States18701950
Jérôme Eugène Coggia France18491919
Josep Comas i Solà Spain18681937
Andrew Ainslie Common United Kingdom18411903
Guy Consolmagno United States1952
Nicolaus Copernicus Prussia/Poland14731543Copernicus discovered the heliocentric model of the solar system.
Janine Connes France1934
Pablo Cottenot France1800 ?
Heather Couper United Kingdom19492020In 1984, she was elected President of the British Astronomical Association, the first woman and the second-youngest person to hold the position.
Leopold Courvoisier Switzerland18731955
Arthur Edwin Covington Canada19142001
Philip Herbert Cowell United Kingdom18701949
Thomas George Cowling United Kingdom19061990
Andrew Claude de la Cherois Crommelin United Kingdom18651939
Luíz Cruls Brazil18481908
James Cuffey United States19111999
Heber Doust Curtis United States18721942
Johann Baptist Cysat Switzerland15871657
Alexander Dalgarno United States19282015
Jacques Eugène d'Allonville France16711732
Andre Louis Danjon France18901967
Heinrich d'Arrest Germany18221875
George Howard Darwin United Kingdom18451912
Roger Davies United Kingdom1954
Leonardo da Vinci Italy14521519
William Rutter Dawes United Kingdom17991868
Bernhard Dawson Argentina18901960
Leo de Ball Germany/Austria18531916
Duília de Mello Brazil1963 Duília de Mello was responsible for the discovery of the supernova SN 1997D. She also contributed to the discovery of blue blobs, known as 'star orphanages' due to their role in forming stars outside of galaxies. And in 2013, the scientist was involved in the discovery of the largest spiral galaxy in the universe, the Condor Galaxy NGC 6872.
Henri Debehogne Belgium19282007
Annibale de Gasparis Italy18191892
Jean Baptiste Joseph Delambre France17491822
Charles-Eugène Delaunay France18161872
Eugène Joseph Delporte Belgium18821955
Audrey C. Delsanti France1976
William Frederick Denning United Kingdom18481931
Alíz Derekas Hungary1977
Henri-Alexandre Deslandres France18531948
Alexander Nikolaevich Deutsch Russia19001986
Gérard de Vaucouleurs France/United States19181995
Robert Dicke United States19161997
Terence Dickinson Canada1943
Thomas Digges United Kingdom15461595
Herbert Dingle United States18901978
Andrea Di Paola Italy1970
Ewine van Dishoeck Netherlands1955
Helen Dodson Prince United States19052002
Giovanni Battista Donati Italy18261873
Frank Drake United States1930
Henry Draper United States18371882
John Dreyer Ireland 18521926
Yuriy Drohobych Ukraine 14501494
Alexander D. Dubyago Russia19031959
Dmitrij I. Dubyago Russia18501918
Jean C. B. Dufay France18961967
Raymond Smith Dugan United States18781940
James Dunlop Scotland 17931848
Petar Đurković Serbia 19081981
Frank Watson Dyson United Kingdom18681939
Arthur Eddington United Kingdom18821944Around 1920, he foreshadowed the discovery and mechanism of nuclear fusion processes in stars. The Eddington limit, the natural limit to the luminosity of stars is named in his honour.
Frank K. Edmondson United States19122008
Olin J. Eggen United States19191998
David J. Eicher United States1961
Albert Einstein Germany18791955
Eise Eisinga Netherlands17441828
Eric Walter Elst Belgium19362022
Johann Franz Encke Germany17911865
Kin Endate Japan1960
Eratosthenes Alexandria 276 BC194 BC
Emil Ernst Germany18891942
Ernest Esclangon France18761954
Fred Espenak United States1953
Larry W. Esposito United States1951
Eudoxus of Cnidus Ancient Greecec.408 BCc.355 BC
Robert Evans Australia19372022
Sandra M. Faber United States1945
David Fabricius Netherlands15641617
Johannes Fabricius Netherlands15871615
Fearon Fallows United Kingdom17891831
Farghani Persia800870
Hervé Faye France18141902
Charles Fehrenbach France19142008
Gyula Fényi Hungary18451927
James Ferguson United States17971867
Gary Ferland United States1951
Alex Filippenko United States1958
Erwin Finlay-Freundlich Germany18851964
Axel Firsoff United Kingdom19101981
Debra Fischer United States1951
J. Richard Fisher United States1943
Camille Flammarion France18421925
Gabrielle Renaudot Flammarion France18671962
John Flamsteed United Kingdom16461719
Honoré Flaugergues France17551835
Williamina Fleming United States18571911
Wilhelm Julius Foerster Germany18321921
Alfred Fowler United Kingdom18681940
William Alfred Fowler United States19111995He is known for his theoretical and experimental research into nuclear reactions within stars and the energy elements produced in the process. Winner of the 1983 Nobel Prize in Physics together with Subrahmanyan Chandrasekhar.
Philip Fox United States18781944
Andrew Fraknoi United States1948
Joseph von Fraunhofer Germany17871826Designed the Heliometer used to successfully calculate the distance to a star, other than the sun, for the first time.
Herbert Friedman United States19162000
Dirk D. Frimout Belgium1941
Edwin Brant Frost United States18661935
Shigehisa Fujikawa Japan
Naoshi Fukushima Japan19252003
Kiichirō Furukawa Japan19292016
Toshimasa Furuta Japan
Bryan Gaensler Australia1973
Galileo Galilei Italy15641642
Gan De Chinafl. 4th century BCGan De, together with Shi Shen compiled China's first star catalogue
Gordon J. Garradd Australia1959
Julio Garavito Armero Colombia 18651920
Ben Gascoigne New Zealand/Australia 19152010
Gautama Siddha Chinafl. 8th century AD
Margaret Geller United States1947
Johann Gottfried Galle Germany18121910was the first person to view the planet Neptune and know what he was looking at.
George Gamow Russia/United States19041968
Carl Friedrich Gauss Germany17771855
Tom Gehrels United States19252011
Neil Gehrels United States19522017Gamma-ray astronomy; led Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory; led Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope
Robert Gendler United States1957
Andrea M. Ghez United States1965
Aurélien Barrau France1973
Riccardo Giacconi Italy19312018
Michel Giacobini France18731938
Henry L. Giclas United States19102007
David Gill United Kingdom18431914
Ian Glass Ireland/South Africa 1939
Karl Glazebrook United Kingdom1965Determined that the average color of the vast universe is Cosmic Latte
Marcelo Gleiser Brazil1959
Thomas Gold United States19202004
Leo Goldberg United States19131987
Peter Goldreich United States1939
Hermann Goldschmidt Germany18021866In 1820, Goldschmidt discovered shadow bands in total solar eclipses
François Gonnessiat France18561934
John Goodricke United Kingdom17641786
Alyssa A. Goodman United States1962
Abu Sa'id Gorgani Persia9th century
Paul Götz Germany18831962
Benjamin Apthorp Gould United States18241896
Andrew Graham Ireland18151907
Charles Green England17351771
Jesse Greenstein United States19092002
John Grunsfeld United States1956
Edward Guinan United States1922
Jay U. Gunter United States19111994
Alexander A. Gurshtein Russia19372020
Bengt Gustafsson Sweden1943
Guo Shoujing China12311316
Alan Harvey Guth United States1947
Yusuke Hagihara Japan18971979
Alan Hale United States1958
George Ellery Hale United States18681938
Asaph Hall United States18291907
Edmond Halley England16561742
Erika Hamden United States ?
Heidi Hammel United States1960
Mario Hamuy Chile 1960
Peter Andreas Hansen Denmark17951874
Abulfazl Harawi Persia10th century
Karl Ludwig Harding Germany17651834Was a part of the so-called 'celestial police' group, which made the orbital calculations leading to the discovery of many dwarf planets between Mars and Jupiter.
Thomas Hariot United Kingdom15601621
Guillermo Haro Mexico19131988
Robert George Harrington United States19041987
Robert Sutton Harrington United States19421993
Edward Robert Harrison United Kingdom/United States19172007
William Kenneth Hartmann United States1939
John Hartnup Jr. United Kingdom18411892
Lisa Harvey-Smith Australia1979
Takeo Hatanaka Japan19141963
Stephen Hawking United Kingdom19422018
Will Hay United Kingdom18881949
Chushiro Hayashi Japan19202010
Otto Hermann Leopold Heckmann Germany19011983
E. Ruth Hedeman United States19102006
Carl Heiles United States1939
Joseph Helffrich Germany18721971
Eleanor Helin United States19322009
Maximilian Hell Austria-Hungary 17201792
Karl Ludwig Hencke Germany17931866
Thomas Henderson Scotland17981844
Paul Henry France18481905
Prosper Henry France18491903
Abraham bar Hiyya Spanish Jewish10701136
George Howard Herbig United States19202013
Carl W. Hergenrother United States1973
Caroline Herschel United Kingdom17501848
John Herschel United Kingdom17921871
William Herschel United Kingdom/Germany17381822Herschel discovered Uranus in 1781.
Ejnar Hertzsprung Denmark18731967He developed a classification system for stars to divide them by spectral type, stage in their development, and luminosity, the Hertzsprung–Russell diagram.
Johannes Hevelius Poland 16111687
Antony Hewish United Kingdom19242021won the Nobel Prize for Physics in 1974 for his role in the discovery of pulsars.
George William Hill United States18381914
John Russell Hind United Kingdom18231895
Hipparchus Nicaea c.190 BC120 BCHipparchus is considered the greatest ancient astronomical observer and, by some, the greatest overall astronomer of antiquity. He was the first whose quantitative and accurate models for the motion of the Sun and Moon survive.
Masanori Hirasawa Japan
Kiyotsugu Hirayama Japan18741943
Shin Hirayama Japan18681945
Gustave-Adolphe Hirn France18151890
Sebastian von Hoerner Germany19192003
Cuno Hoffmeister Germany18921968
Dorrit Hoffleit United States19072007
Helen Sawyer Hogg Canada19051993
Moses Holden United Kingdom17771864
Paulo R. Holvorcem Brazil1967
Minoru Honda Japan19171990
Kamil Hornoch Czech Republic 1972
Jeremiah Horrocks United Kingdomc.16191641First person to demonstrate the Moon's elliptical orbit around the Earth. He predicted, observed and recorded the 1639 transit of Venus.
Ingrid van Houten-Groeneveld Netherlands19212015
Herbert Alonzo Howe United States18581926
Steve B. Howell United States1955Howell was fundamental in the development of CCD astronomy especially CCD photometry of faint sources. He was the Project Scientist for the NASA Kepler and K2 Exoplanet missions.
Fred Hoyle United Kingdom19152001
Edwin Powell Hubble United States18891953Hubble proved that many objects previously thought to be clouds of dust and gas and classified as "nebulae" were actually galaxies beyond the Milky Way. He provided evidence for Hubble–Lemaître law, the fact that the universe is ever expanding.
William Huggins United Kingdom18241910
Russell Alan Hulse United States1950
Hendrik Christoffel van de Hulst Netherlands19182000
Milton Lasell Humason United States18911972
Thomas John Hussey England17921854
Christiaan Huygens Netherlands16291695Discovered the largest moon of Saturn, Titan
Yuji Hyakutake Japan19502002
Josef Allen Hynek United States19101986
Hypatia Egypt c. 350–370415
Christopher Hansteen Norway17841873
Icko Iben Jr. United States1931
Kaoru Ikeya Japan1943
Chris Impey United Kingdom/United States1956
Robert Thorburn Ayton Innes Scotland/South Africa 18611933
Shigeru Inoda Japan19552008
Jamal Nazrul Islam Bangladesh 19392013
Edward Israel United States18591884
Iwahashi Zenbei Japan17561811
Masayuki Iwamoto Japan1954
Shun-ei Izumikawa Japan
Cyril V. Jackson South Africa 19031988
Karan Jani India1988
Pierre Jules César Janssen France18241907
James Jeans United Kingdom18771946
Benjamin Jekhowsky Russia/France/Algeria 18811975
Louise Freeland Jenkins United States18881970
David C. Jewitt United Kingdom1958
Jiao Bingzhen China16891726
John A. Johnson United States1977
Alfred Harrison Joy United States18821973
Vinod Johri India19352014
Tetsuo Kagawa Japan1969
Norio Kaifu Japan19432019Norio directed the construction of the Nobeyama Radio Observatory and the Subaru Telescope. He was also the director of the International Astronomical Union(IAU) from 2012 to 2015. [1]
Franz Kaiser Germany18911962
Piet van de Kamp Netherlands/United States19011995
Kiyotaka Kanai Japan1951
Hiroshi Kaneda Japan1953
Henry Kandrup United States19552003
Jacobus Kapteyn Netherlands18511922
Lyudmila Karachkina Ukraine 1948
Ghiyath al-Kashi Persia13801429
Jeffrey Owen Katz United States1960
Karlis Kaufmanis Latvia/United States19102003
Kōyō Kawanishi Japan1959
Nobuhiro Kawasato Japan
James Edward Keeler United States18571900
Paul Kempf Germany18561920
Johannes Kepler Germany15711630
Omar Khayyám Persia10481131
Al-Khujandi Persiac.9401000discovered that the axial tilt of the earth is not constant
Muhammad ibn Mūsā al-Khwārizmī Persia780850
Kidinnu Babylon fl. 4th century BCc.330 BC
Hisashi Kimura Japan18701943
Maria Margarethe Kirch Germany16701720
Daniel Kirkwood United States18141895
Robert Kirshner United States1949
Minoru Kizawa Japan1947
Ernst Friedrich Wilhelm Klinkerfues Germany18271884
Viktor Knorre Russia18401919
Takao Kobayashi Japan1961
Toru Kobayashi Japan
Luboš Kohoutek Czechoslovakia 1935
Masahiro Koishikawa Japan19522020
Nobuhisa Kojima Japan1933
Takuo Kojima Japan1955
Yoji Kondo Japan19332017
Zdeněk Kopal Czechoslovakia/United Kingdom/United States19141993
Sergei Kopeikin United States1956
August Kopff Germany18821960
Korado Korlević Croatia 1958
Hiroki Kosai Japan1933
Charles T. Kowal United States19402011
Robert Kraft United States19272015
Ľubor Kresák Czechoslovakia19271994
Heinrich Kreutz Germany18541927
Edwin C. Krupp United States1944
Kazuo Kubokawa Japan19031943
Marc Kuchner United States1972
Gerard Kuiper Netherlands/United States19051973The namesake of the Kuiper belt, a region of minor planets beyond Neptune.
György Kulin Austria-Hungary 19051989
Donald Kurtz United States1948
Ali Kuşçu Turkey 14031474
Reiki Kushida Japan
Yoshio Kushida Japan1957
Nicolas Louis de Lacaille France17131762
Elizabeth Lada United States
Lagadha India1st millennium BCE
Claes-Ingvar Lagerkvist Sweden1944
Joseph-Louis Lagrange France17361813
Emily Lakdawalla United States1975
Jérôme Lalande France17321807Calculated the distance from the moon to Earth
Johann Heinrich Lambert France/Germany17281777
David J. Lane Canada1963
Andrew E. Lange United States19572010
Samuel Pierpont Langley United States18341906
Pierre-Simon Laplace France17491827
Jacques Laskar France1955
William Lassell United Kingdom17991880
Joseph Jean Pierre Laurent France1900
Henrietta Swan Leavitt United States18681921Discovered that Cepheid variable stars pulsated at a rate relative to the luminosity. This discovery made it possible to determine the distance to other galaxies by comparing the distance to Cepheids in our galaxy measured by Parallax and Spectroscopy and then applying the results to cepheids in other galaxies. This would eventually lead to the discovery that the Universe is expanding.
Typhoon Lee United States/Taiwan 1948
Guillaume Le Gentil France17251792
Georges Lemaître Belgium18941966Being the first the theorize that the Universe is ever expanding. The namesake of the Hubble–Lemaître law
Pierre Lemonnier France17151799
Frederick C. Leonard United States18961960
Armin Leuschner United States18681953
Geraint Lewis Australia1969
Urbain Le Verrier France18111877Theorized the existence of Neptune by calculations of its influence of orbit of Uranus, which let to Neptune's discovery.
Li Fan China202 AD220 AD
Bertil Lindblad Sweden18951965
Adolph Friedrich Lindemann Germany/United Kingdom 18461927
Chris Lintott United Kingdom1980
Joseph Johann Littrow Austria17811840
Karl L. Littrow Austria18111877
Liu Xin China50 BCE23 BCE
Joseph Lockyer United Kingdom18361920
Maurice Loewy Austria/France18331907
Christian Sørensen Longomontanus Denmark15621647
Bernard Lovell United Kingdom19132012
Percival Lowell United States18551916Theorized the existence of a ninth planet beyond Neptune, and contributed to the calculations that would eventually lead to the discovery of Pluto
Rosaly Lopes Brazil 1957
Ángel López Spain1955
Álvaro López-García Spain19412019
John William Lubbock United Kingdom18031865
Knut Lundmark Sweden18891958
Lupitus of Barcelona Spainfl. 10th century
Robert Luther Germany18221900
Jane Luu South Vietnam/United States1963
Willem Luyten Dutch East Indies (Netherlands)18991994
Donald Lynden-Bell United Kingdom19352018
Andrew Lyne United Kingdom 1942
Bernard Lyot France18971952
Mahendra Suri Indiac.13401400
Ma Yize China9101005
Adriaan van Maanen United States18841946
George Parker 2nd Earl of MacclesfieldUnited Kingdomc.16971764
Amy Mainzer United States1974
Steve Mandel United States
Geoff Marcy United States1954
Simon Marius Germany15731624
Brian G. Marsden United States19372010
Albert Marth Germany18281897
Nevil Maskelyne United Kingdom17321811
Charles Mason United Kingdom/United States17301787
John C. Mather United States1946
Janet Akyüz Mattei Turkey/United States19432004
Edward Walter Maunder United Kingdom18511928
Pierre Louis Maupertuis France16981759
Alain Maury France1958
Matthew Fontaine Maury United States18061873
Brian May United Kingdom1947
Cornell Mayer United States19222005
Tobias Mayer Germany17231762
Michel Mayor Switzerland1942
Christopher McKee United States1942
Robert S. McMillan United States
William H. McCrea United Kingdom19041999
Bruce A. McIntosh Canada19292015
Robert H. McNaught Australia1956
Pierre Méchain France17441804
Thebe Medupe South Africa 1973
Karen Jean Meech United States1959
Aden Baker Meinel United States19222011
Fulvio Melia United States1956
Philibert Jacques Melotte United Kingdom18801961
Paul Willard Merrill United States18871961
David Merritt United States1955
Charles Messier France17301817
Joel Hastings Metcalf United States18661925
Andreas Gerasimos Michalitsianos United States19471997
John Michell United Kingdom17241793The first person known to have proposed the existence of black holes
Elia Millosevich Italy18481919
Edward Arthur Milne United Kingdom18961950
Rudolph Minkowski Germany18951976
Marcel Gilles Jozef Minnaert Belgium/Netherlands 18931970
Maria Mitchell United States18181889
Seidai Miyasaka Japan1955
Yoshikane Mizuno Japan1954
August Ferdinand Möbius Germany17901868
Anthony Moffat Canada
Johan Maurits Mohr Netherlands17161775
Samuel Molyneux United Kingdom16891728best known for his work in attempting to measure the parallax of Gamma Draconis leading to the discovery of the aberration of light
Geminiano Montanari Italy16331687
Patrick Moore United Kingdom19232012
James Michael Moran United States1943
William Wilson Morgan United States19061994
Hiroshi Mori Japan1958
Amédée Mouchez France18211892
Antonín Mrkos Czechoslovakia19181996
Jean Mueller United States1950
Masaru Mukai Japan1949
Gustav Müller Germany18511925
Johannes Müller Germany14361476
Harutaro Murakami Japan18721947
Osamu Muramatsu Japan1949
bin Musa Ahmad Persia805873
bin Musa Hasan Persia810873
bin Musa Muhammad Persiac.800873
Nils Mustelin Finland19312004
Nilakantha Somayaji India14441544
Valentin Naboth Germany/Italy15231593
Naburimannu Babylonia sometime between 6th century BC and 2nd century BC
Takeshi Nagata Japan19131991
Ahmad Nahavandi Persia7th–8th century
Akimasa Nakamura Japan1961
Syuichi Nakano Japan1947
Jayant Narlikar India1938
Naubakht Persiad. 776
Al-fadl ibn Naubakht Persia8th century
Otto Neugebauer Germany/United States18991990
Grigoriy Nikolaevich Neujmin Georgia/Russia 18861946
Simon Newcomb United States18351909
Isaac Newton United Kingdom16431727
Seth Barnes Nicholson United States18911963
Albertus Antonie Nijland Netherlands18681936
Tsuneo Niijima Japan1955
Peter Nilson Sweden19371998
Hōei Nojiri Japan18851977
Jaime Nomen Spain1960
Toshiro Nomura Japan1954
Knut Jørgen Røed Ødegaard Norway 1966
Okuro Oikawa Japan18961970
Tarmo Oja Sweden1934
Tomimaru Okuni Japan1931
Nicolaus Olahus Hungary 14931568
Heinrich Wilhelm Matthias Olbers Germany17581840Was a part of the so-called 'celestial police' group, which made the orbital calculations leading to the discovery of many dwarf planets between Mars and Jupiter.
Gerard O'Neill United States19271992
Jan Hendrik Oort Netherlands19001992Determined that the Milky Way rotates, and disproved that the sun is the center of the Milky Way.
Pieter Oosterhoff Netherlands19041978
Ernst Öpik Estonia/Ireland18931985
José Luis Ortiz Moreno Spain1967Led the team to discover the dwarf planet Haumea in 2004
Yoshiaki Oshima Japan1952
Donald Edward Osterbrock United States19242007
Liisi Oterma Finland19152001
Satoru Otomo Japan1957
Jean Abraham Chrétien Oudemans Netherlands18271906
Rafael Pacheco Spain1954
Bohdan Paczyński Poland19402007
Ľudmila Pajdušáková Czechoslovakia19161979
Johann Palisa Austria18481925
Johann Palitzsch Germany17231788
Anton Pannekoek Netherlands18731960
Eugene Parker United States19272022
William Parsons (Lord Rosse)Ireland18001867discovered the spiral nature of some nebulae, today known to be spiral galaxies
Miriani Griselda Pastoriza Brazil1939
André Patry France19021960
Cecilia Payne-Gaposchkin United Kingdom/United States19001979
Ruby Payne-Scott Australia19121981
James Peebles Canada/United States1935
Sir Cuthbert Peek, 2nd Baronet United Kingdom18551901
Leslie Copus Peltier United States19001980
Roger Penrose United Kingdom1931
Arno Penzias United States/Germany19332024
Saul Perlmutter United States1959Proved that the expansion rate of the universe is expanding.
Charles Dillon Perrine United States/Argentina 18671951
Henri Joseph Anastase Perrotin France18451904
Christian Heinrich Friedrich Peters Germany/United States18131890
George Henry Peters United States18631947
Mark M. Phillips United States1951
Giuseppe Piazzi Italy17461826Discovered the dwarf planet Ceres
Edward Charles Pickering United States18461919
William Henry Pickering United States18581938
Paris Pişmiş Armenia/Mexico 19111999
Maynard PittendreighUnited States1954
Phil Plait United States1964
Giovanni Antonio Amedeo Plana Italy17811864
Petrus Plancius Netherlands15521622
John Stanley Plaskett Canada18651941
Norman Robert Pogson United Kingdom18291891
Christian Pollas France1947
John Pond England17671836
Jean-Louis Pons France17611831
Carolyn Porco United States1953
Vladimír Porubčan Czechoslovakia1940
Charles Pritchard United Kingdom18081893
Richard Proctor England18371888
Milorad B. Protić Serbia 19112001
Ptolemy of Alexandria Roman Egypt c.85165
Pierre Puiseux France18551928
Georg Purbach Germany14231461
Pythagoras of SamosGreece580 BC500 BC
Adolphe Quetelet Belgium17961874
M. Shahid Qureshi Pakistan
Ali Qushji Ottoman Empire 14031474
David Lincoln Rabinowitz United States1960Co-discoverer of the dwarf planet Eris in 2006
Narayan Chandra Rana India19541996 [2]
Grote Reber United States19112002
Martin Rees United Kingdom1942
Edward Ayearst Reeves United Kingdom18621945Geographer and astronomer [3]
Hubert Reeves Canada1932
Johannes Müller Germany14361476
Julius Reichelt Germany16371717
Erasmus Reinhold Prussia, Germany15111553
Karl Reinmuth Germany18921979
Pieter Johannes van Rhijn Netherlands18861960
Giovanni Battista Riccioli Italy15981671discovering the first double star.
Mercedes Richards Jamaica 19552016Pioneering research in the tomography of interacting binary star systems and cataclysmic variable stars to predict magnetic activity and simulate gas flow is her most known work. She was the first to use tomography in astronomy.
Jean Richer France16301696
Edward Riddle England17881854
Adam Riess United States1969He is known for his research in using supernovae as cosmological probes and for being part of the team that proved that the expansion rate of the universe is expanding.
Fernand Rigaux Belgium19051962
George Willis Ritchey United States18641945
David Rittenhouse United States17321796
Hans-Walter Rix Germany1964
Carmelle Robert Canada1962
Arjen Roelofs Netherlands17541824
Elizabeth Roemer United States19292016
Roger of Hereford Englandc.11761198
Nancy G. Roman United States19252018
Gustavo E. Romero Argentina1964
Ole Christensen Rømer Denmark16441710made the first measurement of the speed of light and discovery that light travels at a finite speed.
Otto A. Rosenberger Germany18001890
Svein Rosseland Norway18941985
Bruno Rossi Italy19051993
Laurie Rousseau-Nepton Canada
Vera Rubin United States19282016Studied the rotation of Galaxies. Her research provided evidence for the discovery of Dark matter.
Henry Chamberlain Russell Australia18361907
Henry Norris Russell United States18771957
Martin Ryle United Kingdom19181984won the Nobel Prize for Physics in 1974 for his role in the discovery of pulsars.
Sir Edward Sabine Ireland17881883
Sadr al-Shari'a al-Asghar Uzbekistan  ?1346He was a theoretical astronomer and religious scholar who created original and sophisticated astronomical theories of time and place, and under circumstances that have long been considered devoid of original scientific research.
Carl Sagan United States19341996
Megh Nad Saha India18931956
Edwin Ernest Salpeter Austria/Australia/United States19242008
Allan Rex Sandage United States19262010
Hendricus Gerardus van de Sande Bakhuyzen Netherlands18381923
Wallace Leslie William Sargent United Kingdom/United States19352012
Anneila Sargent United Kingdom/United States1942
Naoto Sato Japan1953
Alexandre Schaumasse France18821958
Giovanni Schiaparelli Italy18351910
Frank Schlesinger United States18711943
Bernhard Schmidt Estonia/Sweden/Germany 18791935
Brian P. Schmidt United States1967Proved that the expansion rate of the universe is expanding.
Maarten Schmidt Netherlands19292022
Robert Schommer United States19462001
Johann Hieronymus Schröter Germany17451816Was a part of the so-called 'celestial police' group, which made the orbital calculations leading to the discovery of many dwarf planets between Mars and Jupiter.
Lipót Schulhof Hungary18471921
Heinrich Christian Schumacher Germany17801850
Hans-Emil Schuster Germany1934
Samuel Heinrich Schwabe Germany17891875
Karl Schwarzschild Germany18731916
Martin Schwarzschild Germany/United States19121997
Friedrich Karl Arnold Schwassmann Germany18701964
James Vernon Scotti United States1960
Frederick Hanley Seares United States18731964
George Mary Searle United States18391918
Angelo Secchi Italy18181878One of the first scientists to state authoritatively that the Sun is a star.
Sadao Sei Japan
Waltraut Seitter Germany19302007
Tsutomu Seki Japan1930
Carl Keenan Seyfert United States19111960
Grigory Abramovich Shajn Russia18921956
Pelageya Fedorovna Shajn Russia18941956
Harlow Shapley United States18851972
Richard Sheepshanks United Kingdom17941855
Shen Kuo China10311095
Shi Shen Chinafl. 4th century BCShi Shen, together with Gan De compiled China's first star catalogue
Shibukawa Shunkai Japan16391715
Yoshisada Shimizu Japan1943
Shinzo Shinjo Japan18731938
Qutb eddin Shirazi Persia12361311
Iosif Samuilovich Shklovsky Russia19161985
Vladimir Shkodrov Bulgaria 19302010
Carolyn Jean Spellmann Shoemaker United States19292021
Eugene Merle Shoemaker United States19281997
Edward M. Sion United States1946
Willem de Sitter Netherlands18721934De Sitter made major contributions to the field of physical cosmology. He co-authored a paper with Albert Einstein in 1932 in which they discussed the implications of cosmological data for the curvature of the universe.
Charlotte Moore Sitterly United States18981990
Brian A. Skiff United States
John Francis Skjellerup Australia/South Africa 18751952
Vesto Melvin Slipher United States18751969
William Marshall Smart United Kingdom18891975
Tamara Mikhaylovna Smirnova Russia19352001
George Smoot United States1945
William Henry Smyth United Kingdom17881865
Snell Netherlands15801626
Mary Fairfax Somerville United Kingdom17801872
Sir James South United Kingdom17851867
Sir Harold Spencer Jones United Kingdom18901960
Lyman Spitzer United States19141997
Friederich Wilhelm Gustav Spörer Germany18221895
Rainer Spurzem Germany1956
Anton Staus Germany18721955
Joel Stebbins United States18781966
Johan Stein Netherlands18711951
Karl August von Steinheil Germany18011870
Édouard Stephan France18371923
David J. Stevenson New Zealand1948
Edward James Stone England18311897
F. J. M. Stratton United Kingdom18811960
Bengt Georg Daniel Strömgren Denmark19081987
Karl Hermann Struve Russia/Germany18541920
Gustav Wilhelm Ludwig Struve Russia18581920
Otto Struve Russia/United States18971963
Su Song China10201101
Matsuo Sugano Japan1939
Atsushi Sugie Japan
Nicholas Suntzeff United States1952
Rashid Alievich Sunyaev Uzbekistan/Russia/Germany 1943
Shohei Suzuki Japan
Lewis A. Swift United States18201913
Frédéric Sy France18611917
Akihiko Tago Japan1932
Atsushi Takahashi Japan1965
Kesao Takamizawa Japan1952
Yasuo Tanaka Japan19312018
Pierre Tardi France18971972
Jill Tarter United States1944Research in extra-terristrial light. Came up with the name Brown dwarfs for substellar entities.
Joseph Hooton Taylor Jr. United States1941
John Tebbutt Australia18341916
Ernst Wilhelm Leberecht Tempel Germany18211889
Thabit ibn Qurra Iraq 826901
Thorvald Nicolai Thiele Denmark18381910
Louis Thollon France18291887
Norman G. Thomas United States19302020
John Thome United States/Argentina18431908
Kip Stephen Thorne United States1940
Friedrich Tietjen Germany18341895
Beatrice Muriel Hill Tinsley New Zealand/United States19411981
François Félix Tisserand France18451896
Johann Daniel Titius Germany17291796
Clyde W. Tombaugh United States19061997Discovered Pluto as well as numerous asteroids
Kōichirō Tomita Japan19252006
Richard Tousey United States19081997
Charles Townes United States19152015
Virginia Trimble United States1943
Chad Trujillo United States1973Co-discoverer of multiple dwarf planets beyond Pluto, including Quaoar in 2002, Makemake in 2005 and Eris in 2006. This triggered a debate on the definition of a planet.
Robert Julius Trumpler United States18861956
R. Brent Tully United States1943
Herbert Hall Turner England18611930Coined the term Parsec, a very large unit of distance to measure the distance to objects outside the solar system
Nasir al-Din Tusi Persia12011274
Horace Parnell Tuttle United States18391923
Neil deGrasse Tyson United States1958
Seiji Ueda Japan1952
Ulugh Beg Uzbekistan 13941449
Antonio de Ulloa Spain17161795
Albrecht Unsöld Germany19051995
Takeshi Urata Japan19472012
Mu'ayyad al-Din al-Urdi Persiac.12001266
Fumiaki Uto Japan
Yrjö Väisälä Finland 18911971
Benjamin Valz France17871867
James Van Allen United States19142006
George Van Biesbroeck Belgium/United States18801974
Hendrik Christoffel van de Hulst Netherlands19182000
Peter van de Kamp United States19011995
Sidney van den Bergh Canada1929
Martin van den Hove Netherlands16051639
Hendricus Gerardus van de Sande Bakhuyzen Netherlands18381923
Hendrik van Gent Netherlands/South Africa 19001947
Cornelis Johannes van Houten Netherlands19202002
Pieter Johannes van Rhijn Netherlands18861960
Sylvie Vauclair France1946
Gérard de Vaucouleurs France/United States19181995
Zdeňka Vávrová Czechoslovakia1945
Jean-Pierre Verdet France1932
Philippe Véron France19392014
Frank Washington Very United States18521927
Yvon Villarceau France18131883
Julie Vinter Hansen Denmark18901960
Hermann Carl Vogel Germany18411907
Friedrich Georg Wilhelm von Struve Germany/Russia17931864
Otto Wilhelm von Struve Russia18191905
Alexander N. Vyssotsky Russia/United States18881973His best known work is probably a catalog with five lists of stars titled Dwarf M Stars Found Spectrophotometrically. This work was important because it was the first list of nearby stars identified not by their motions in the sky, but by their intrinsic, spectroscopic, characteristics.
Emma Vyssotsky United States18941975
Arno Arthur Wachmann Germany19021990
Abul Wáfa Persia940997/998
Walcher of Malvern England ?1135
George Wallerstein United States19302021
William Wales United Kingdomc.17341798
Qingde Wang United States/China
Kazuro Watanabe Japan1955
James Craig Watson United States18381880
Edmund Weaver United Kingdom16631748
Kim Weaver United States1969
Thomas William Webb United Kingdom18071885
Alfred Lothar Wegener Germany18801930
Gary A. Wegner United States1944
Wei Pu China9601279
Karl von Weizsäcker Germany19122007
Godefroy Wendelin Belgium15801667
Richard M. West Denmark1941
Gart Westerhout Netherlands/United States19272012
Bengt Westerlund Sweden19212008
J. G. Westphal Germany18241859
Johann Heinrich Westphal Germany/Italy17941831
George Wetherill United States19252006
John Archibald Wheeler United States19112008Popularizing the term 'wormholes', theoretical holes in spacetime
Fred Lawrence Whipple United States19062004
Albert Whitford United States19052002
Mary Watson Whitney United States18471921
Chandra Wickramasinghe United Kingdom1939
Paul Wild Switzerland19252014
Olin C. Wilson United States19091994
Rogier Windhorst United States1955
Robert Wilson United States1936
Vincent Wing United Kingdom 16191668Author of the Astronomia Britannica (published in 1669).
John Winthrop Massachusetts Bay Colony 17141779
Friedrich August Theodor Winnecke Germany18351897
Carl Wirtanen United States19101990
Jack Wisdom United States1953
Gustav Witt Germany18661946
Maximilian Wolf Germany18631932
Aleksander Wolszczan Poland1946Co-discoverer of the first confirmed extrasolar planets and pulsar planets.
Richard van der Riet Woolley United Kingdom19061986
Thomas Wright United Kingdom17111786
Issei Yamamoto Japan18891959
Masayuki Yanai Japan1959
Yi Xing China683727
Anne Sewell Young United States18711961
Charles Augustus Young United States18341908
James Whitney Young United States1941
Franz Xaver von Zach Germany17531832The founder of the so-called 'celestial police', an informal group of astronomers looking for additional planets after the discovery of Uranus. The Celestial Police made the orbital calculations leading to the discovery of the asteroid belt and many dwarf planets between Mars and Jupiter.
Abraham Zacuto Spain/Portugal 14501510His mapping of stars lead to breakthroughs in navigation
John Zarnecki United Kingdom 1949
Yakov Borisovich Zel'dovich USSR 19141987
Zhang Daqing China1969
Zhang Heng China78139
Zhang Yuzhe China19021986
Lyudmila Vasil'evna Zhuravleva Russia/Ukraine 1946
Felix Ziegel Soviet Union 19201988
Zu Chongzhi China429500
Fritz Zwicky Switzerland/United States18981974Zwicky was the first to use the virial theorem to discover the existence of a gravitational anomaly, which he termed dark matter.
Hong-Yee Chiu Taiwan/United States1932Coined the term "Quasar" for the light emitted from the area around Supermassive black holes
Su-Shu Huang China/United States19151977Developed the idea that all stars have a habitable zone, a distance where water could be liquid on the surface and thus there would be potential for life.
Johann Heinrich von Mädler Germany 17941874Together with Wilhelm Beer he produced the first exact map of the Moon and of Mars

In alphabetical order:

A

B

C

D

E

F

G

H

I

J

K

L

M

N

O

P

Q

R

S

T

U

V

W

Y

Z

Others who influenced astronomy and astrophysics

The following is a list of people who are not astronomers but made a contribution to the field of astronomy and astrophysics.

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Naval ensign</span> Maritime flag used by naval ships to denote their nationality

A naval ensign is an ensign used by naval ships of various countries to denote their nationality. It can be the same or different from a country's civil ensign or state ensign.

References

Citations

  1. "International Astronomical Union | IAU". www.iau.org. Retrieved 2019-04-12.
  2. "E Paper". epaper.thestatesman.com. 29 November 2016. Retrieved 5 February 2017.
  3. "Telescopic Alidade". National Museum of American History . Retrieved 2024-03-14.

General sources