Aleksander Wolszczan
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 Aleksander Wolszczan at Piwnice Observatory |
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| Born | April 29, 1946 Szczecinek, Poland |
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| Nationality | Polish |
| Field | Astronomer |
| Alma mater | Nicolaus Copernicus University in Toruń |
| Known for | Discovery of the first extrasolar planets and pulsar planets |
| Notable prizes | Beatrice M. Tinsley Prize |
Aleksander Wolszczan (pronounced: [alɛk'sandɛr 'vɔlʂt͡ʂan]; b. 1946 in Szczecinek, Poland) is a Polish astronomer. He was the discoverer of the first extrasolar planets and pulsar planets.
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[edit] Biography
Educated in Poland (at the Nicolaus Copernicus University in Toruń), Wolszczan moved in 1982 to the USA to work at Cornell University in Ithaca and Princeton University. Later he became an astronomy professor at the Pennsylvania State University. Concurrent with that appointment, since 1994 he has been a professor at the University in Toruń and a member of the Polish Academy of Sciences (PAN).
Working with Dale Frail, he carried out astronomical observations from the Arecibo Observatory which led them to the discovery of the pulsar PSR B1257+12 in 1990. The data analysis gathered thanks to the discovery showed that the pulsar is orbited by two planets with mass 4.3 and 2.8 times that of Earth's mass. Their orbits are 0.36 and 0.47 AU respectively. This planetary system was the first extra-solar system discovered in the Universe whose existence was proved.
Wolszczan and Frail published their findings in 1992 and 1994. In spite of initial misgivings of some experts, today this discovery is regarded as fully substantiated.
In 1996, Wolszczan was awarded the Beatrice M. Tinsley Prize by the American Astronomical Society.
[edit] References
- Wolszczan, A., and D.A. Frail. A planetary system around the millisecond pulsar PSR 1257+12. Nature 355(6356):145-7, January 9, 1992.
- Wolszczan, A. Confirmation of Earth-mass planets orbiting the millisecond pulsar PSR B1257+12. Science 264(5158):538-42, April 22, 1994.
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