astronomers

On 28 Jan, 04:53, Chris L Peterson wrote:
On 27 Jan 2007 15:28:16 -0800, "Sitav" wrote:

who are the "famous" astronomers of the 21st century. i havent heard
of many well known astronomers or astrophysicists.........yet.We're not too far into the 21st Century, so in terms of major work done
in the last five years, that would be hard to say. But there are many
famous astronomers who have produced great work in the last 25 year or
so, and remain active today:

Alan Guth
Stephen Hawking
Kip Thorne
Jocelyn Bell
Roger Penrose



Are all those mentioned above truly astronomers? I don't think so.

Andrea T.

On 28 Jan 2007 15:31:59 -0800, "
wrote:

Alan Guth
Stephen Hawking
Kip Thorne
Jocelyn Bell
Roger Penrose

Are all those mentioned above truly astronomers? I don't think so.

I would argue that they are. But it is certainly true that the modern
definition of "astronomer" is a loose one. All of the above have
contributed in profound ways to our understanding of the Universe.

_________________________________________________

Chris L Peterson
Cloudbait Observatory
http://www.cloudbait.com

wrote:
Alan Guth
Stephen Hawking
Kip Thorne
Jocelyn Bell
Roger Penrose


Are all those mentioned above truly astronomers? I don't think so.

Yes, they are as far as I'm concerned. If you are claiming they are
astrophysicists, most astronomers don't care if you call them
astronomers or astrophysicists. The modern definition of both is pretty
much identical.

In practice the terms "observational" and "theoretical"
astronomer/astrophysicist is often applied with much greater meaning.

In the end, anyone who is scientifically studying the universe beyond a
narrow view of the earth is basically an astronomer.

--
Greg Crinklaw
Astronomical Software Developer
Cloudcroft, New Mexico, USA (33N, 106W, 2700m)

SkyTools: http://www.skyhound.com/cs.html
Observing: http://www.skyhound.com/sh/skyhound.html
Comets: http://www.skyhound.com/sh/comets.html

To reply take out your eye

As far as noteworthy astronomers go, I might suggest Geoffrey Marcy, who
leads the pack in discovering the exoplanets.

Marci was first, but back in late 20th century when he was still at
SFSU.

On Jan 27, 6:04 pm, Greg Crinklaw
wrote:
Sitav wrote:
who are the "famous" astronomers of the 21st century. i havent heard
of many well known astronomers or astrophysicists.........yet.

Famous to whom? I'll never forget when I first started college I took a
writing class. We had the assignment to write about someone famous. I
chose to write about Sir William Herschel.

In this class we all sat in a circle. The author read his/her paper
while the rest of the class listened. Everyone was encouraged to offer
critiques during the reading.

When it came my turn I was pretty nervous. My very first sentence went
something like, ".. the famous astronomer William Herschel..." Right
away a woman spoke up (she no doubt had written about some pop star) and
said, "How can he be famous, I've never heard of him!" The rest of the
class looked at each other and agreed!

Yet of course Herschel is one of the most famous astronomers of all
time, most notably because he discovered Uranus, which put him among a
very select few who could make such a claim.

The problem, of course, was that the young college students in the class
couldn't have named *any* famous astronomers, except perhaps Sagan.

My point is that perhaps "famous" isn't really the right question. It
relies too much on popular culture. Perhaps "noteworthy" would be better?

As far as noteworthy astronomers go, I might suggest Geoffrey Marcy, who
leads the pack in discovering the exoplanets.

--
Greg Crinklaw
Astronomical Software Developer
Cloudcroft, New Mexico, USA (33N, 106W, 2700m)

SkyTools: http://www.skyhound.com/cs.html
Observing:http://www.skyhound.com/sh/skyhound.html
Comets: http://www.skyhound.com/sh/comets.html

To reply take out your eye

David wrote:
As far as noteworthy astronomers go, I might suggest Geoffrey Marcy, who
leads the pack in discovering the exoplanets.

Marci was first, but back in late 20th century when he was still at
SFSU.

And your point would be...?

--
Greg Crinklaw
Astronomical Software Developer
Cloudcroft, New Mexico, USA (33N, 106W, 2700m)

SkyTools: http://www.skyhound.com/cs.html
Observing: http://www.skyhound.com/sh/skyhound.html
Comets: http://www.skyhound.com/sh/comets.html

To reply take out your eye

Has Marcy continued to be the leader in exoplanet discovery in the
21st century. Perhaps he has. I didn't think so, but I'm willing to
learn different.

David

On Jan 30, 4:44 pm, Greg Crinklaw
wrote:
David wrote:
As far as noteworthy astronomers go, I might suggest Geoffrey Marcy, who
leads the pack in discovering the exoplanets.

Marci was first, but back in late 20th century when he was still at
SFSU.

And your point would be...?

--
Greg Crinklaw
Astronomical Software Developer
Cloudcroft, New Mexico, USA (33N, 106W, 2700m)

SkyTools: http://www.skyhound.com/cs.html
Observing:http://www.skyhound.com/sh/skyhound.html
Comets: http://www.skyhound.com/sh/comets.html

To reply take out your eye

David wrote:
Has Marcy continued to be the leader in exoplanet discovery in the
21st century. Perhaps he has. I didn't think so, but I'm willing to
learn different.

It's my understanding that he didn't die on January 1st, 2001... And
like I said, he has discovered more than anyone else (last time I
checked).

Either way, don't have have anything better to do than be a prick?


--
Greg Crinklaw
Astronomical Software Developer
Cloudcroft, New Mexico, USA (33N, 106W, 2700m)

SkyTools: http://www.skyhound.com/cs.html
Observing: http://www.skyhound.com/sh/skyhound.html
Comets: http://www.skyhound.com/sh/comets.html

To reply take out your eye

Sorry I came across as a nit-picker.

I had a chance to talk to a a grad. student of Marcy's when he was
still at SFSU and I was there studying Japanese.

I heard he had moved on. I didn't know he was still lead the race in
finding exoplanets. Thanks for update.

David

On Jan 30, 5:45 pm, Greg Crinklaw
wrote:
David wrote:
Has Marcy continued to be the leader in exoplanet discovery in the
21st century. Perhaps he has. I didn't think so, but I'm willing to
learn different.

It's my understanding that he didn't die on January 1st, 2001... And
like I said, he has discovered more than anyone else (last time I
checked).

Either way, don't have have anything better to do than be a prick?

--
Greg Crinklaw
Astronomical Software Developer
Cloudcroft, New Mexico, USA (33N, 106W, 2700m)

SkyTools: http://www.skyhound.com/cs.html
Observing:http://www.skyhound.com/sh/skyhound.html
Comets: http://www.skyhound.com/sh/comets.html

To reply take out your eye

Hi David,

Please accept my apologies; I mistook you for one of the many trolls who
like to yank people's chains around here.

I was merely suggesting an active astronomer that a newbie might find
interesting. As far as I know Marcy is still at work:

http://exoplanets.org

Clear skies,
Greg

David wrote:
Sorry I came across as a nit-picker.

I had a chance to talk to a a grad. student of Marcy's when he was
still at SFSU and I was there studying Japanese.

I heard he had moved on. I didn't know he was still lead the race in
finding exoplanets. Thanks for update.

David

On Jan 30, 5:45 pm, Greg Crinklaw
wrote:
David wrote:
Has Marcy continued to be the leader in exoplanet discovery in the
21st century. Perhaps he has. I didn't think so, but I'm willing to
learn different.
It's my understanding that he didn't die on January 1st, 2001... And
like I said, he has discovered more than anyone else (last time I
checked).

Either way, don't have have anything better to do than be a prick?

--
Greg Crinklaw
Astronomical Software Developer
Cloudcroft, New Mexico, USA (33N, 106W, 2700m)

SkyTools: http://www.skyhound.com/cs.html
Observing:http://www.skyhound.com/sh/skyhound.html
Comets: http://www.skyhound.com/sh/comets.html

To reply take out your eye



--
Greg Crinklaw
Astronomical Software Developer
Cloudcroft, New Mexico, USA (33N, 106W, 2700m)

SkyTools: http://www.skyhound.com/cs.html
Observing: http://www.skyhound.com/sh/skyhound.html
Comets: http://www.skyhound.com/sh/comets.html

To reply take out your eye