Bohdan Paczynski
Encyclopedia
Bohdan Paczyński or Bohdan Paczynski (8 February 1940 - 19 April 2007) was a Polish
astronomer
, a leading scientist in theory of the evolution
of stars, accretion disc
s and gamma ray burst
s.
Paczyński was born February 8, 1940, in Vilnius
, Lithuania
to a family of a lawyer and a teacher of Polish literature
. In 1945 his family chose to leave for Poland and settled in Kraków
, and then in 1949 in Warsaw
. Already at the age of 18 Paczyński published his first scientific article in Acta Astronomica
. Between 1959 and 1962 he studied astronomy at the University of Warsaw
. Two years later he received a doctorate under tutelage of Stefan Piotrowski and Włodzimierz Zonn.
In 1962 Paczyński became a member of the Centre of Astronomy of the Polish Academy of Sciences
, where he continued to work for nearly 20 years. In 1974 he received habilitation and in 1979 became a professor. Thanks to his works on theoretical astronomy, at the age of 36 he became the youngest member of the Polish Academy of Sciences
In 1981 Paczyński visited United States
, where he gave a series of lectures at Caltech to former interns at his Warsaw-based institute. After the introduction of the Martial Law in Poland
he decided to stay abroad. He was The Lyman Spitzer
Jr. Professor of Astrophysics at Princeton University
.
Paczyński was the initiator of Optical Gravitational Lensing Experiment
(OGLE, led by Andrzej Udalski
of Warsaw University Observatory) and All Sky Automated Survey
(ASAS, created together with Grzegorz Pojmański
).
His new methods of discovering cosmic objects and measuring their mass by using gravitational lens
es gained him international recognition, and he is acknowledged for coining the term microlensing
. He was also an early proponent of the idea that gamma-ray bursts are at cosmological distances.
His research concentrated on stellar evolution
, gravitational lensing and gravitational microlensing
, variable stars, gamma-ray bursts, and galactic structure.
In 1999, he became the first astronomer to receive all three major awards of the Royal Astronomical Society
, by winning the Gold Medal
, having won the Eddington Medal
in 1987 and the George Darwin Lectureship
in 1995.
He was honoured with the title of doctor honoris causa by Wrocław University in Poland (on June 29, 2005) and Nicolaus Copernicus University in Toruń
in Poland (on September 22, 2006).
In January 2006 he was awarded Henry Norris Russell Lectureship
of the American Astronomical Society
, "for his highly original contributions to a wide variety of fields including advanced stellar evolution, the nature of gamma ray bursts, accretion in binary systems, gravitational lensing, and cosmology. His research has been distinguished by its creativity and breadth, as well as the stimulus it has provided to highly productive observational investigations".
He died of brain cancer on April 19, 2007 in Princeton, New Jersey
.
Named after him
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
astronomer
Astronomer
An astronomer is a scientist who studies celestial bodies such as planets, stars and galaxies.Historically, astronomy was more concerned with the classification and description of phenomena in the sky, while astrophysics attempted to explain these phenomena and the differences between them using...
, a leading scientist in theory of the evolution
Stellar evolution
Stellar evolution is the process by which a star undergoes a sequence of radical changes during its lifetime. Depending on the mass of the star, this lifetime ranges from only a few million years to trillions of years .Stellar evolution is not studied by observing the life of a single...
of stars, accretion disc
Accretion disc
An accretion disc is a structure formed by diffuse material in orbital motion around a central body. The central body is typically a star. Gravity causes material in the disc to spiral inward towards the central body. Gravitational forces compress the material causing the emission of...
s and gamma ray burst
Gamma ray burst
Gamma-ray bursts are flashes of gamma rays associated with extremely energetic explosions that have been observed in distant galaxies. They are the most luminous electromagnetic events known to occur in the universe. Bursts can last from ten milliseconds to several minutes, although a typical...
s.
Paczyński was born February 8, 1940, in Vilnius
Vilnius
Vilnius is the capital of Lithuania, and its largest city, with a population of 560,190 as of 2010. It is the seat of the Vilnius city municipality and of the Vilnius district municipality. It is also the capital of Vilnius County...
, Lithuania
Lithuania
Lithuania , officially the Republic of Lithuania is a country in Northern Europe, the biggest of the three Baltic states. It is situated along the southeastern shore of the Baltic Sea, whereby to the west lie Sweden and Denmark...
to a family of a lawyer and a teacher of Polish literature
Polish literature
Polish literature is the literary tradition of Poland. Most Polish literature has been written in the Polish language, though other languages, used in Poland over the centuries, have also contributed to Polish literary traditions, including Yiddish, Lithuanian, Ukrainian, Belarusian, German and...
. In 1945 his family chose to leave for Poland and settled in Kraków
Kraków
Kraków also Krakow, or Cracow , is the second largest and one of the oldest cities in Poland. Situated on the Vistula River in the Lesser Poland region, the city dates back to the 7th century. Kraków has traditionally been one of the leading centres of Polish academic, cultural, and artistic life...
, and then in 1949 in Warsaw
Warsaw
Warsaw is the capital and largest city of Poland. It is located on the Vistula River, roughly from the Baltic Sea and from the Carpathian Mountains. Its population in 2010 was estimated at 1,716,855 residents with a greater metropolitan area of 2,631,902 residents, making Warsaw the 10th most...
. Already at the age of 18 Paczyński published his first scientific article in Acta Astronomica
Acta Astronomica
Acta Astronomica is a peer-reviewed scientific journal covering astronomy and astrophysics. It was founded in 1925 by the Polish astronomer Tadeusz Banachiewicz. Initially, the journal published articles in Latin, later English, French, and German were added as allowed journal languages. Today, all...
. Between 1959 and 1962 he studied astronomy at the University of Warsaw
University of Warsaw
The University of Warsaw is the largest university in Poland and one of the most prestigious, ranked as best Polish university in 2010 and 2011...
. Two years later he received a doctorate under tutelage of Stefan Piotrowski and Włodzimierz Zonn.
In 1962 Paczyński became a member of the Centre of Astronomy of the Polish Academy of Sciences
Polish Academy of Sciences
The Polish Academy of Sciences, headquartered in Warsaw, is one of two Polish institutions having the nature of an academy of sciences.-History:...
, where he continued to work for nearly 20 years. In 1974 he received habilitation and in 1979 became a professor. Thanks to his works on theoretical astronomy, at the age of 36 he became the youngest member of the Polish Academy of Sciences
In 1981 Paczyński visited United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, where he gave a series of lectures at Caltech to former interns at his Warsaw-based institute. After the introduction of the Martial Law in Poland
Martial law in Poland
Martial law in Poland refers to the period of time from December 13, 1981 to July 22, 1983, when the authoritarian government of the People's Republic of Poland drastically restricted normal life by introducing martial law in an attempt to crush political opposition to it. Thousands of opposition...
he decided to stay abroad. He was The Lyman Spitzer
Lyman Spitzer
Lyman Strong Spitzer, Jr. was an American theoretical physicist and astronomer best known for his research in star formation, plasma physics, and in 1946, for conceiving the idea of telescopes operating in outer space...
Jr. Professor of Astrophysics at Princeton University
Princeton University
Princeton University is a private research university located in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. The school is one of the eight universities of the Ivy League, and is one of the nine Colonial Colleges founded before the American Revolution....
.
Paczyński was the initiator of Optical Gravitational Lensing Experiment
Optical Gravitational Lensing Experiment
The Optical Gravitational Lensing Experiment or OGLE is a Polish astronomical project based at the University of Warsaw that is chiefly concerned with discovering dark matter using the microlensing technique. Since the project began in 1992, it has discovered several extrasolar planets as a side...
(OGLE, led by Andrzej Udalski
Andrzej Udalski
Professor Andrzej Udalski, PhD is a Polish astronomer and director of the Astronomical Observatory of the University of Warsaw...
of Warsaw University Observatory) and All Sky Automated Survey
All Sky Automated Survey
The All Sky Automated Survey is a Polish project implemented on 7 April 1997 to do photometric monitoring of approximately 20 million stars brighter than 14 magnitude all over the sky. The automatic telescopes discovered two new comets in 2004 and 2006...
(ASAS, created together with Grzegorz Pojmański
Grzegorz Pojmanski
Dr Grzegorz Pojmański , Polish astronomer, worker of Warsaw University Astronomical Observatory, Poland. In 1997 Pojmański together with professor Bohdan Paczyński implemented the project All Sky Automated Survey . With the ASAS Alert System Pojmański discovered two new comets: C/2004 R2 and...
).
His new methods of discovering cosmic objects and measuring their mass by using gravitational lens
Gravitational lens
A gravitational lens refers to a distribution of matter between a distant source and an observer, that is capable of bending the light from the source, as it travels towards the observer...
es gained him international recognition, and he is acknowledged for coining the term microlensing
Gravitational microlensing
Gravitational microlensing is an astronomical phenomenon due to the gravitational lens effect. It can be used to detect objects ranging from the mass of a planet to the mass of a star, regardless of the light they emit. Typically, astronomers can only detect bright objects that emit lots of light ...
. He was also an early proponent of the idea that gamma-ray bursts are at cosmological distances.
His research concentrated on stellar evolution
Stellar evolution
Stellar evolution is the process by which a star undergoes a sequence of radical changes during its lifetime. Depending on the mass of the star, this lifetime ranges from only a few million years to trillions of years .Stellar evolution is not studied by observing the life of a single...
, gravitational lensing and gravitational microlensing
Gravitational microlensing
Gravitational microlensing is an astronomical phenomenon due to the gravitational lens effect. It can be used to detect objects ranging from the mass of a planet to the mass of a star, regardless of the light they emit. Typically, astronomers can only detect bright objects that emit lots of light ...
, variable stars, gamma-ray bursts, and galactic structure.
In 1999, he became the first astronomer to receive all three major awards of the Royal Astronomical Society
Royal Astronomical Society
The Royal Astronomical Society is a learned society that began as the Astronomical Society of London in 1820 to support astronomical research . It became the Royal Astronomical Society in 1831 on receiving its Royal Charter from William IV...
, by winning the Gold Medal
Gold Medal of the Royal Astronomical Society
-History:In the early years, more than one medal was often awarded in a year, but by 1833 only one medal was being awarded per year. This caused a problem when Neptune was discovered in 1846, because many felt an award should jointly be made to John Couch Adams and Urbain Le Verrier...
, having won the Eddington Medal
Eddington Medal
The Eddington Medal, named after Sir Arthur Eddington, is awarded by the Royal Astronomical Society nominally once every two years for investigations of outstanding merit in theoretical astrophysics.- Recipients :* 1953 Georges Lemaître...
in 1987 and the George Darwin Lectureship
George Darwin Lectureship
The George Darwin Lectureship is an award of the Royal Astronomical Society. The George Darwin Lecture is given annually, by a 'distinguished and eloquent speaker', on a topic in astronomy or astrophysics...
in 1995.
He was honoured with the title of doctor honoris causa by Wrocław University in Poland (on June 29, 2005) and Nicolaus Copernicus University in Toruń
Torun
Toruń is an ancient city in northern Poland, on the Vistula River. Its population is more than 205,934 as of June 2009. Toruń is one of the oldest cities in Poland. The medieval old town of Toruń is the birthplace of the astronomer Nicolaus Copernicus....
in Poland (on September 22, 2006).
In January 2006 he was awarded Henry Norris Russell Lectureship
Henry Norris Russell Lectureship
The Henry Norris Russell Lectureship is awarded each year by the American Astronomical Society in recognition of a lifetime of excellence in astronomical research.-Previous lecturers:This list of lecturers is from the American Astronomical Society's website....
of the American Astronomical Society
American Astronomical Society
The American Astronomical Society is an American society of professional astronomers and other interested individuals, headquartered in Washington, DC...
, "for his highly original contributions to a wide variety of fields including advanced stellar evolution, the nature of gamma ray bursts, accretion in binary systems, gravitational lensing, and cosmology. His research has been distinguished by its creativity and breadth, as well as the stimulus it has provided to highly productive observational investigations".
He died of brain cancer on April 19, 2007 in Princeton, New Jersey
Princeton, New Jersey
Princeton is a community located in Mercer County, New Jersey, United States. It is best known as the location of Princeton University, which has been sited in the community since 1756...
.
Honors
Awards- Karl Schwarzschild MedalKarl Schwarzschild MedalThe Karl Schwarzschild Medal, named after the astrophysicist Karl Schwarzschild, is an award presented by the Astronomische Gesellschaft to eminent astronomers and astrophysicists.-Recipients:...
of Astronomische GesellschaftAstronomische GesellschaftThe Astronomische Gesellschaft is an astronomical society established in 1863 in Heidelberg, the second oldest astronomical society after the Royal Astronomical Society....
(1981) - Eddington MedalEddington MedalThe Eddington Medal, named after Sir Arthur Eddington, is awarded by the Royal Astronomical Society nominally once every two years for investigations of outstanding merit in theoretical astrophysics.- Recipients :* 1953 Georges Lemaître...
(1987) - Heineman PrizeDannie Heineman Prize for AstrophysicsThe Dannie Heineman Prize for Astrophysics is jointly awarded each year by the American Astronomical Society and American Institute of Physics for outstanding work in astrophysics. It is funded by the Heineman Foundation in honour of Dannie Heineman....
(1992) - Henry Draper MedalHenry Draper MedalThe Henry Draper Medal is awarded by the United States National Academy of Sciences "for investigations in astronomical physics". Named after Henry Draper, the medal is awarded with a gift of USD $15,000...
of the National Academy of SciencesUnited States National Academy of SciencesThe National Academy of Sciences is a corporation in the United States whose members serve pro bono as "advisers to the nation on science, engineering, and medicine." As a national academy, new members of the organization are elected annually by current members, based on their distinguished and...
(1997) - Gold Medal of the Royal Astronomical SocietyGold Medal of the Royal Astronomical Society-History:In the early years, more than one medal was often awarded in a year, but by 1833 only one medal was being awarded per year. This caused a problem when Neptune was discovered in 1846, because many felt an award should jointly be made to John Couch Adams and Urbain Le Verrier...
(1999) - Bruno Rossi PrizeBruno Rossi PrizeThe Bruno Rossi Prize is awarded annually by the High Energy Astrophysics division of the American Astronomical Society "for a significant contribution to High Energy Astrophysics, with particular emphasis on recent, original work". Named after astrophysicist Bruno Rossi, the prize is awarded with...
(2000) - Bruce MedalBruce MedalThe Catherine Wolfe Bruce Gold Medal is awarded every year by the Astronomical Society of the Pacific for outstanding lifetime contributions to astronomy. It is named after Catherine Wolfe Bruce, an American patroness of astronomy, and was first awarded in 1898...
(2002) - Henry Norris Russell LectureshipHenry Norris Russell LectureshipThe Henry Norris Russell Lectureship is awarded each year by the American Astronomical Society in recognition of a lifetime of excellence in astronomical research.-Previous lecturers:This list of lecturers is from the American Astronomical Society's website....
(2006)
Named after him
- AsteroidAsteroidAsteroids are a class of small Solar System bodies in orbit around the Sun. They have also been called planetoids, especially the larger ones...
11755 Paczynski11755 Paczynski11755 Paczynski is a main-belt asteroid discovered on 1960 Sept. 24 by C. J. van Houten and I. van Houten-Groeneveld on Palomar Schmidt plates taken by T. Gehrels.Polish-born astrophysicist Bohdan Paczyński 11755 Paczynski (2691 P-L) is a main-belt asteroid discovered on 1960 Sept. 24 by C. J....