Victor Manuel Blanco
Encyclopedia
Dr. Víctor Manuel Blanco, PhD, (March 10, 1918 – March 8, 2011) was a Puerto Rican
astronomer who in 1959 discovered "Blanco 1," a galactic cluster. Blanco was the second Director of the Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory
in Chile
, which had the largest telescope in the Southern Hemisphere
at the time. In 1995, the telescope was dedicated in his honor and named the Víctor M. Blanco Telescope
; it is also known as the "Blanco 4m."
to Felipe Blanco, a policeman, and Adelfa Pagan de Blanco, a housewife. He received his primary and secondary education in his hometown. As a child, Blanco would often wonder about the stars and and built a backyard telescope, thus his interest in astronomy. He entered the University of Puerto Rico
to study medicine but, after some time at the university, Blanco decided study astronomy and moved to the city of Chicago
. He entered the University of Chicago
, but was drafted into the military before he finished college.
, until he was recruited in 1948 to assist in polishing, calibrating and maintaining the mirrors of the 200-inch Hale telescope
in California
. He entered the University of California, Berkeley, where he continued his studies and earned his Masters degree and, in 1949, his Doctorate in astronomy. In 1949, he returned to Puerto Rico and reassumed his duties at the University of Puerto Rico.
Blanco later served as the Director of the Astrometry and Astrophysics Division of the United States Naval Observatory
. The U.S. Naval Observatory (USNO) provides a wide range of astronomical data and products, and serves as the official source of time for the U.S. Department of Defense and the standard of time for the entire United States. He also served in Java
, Indonesia
for UNESCO
in the position of astronomer.
at the Case Institute of Technology (renamed Case Western Reserve University in 1967) in Cleveland, Ohio
, Blanco discovered an open cluster
. It was named ""Blanco 1" in his honor, and has a blue star Zeta Sculptoris
in the center of its constellation. According to The Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, Blanco 1 exhibits subsolar ratios that are not observed among nearby field stars. Together with his wife Betty, Blanco and Martin McCarthy conducted pioneering research into the stellar population in the central regions of our galaxy, and in the Magellanic Clouds
. They discovered the change in the ratio of carbon stars to M-type stars from the nuclear bulge of our galaxy, in relation to both Large Magellanic Cloud
s and Small Magellanic Cloud
s.
In July 1967, Blanco became the second director of the Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory
(CTIO). Located in Cerro Tololo mountain, Chile and founded in 1963, it is part of the National (U.S.) Optical Astronomy Observatory
known as "NOAO." Blanco assembled the scientific, engineering, and technical staff from scratch.
When Blanco arrived at CTIO, there was a 60-inch telescope in operation. During his tenure the University of Michigan
's 0.6-m Curtis Schmidt moved there in 1967, CTIO installed a 0.9-m reflector in 1967 and a 1.5-m reflector in 1968, and Yale University
's 1-m reflector was installed there in 1973.
In addition to these university installations, Blanco played a central role in persuading various agencies to participate in the construction of a four-meter telescope. During its construction, Blanco personally oversaw the alignment and calibration of the telescope. The telescope, which is the southern twin of the four-meter instrument at Kitt Peak National Observatory
, opened in 1974. This four-meter telescope (also known as a "4-m") became the most productive telescope in the Southern Hemisphere.
As director of CTIO, Blanco also maintained excellent relations with the Chilean astronomical community and the Chilean public at large. His tenure spanned the presidencies of Eduardo Frei Montalva
, Salvador Allende
, and Augusto Pinochet
. Blanco was director of CTIO until 1981, when he was succeeded by Dr. Osmer.
with an orbital period
of 1571.4391974 days (4.30 years) which he named 9550 Victorblanco
in honor of Blanco.
On 8 September 1995, in a well-attended mountaintop ceremony, the CTIO 4-m telescope was officially named the Víctor M. Blanco Telescope, also known as "The Blanco 4m." Amongst its many uses, this telescope is used to study cosmic acceleration - the possibility that our universe is expanding at an accelerating rate. At the main entrance to the building a large bronze plaque reads, in both Spanish and English:
He was a member of the International Astronomical Union
in the following divisions:
Puerto Rican people
A Puerto Rican is a person who was born in Puerto Rico.Puerto Ricans born and raised in the continental United States are also sometimes referred to as Puerto Ricans, although they were not born in Puerto Rico...
astronomer who in 1959 discovered "Blanco 1," a galactic cluster. Blanco was the second Director of the Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory
Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory
The Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory is a complex of astronomical telescopes and instruments located at 30.169 S, 70.804 W, approximately 80 km to the East of La Serena, Chile at an altitude of 2200 metres. The complex is part of the National Optical Astronomy Observatory along with Kitt...
in Chile
Chile
Chile ,officially the Republic of Chile , is a country in South America occupying a long, narrow coastal strip between the Andes mountains to the east and the Pacific Ocean to the west. It borders Peru to the north, Bolivia to the northeast, Argentina to the east, and the Drake Passage in the far...
, which had the largest telescope in the Southern Hemisphere
Southern Hemisphere
The Southern Hemisphere is the part of Earth that lies south of the equator. The word hemisphere literally means 'half ball' or "half sphere"...
at the time. In 1995, the telescope was dedicated in his honor and named the Víctor M. Blanco Telescope
Victor M. Blanco Telescope
The Víctor M. Blanco Telescope, also known as the Blanco 4m, is a 4m telescope located at the Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory, Chile. Commissioned in 1974 and completed in 1976, this telescope is similar to the Mayall 4m telescope located on Kitt Peak. In 1995 it was dedicated and named in...
; it is also known as the "Blanco 4m."
Early years
Blanco was one of nine siblings born in the town of Guayama, Puerto RicoGuayama, Puerto Rico
Guayama is a municipality of Puerto Rico founded on January 29, 1736 and located on the Southern Coastal Valley region, bordering the Caribbean, south of Cayey; east of Salinas; and west of Patillas and Arroyo. Guayama is spread over 9 wards and Guayama Pueblo...
to Felipe Blanco, a policeman, and Adelfa Pagan de Blanco, a housewife. He received his primary and secondary education in his hometown. As a child, Blanco would often wonder about the stars and and built a backyard telescope, thus his interest in astronomy. He entered the University of Puerto Rico
University of Puerto Rico
The University of Puerto Rico is the state university system of Puerto Rico. The system consists of 11 campuses and has approximately 64,511 students and 5,300 faculty members...
to study medicine but, after some time at the university, Blanco decided study astronomy and moved to the city of Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
. He entered the University of Chicago
University of Chicago
The University of Chicago is a private research university in Chicago, Illinois, USA. It was founded by the American Baptist Education Society with a donation from oil magnate and philanthropist John D. Rockefeller and incorporated in 1890...
, but was drafted into the military before he finished college.
World War II
During World War II, Blanco served in the US Army Air Force in the Pacific Theater. His duties in the military required that he repair and tune radar detectors. This permitted him to study atmospheric effects on radar waves. After being discharged from the military, he was granted college credit for his wartime work, and returned briefly to the University of Chicago where he earned a Bachelors of Science degree.Career as an Astronomer
Blanco was employed by the University of Puerto Rico as an assistant professor of astrometryAstrometry
Astrometry is the branch of astronomy that involves precise measurements of the positions and movements of stars and other celestial bodies. The information obtained by astrometric measurements provides information on the kinematics and physical origin of our Solar System and our Galaxy, the Milky...
, until he was recruited in 1948 to assist in polishing, calibrating and maintaining the mirrors of the 200-inch Hale telescope
Hale telescope
The Hale Telescope is a , 3.3 reflecting telescope at the Palomar Observatory in California, named after astronomer George Ellery Hale. With funding from the Rockefeller Foundation, he orchestrated the planning, design, and construction of the observatory, but did not live to see its commissioning...
in California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
. He entered the University of California, Berkeley, where he continued his studies and earned his Masters degree and, in 1949, his Doctorate in astronomy. In 1949, he returned to Puerto Rico and reassumed his duties at the University of Puerto Rico.
Blanco later served as the Director of the Astrometry and Astrophysics Division of the United States Naval Observatory
United States Naval Observatory
The United States Naval Observatory is one of the oldest scientific agencies in the United States, with a primary mission to produce Positioning, Navigation, and Timing for the U.S. Navy and the U.S. Department of Defense...
. The U.S. Naval Observatory (USNO) provides a wide range of astronomical data and products, and serves as the official source of time for the U.S. Department of Defense and the standard of time for the entire United States. He also served in Java
Java
Java is an island of Indonesia. With a population of 135 million , it is the world's most populous island, and one of the most densely populated regions in the world. It is home to 60% of Indonesia's population. The Indonesian capital city, Jakarta, is in west Java...
, Indonesia
Indonesia
Indonesia , officially the Republic of Indonesia , is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania. Indonesia is an archipelago comprising approximately 13,000 islands. It has 33 provinces with over 238 million people, and is the world's fourth most populous country. Indonesia is a republic, with an...
for UNESCO
UNESCO
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations...
in the position of astronomer.
Accomplishments
In 1959, while serving as a professor of astrophysicsAstrophysics
Astrophysics is the branch of astronomy that deals with the physics of the universe, including the physical properties of celestial objects, as well as their interactions and behavior...
at the Case Institute of Technology (renamed Case Western Reserve University in 1967) in Cleveland, Ohio
Ohio
Ohio is a Midwestern state in the United States. The 34th largest state by area in the U.S.,it is the 7th‑most populous with over 11.5 million residents, containing several major American cities and seven metropolitan areas with populations of 500,000 or more.The state's capital is Columbus...
, Blanco discovered an open cluster
Open cluster
An open cluster is a group of up to a few thousand stars that were formed from the same giant molecular cloud and have roughly the same age. More than 1,100 open clusters have been discovered within the Milky Way Galaxy, and many more are thought to exist...
. It was named ""Blanco 1" in his honor, and has a blue star Zeta Sculptoris
Zeta Sculptoris
Zeta Sculptoris is a binary star in the constellation Sculptor. It is approximately 510 light years from Earth.The primary component, Zeta Sculptoris A, is a blue-white B-type main sequence dwarf with an apparent magnitude of +5.04. It has a 13th magnitude companion, Zeta Sculptoris B, 3...
in the center of its constellation. According to The Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, Blanco 1 exhibits subsolar ratios that are not observed among nearby field stars. Together with his wife Betty, Blanco and Martin McCarthy conducted pioneering research into the stellar population in the central regions of our galaxy, and in the Magellanic Clouds
Magellanic Clouds
The two Magellanic Clouds are irregular dwarf galaxies visible in the southern hemisphere, which are members of our Local Group and are orbiting our Milky Way galaxy...
. They discovered the change in the ratio of carbon stars to M-type stars from the nuclear bulge of our galaxy, in relation to both Large Magellanic Cloud
Large Magellanic Cloud
The Large Magellanic Cloud is a nearby irregular galaxy, and is a satellite of the Milky Way. At a distance of slightly less than 50 kiloparsecs , the LMC is the third closest galaxy to the Milky Way, with the Sagittarius Dwarf Spheroidal and Canis Major Dwarf Galaxy lying closer to the center...
s and Small Magellanic Cloud
Small Magellanic Cloud
The Small Magellanic Cloud is a dwarf galaxy. It has a diameter of about 7,000 light-years and contains several hundred million stars. It has a total mass of approximately 7 billion times the mass of our Sun....
s.
In July 1967, Blanco became the second director of the Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory
Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory
The Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory is a complex of astronomical telescopes and instruments located at 30.169 S, 70.804 W, approximately 80 km to the East of La Serena, Chile at an altitude of 2200 metres. The complex is part of the National Optical Astronomy Observatory along with Kitt...
(CTIO). Located in Cerro Tololo mountain, Chile and founded in 1963, it is part of the National (U.S.) Optical Astronomy Observatory
National Optical Astronomy Observatory
The National Optical Astronomy Observatory is the United States national observatory for ground based nighttime ultraviolet-optical-infrared astronomy. The National Science Foundation funds NOAO to provide forefront astronomical research facilities for US astronomers...
known as "NOAO." Blanco assembled the scientific, engineering, and technical staff from scratch.
When Blanco arrived at CTIO, there was a 60-inch telescope in operation. During his tenure the University of Michigan
University of Michigan
The University of Michigan is a public research university located in Ann Arbor, Michigan in the United States. It is the state's oldest university and the flagship campus of the University of Michigan...
's 0.6-m Curtis Schmidt moved there in 1967, CTIO installed a 0.9-m reflector in 1967 and a 1.5-m reflector in 1968, and Yale University
Yale University
Yale University is a private, Ivy League university located in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701 in the Colony of Connecticut, the university is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States...
's 1-m reflector was installed there in 1973.
In addition to these university installations, Blanco played a central role in persuading various agencies to participate in the construction of a four-meter telescope. During its construction, Blanco personally oversaw the alignment and calibration of the telescope. The telescope, which is the southern twin of the four-meter instrument at Kitt Peak National Observatory
Kitt Peak National Observatory
The Kitt Peak National Observatory is a United States astronomical observatory located on 2,096 m Kitt Peak of the Quinlan Mountains in the Arizona-Sonoran Desert on the Tohono O'odham Nation, southwest of Tucson...
, opened in 1974. This four-meter telescope (also known as a "4-m") became the most productive telescope in the Southern Hemisphere.
As director of CTIO, Blanco also maintained excellent relations with the Chilean astronomical community and the Chilean public at large. His tenure spanned the presidencies of Eduardo Frei Montalva
Eduardo Frei Montalva
Eduardo Frei Montalva was a Chilean political leader of world stature. In his long political career, he was Minister of Public Works, president of his Christian Democratic Party, senator, President of the Senate, and president of Chile from 1964 to 1970...
, Salvador Allende
Salvador Allende
Salvador Allende Gossens was a Chilean physician and politician who is generally considered the first democratically elected Marxist to become president of a country in Latin America....
, and Augusto Pinochet
Augusto Pinochet
Augusto José Ramón Pinochet Ugarte, more commonly known as Augusto Pinochet , was a Chilean army general and dictator who assumed power in a coup d'état on 11 September 1973...
. Blanco was director of CTIO until 1981, when he was succeeded by Dr. Osmer.
Víctor M. Blanco Telescope
On October 15, 1985, Dr. E. Bowell discovered a main belt asteroidAsteroid
Asteroids are a class of small Solar System bodies in orbit around the Sun. They have also been called planetoids, especially the larger ones...
with an orbital period
Orbital period
The orbital period is the time taken for a given object to make one complete orbit about another object.When mentioned without further qualification in astronomy this refers to the sidereal period of an astronomical object, which is calculated with respect to the stars.There are several kinds of...
of 1571.4391974 days (4.30 years) which he named 9550 Victorblanco
9550 Victorblanco
9550 Victorblanco is a main belt asteroid with an orbital period of 1571.4391974 days . The asteroid, named after Puerto Rican astronomer Victor Manuel Blanco, was discovered on October 15, 1985....
in honor of Blanco.
On 8 September 1995, in a well-attended mountaintop ceremony, the CTIO 4-m telescope was officially named the Víctor M. Blanco Telescope, also known as "The Blanco 4m." Amongst its many uses, this telescope is used to study cosmic acceleration - the possibility that our universe is expanding at an accelerating rate. At the main entrance to the building a large bronze plaque reads, in both Spanish and English:
Written works and academic memberships
Blanco was the co-author of many articles in astrophysics including:- Telescopes, Red Stars, and Chilean Skies, Annual Review of Astronomy and Astrophysics, Vol. 39: 1-18 (Volume publication date September 2001).
- Carbon stars, Revista Mexicana de Astronomia y Astrofisica (ISSN 0185-1101), vol. 19, Dec. 1989, p. 25-37.
- Late type giants in Large Magellanic Cloud, Nature 258, 407 - 408 (04 December 1975); doi:10.1038/258407a0.
- Basic Physics of the Solar System, V. M. Blanco and S. W. McCuskey. Addison-Wesley, Reading, Mass., 1961. xii + 307 pp.
He was a member of the International Astronomical Union
International Astronomical Union
The International Astronomical Union IAU is a collection of professional astronomers, at the Ph.D. level and beyond, active in professional research and education in astronomy...
in the following divisions:
- Division IX Commission 25 Stellar Photometry & Polarimetry
- Division VII Commission 33 Structure & Dynamics of the Galactic System
- Division IV Commission 45 Stellar Classification
- Division XII Commission 50 Protection of Existing & Potential Observatory Sites
- Division IV Stars
- Division VII Galactic System
- Division IX Optical & Infrared Techniques
- Division XII Union-Wide Activities
Death
Blanco died on March 8, 2011 at Vero Beach, Florida. He was survived by his wife of 42 years, Betty Blanco; a son, Daniel Blanco; a stepson, David Mintz; and a stepdaughter, Elizabeth Vitell.See also
- List of famous Puerto Ricans
- Puerto Rican scientists and inventors
- Cerro Tololo Inter-American ObservatoryCerro Tololo Inter-American ObservatoryThe Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory is a complex of astronomical telescopes and instruments located at 30.169 S, 70.804 W, approximately 80 km to the East of La Serena, Chile at an altitude of 2200 metres. The complex is part of the National Optical Astronomy Observatory along with Kitt...
- List of largest optical reflecting telescopes
- National Optical Astronomy ObservatoryNational Optical Astronomy ObservatoryThe National Optical Astronomy Observatory is the United States national observatory for ground based nighttime ultraviolet-optical-infrared astronomy. The National Science Foundation funds NOAO to provide forefront astronomical research facilities for US astronomers...
- Víctor M. Blanco TelescopeVictor M. Blanco TelescopeThe Víctor M. Blanco Telescope, also known as the Blanco 4m, is a 4m telescope located at the Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory, Chile. Commissioned in 1974 and completed in 1976, this telescope is similar to the Mayall 4m telescope located on Kitt Peak. In 1995 it was dedicated and named in...