Daily Image
28-04-2010
Jan Hendrik Oort, born 28 April 1900 in Franeker
| Submitter: | Richard Strom |
| Description: | There is so much one could say about Jan Oort – it would easily fill a book. He made fundamental contributions to our understanding of the structure and kinematics of the Milky Way, and the very term “Oort cloud” underlines the importance of his brief foray into the field of comets. (He was also one of the few people to have observed, with genuine engagement, two appearances of Halley’s Comet.) In the context of these portraits, in 1948 the Foundation had (according to Henk van de Hulst) “primarily through Oort’s effort, all the [radio-technical] ideas and ability present in the Netherlands” at its disposal. Jan Oort’s interests reached beyond science, and included a love for and knowledge of art, music and nature. He was, moreover, an avid sportsman; especially well known was his love of skating. Here we see him as cox of the winning "Oude Vier" at the Varsity of 1918. This was the first victory for Aegir, the Groningen students rowing club. They won by 6 boat lengths, ahead of Nereus (Amsterdam), Laga (Delft), Triton (Utrecht) and Njord (Leiden). For most people, winning this Dutch equivalent of the Oxford-Cambridge boat race is the high point of their life. But Oort went on to do rather well for the next 70-odd years. (This is one of several portraits of key figures in early Dutch radio astronomy. For some of the background, look here ) |
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