The following is a list of

astronomer An astronomer is a scientist in the field of astronomy who focuses their studies on a specific question or field outside the scope of Earth. They observe astronomical objects such as stars, planets, moons, comets and galaxies – in either obse ...

astrophysicists The following is a list of astronomers, astrophysicists and other notable people who have made contributions to the field of astronomy. They may have won major prizes or awards, developed or invented widely used techniques or technologies within a ...

and other notable people who have made contributions to the field of

astronomy Astronomy () is a natural science that studies celestial objects and phenomena. It uses mathematics, physics, and chemistry in order to explain their origin and evolution. Objects of interest include planets, moons, stars, nebulae, galax ...

. They may have won major prizes or awards, developed or invented widely used techniques or technologies within astronomy, or are directors of major observatories or heads of space-based telescope projects.

Notable astronomers

__NOTOC__ In alphabetical order:

A

Aryabhata Aryabhata (ISO: ) or Aryabhata I (476–550 CE) was an Indian mathematician and astronomer of the classical age of Indian mathematics and Indian astronomy. He flourished in the Gupta Era and produced works such as the '' Aryabhatiya'' (which ...

(India, 476–550) *

Marc Aaronson Marc Aaronson (24 August 1950 – 30 April 1987) was an American astronomer. Life Aaronson was born in Los Angeles. He was educated at the California Institute of Technology, where he received a BS in 1972. He completed his Ph.D. in 1977 ...

( USA, 1950–1987) * George Ogden Abell ( USA, 1927–1983) * Hiroshi Abe (Japan, 1958–) *

Antonio Abetti Antonio Abetti (19 June 1846 – 20 February 1928) was an Italian astronomer. Born in San Pietro di Gorizia ( Šempeter-Vrtojba), he earned a degree in mathematics and engineering at the University of Padua. He was married to Giovanna Colba ...

(Italy, 1846–1928) *

Giorgio Abetti Prof Giorgio Abetti HFRSE (5 October 1882 – 24 August 1982) was an Italian solar astronomer.G. GodolABETTI, Giorgio Dizionario Biografico degli Italiani (in Italian) Life He was born in Padua, the son of noted astronomer Antonio Abetti. He w ...

(Italy, 1882–1982) *

Charles Greeley Abbot Charles Greeley Abbot (May 31, 1872 – December 17, 1973) was an American astrophysicist and the fifth secretary of the Smithsonian Institution, serving from 1928 until 1944. Abbot went from being director of the Smithsonian Astrophysical Ob ...

( USA, 1872–1973) * Charles Hitchcock Adams ( USA, 1868–1951) *

John Couch Adams John Couch Adams (; 5 June 1819 – 21 January 1892) was a British mathematician and astronomer. He was born in Laneast, near Launceston, Cornwall, and died in Cambridge. His most famous achievement was predicting the existence and position o ...

( UK, 1819–1892) *

Walter Sydney Adams Walter Sydney Adams (December 20, 1876 – May 11, 1956) was an American astronomer. Life and work Adams was born in Antioch, Turkey, to Lucien Harper Adams and Nancy Dorrance Francis Adams, missionary parents, and was brought to the U.S. in ...

( USA, 1876–1956) * Saul Adelman ( USA, 1944–) *

Petrus Alphonsi Petrus Alphonsi (died after 1116) was a Jewish Spanish physician, writer, astronomer and polemicist who converted to Christianity in 1106. He is also known just as Alphonsi, and as Peter Alfonsi or Peter Alphonso, and was born Moses Sephardi. B ...

(Spain, 1062–1110) * Agrippa ( Greece, fl. ca. 92) * Paul Oswald Ahnert (Germany, 1897–1989) *

Eva Ahnert-Rohlfs Eva Ahnert-Rohlfs (11 August 1912 – 9 March 1954) was a German astronomer. She made key observations of variable stars. Eva Ahner-Rohlfs was born in Coburg (Duchy Saxe-Coburg-Gotha). She studied in Würzburg, Munich and Kiel from 1931 to 193 ...

(Germany, 1912–1954) * George Biddell Airy ( UK, 1801–1892) * Robert Aitken, ( USA, 1864–1951) *

Makio Akiyama is a Japanese astronomer affiliated with the Susono Observatory (886). He is a discoverer of minor planets, credited by the Minor Planet Center with the discovery of 16 numbered minor planet According to the International Astronomical Unio ...

(Japan, 1950–) * Al Battani ( Iraq, 850–929) *

Albategnius Abū ʿAbd Allāh Muḥammad ibn Jābir ibn Sinān al-Raqqī al-Ḥarrānī aṣ-Ṣābiʾ al-Battānī ( ar, محمد بن جابر بن سنان البتاني) ( Latinized as Albategnius, Albategni or Albatenius) (c. 858 – 929) was an astron ...

''(see Al-Batani)'' * Vladimir Aleksandrovich Albitzky (

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-eight ...

, 1891–1952) *

Albumasar Abu Ma'shar al-Balkhi, Latinized as Albumasar (also ''Albusar'', ''Albuxar''; full name ''Abū Maʿshar Jaʿfar ibn Muḥammad ibn ʿUmar al-Balkhī'' ; , AH 171–272), was an early Persian Muslim astrologer, thought to be the greatest ast ...

( Persia 787–886) *

George Alcock George Eric Deacon Alcock, MBE (28 August 1912, in Peterborough, Northamptonshire – 15 December 2000) was an English astronomer. He was one of the most successful visual discoverers of novae and comets. George’s interest in astronomy was ...

( UK, 1913–2000) * Harold Alden ( USA, 1890–1964) *

Hannes Alfvén Hannes Olof Gösta Alfvén (; 30 May 1908 – 2 April 1995) was a Swedish electrical engineer, plasma physicist and winner of the 1970 Nobel Prize in Physics for his work on magnetohydrodynamics (MHD). He described the class of MHD waves now ...

(Sweden, 1908–1995) * Lawrence H. Aller ( USA, 1913–2003) * Abd Al-Rahman Al Sufi ( Persia, 903–986) *

Viktor Amazaspovich Ambartsumian Viktor Amazaspovich Ambartsumian (russian: Виктор Амазаспович Амбарцумян; hy, Վիկտոր Համազասպի Համբարձումյան, ''Viktor Hamazaspi Hambardzumyan''; 12 August 1996) was a Soviet Armenian astr ...

, (

Armenia Armenia (), , group=pron officially the Republic of Armenia,, is a landlocked country in the Armenian Highlands of Western Asia.The UNbr>classification of world regions places Armenia in Western Asia; the CIA World Factbook , , and ''Ox ...

, 1912–1996) *

John August Anderson John August Anderson (August 7, 1876 – December 2, 1959) was an American astronomer. He was born in Rollag, a small community in Clay County, Minnesota to the south of Hawley. Biography Anderson received his Ph.D. at Johns Hopkins University ...

( USA, 1876–1959) *

Wilhelm Anderson Wilhelm Robert Karl Anderson ( – 26 March 1940) was a Russian-Estonian astrophysicist of Baltic German descent who studied the physical structure of the stars. Life Wilhelm Anderson was born in Minsk (now in Belarus) into a Baltic German ...

( Estonia, 1880–1940) *

Marie Henri Andoyer Marie Henri Andoyer (October 1, 1862 in Paris – June 12, 1929) was a French astronomer and mathematician. Biography Andoyer was elected member of the French Académie des sciences on June 30, 1919 in the astronomy section. He was member of the B ...

(France, 1862–1929) *

Andronicus of Cyrrhus Andronicus of Cyrrhus or Andronicus Cyrrhestes ( grc-gre, Ἀνδρόνικος Κυρρήστου, ''Andrónikos Kyrrhēstou''), son of Hermias, was a Greek astronomer best known as the architect of the horologion at Athens called the Tower of ...

( Greece, fl. 100 BC) *

Anders Jonas Ångström Anders Jonas Ångström (; 13 August 181421 June 1874) was a Swedish physicist and one of the founders of the science of spectroscopy.P.Murdin (2000): "Angstrom" chapter in ''Encyclopedia of Astronomy and Astrophysics''. Ångström is also wel ...

(Sweden, 1814–1874) * Eugène Michel Antoniadi ( Greece-France, 1870–1944) * Masakatsu Aoki (Japan, 1957–) *

Petrus Apianus Petrus Apianus (April 16, 1495 – April 21, 1552), also known as Peter Apian, Peter Bennewitz, and Peter Bienewitz, was a German humanist, known for his works in mathematics, astronomy and cartography. His work on "cosmography", the field that de ...

(Germany, 1495–1557) * François Arago (France, 1786–1853) * Masaru Arai (Japan, 1952–) * Hiroshi Araki (Japan) * Sylvain Arend (Belgium, 1902–1992) *

Friedrich Wilhelm Argelander Friedrich Wilhelm August Argelander (22 March 1799 – 17 February 1875) was a German astronomer. He is known for his determinations of stellar brightnesses, positions, and distances. Life and work Argelander was born in Memel in the King ...

(Germany, 1799–1875) *

Aristarchus of Samos Aristarchus of Samos (; grc-gre, Ἀρίσταρχος ὁ Σάμιος, ''Aristarkhos ho Samios''; ) was an ancient Greek astronomer and mathematician who presented the first known heliocentric model that placed the Sun at the center of the k ...

( Greece, ca. 310 BC–ca. 230 BC) *

Christoph Arnold Christoph Arnold (17 December 1650 – 15 April 1695) was a German farmer and amateur astronomer. Life Born in Sommerfeld near Leipzig, Arnold was a farmer by profession. Interested in astronomy, he spotted the great comet of 1683, eight days ...

(Germany, 1650–1695) * Halton Christian Arp ( USA, 1927–2013) * Svante Arrhenius (Sweden, 1859–1927) * Arzachel (Spain, 1028–1087) *

Asada Goryu was a Japanese physician and astronomer who helped integrate western and Japanese astronomy in the Edo period. He introduced several western astronomical instruments and methods into Japan and independently confirmed Kepler's third law. Asada w ...

(Japan, 1734–1799) *

Atsuo Asami is a Japanese astronomer. He operates a small private observatory, Hadano Astronomical Observatory, located about 60 km southwest of Tokyo. It is mainly used for astrometric observations of comets and minor planet According to the Inte ...

(Japan) * Giuseppe Asclepi (Italy, 1706–1776) * Joseph Ashbrook ( USA, 1918–1980) *

Arthur Auwers Georg Friedrich Julius Arthur von Auwers (12 September 1838 – 24 January 1915) was a German astronomer. Auwers was born in Göttingen to Gottfried Daniel Auwers and Emma Christiane Sophie (née Borkenstein). He attended the University of G� ...

(Germany, 1838–1915) *

Adrien Auzout Adrien Auzout ronounced in French somewhat like o-zoo(28 January 1622 – 23 May 1691) was a French astronomer. He was born in Rouen, France, the eldest child of a clerk in the court of Rouen. His educational background is unknown, although ...

(France, 1622–1691) * David Axon (England, 1951–2012)

B

Brahmagupta Brahmagupta ( – ) was an Indian mathematician and astronomer. He is the author of two early works on mathematics and astronomy: the ''Brāhmasphuṭasiddhānta'' (BSS, "correctly established doctrine of Brahma", dated 628), a theoretical tr ...

(India, 598–668 CE) * Bhaskara I (India, 629 CE) * Bhaskara II (India, 1114–1185) *

Walter Baade Wilhelm Heinrich Walter Baade (March 24, 1893 – June 25, 1960) was a German astronomer who worked in the United States from 1931 to 1959. Biography The son of a teacher, Baade finished school in 1912. He then studied maths, physics and astro ...

(Germany, 1893–1960) *

Harold D. Babcock Harold Delos Babcock (January 24, 1882 – April 8, 1968) was an American astronomer and the father of Horace W. Babcock. He was of English and German ancestry. He was born in Edgerton, Wisconsin, before completing high school in Los Angeles ...

( USA, 1882–1968) *

Horace W. Babcock Horace Welcome Babcock (September 13, 1912 – August 29, 2003) was an American astronomer. He was the son of Harold D. Babcock. Career Babcock invented and built a number of astronomical instruments, and in 1953 was the first to propose t ...

( USA, 1912–2003) *

Oskar Backlund Johan Oskar Backlund (28 April 1846 – 29 August 1916) was a Swedish- Russian astronomer. His name is sometimes given as Jöns Oskar Backlund, however even contemporary Swedish sources give "Johan". In Russia, where he spent his entire career, ...

(Sweden, 1846–1916) * John N. Bahcall ( USA, 1934–2005) * Yoshiaki Banno (Japan, 1952–1991) *

Benjamin Baillaud Édouard Benjamin Baillaud (14 February 1848 – 8 July 1934) was a French astronomer. Biography Born in Chalon-sur-Saône, Baillaud studied at the École Normale Supérieure (1866-1869) and the University of Paris. He worked as an assi ...

(France, 1848–1934) * Jules Baillaud (France, 1876–1960) * Jean-Baptiste Baille (France, 1841–1918) *

Jean Sylvain Bailly Jean Sylvain Bailly (; 15 September 1736 – 12 November 1793) was a French astronomer, mathematician, freemason, and political leader of the early part of the French Revolution. He presided over the Tennis Court Oath, served as the mayor of Par ...

(France, 1736–1793) * Francis Baily ( UK, 1774–1844) * John Bainbridge ( UK, 1582–1643) * John E. Baldwin ( UK, 1931–2010) *

Sallie Baliunas Sallie Louise Baliunas (born February 23, 1953) is a retired astrophysicist. She formerly worked at the Center for Astrophysics Harvard & Smithsonian and was the Deputy Director of the Mount Wilson Observatory from 1991 to 2003. Early life and ...

( USA, 1953–) * Zoltán Balog (Hungary/ USA, 1972–) *

Benjamin Banneker Benjamin Banneker (November 9, 1731October 19, 1806) was an African-American naturalist, mathematician, astronomer and almanac author. He was a landowner who also worked as a surveyor and farmer. Born in Baltimore County, Maryland, to a fr ...

( USA, 1731–1806) *

Pietro Baracchi Pietro Paolo Giovanni Ernesto Baracchi (25 February 1851 – 23 July 1926) was an Italian-born astronomer, active in Australia and Government Astronomer of Victoria (Australia) 1900-15.J. L. Perdrix,Baracchi, Pietro Paolo Giovanni Ernesto (1851 ...

(Italy, Australia, 1851–1926) *

Beatriz Barbuy Beatriz Leonor Silveira Barbuy is a Brazilian astrophysicist. She was described in 2009 by '' Época'' magazine as one of the 100 most influential Brazilians. She is a professor at the Instituto de Astronomia, Geofísica e Ciências Atmosférica ...

( Brazil, 1950–) * Edward Emerson Barnard ( USA, 1857–1923) *

Julius Bauschinger Julius Bauschinger (January 28, 1860 – January 21, 1934) was a German astronomer. Biography Julius Bauschinger was born in Fürth, the son of the physicist Johann Bauschinger. He studied at the Universities of Munich and Berlin, graduating un ...

(France, 1860–1934) *

Johann Bayer Johann Bayer (1572 – 7 March 1625) was a German lawyer and uranographer (celestial cartographer). He was born in Rain, Lower Bavaria, in 1572. At twenty, in 1592 he began his study of philosophy and law at the University of Ingolstadt, ...

(Germany, 1572–1625) *

Antonín Bečvář Antonín Bečvář (; 10 June 1901 – 10 January 1965) was a Czech astronomer who was active in Slovakia. He was born (and died) in Stará Boleslav. Among his chief achievements is the foundation of the Skalnaté Pleso Observatory and the d ...

( Slovakia, 1901–1965) *

Wilhelm Beer Wilhelm Wolff Beer (4 January 1797 – 27 March 1850) was a banker and astronomer from Berlin, Prussia, and the brother of Giacomo Meyerbeer. Astronomy Beer's fame derives from his hobby, astronomy. He built a private observatory with a ...

(Germany, 1797–1850) * Sergei Ivanovich Belyavsky (

, 1883–1953) *

Charles L. Bennett Charles L. Bennett (born November 1956) is an American observational astrophysicist. He is a Bloomberg Distinguished Professor, the Alumni Centennial Professor of Physics and Astronomy and a Gilman Scholar at Johns Hopkins University. He is th ...

( USA, 1956–) *

Jocelyn Bell Burnell Dame Susan Jocelyn Bell Burnell (; Bell; born 15 July 1943) is an astrophysicist from Northern Ireland who, as a postgraduate student, discovered the first radio pulsars in 1967. The discovery eventually earned the Nobel Prize in Physics in ...

( UK, 1943–) * Friedrich Wilhelm Bessel (Germany, 1784–1846) *

Somnath Bharadwaj Somnath Bharadwaj (born 28 October 1964) is an Indian theoretical physicist who works on Theoretical Astrophysics and Cosmology. Bharadwaj was born in India, studied at the Indian Institute of Technology in Kharagpur, and later received his Ph ...

(India, 1964–) *

Wilhelm Freiherr von Biela Baron Wilhelm von Biela (german: Wilhelm Freiherr von Biela; March 19, 1782 – February 18, 1856) was a German-Austrian military officer and amateur astronomer. Wilhelm von Biela was born in Roßla, Harz (Northern Germany). He was a desc ...

(Austria, 1782–1856) *

Ludwig Biermann Ludwig Franz Benedikt Biermann (March 13, 1907 in Hamm – January 12, 1986 in München) was a German astronomer, obtaining his Ph.D. from Göttingen University in 1932. He made important contributions to astrophysics and plasma physics, di ...

(Germany, 1907–1986) * Wolf Bickel (Germany. 1942–) *

Guillaume Bigourdan Camille Guillaume Bigourdan (; 6 April 1851 – 28 February 1932) was a French astronomer. Personal life Bigourdan was born at Sistels, Tarn-et-Garonne to Pierre Bigourdan and Jeanne Carrière. When his teachers and local curate recognised ...

(France, 1851–1932) *

James Binney James Jeffrey Binney, FRS, FInstP (born 12 April 1950) is a British astrophysicist. He is a professor of physics at the University of Oxford and former head of the Sub-Department of Theoretical Physics as well as an Emeritus Fellow of Merto ...

( UK, 1950–) *

Biruni Abu Rayhan Muhammad ibn Ahmad al-Biruni (973 – after 1050) commonly known as al-Biruni, was a Khwarazmian Iranian in scholar and polymath during the Islamic Golden Age. He has been called variously the "founder of Indology", "Father of Co ...

( Persia, 973–1048) * Gennady S. Bisnovatyi-Kogan (

, 1941–) *

Adriaan Blaauw Adriaan Blaauw (12 April 1914 – 1 December 2010) was a Dutch astronomer. Blaauw was born in Amsterdam to Cornelis Blaauw and Gesina Clasina Zwart, and studied at Leiden University and the University of Groningen, obtaining his doctorate at the ...

( Netherlands, 1914–2010) *

Nathaniel Bliss Nathaniel Bliss (28 November 1700 – 2 September 1764) was an English astronomer of the 18th century, serving as Britain's fourth Astronomer Royal between 1762 and 1764. Life Nathaniel Bliss was born in the Cotswolds village of Bisley i ...

( UK, 1700–1764) *

Johann Elert Bode Johann Elert Bode (; 19 January 1747 – 23 November 1826) was a German astronomer known for his reformulation and popularisation of the Titius–Bode law. Bode determined the orbit of Uranus and suggested the planet's name. Life and career ...

(Germany, 1747–1826) *

Alfred Bohrmann Alfred Bohrmann (February 28, 1904 – January 4, 2000) was a German astronomer and discoverer of minor planets. He did his Ph.D. dissertation in 1927 at the Heidelberg-Königstuhl State Observatory, at the University of Heidelberg. At the time, ...

(Germany, 1904–2000) *

Bart Bok Bartholomeus Jan "Bart" Bok (April 28, 1906 – August 5, 1983) was a Dutch-American astronomer, teacher, and lecturer. He is best known for his work on the structure and evolution of the Milky Way galaxy, and for the discovery of Bok globules, ...

( Netherlands, 1906–1983) * Charles Thomas Bolton ( USA/Canada, 1943–2021) *

John Gatenby Bolton John Gatenby Bolton (5 June 1922 – 6 July 1993) was a British-Australian astronomer who was fundamental to the development of radio astronomy. In particular, Bolton was integral in establishing that discrete radio sources were either galaxi ...

( UK/Australia, 1922–1993) * William Cranch Bond ( USA, 1789–1859) *

Alphonse Borrelly Alphonse Louis Nicolas Borrelly (December 8, 1842 – February 28, 1926) was a French astronomer. He joined the Marseille Observatory in 1864. In the course of his career, he discovered a number of asteroids and comets, including the periodic c ...

(France, 1842–1926) * Rudjer Boscovich ( Dalmatia, 1711–1787) *

Lewis Boss Lewis Boss (26 October 1846 – 5 October 1912) was an American astronomer. He served as the director of the Dudley Observatory in Schenectady, New York. Early life Boss was born in Providence, Rhode Island to Samuel P. and Lucinda (née ...

( USA, 1846–1912) * Alexis Bouvard (France, 1767–1843) *

Rychard Bouwens Rychard J. Bouwens is an associate professor at Leiden University. He is also a former member of the Advanced Camera for Surveys Guaranteed Time Observation team and postdoctoral research astronomer at the University of California, Santa Cruz. He ...

( USA, 1972–) * Edward L. G. Bowell ( USA, 1943–) * Ira Sprague Bowen ( USA, 1898–1973) * Louis Boyer (France, 1901–1999) * Brian J. Boyle (Scotland and Australia, 1960–) *

Ronald N. Bracewell Ronald Newbold Bracewell AO (22 July 1921 – 12 August 2007) was the Lewis M. Terman Professor of Electrical Engineering of the Space, Telecommunications, and Radioscience Laboratory at Stanford University. Education Bracewell was born ...

(Australia, USA, 1921–2007) * James Bradley ( UK, 1693–1762) * William A. Bradfield (New Zealand, Australia, 1927–2014) * Tycho Brahe ( Denmark, 1546–1601) * John Alfred Brashear ( USA, 1840–1920) * William Robert Brooks ( USA, 1844–1922) *

Theodor Brorsen Theodor Johan Christian Ambders Brorsen (29 July 1819 – 31 March 1895) was a Danish astronomer. He is best known for his discovery of five comets, including the lost periodic comet, 5D/Brorsen, and the periodic comet 23P/Brorsen-Metcalf. ...

( Denmark, 1819–1895) * Dirk Brouwer ( Netherlands– USA, 1902–1966) *

Ernest William Brown Ernest William Brown FRS (29 November 1866 – 22 July 1938) was an English mathematician and astronomer, who spent the majority of his career working in the United States and became a naturalised American citizen in 1923. His life's work was ...

( UK, 1866–1938) * Michael (Mike) E. Brown ( USA, 1965–) * Hermann Alexander Brück (Germany, 1905–2000) * Ismael Bullialdus (France, 1605–1694) *

Margaret Burbidge Eleanor Margaret Burbidge, FRS (; 12 August 1919 – 5 April 2020) was a British-American observational astronomer and astrophysicist. In the 1950s, she was one of the founders of stellar nucleosynthesis and was first author of the influentia ...

( UK– USA, 1919–2020) * Robert Burnham, Jr. ( USA, 1931–1993) * Sherburne Wesley Burnham ( USA, 1838–1921) *

Schelte J. Bus Schelte John "Bobby" Bus (born 1956) is an American astronomer and discoverer of minor planets at the Institute for Astronomy of the University of Hawaii and deputy director of NASA's Infrared Telescope Facility (IRTF) at the Mauna Kea Observat ...

( USA, 1956–) * Bimla Buti (India, 1933–)

C

William Wallace Campbell William Wallace Campbell (April 11, 1862 – June 14, 1938) was an American astronomer, and director of Lick Observatory from 1901 to 1930. He specialized in spectroscopy. He was the tenth president of the University of California from 1923 to ...

( USA, 1862–1938) *

Annie Jump Cannon Annie Jump Cannon (; December 11, 1863 – April 13, 1941) was an American astronomer whose cataloging work was instrumental in the development of contemporary stellar classification. With Edward C. Pickering, she is credited with the creation of ...

( USA, 1863–1941) * Luigi Carnera (Italy, 1875–1962) * Edwin Francis Carpenter ( USA, 1898–1963) * James Carpenter ( UK, 1840–1899) * Richard Christopher Carrington ( UK, 1826–1875) *Sir John Carroll ( UK, 1899–1974) *

César-François Cassini de Thury César-François Cassini de Thury (17 June 1714 – 4 September 1784), also called Cassini III or Cassini de Thury, was a French astronomer and cartographer. Biography Cassini de Thury was born in Thury-sous-Clermont, in the Oise departm ...

(France, 1714–1784) * Dominique, comte de Cassini (France, 1748–1845) * Giovanni Domenico Cassini (France, 1625–1712) * Jacques Cassini (France, 1677–1756) *

Bonaventura Cavalieri Bonaventura Francesco Cavalieri ( la, Bonaventura Cavalerius; 1598 – 30 November 1647) was an Italian mathematician and a Jesuate. He is known for his work on the problems of optics and motion, work on indivisibles, the precursors of infin ...

(Italy, 1598–1647) *

Anders Celsius Anders Celsius (; 27 November 170125 April 1744) was a Swedish astronomer, physicist and mathematician. He was professor of astronomy at Uppsala University from 1730 to 1744, but traveled from 1732 to 1735 visiting notable observatories in Ger ...

(Sweden, 1701–1744) *

Vincenzo Cerulli Vincenzo Cerulli (20 April 1859 – 30 May 1927) was an Italian astronomer and founder of the Collurania-Teramo Observatory in Teramo, central Italy, where he was born. He earned a degree in physics from the Sapienza University of Rome in 188 ...

(Italy, 1859–1927) *

Jean Chacornac Jean Chacornac (21 June 1823 – 23 September 1873) was a French astronomer and discoverer of a comet and several asteroids. He was born in Lyon and died in Saint-Jean-en-Royans, southeastern France. Working in Marseille and Paris, he discove ...

(France, 1823–1873) * James Challis ( UK, 1803–1882) * Radha Gobinda Chandra (

Bangladesh Bangladesh (}, ), officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the eighth-most populous country in the world, with a population exceeding 165 million people in an area of . Bangladesh is among the mos ...

, India, 1878–1975) *

Subrahmanyan Chandrasekhar Subrahmanyan Chandrasekhar (; ) (19 October 1910 – 21 August 1995) was an Indian-American theoretical physicist who spent his professional life in the United States. He shared the 1983 Nobel Prize for Physics with William A. Fowler for " ...

(India, USA, 1910–1995) *

Carl Charlier Carl Vilhelm Ludwig Charlier (1 April 1862 – 4 November 1934) was a Swedish astronomer. His parents were Emmerich Emanuel and Aurora Kristina (née Hollstein) Charlier. Career Charlier was born in Östersund. He received his Ph.D. from ...

(Sweden, 1862–1934) *

Auguste Charlois Auguste Honoré Charlois (November 26, 1864 – March 26, 1910) was a French astronomer who discovered 99 asteroids while working at the Nice Observatory in southeastern France. Asteroid Discovery His first discovery was the asteroid 267 Tirza ...

(France, 1864–1910) * Lyudmila Ivanovna Chernykh (

/ Ukraine, 1935–2017) *

Nikolai Stepanovich Chernykh Nikolai Stepanovich Chernykh (russian: Никола́й Степа́нович Черны́х) (6 October 1931 – 25 May 2004Казакова, Р.К. Памяти Николая Степановича Черных'. Труды Государст ...

(

/ Ukraine, 1931–2004) * James Christy ( USA, 1938–) * Klim Churyumov ( Ukraine, 1937–2016) * Barry G. Clark ( USA, 1938–) * Edwin Foster Coddington ( USA, 1870–1950) *

Jérôme Eugène Coggia Jérôme Eugène Coggia (18 February 1849 – 15 January 1919) was a 19th-century French astronomer and discoverer of asteroids and comets, who was born in the Corsican town of Ajaccio. Working at the Marseille Observatory from 1866 to 1917, Cog ...

(France, 1849–1919) * Josep Comas i Solà (Spain, 1868–1937) *

Andrew Ainslie Common Andrew Ainslie Common FRS (1841–1903) was an English amateur astronomer best known for his pioneering work in astrophotography. Biography Common was born in Newcastle Upon Tyne on 7 August 1841. His father, Thomas Common, a surgeon known for ...

( UK, 1841–1903) * Guy Consolmagno ( USA, 1952–) * Nicolaus Copernicus (

Prussia Prussia, , Old Prussian: ''Prūsa'' or ''Prūsija'' was a German state on the southeast coast of the Baltic Sea. It formed the German Empire under Prussian rule when it united the German states in 1871. It was ''de facto'' dissolved by an ...

/Poland), 1473–1543) * Corsono Carsono (Spain) *

Janine Connes Janine Connes (born c. 1934) is a female French astronomer whose research led to the establishment of the Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy method, which was of major significance and laid the foundations of what was to grow into a signific ...

(France, 1934–) * Pablo Cottenot (France) *

Heather Couper Heather Anita Couper, (2 June 1949 – 19 February 2020) was a British astronomer, broadcaster and science populariser. After studying astrophysics at the University of Leicester and researching clusters of galaxies at Oxford University, Co ...

( UK, 1949–2020) * Leopold Courvoisier (Switzerland, 1873–1955) * Arthur Edwin Covington (Canada, 1914–2001) *

Philip Herbert Cowell Philip Herbert Cowell FRS (1870 – 1949) was a British astronomer. Philip Herbert Cowell was born in Calcutta, India on the 7 August 1870, and educated at Eton and Trinity College, Cambridge. He became second chief assistant at the Royal Gre ...

( UK, 1870–1949) *

Thomas George Cowling Thomas George Cowling FRS (17 June 1906 – 16 June 1990) was an English astronomer. Early life and education Cowling was born in Hackney, London, the second of four sons of George Cowling and Edith Eliza Cowling (nee Nicholls). He was e ...

( UK, 1906–1990) *

Andrew Claude de la Cherois Crommelin Andrew Claude de la Cherois Crommelin (6 February 1865 – 20 September 1939) was an astronomer of French and Huguenot descent who was born in Cushendun, County Antrim, Ireland. He was educated in England at Marlborough College and Trinity Co ...

( UK, 1865–1939) * Luíz Cruls ( Brazil, 1848–1908) *

James Cuffey James Cuffey (October 8, 1911 – May 30, 1999) was an American astronomer. He specialized in photoelectric photometry and held the patent on the Cuffey Iris Photometer, an instrument used in stellar photographic photometry. Born in Chicago ...

( USA, 1911–1999) *

Heber Doust Curtis Heber Doust Curtis (June 27, 1872 – January 9, 1942) was an American astronomer. He participated in 11 expeditions for the study of solar eclipses, and, as an advocate and theorist that additional galaxies existed outside of the Milky Way, wa ...

( USA, 1872–1942) * Florence Cushman ( USA, 1860–1940)

D

* Alexander Dalgarno ( USA, 1928–2015) * Jacques Eugène d'Allonville (France, 1671–1732) * Andre Louis Danjon (France, 1890–1967) *

Heinrich d'Arrest Heinrich Louis d'Arrest (13 August 1822 – 14 June 1875; ) was a German astronomer, born in Berlin. His name is sometimes given as Heinrich Ludwig d'Arrest. Biography While still a student at the University of Berlin, d'Arrest was p ...

(Germany, 1822–1875) *

George Howard Darwin Sir George Howard Darwin, (9 July 1845 – 7 December 1912) was an English barrister and astronomer, the second son and fifth child of Charles Darwin and Emma Darwin. Biography George H. Darwin was born at Down House, Kent, the fifth chil ...

( UK, 1845–1912) *

Roger Davies Roger Davies may refer to: * Roger Davies (actor), English actor known for ''Renford Rejects'' and ''The Cloverfield Paradox'' * Roger Davies (manager) (born 1952), Australian-born manager in the music industry * Roger Davies (footballer) (born 19 ...

( UK, 1954–) * Leonardo da Vinci (Italy, 1452–1519) *

William Rutter Dawes William Rutter Dawes (19 March 1799 – 15 February 1868) was an English astronomer. Biography Dawes was born at Christ's Hospital then in the City of London (it moved to Horsham, West Sussex in 1902), the son of William Dawes, also an astr ...

( UK, 1799–1868) * Bernhard Dawson (

Argentina Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, th ...

, 1890–1960) * Leo de Ball (Germany, Austria, 1853–1916) *

Henri Debehogne Henri Debehogne (30 December 1928 – 9 December 2007) was a Belgian astronomer and a prolific discoverer of minor planets. Biography He was born at Maillen. Debehogne worked at the Royal Observatory of Belgium (french: Observatoire Royal d ...

(Belgium, 1928–2007) *

Annibale de Gasparis Annibale de Gasparis (9 November 1819, Bugnara – 21 March 1892, Naples; ) was an Italian astronomer, known for discovering asteroids and his contributions to theoretical astronomy. Biography De Gasparis was born in 1819 in Bugnara to A ...

(Italy, 1819–1892) * Jean Baptiste Joseph Delambre (France, 1749–1822) *

Charles-Eugène Delaunay Charles-Eugène Delaunay (9 April 1816 – 5 August 1872) was a French astronomer and mathematician. His lunar motion studies were important in advancing both the theory of planetary motion and mathematics. Life Born in Lusigny-sur-Barse, F ...

(France, 1816–1872) * Eugène Joseph Delporte (Belgium, 1882–1955) * Audrey C. Delsanti (France, 1976–) *

William Frederick Denning William Frederick Denning (25 November 1848 – 9 June 1931) was a British amateur astronomer who achieved considerable success without formal scientific training. He is known for his catalogues of meteor radiants, observations of Jupiter's re ...

( UK, 1848–1931) * Alíz Derekas (Hungary, 1977–) * Willem de Sitter ( Netherlands, 1872–1934) *

Henri-Alexandre Deslandres Henri Alexandre Deslandres (24 July 1853 – 15 January 1948) was a French astronomer, director of the Meudon and Paris Observatories, who carried out intensive studies on the behaviour of the atmosphere of the Sun. Biography Deslandres' und ...

(France, 1853–1948) * Alexander Nikolaevich Deutsch (

, 1900–1986) * Gérard de Vaucouleurs (France/ USA, 1918–1995) *

Robert Dicke Robert Henry Dicke (; May 6, 1916 – March 4, 1997) was an American astronomer and physicist who made important contributions to the fields of astrophysics, atomic physics, cosmology and gravity. He was the Albert Einstein Professor in Scien ...

( USA, 1916–1997) *

Terence Dickinson Terence Dickinson CM (born 10 November 1943 in Toronto, Ontario) is a Canadian amateur astronomer and accomplished astrophotographer who lives near Yarker, Ontario, Canada. He is the author of 14 astronomy books for both adults and children. H ...

(Canada, 1943–) *

Thomas Digges Thomas Digges (; c. 1546 – 24 August 1595) was an English mathematician and astronomer. He was the first to expound the Copernican system in English but discarded the notion of a fixed shell of immoveable stars to postulate infinitely many s ...

( UK, 1546–1595) * Herbert Dingle ( USA, 1890–1978) * Andrea Di Paola (Italy, 1970–) *

Ewine van Dishoeck Ewine Fleur van Dishoeck (born 13 June 1955, in Leiden) is a Dutch astronomer and chemist. She is Professor of Molecular Astrophysics at Leiden Observatory, and served as the President of the International Astronomical Union (2018–2021) and ...

( Netherlands, 1955–) *

Giovanni Battista Donati Giovanni Battista Donati (; 16 December 182620 September 1873) was an Italian astronomer. Donati graduated from the university of his native city, Pisa, and afterwards joined the staff of the Observatory of Florence in 1852. He was appointed d ...

(Italy, 1826–1873) *

Frank Drake Frank Donald Drake (May 28, 1930 – September 2, 2022) was an American astrophysicist and astrobiologist. He began his career as a radio astronomer, studying the planets of the Solar System and later pulsars. Drake expanded his interests t ...

( USA, 1930–) * Henry Draper ( USA, 1837–1882) *

Mary Anna Draper Mary Anna Draper, also known as Mary Anna Palmer Draper, (September 19, 1839 – December 8, 1914) was an American, known for her work with her husband, Henry Draper, with astronomical photography and research. She helped found the Mount Wils ...

( USA, 1839–1914) *

John Dreyer John Dreyer may refer to: *John Louis Emil Dreyer John Louis Emil Dreyer (13 February 1852 – 14 September 1926) was a Danish astronomer who spent most of his career working in Ireland. He spent the last decade of his life in Oxford, Engl ...

(Ireland, 1852–1926) * Alexander D. Dubyago (

), 1903–1959) * Dmitrij I. Dubyago (

), 1850–1918) * Jean C. B. Dufay (France, 1896–1967) *

Raymond Smith Dugan Raymond Smith Dugan (May 30, 1878 – August 31, 1940) was an American astronomer and discoverer of minor planets. His parents were Jeremiah Welby and Mary Evelyn Smith and he was born in Montague in the U.S. state of Massachusetts. His undergr ...

( USA, 1878–1940) *

James Dunlop James Dunlop FRSE (31 October 1793 – 22 September 1848) was a Scottish astronomer, noted for his work in Australia. He was employed by Sir Thomas Brisbane to work as astronomer's assistant at his private observatory, once located at Parama ...

(Scotland, 1793–1848) * Petar Đurković ( Serbia, 1908–1981) * Frank Watson Dyson ( UK, 1868–1939)

E

Arthur Eddington Sir Arthur Stanley Eddington (28 December 1882 – 22 November 1944) was an English astronomer, physicist, and mathematician. He was also a philosopher of science and a populariser of science. The Eddington limit, the natural limit to the lumi ...

( UK, 1882–1944) * Frank K. Edmondson ( USA, 1912–2008) *

Olin J. Eggen Olin Jeuck Eggen (July 9, 1919 – October 2, 1998) was an American astronomer. Biography Olin Jeuck Eggen was born to Olin Eggen and Bertha Clare Jeuck in the village of Orfordville in Rock County, Wisconsin. Both of his parents were of Nor ...

( USA, 1919–1998) *

David J. Eicher David John Eicher (born August 7, 1961) is an American editor, writer, and popularizer of astronomy and space. He has been editor-in-chief of ''Astronomy'' magazine since 2002. He is author, coauthor, or editor of 23 books on science and American ...

( USA, 1961–) *

Albert Einstein Albert Einstein ( ; ; 14 March 1879 – 18 April 1955) was a German-born theoretical physicist, widely acknowledged to be one of the greatest and most influential physicists of all time. Einstein is best known for developing the theory ...

(Germany, 1879–1955) *

Eise Eisinga Eise Jeltes Eisinga (21 February 1744 – 27 August 1828) was a Frisian amateur astronomer who built the Eise Eisinga Planetarium in his house in Franeker, Dutch Republic. The orrery still exists and is the oldest functioning planetarium in the w ...

( Netherlands, 1744–1828) *

Eric Walter Elst Eric Walter Elst (30 November 1936 – 2 January 2022) was a Belgian astronomer at the Royal Observatory of Belgium in Uccle and a prolific discoverer of asteroids. The Minor Planet Center ranks him among the top 10 discoverers of minor planet ...

(Belgium, 1936–2022) * Johann Franz Encke (Germany, 1791–1865) * Kin Endate (Japan, 1960–) *

Eratosthenes Eratosthenes of Cyrene (; grc-gre, Ἐρατοσθένης ; – ) was a Greek polymath: a mathematician, geographer, poet, astronomer, and music theorist. He was a man of learning, becoming the chief librarian at the Library of Alexandr ...

(

Alexandria Alexandria ( or ; ar, ٱلْإِسْكَنْدَرِيَّةُ ; grc-gre, Αλεξάνδρεια, Alexándria) is the second largest city in Egypt, and the largest city on the Mediterranean coast. Founded in by Alexander the Great, Alexandri ...

, 276 BC–194 BC) * Emil Ernst (Germany, 1889–1942) *

Ernest Esclangon Ernest Benjamin Esclangon (17 March 1876 – 28 January 1954) was a French astronomer and mathematician. Born in Mison, Alpes-de-Haute-Provence, in 1895 he started to study mathematics at the École Normale Supérieure, graduating in 1898. Loo ...

(France, 1876–1954) *

Fred Espenak Fred Espenak is a retired emeritus American astrophysicist. He worked at the Goddard Space Flight Center. He is best known for his work on eclipse predictions. He became interested in astronomy when he was 7–8 years old, and had his first tel ...

( USA, 1953–) * Larry W. Esposito ( USA, 1951–) * Eudoxus (

Cnidus Knidos or Cnidus (; grc-gre, Κνίδος, , , Knídos) was a Greek city in ancient Caria and part of the Dorian Hexapolis, in south-western Asia Minor, modern-day Turkey. It was situated on the Datça peninsula, which forms the southern sid ...

, ca. 408 BC–ca. 355 BC) *

Robert Evans Robert Evans (born Robert J. Shapera; June 29, 1930October 26, 2019) was an American film producer, studio executive, and actor, best known for his work on '' Rosemary's Baby'' (1968), '' Love Story'' (1970), ''The Godfather'' (1972), and ''Chi ...

(Australia, 1937–)

F

David Fabricius David Fabricius (9 March 1564 – 7 May 1617) was a German pastor who made two major discoveries in the early days of telescopic astronomy, jointly with his eldest son, Johannes Fabricius (1587–1615). David Fabricius (Latinization of his proper ...

( Netherlands, 1564–1617) *

Sandra M. Faber Sandra Moore Faber (born December 28, 1944) is an American astrophysicist known for her research on the evolution of galaxies. She is the University Professor of Astronomy and Astrophysics at the University of California, Santa Cruz, and works ...

( USA, 1945–) * Johannes Fabricius ( Netherlands, 1587–1615) * Fearon Fallows ( UK, 1789–1831) * Hervé Faye (France, 1814–1902) * Charles Fehrenbach (France, 1914–2008) * Farghani ( Persia, 800–870) *

James Ferguson James Ferguson may refer to: Entertainment * Jim Ferguson (born 1948), American jazz and classical guitarist * Jim Ferguson, American guitarist, past member of Lotion * Jim Ferguson, American movie critic, Board of Directors member for the Broadc ...

( USA, 1797–1867) * Alex Filippenko ( USA, 1958–) *

Erwin Finlay-Freundlich Erwin Finlay-Freundlich FRSE FRAS (; 29 May 1885 – 24 July 1964) was a German astronomer, a pupil of Felix Klein. Freundlich was a working associate of Albert Einstein and introduced experiments for which the general theory of relativity could ...

(Germany, 1885–1964) * Axel Firsoff ( UK, 1910–1981) *

Debra Fischer Debra Ann Fischer is a professor of astronomy at Yale University researching detection and characterization of exoplanets. She was part of the team to discover the first known multiple-planet system. Education Fischer received her degree from ...

(United States) * J. Richard Fisher (United States, 1943–) *

Camille Flammarion Nicolas Camille Flammarion FRAS (; 26 February 1842 – 3 June 1925) was a French astronomer and author. He was a prolific author of more than fifty titles, including popular science works about astronomy, several notable early science fiction ...

(France, 1842–1925) * Gabrielle Renaudot Flammarion (France, 1867–1962) * John Flamsteed ( UK, 1646–1719) *

Honoré Flaugergues Pierre-Gilles-Antoine-Honoré Flaugergues, usually known as Honoré Flaugergues (16 May 1755 in Viviers, Ardèche – 26 November 1835 or 20 November 1830different sources give different years of death) was a French astronomer. Biography Flauger ...

(France, 1755–1835) *

Williamina Fleming (15 May 1857 – 21 May 1911) was a Scottish-American astronomer. She was a single mother, hired by the director of the Harvard College Observatory to help in the photographic classification of stellar spectra. She helped develop a common ...

( USA, 1857–1911) * Wilhelm Julius Foerster (Germany, 1832–1921) *

Alfred Fowler Alfred Fowler, CBE FRS (22 March 1868, in Yorkshire – 24 June 1940) was an English astronomer. Early life and career He was born in Wilsden on the outskirts of Bradford, Yorkshire and educated at London's Normal School of Science, w ...

( UK, 1868–1940) *

William Alfred Fowler William Alfred Fowler ( ) was an American nuclear physicist, later astrophysicist, who, with Subrahmanyan Chandrasekhar, won the 1983 Nobel Prize in Physics. He is known for his theoretical and experimental research into nuclear reactions with ...

( USA, 1911–1995) * Philip Fox ( USA, 1878–1944) * Andrew Fraknoi ( USA, 1948–) * Joseph von Fraunhofer (Germany, 1787–1826) * Herbert Friedman ( USA, 1916–2000 ) * Dirk D. Frimout (Belgium, 1941–) *

Edwin Brant Frost Edwin Brant Frost II (July 14, 1866 – May 14, 1935) was an American astronomer. Biography He was born in Brattleboro, Vermont. His father, Carlton Pennington Frost, was dean of Dartmouth Medical School. Frost graduated from Dartmouth in ...

( USA, 1866–1935) * Shigehisa Fujikawa (Japan) * Naoshi Fukushima (Japan, 1925–2003) *

Kiichirō Furukawa 『新訂現代日本人名録94 4. ひろ - わ』、247頁 was a Japanese astronomer and discoverer of minor planets at the Tokyo Astronomical Observatory. Furukawa was also associated with Nagoya University Department of Astrophysics. Awa ...

(Japan, 1929–2016) * Toshimasa Furuta (Japan)

G

* Bryan Gaensler (Australia, 1973–) *

Gan De Gan De (; fl. 4th century BC), also known as the Lord Gan (Gan Gong), was an ancient Chinese astronomer and astrologer born in the State of Qi. Along with Shi Shen, he is believed to be the first in history known by name to compile a star catal ...

(China, fl. 4th century BC) * Galileo Galilei (Italy, 1564–1642) *

Julio Garavito Armero Julio Garavito Armero (January 5, 1865 – March 11, 1920) was a Colombian astronomer. Life Born in Bogotá, he was a child prodigy in science and mathematics. He obtained his degrees as mathematician and civil engineer in the ''Universida ...

( Colombia, 1865–1920) * Gordon J. Garradd (Australia, 1959–) * Ben Gascoigne (New Zealand, Australia, 1915–2010) *

Margaret Geller Margaret J. Geller (born December 8, 1947) is an American astrophysicist at the Center for Astrophysics Harvard & Smithsonian. Her work has included pioneering maps of the nearby universe, studies of the relationship between galaxies and their ...

( United States, 1947) *

Gautama Siddha Gautama Siddha, (fl. 8th century) astronomer, astrologer and compiler of Indian descent, known for leading the compilation of the ''Treatise on Astrology of the Kaiyuan Era'' during the Tang Dynasty. He was born in Chang'an, and his family was ori ...

(China, fl. 8th century AD) *

Johann Gottfried Galle Johann Gottfried Galle (9 June 1812 – 10 July 1910) was a German astronomer from Radis, Germany, at the Berlin Observatory who, on 23 September 1846, with the assistance of student Heinrich Louis d'Arrest, was the first person to view the pl ...

(Germany, 1812–1910) *

George Gamow George Gamow (March 4, 1904 – August 19, 1968), born Georgiy Antonovich Gamov ( uk, Георгій Антонович Гамов, russian: Георгий Антонович Гамов), was a Russian-born Soviet and American polymath, theoret ...

(

, USA, 1904–1968) *

Carl Friedrich Gauss Johann Carl Friedrich Gauss (; german: Gauß ; la, Carolus Fridericus Gauss; 30 April 177723 February 1855) was a German mathematician and physicist who made significant contributions to many fields in mathematics and science. Sometimes refer ...

(Germany, 1777–1855) *

Tom Gehrels Anton M.J. "Tom" Gehrels (February 21, 1925 – July 11, 2011) was a Dutch–American astronomer, Professor of Planetary Sciences, and Astronomer at the University of Arizona, Tucson. Biography Youth and education Gehrels was born at H ...

( Netherlands, USA, 1925–2011) * Neil Gehrels ( USA, 1952–2017) * Andrea M. Ghez ( USA, 1965–) * Riccardo Giacconi (Italy, 1931–2018) *

Michel Giacobini Michel Giacobini (1873–1938) was a French astronomer. He discovered a number of comets, including 21P/Giacobini-Zinner (parent body of the Giacobinids meteor shower), 41P/Tuttle-Giacobini-Kresak, and 205P/Giacobini. The latter he had dis ...

(France, 1873–1938) * Henry L. Giclas ( USA, 1910–2007) * David Gill ( UK, 1843–1914) * Karl Glazebrook (UK, 1965–) * Ian Glass (Ireland/ South Africa, 1939–) *

Thomas Gold Thomas Gold (May 22, 1920 – June 22, 2004) was an Austrian-born American astrophysicist, a professor of astronomy at Cornell University, a member of the U.S. National Academy of Sciences, and a Fellow of the Royal Society (London). Gold was ...

( USA, 1920–2004) * Leo Goldberg ( USA, 1913–1987) *

Peter Goldreich Peter Goldreich (born July 14, 1939) is an American astrophysicist whose research focuses on celestial mechanics, planetary rings, helioseismology and neutron stars. He is the Lee DuBridge Professor of Astrophysics and Planetary Physics at Cali ...

( USA, 1939–) *

Hermann Goldschmidt Hermann Mayer Salomon Goldschmidt (June 17, 1802 – August 30 or September 10 1866) was a German-French astronomer and painter who spent much of his life in France. He started out as a painter, but after attending a lecture by the famous Fren ...

(Germany, 1802–1866) * François Gonnessiat (France, 1856–1934) *

John Goodricke John Goodricke FRS (17 September 1764 – 20 April 1786) was an English amateur astronomer. He is best known for his observations of the variable star Algol (Beta Persei) in 1782. Life and work John Goodricke, named after his great-grandfath ...

( UK, 1764–1786) * Alyssa A. Goodman ( USA, 1962–) * Abu Sa'id Gorgani ( Persia, 9th century) *

Paul Götz Paul Götz (1883–1962) was a German astronomer and discoverer of 20 minor planets between 1903 and 1905. He did his Ph.D. dissertation in 1907 at the ''Landessternwarte Heidelberg-Königstuhl'' (Königstuhl Observatory, near Heidelberg) at th ...

(Germany, 1883–1962) *

Benjamin Apthorp Gould Benjamin Apthorp Gould (September 27, 1824 – November 26, 1896) was a pioneering American astronomer. He is noted for creating the ''Astronomical Journal'', discovering the Gould Belt, and for founding of the Argentine National Observatory an ...

( USA, 1824–1896) * Andrew Graham (Ireland, 1815–1907) * Kathryn Aurora Gray (Canada, 2000–) * Charles Green (England, 1735–1771) *

Jesse Greenstein Jesse Leonard Greenstein (October 15, 1909 – October 21, 2002) was an American astronomer. His parents were Maurice G. and Leah Feingold. He earned a Ph.D, with thesis advisor Donald H. Menzel, from Harvard University in 1937, having start ...

( USA, 1909–2002) *

John Grunsfeld John Mace Grunsfeld (born 10 October 1958) is an American physicist and a former NASA astronaut. He is a veteran of five Space Shuttle flights and has served as NASA Chief Scientist. His academic background includes research in high energy astr ...

( USA, 1956–) * Jay U. Gunter (United States, 1911–1994) *

Alexander A. Gurshtein Alexander Aronovich Gurshtein (russian: Александр Аронович Гурштейн, ''Aleksandr Aronovich Gurshteyn''; February 21, 1937 – April 3, 2020) was a Soviet/Russian astronomer and historian of science. Early life Gurshte ...

(

, 1937–2020) * Bengt Gustafsson (Sweden, 1943–) *

Guo Shoujing Guo Shoujing (, 1231–1316), courtesy name Ruosi (), was a Chinese astronomer, hydraulic engineer, mathematician, and politician of the Yuan dynasty. The later Johann Adam Schall von Bell (1591–1666) was so impressed with the preserved astron ...

(China, 1231–1316) * Alan Harvey Guth ( USA, 1947–)

H

* Yusuke Hagihara (Japan, 1897–1979) * Alan Hale ( USA, 1958–) * George Ellery Hale ( USA, 1868–1938) *

Asaph Hall Asaph Hall III (October 15, 1829 – November 22, 1907) was an American astronomer who is best known for having discovered the two moons of Mars, Deimos and Phobos, in 1877. He determined the orbits of satellites of other planets and of double ...

( USA, 1829–1907) *

Edmond Halley Edmond (or Edmund) Halley (; – ) was an English astronomer, mathematician and physicist. He was the second Astronomer Royal in Britain, succeeding John Flamsteed in 1720. From an observatory he constructed on Saint Helena in 1676–77, Hal ...

(England, 1656–1742) *

Erika Hamden Erika Tobiason Hamden is an American astrophysicist and Assistant Professor at the University of Arizona and Steward Observatory. Her research focuses on developing ultraviolet (UV) detector technology, ultraviolet–visible spectroscopy (UV/VIS ...

( USA, ?–) * Heidi Hammel ( USA, 1960–) * Mario Hamuy (

Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in the western part of South America. It is the southernmost country in the world, and the closest to Antarctica, occupying a long and narrow strip of land between the Andes to the east a ...

, 1960–?) *

Peter Andreas Hansen Peter Andreas Hansen (born 8 December 1795, Tønder, Schleswig, Denmark; died 28 March 1874, Gotha, Thuringia, Germany) was a Danish-born German astronomer. Biography The son of a goldsmith, Hansen learned the trade of a watchmaker at Flensburg, ...

( Denmark, 1795–1874) * Abulfazl Harawi ( Persia, 10th century) *

Karl Ludwig Harding Karl Ludwig Harding (29 September 1765 – 31 August 1834) was a German astronomer, who discovered 3 Juno, the third asteroid of the main-belt in 1804. The lunar crater '' Harding'' and the asteroid 2003 Harding are named in his honor. ...

(Germany, 1765–1834) * Thomas Hariot ( UK, 1560–1621) *

Guillermo Haro Guillermo Haro Barraza (; 21 March 1913 – 26 April 1988) was a Mexican astronomer. Through his own astronomical research and the formation of new institutions, Haro was influential in the development of modern observational astronomy in M ...

(Mexico, 1913–1988) *

Robert George Harrington Robert George Harrington (December 3, 1904 – June 15, 1987) was an American astronomer who worked at Palomar Observatory. He should not be confused with Robert Sutton Harrington, who was also an astronomer, but was born later and worked at the ...

( USA, 1904–1987) * Robert Sutton Harrington ( USA, 1942–1993) *

Edward Robert Harrison Edward R. Harrison (8 January 1919 – 29 January 2007) "Physics Today Obituaries: Edward R. (Ted) Harrison", William M. Irvine, PhysicsToday.org, 2007-02-23, webpage: PToday-125 was a British astronomer and cosmologist, noted for his work ...

( UK/ USA, 1917–2007) *

William Kenneth Hartmann William Kenneth Hartmann (born June 6, 1939) is a noted planetary scientist, artist, author, and writer. He was the first to convince the scientific mainstream that the Earth had once been hit by a planet sized body (Theia), creating both the ...

( USA, 1939–) * Lisa Harvey-Smith (Australia, 1979–) * Takeo Hatanaka (Japan, 1914–1963) * Stephen Hawking ( UK, 1942–2018) *

Will Hay William Thomson Hay (6 December 1888 – 18 April 1949) was an English comedian who wrote and acted in a schoolmaster sketch that later transferred to the screen, where he also played other authority figures with comic failings. His film '' O ...

( UK, 1888–1949) *

Chushiro Hayashi was a Japanese astrophysicist. Hayashi tracks on the Hertzsprung–Russell diagram are named after him. Hayashi was born in Kyoto and enrolled at the Imperial University of Tokyo in 1940, earning his BSc in Physics after 2½ years, in 1942. H ...

(Japan, 1920–2010) * Otto Hermann Leopold Heckmann (Germany, 1901–1983) * Carl Heiles ( USA, 1939–) * Joseph Helffrich (Germany, 1872–1971) *

Eleanor Helin Eleanor Francis "Glo" Helin (née Francis, 19 November 1932 – 25 January 2009) was an American astronomer. She was principal investigator of the Near-Earth Asteroid Tracking (NEAT) program of NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory. (Some sources gi ...

( USA, 1932–2009) *

Maximilian Hell Maximilian Hell ( hu, Hell Miksa) (born Rudolf Maximilian Höll; May 15, 1720 – April 14, 1792) was an astronomer and an ordained Jesuit priest from the Kingdom of Hungary. Biography Born as Rudolf Maximilian Höll in Selmecbánya, Hont C ...

(

Austria-Hungary Austria-Hungary, often referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire,, the Dual Monarchy, or Austria, was a constitutional monarchy and great power in Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. It was formed with the Austro-Hungarian Compromise of 1 ...

, 1720–1792) *

Karl Ludwig Hencke Karl Ludwig Hencke (8 April 1793 – 21 September 1866) was a German amateur astronomer and discoverer of minor planets. He is sometimes confused with Johann Franz Encke, another German astronomer. Biography Hencke was born in Driesen, Branden ...

(Germany, 1793–1866) * Thomas Henderson (Scotland, 1798–1844) * Paul Henry (France, 1848–1905) *

Prosper Henry {{wiktionary, prosper Prosper may refer to: __NOTOC__ Places in the United States * Prosper, Minnesota, an unincorporated community * Prosper, North Dakota, an unincorporated community * Prosper, Oregon, an unincorporated community * Prosper, Texa ...

(France, 1849–1903) *

Abraham bar Hiyya Abraham bar Ḥiyya ha-Nasi (; – 1136 or 1145), also known as Abraham Savasorda, Abraham Albargeloni, and Abraham Judaeus, was a Catalan Jewish mathematician, astronomer and philosopher who resided in Barcelona. Bar Ḥiyya was active in tr ...

(Spanish Jewish), (1070–1136) * George Howard Herbig ( USA, 1920–2013) *

Carl W. Hergenrother Carl William Hergenrother (born 1973) is an American astronomer and discoverer of minor planets and comets. As credited by the Minor Planet Center, he has discovered and co-discovered 32 numbered asteroids at the Bigelow Sky Survey during 1993� ...

( USA, 1973–) *

Caroline Herschel Caroline Lucretia Herschel (; 16 March 1750 – 9 January 1848) was a German born British astronomer, whose most significant contributions to astronomy were the discoveries of several comets, including the periodic comet 35P/Herschel–Rigolle ...

( UK, 1750–1848) *

John Herschel Sir John Frederick William Herschel, 1st Baronet (; 7 March 1792 – 11 May 1871) was an English polymath active as a mathematician, astronomer, chemist, inventor, experimental photographer who invented the blueprint and did botanical wor ...

( UK, 1792–1871) * William Herschel ( UK/Germany, 1738–1822) *

Ejnar Hertzsprung Ejnar Hertzsprung (; Copenhagen, 8 October 1873 – 21 October 1967, Roskilde) was a Danish chemist and astronomer. Career Hertzsprung was born in Frederiksberg, Denmark, the son of Severin and Henriette. He studied chemical engineering at Cop ...

( Denmark, 1873–1967) * Johannes Hevelius ( Poland, 1611–1687) *

Antony Hewish Antony Hewish (11 May 1924 – 13 September 2021) was a British radio astronomer who won the Nobel Prize for Physics in 1974 (together with fellow radio-astronomer Martin Ryle) for his role in the discovery of pulsars. He was also awarded the ...

( UK, 1924–2021) * George William Hill ( USA, 1838–1914) *

John Russell Hind John Russell Hind FRS FRSE LLD (12 May 1823 – 23 December 1895) was an English astronomer. Life and work John Russell Hind was born in 1823 in Nottingham, the son of lace manufacturer John Hind and Elizabeth Russell, and was educated at N ...

( UK, 1823–1895) * Hipparchus (

Nicaea Nicaea, also known as Nicea or Nikaia (; ; grc-gre, Νίκαια, ) was an ancient Greek city in Bithynia, where located in northwestern Anatolia and is primarily known as the site of the First and Second Councils of Nicaea (the first and s ...

, ca. 190 BC–120 BC) * Masanori Hirasawa (Japan) *

Kiyotsugu Hirayama was a Japanese astronomer, best known for his discovery that many asteroid orbits were more similar to one another than chance would allow, leading to the concept of asteroid families, now called "Hirayama families" in his honour. Biography H ...

(Japan, 1874–1943) *

Shin Hirayama was the first Japanese astronomer to discover an asteroid. In 1900 he discovered 498 Tokio and 727 Nipponia. The crater Hirayama on the Moon is jointly named after him and Kiyotsugu Hirayama was a Japanese astronomer, best known for his ...

(Japan, 1868–1945) *

Gustave-Adolphe Hirn Gustave-Adolphe Hirn (21 August 1815 – 14 January 1890) was a French physicist, astronomer. mathematician and engineer who made important measurements of the mechanical equivalent of heat and contributions to the early development of thermodyna ...

(France, 1815–1890) *

Sebastian von Hoerner Sebastian Rudolf Karl von Hoerner (15 April 1919 – 7 January 2003) was a German astrophysicist and radio astronomer. He was born in Görlitz, Lower Silesia. After the end of World War II he studied physics at University of Göttingen. He obta ...

(Germany), 1919–2003) *

Cuno Hoffmeister Cuno Hoffmeister (2 February 1892 – 2 January 1968) was a German astronomer, observer and discoverer of variable stars, comets and minor planets, and founder of Sonneberg Observatory. Born in Sonneberg in 1892 to Carl and Marie Hoffmeister, Cu ...

(Germany, 1892–1968) * Dorrit Hoffleit ( USA, 1907–2007 ) *

Helen Sawyer Hogg Helen Battles Sawyer Hogg (August 1, 1905 – January 28, 1993) was an American-Canadian astronomer who pioneered research into globular clusters and variable stars. She was the first female president of several astronomical organizations and a ...

(Canada, 1905–1993) *

Minoru Honda was a Japanese astronomer. Starting in 1937, Honda worked for Issei Yamamoto at the Zodiacal Light Observatory in Hiroshima. He discovered twelve comets between 1940 and 1968, including the periodic comet 45P/Honda–Mrkos–Pajdušáková ...

(Japan, 1917–1990) *

Kamil Hornoch Kamil Hornoch (; born 5 December 1972) is a Czech astronomer who discovered dozens of novae in nearby galaxies. The main belt asteroid 14124 Kamil is named in his honour. Astronomy Kamil Hornoch became interested in astronomy in 1984. One year ...

( Czech Republic, 1972–) *

Jeremiah Horrocks Jeremiah Horrocks (16183 January 1641), sometimes given as Jeremiah Horrox (the Latinised version that he used on the Emmanuel College register and in his Latin manuscripts), – See footnote 1 was an English astronomer. He was the first person ...

( UK, ca. 1619–1641) *

Cornelis Johannes van Houten Cornelis Johannes van Houten (18 February 1920 – 24 August 2002) was a Dutch astronomer, sometimes referred to as Kees van Houten. Early life and education Born in The Hague, he spent his entire career at Leiden University except for a brief pe ...

( Netherlands, 1920–2002) *

Ingrid van Houten-Groeneveld Ingrid van Houten-Groeneveld (; 21 October 1921 – 30 March 2015) was a Dutch astronomer. Background In a jointly credited trio with Tom Gehrels and her husband Cornelis Johannes van Houten, she was the discoverer of many thousands of astero ...

( Netherlands, 1921–2015) * Martin van den Hove ( Netherlands, 1605–1639) *

Herbert Alonzo Howe Herbert Alonzo Howe (November 22, 1858 – November 2, 1926) was an American astronomer and educator. Biography Born in Brockport, New York, he was the son of Alonzo J. Howe, a professor at the old University of Chicago, and Julia M. Osgood. Durin ...

(USA, 1858–1926) * Fred Hoyle ( UK, 1915–2001) *

Edwin Powell Hubble Edwin Powell Hubble (November 20, 1889 – September 28, 1953) was an American astronomer. He played a crucial role in establishing the fields of extragalactic astronomy and observational cosmology. Hubble proved that many objects previousl ...

( USA, 1889–1953) *

William Huggins Sir William Huggins (7 February 1824 – 12 May 1910) was an English astronomer best known for his pioneering work in astronomical spectroscopy together with his wife, Margaret. Biography William Huggins was born at Cornhill, Middlesex, in ...

( UK, 1824–1910) * Russell Alan Hulse ( USA, 1950–) * Hendrik Christoffel van de Hulst ( Netherlands, 1918–2000) * Milton Lasell Humason ( USA, 1891–1972) *

Thomas John Hussey Thomas John Hussey (4 April 1792 – c. 1866) was an English clergyman and astronomer. Background and education T. J. Hussey was born in Lamberhurst, Kent, the only son of Rev. John Hussey and Catherine Jennings. The Husseys were an old, armi ...

(England, 1792–1854) *

Christiaan Huygens Christiaan Huygens, Lord of Zeelhem, ( , , ; also spelled Huyghens; la, Hugenius; 14 April 1629 – 8 July 1695) was a Dutch mathematician, physicist, engineer, astronomer, and inventor, who is regarded as one of the greatest scientists ...

( Netherlands, 1629–1695) *

Yuji Hyakutake was a Japanese amateur astronomer who discovered Comet C/1996 B2, also known as Comet Hyakutake on January 31, 1996, while using 25×150 binoculars. Hyakutake graduated from the Kyushu Sangyo University as a photography major and started wor ...

(Japan, 1950–2002) * Josef Allen Hynek ( USA, 1910–1986) *

Hypatia Hypatia, Koine pronunciation (born 350–370; died 415 AD) was a neoplatonist philosopher, astronomer, and mathematician, who lived in Alexandria, Egypt, then part of the Eastern Roman Empire. She was a prominent thinker in Alexandria where ...

( Egypt, (born 350–370; died 415 AD) *

Christopher Hansteen Christopher Hansteen (26 September 1784 – 11 April 1873) was a Norwegian geophysicist, astronomer and physicist, best known for his mapping of Earth's magnetic field. Early life and career Hansteen was born in Christiania as the son of ...

(Norway, 1784–1873)

I

* Icko Iben, Jr. ( USA, 1931–) *

Kaoru Ikeya is a Japanese amateur astronomer who discovered a number of comets. As a young adult, Ikeya lived near Lake Hamana and worked for a piano factory. During his employment there, he made his first discovery in 1963 with an optical telescope he bu ...

(Japan, 1943–) *

Chris Impey Christopher David Impey (born 25 January 1956) is a British astronomer, educator, and author. He has been a faculty member at the University of Arizona since 1986. Impey has done research on observational cosmology, in particular low surface b ...

( UK/ USA, 1956–) * Robert Thorburn Ayton Innes (Scotland/ South Africa, 1861–1933) * Shigeru Inoda (Japan, 1955–2008) *

Jamal Nazrul Islam Jamal Nazrul Islam (24 February 1939 – 16 March 2013) was a Bangladeshi mathematical physicist and cosmologist. He was a professor at University of Chittagong, served as a member of the advisory board at Shahjalal University of Science and Tec ...

(

, 1939–2013) *

Edward Israel Edward Israel (July 1, 1859 – May 27, 1884) was an astronomer and Polar explorer. Early years Israel was born in Kalamazoo, Michigan on July 1, 1859. He was the son of Mannes and Tillie Israel, the first Jews to settle in Kalamazoo. After grad ...

( USA, 1859–1884) * Iwahashi Zenbei (Japan, 1756–1811) * Masayuki Iwamoto (Japan, 1954–) * Shun-ei Izumikawa (Japan)

J

* Cyril V. Jackson ( South Africa, 1903–1988) * Karan Jani (India, 1988–) * Pierre Jules César Janssen (France, 1824–1907) *

James Jeans Sir James Hopwood Jeans (11 September 187716 September 1946) was an English physicist, astronomer and mathematician. Early life Born in Ormskirk, Lancashire, the son of William Tulloch Jeans, a parliamentary correspondent and author. Jeans was ...

( UK, 1877–1946) * Benjamin Jekhowsky (

/France/

Algeria ) , image_map = Algeria (centered orthographic projection).svg , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Algiers , coordinates = , largest_city = capital , relig ...

, 1881–1953) * Louise Freeland Jenkins ( USA, 1888–1970) *

David C. Jewitt David Clifford Jewitt (born 1958) is a British-American astronomer who studies the Solar System, especially its minor bodies. He is based at the University of California, Los Angeles, where he is a Member of the Institute for Geophysics and Pl ...

( UK, 1958–) *

Jiao Bingzhen Jiao Bingzhen (), active 1689–1726) was a native of Jining, Shandong who became a noted painter and astronomer. He is one of the first Qing dynasty painters to blend traditional Chinese painting with western culture. He is also among the more si ...

(China, 1689–1726) * John A. Johnson ( USA, 1977–) *

Alfred Harrison Joy Alfred Harrison Joy (September 23, 1882 in Greenville, Illinois – April 18, 1973 in Pasadena, California) was an astronomer best known for his work on stellar distances, the radial motion of stars, and variable stars. A crater on the moon has ...

( USA, 1882–1973) * Vinod Johri (India, 1935–2014)

K

Ali Kuşçu Ala al-Dīn Ali ibn Muhammed (1403 – 16 December 1474), known as Ali Qushji (Ottoman Turkish : علی قوشچی, ''kuşçu'' – falconer in Turkish; Latin: ''Ali Kushgii'') was a Timurid theologian, jurist, astronomer, mathematician a ...

( Turkey, 1403–1474) * Tetsuo Kagawa (Japan, 1969–) *

Franz Kaiser Franz Heinrich Kaiser (25 April 1891 – 13 March 1962) was a German astronomer. He worked at the Heidelberg-Königstuhl Observatory from 1911 to 1914 while working on his Ph.D. there, which he obtained in 1915. During this time, Heidelberg was ...

(Germany, 1891–1962) * Kiyotaka Kanai (Japan, 1951–) * Hiroshi Kaneda (Japan, 1953–) * Henry Kandrup ( USA, 1955–2003) * Jacobus Kapteyn ( Netherlands, 1851–1922) *

Lyudmila Karachkina Lyudmila Georgievna Karachkina (russian: Людмила Георгиевна Карачкина, born 3 September 1948, Rostov-on-Don) is an astronomer and discoverer of minor planets. In 1978 she began as a staff astronomer of the Institute for ...

( Ukraine, 1948–) *

Ghiyath al-Kashi Ghiyāth al-Dīn Jamshīd Masʿūd al-Kāshī (or al-Kāshānī) ( fa, غیاث الدین جمشید کاشانی ''Ghiyās-ud-dīn Jamshīd Kāshānī'') (c. 1380 Kashan, Iran – 22 June 1429 Samarkand, Transoxania) was a Persian astronomer an ...

( Persia, 1380–1429) * Jeffrey Owen Katz ( USA, 1960–) * Karlis Kaufmanis ( Latvia/ United States, 1910–2003 *

Kōyō Kawanishi is a Japanese dentist, amateur astronomer and discoverer of 13 minor planets. He lives in the city of Akō in the Hyōgo Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan located in the Kansai region of Honshu. Hyōgo Prefecture has a population of 5,4 ...

(Japan, 1959–) * Nobuhiro Kawasato (Japan) * James Edward Keeler ( USA, 1857–1900) * Paul Kempf (Germany, 1856–1920) * Johannes Kepler (Germany, 1571–1630) *

Omar Khayyám Ghiyāth al-Dīn Abū al-Fatḥ ʿUmar ibn Ibrāhīm Nīsābūrī (18 May 1048 – 4 December 1131), commonly known as Omar Khayyam ( fa, عمر خیّام), was a polymath, known for his contributions to mathematics, astronomy, philosophy, a ...

( Persia, 1048–1131) *

Al-Khujandi Abu Mahmud Hamid ibn al-Khidr al-Khojandi (known as Abu Mahmood Khojandi, Alkhujandi or al-Khujandi, Persian: ابومحمود خجندی, c. 940 - 1000) was a Muslim Transoxanian astronomer and mathematician born in Khujand (now part of Tajikista ...

( Persia, 10th century) * Muhammad ibn Mūsā al-Khwārizmī, ( Persia, 780–850) *

Kidinnu Kidinnu (also ''Kidunnu''; possibly fl. 4th century BC; possibly died 14 August 330 BC) was a Chaldean astronomer and mathematician. Strabo of Amaseia called him Kidenas, Pliny the Elder Cidenas, and Vettius Valens Kidynas. Some cuneiform ...

( Babylon, 4th century BC; d. 330 BC?) *

Hisashi Kimura was a Japanese astronomer originally from Kanazawa, Ishikawa. He devoted his career to the study and measurement of variation in latitude, building upon the work of Seth Carlo Chandler, who discovered the Chandler wobble. In 1899, he became the ...

(Japan, 1870–1943) * Maria Margarethe Kirch (Germany, 1670–1720) *

Daniel Kirkwood Daniel Kirkwood (September 27, 1814 – June 11, 1895) was an American astronomer. Kirkwood was born in Harford County, Maryland to John and Agnes (née Hope) Kirkwood. He graduated in mathematics from the York County Academy in York, Pennsylv ...

( USA, 1814–1895) *

Robert Kirshner Robert P. Kirshner (born August 15, 1949) is an American astronomer, Chief Program Officer for Science for the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation, and the Clownes Research Professor of Science at Harvard University. Kirshner has worked in several ...

( USA, 1949–) * Minoru Kizawa (Japan, 1947–) * Ernst Friedrich Wilhelm Klinkerfues (Germany, 1827–1884) *

Viktor Knorre Viktor Karlovich Knorre russian: Виктор Карлович Кнорре(4 October 1840 – 25 August 1919) was a Russian astronomer of German ethnic origin. He worked in Nikolaev, Pulkovo and Berlin and is best known for having discovered 158 ...

(

, 1840–1919) *

Takao Kobayashi is a Japanese amateur astronomer and an outstanding discoverer of minor planets who currently works at the Ōizumi Observatory. The asteroid 3500 Kobayashi is named after him. Career Kobayashi has discovered more than 2000 asteroids using Cha ...

(Japan, 1961–) * Toru Kobayashi (Japan) *

Luboš Kohoutek Luboš Kohoutek (, born 29 January 1935) is a Czech astronomer and a discoverer of minor planets and comets, including Comet Kohoutek which was visible to the naked eye in 1973. He also discovered a large number of planetary nebulae. Biograph ...

(1935–) *

Masahiro Koishikawa was a Japanese astronomer. He studied both major and minor planets, and discovered multiple asteroids. Koishikawa was a staff member of the Sendai Astronomical Observatory frin 1972. His research was based out of the Sendai's Ayashi ( 391) s ...

(Japan, 1952–2020) *

Nobuhisa Kojima is a Japanese astronomer An astronomer is a scientist in the field of astronomy who focuses their studies on a specific question or field outside the scope of Earth. They observe astronomical objects such as stars, planets, moons, comets ...

(Japan, 1933–) *

Takuo Kojima is a Japanese amateur astronomer and discoverer of minor planets. He is credited by the Minor Planet Center The Minor Planet Center (MPC) is the official body for observing and reporting on minor planets under the auspices of the International ...

(Japan, 1955–) *

Yoji Kondo was a Japanese-born American astrophysicist who also wrote science fiction under the pseudonym Eric Kotani. He edited '' Requiem: New Collected Works by Robert A. Heinlein and Tributes to the Grand Master'' (1992), and contributed to '' New Des ...

(Japan, 1933–2017) *

Zdeněk Kopal Zdeněk Kopal (; 4 April 1914 – 23 June 1993) was a Czechoslovak astronomer who mainly worked in England. Kopal was born and grew up in Litomyšl ( Czechoslovakia, now Czech Republic). In his early astronomical career, he studied variabl ...

( Czech Republic, UK, USA, 1914–1993) *

August Kopff August Kopff (February 5, 1882 – April 25, 1960) was a German astronomer and discoverer of several comets and asteroids. Kopff studied and worked in Heidelberg, getting his PhD there in 1906 and he then joined the Humboldt University of Berli ...

(Germany, 1882–1960) * Korado Korlević ( Croatia, 1958–) * Hiroki Kosai (Japan, 1933–) *

Charles T. Kowal Charles Thomas Kowal (November 8, 1940 – November 28, 2011) was an American astronomer known for his observations and discoveries in the Solar System. As a staff astronomer at Caltech's Mount Wilson and Palomar Mountain observatories between ...

( USA, 1940–2011) *

Robert Kraft Robert Kenneth Kraft (born June 5, 1941) is an American billionaire businessman. He is the chairman and chief executive officer (CEO) of the Kraft Group, a diversified holding company with assets in paper and packaging, sports and entertainment ...

( USA, 1927–2015) *

Ľubor Kresák Ľubor Kresák (23 August 1927 in Topoľčany – 20 January 1994 in Bratislava) was a Slovak astronomer. He discovered two comets: the periodic comet 41P/Tuttle-Giacobini-Kresak and the non-periodic C/1954 M2 (Kresak-Peltier). He also sug ...

( Slovakia, 1927–1994) *

Heinrich Kreutz Heinrich Carl Friedrich Kreutz (September 8, 1854 – July 13, 1907) was a German astronomer, most notable for his studies of the orbits of several sungrazing comets, which revealed that they were all related objects, produced when a very larg ...

(Germany, 1854–1927) *

Kazuo Kubokawa was a Japanese astronomer, who, together with astronomer Okuro Oikawa was a Japanese astronomer and discoverer of minor planets. He is credited by the Minor Planet Center with the discovered 8 asteroid An asteroid is a minor planet of ...

(Japan, 1903–1943) *

Marc Kuchner Marc Kuchner (born August 7, 1972) is an American astrophysicist, a staff member at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC) known for work on images and imaging of disks and exoplanets. Together with Wesley Traub, he invented the band-limited ...

( USA, 1972–) *

Gerard Kuiper Gerard Peter Kuiper (; ; born Gerrit Pieter Kuiper; 7 December 1905 – 23 December 1973) was a Dutch astronomer, planetary scientist, selenographer, author and professor. He is the eponymous namesake of the Kuiper belt. Kuiper is ...

( Netherlands, USA, 1905–1973) * Donald Kurtz (1948–) * Reiki Kushida (Japan) *

Yoshio Kushida is a Japanese seismologist, amateur astronomer and a discoverer of minor planets and comets. Kushida is the founder of the Yatsugatake South Base Observatory. He is credited by the Minor Planet Center The Minor Planet Center (MPC) is the offic ...

(Japan, 1957–) * György Kulin (

, 1905–1989)

L

* Lagadha (India, 1st millennium BCE) *

Nicolas Louis de Lacaille Abbé Nicolas-Louis de Lacaille (; 15 March 171321 March 1762), formerly sometimes spelled de la Caille, was a French astronomer and geodesist who named 14 out of the 88 constellations. From 1750 to 1754, he studied the sky at the Cape of Goo ...

(France, 1713–1762) * Claes-Ingvar Lagerkvist (Sweden, 1944–) *

Joseph-Louis Lagrange Joseph-Louis Lagrange (born Giuseppe Luigi LagrangiaJérôme Lalande Joseph Jérôme Lefrançois de Lalande (; 11 July 1732 – 4 April 1807) was a French astronomer, freemason and writer. Biography Lalande was born at Bourg-en-Bresse (now in the département of Ain) to Pierre Lefrançois and Marie‐Anne‐Gab ...

(France, 1732–1807) * Johann Heinrich Lambert (France, Germany, 1728–1777) * David J. Lane (Canada, 1983–) * Andrew E. Lange (United States, 1957–2010) * Samuel Pierpont Langley ( USA, 1834–1906) *

Pierre-Simon Laplace Pierre-Simon, marquis de Laplace (; ; 23 March 1749 – 5 March 1827) was a French scholar and polymath whose work was important to the development of engineering, mathematics, statistics, physics, astronomy, and philosophy. He summarized ...

(France, 1749–1827) *

Jacques Laskar Jacques Laskar (born 28 April 1955 in Paris) is a French astronomer. He is a research director at the French National Centre for Scientific Research (CNRS), and a member of ''Astronomy and dynamical systems'' of the Institute of Celestial Mechanics ...

(France, 1955–) *

William Lassell William Lassell (18 June 1799 – 5 October 1880) was an English merchant and astronomer.UK, 1799–1880) *

Joseph Jean Pierre Laurent Joseph Jean Pierre Laurent (or Joseph Laurent) (died 1900) was a French amateur astronomer and chemist who discovered the asteroid 51 Nemausa in 1858, for which he was a recipient of the Lalande Prize awarded by the French Academ ...

(France, fl. 1858) *

Henrietta Swan Leavitt Henrietta Swan Leavitt (; July 4, 1868 – December 12, 1921) was an American astronomer. A graduate of Radcliffe College, she worked at the Harvard College Observatory as a "computer", tasked with examining photographic plates in order to measu ...

( USA, 1868–1921) *

Typhoon Lee Typhoon Lee (; born 1948) is an astrophysicist and geochemist at Academia Sinica, Taiwan, where he specializes in isotope geochemistry and nuclear astrophysics . Lee received his Ph.D. in astronomy at the University of Texas in 1977. His hon ...

( USA and Taiwan, 1948–) *

Guillaume Le Gentil Guillaume Joseph Hyacinthe Jean-Baptiste Le Gentil de la Galaisière (, 12 September 1725 – 22 October 1792) was a French astronomer who discovered several nebulae and was appointed to the Royal Academy of Sciences. He made unsuccessful attemp ...

(France, 1725–1792) * Georges Lemaître (Belgium, 1894–1966) * Pierre Lemonnier (France, 1715–1799) * Frederick C. Leonard ( USA, 1896–1960) *

Armin Leuschner Armin Otto Leuschner (January 16, 1868 – April 22, 1953) was an American astronomer and educator. Biography Leuschner was born on January 16, 1868, in the United States but raised in Germany. He returned to the United States for univers ...

(US, 1868–1953) * Geraint Lewis (Australia, 1969–) *

Urbain Le Verrier Urbain Jean Joseph Le Verrier FRS (FOR) HFRSE (; 11 March 1811 – 23 September 1877) was a French astronomer and mathematician who specialized in celestial mechanics and is best known for predicting the existence and position of Neptune using ...

(France, 1811–1877) * Li Fan (China, fl. 1st century AD) *

James Lind James Lind (4 October 1716 – 13 July 1794) was a Scottish doctor. He was a pioneer of naval hygiene in the Royal Navy. By conducting one of the first ever clinical trials, he developed the theory that citrus fruits cured scurvy. Lind ar ...

(UK, 1736-1812) *

Bertil Lindblad Bertil Lindblad (Örebro, 26 November 1895 – Saltsjöbaden, outside Stockholm, 25 June 1965) was a Swedish astronomer. After finishing his secondary education at Örebro högre allmänna läroverk, Lindblad matriculated at Uppsala Univers ...

(Sweden, 1895–1965) * Adolph Friedrich Lindemann (Germany/ UK, 1846–1927) * Chris Lintott ( UK, 1980–) * Joseph Johann Littrow (Austria, 1781–1840) * Karl L. Littrow (Austria, 1811–1877) * Liu Xin (China, fl. 1st century AD) *

Joseph Lockyer Sir Joseph Norman Lockyer (17 May 1836 – 16 August 1920) was an English scientist and astronomer. Along with the French scientist Pierre Janssen, he is credited with discovering the gas helium. Lockyer also is remembered for being the f ...

( UK, 1836–1920) *

Avi Loeb Abraham "Avi" Loeb ( he, אברהם (אבי) לייב; born February 26, 1962) is an Israeli- American theoretical physicist who works on astrophysics and cosmology. Loeb is the Frank B. Baird Jr. Professor of Science at Harvard University. He h ...

( Israel, USA 1962–) * Maurice Loewy (Austria/France, 1833–1907) *

Christian Sørensen Longomontanus Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρ� ...

( Denmark, 1562–1647) * Percival Lowell ( USA, 1855–1916) * Ángel López (Spain, 1955–) * Álvaro López-García (Spain, 1941–2019) * John William Lubbock ( UK, 1803–1865) *

Knut Lundmark Knut Emil Lundmark (14 June 1889 in Älvsbyn, Sweden – 23 April 1958 in Lund, Sweden), was a Swedish astronomer, professor of astronomy and head of the observatory at Lund University from 1929 to 1955. Lundmark received his astronomical educa ...

(Sweden, 1889–1958) * Robert Luther (Germany, 1822–1900) * Lupitus of Barcelona (Spain) *

Jane Luu Jane X. Luu ( vi, ; born July 1963) is a Vietnamese-American astronomer and defense systems engineer. She was awarded the Kavli Prize (shared with David C. Jewitt and Michael Brown) for 2012 "for discovering and characterizing the Kuiper Belt ...

( South Vietnam, USA 1965–) * Willem Luyten ( Dutch East Indies, Netherlands, 1899–1994) *

Donald Lynden-Bell Donald Lynden-Bell CBE FRS (5 April 1935 – 6 February 2018) was a British theoretical astrophysicist. He was the first to determine that galaxies contain supermassive black holes at their centres, and that such black holes power quasars. Ly ...

( UK, 1935–2018) *

Andrew Lyne Andrew Geoffrey Lyne (born 13 July 1942) is a British physicist. Lyne is Langworthy Professor of Physics in the School of Physics and Astronomy, University of Manchester, as well as an ex-director of the Jodrell Bank Observatory. Despite retiring ...

(UK, 1942–) *

Bernard Lyot Bernard Ferdinand Lyot (27 February 1897 in Paris – 2 April 1952 in Cairo) was a French astronomer. Biography An avid reader of the works of Camille Flammarion, he became a member of the Société Astronomique de France in 1915 and made h ...

(France, 1897–1952)

M

Mahendra Suri Mahendra is a Sanskrit compound word deriving from Maha (Highest position) and Indra Deva (the King of Gods) from Hindu mythology.{{Citation needed, date=April 2022 It has been used in compound royal styles. History and politics Royalty * M ...

(India, 14th century CE) * Ma Yize (China, 910–1005) *

Adriaan van Maanen Adriaan van Maanen (March 31, 1884 – January 26, 1946) was a Dutch–American astronomer. Van Maanen, born into a well-to-do family in Friesland, studied astronomy at the University of Utrecht (earning his Ph.D. in 1911) and worked briefl ...

( USA, 1884–1946) *

George Parker, 2nd Earl of Macclesfield George Parker, 2nd Earl of Macclesfield, PRS (c. 1695 or 1697 – 17 March 1764) was an English peer and astronomer. Styled Viscount Parker from 1721 to 1732, he was Member of Parliament (MP) for Wallingford from 1722 to 1727, but his ...

( UK, c. 1697–1764) *

Amy Mainzer Amy Mainzer (born January 2, 1974) is an American astronomer, specializing in astrophysical instrumentation and infrared astronomy. She is the Deputy Project Scientist for the Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer and the Principal Investigator f ...

( USA, 1974–) * Steve Mandel ( USA) *

Geoff Marcy Geoffrey William Marcy (born September 29, 1954) is an American astronomer. He was an early influence in the field of exoplanet detection, discovery, and characterization. Marcy was a professor of astronomy at the University of California, Berke ...

( USA, 1954–) * Simon Marius (Germany, 1573–1624) *

Brian G. Marsden Brian Geoffrey Marsden (5 August 1937 – 18 November 2010) was a British astronomer and the longtime director of the Minor Planet Center (MPC) at the Center for Astrophysics Harvard & Smithsonian (director emeritus from 2006 to 2010). ...

( USA, 1937–2010) *

Albert Marth Albert Marth (5 May 1828 – 6 August 1897) was a German astronomer who worked in England and Ireland. Life After studying theology at the University of Berlin, his interest in astronomy and mathematics led him to study astronomy under C. A ...

(Germany, 1828–1897) * Nevil Maskelyne ( UK, 1732–1811) *

Charles Mason Charles Mason (April 1728UK, USA, 1730–1787) *

John C. Mather John Cromwell Mather (born August 7, 1946, Roanoke, Virginia) is an American astrophysicist, cosmologist and Nobel Prize in Physics laureate for his work on the Cosmic Background Explorer Satellite (COBE) with George Smoot. This work helped c ...

( USA, 1946–) * Janet Akyüz Mattei ( Turkey/ USA, 1943–2004) *

Edward Walter Maunder Edward Walter Maunder (12 April 1851 – 21 March 1928) was an English astronomer. His study of sunspots and the solar magnetic cycle led to his identification of the period from 1645 to 1715 that is now known as the Maunder Minimum. Early and ...

( UK, 1851–1928) *

Pierre Louis Maupertuis Pierre Louis Moreau de Maupertuis (; ; 1698 – 27 July 1759) was a French mathematician, philosopher and man of letters. He became the Director of the Académie des Sciences, and the first President of the Prussian Academy of Science, at the ...

(France, 1698–1759) * Alain Maury (France, 1958–) *

Antonia Maury Antonia Caetana de Paiva Pereira Maury (March 21, 1866 – January 8, 1952) was an American astronomer who was the first to detect and calculate the orbit of a spectroscopic binary. She published an important early catalog of stellar spectra us ...

( USA, 1866–1952) * Matthew Fontaine Maury ( USA, 1806–1873) *

Brian May Brian Harold May (born 19 July 1947) is an English guitarist, singer, songwriter, and astrophysicist, who achieved worldwide fame as the lead guitarist of the rock band Queen. May was a co-founder of Queen with lead singer Freddie Mercury an ...

( UK, 1947–) * Cornell Mayer (United States, 1922–2005) *

Tobias Mayer Tobias Mayer (17 February 172320 February 1762) was a German astronomer famous for his studies of the Moon. He was born at Marbach, in Württemberg, and brought up at Esslingen in poor circumstances. A self-taught mathematician, he earned a l ...

(Germany, 1723–1762) *

Michel Mayor Michel Gustave Édouard Mayor (; born 12 January 1942) is a Swiss astrophysicist and professor emeritus at the University of Geneva's Department of Astronomy. He formally retired in 2007, but remains active as a researcher at the Observatory ...

(Switzerland, 1942–) *

Christopher McKee Christopher Fulton McKee (born 1942) is an astrophysicist. McKee attended Phillips Academy and Harvard University, and obtained a Ph.D. from the University of California, Berkeley (UCB) in 1970 under advisor George B. Field. In 1974, he was app ...

( USA, 1942–) * Robert S. McMillan ( USA) * William H. McCrea ( UK, 1904–1999) * Bruce A. McIntosh (Canada, 1929–2015) *

Robert H. McNaught Robert H. McNaught (born in Scotland in 1956) is a Scottish-Australian astronomer at the Research School of Astronomy and Astrophysics of the Australian National University (ANU). He has collaborated with David J. Asher of the Armagh Observator ...

(Australia, 1956–) *

Pierre Méchain Pierre François André Méchain (; 16 August 1744 – 20 September 1804) was a French astronomer and surveyor who, with Charles Messier, was a major contributor to the early study of deep-sky objects and comets. Life Pierre Méchain was born i ...

(France, 1744–1804) * Thebe Medupe ( South Africa, 1973–) *

Karen Jean Meech Karen J. Meech (born 1959) is an American planetary astronomer at the Institute for Astronomy (IfA) of the University of Hawaii. Career Karen Meech specializes in planetary astronomy, in particular the study of distant comets and their rela ...

( USA, 1956–) * Aden Baker Meinel ( USA, 1922–2011) * Fulvio Melia ( USA, 1956–) * Philibert Jacques Melotte ( UK, 1880–1961) * Paul Willard Merrill ( USA, 1887–1961) *

David Merritt David Roy Merritt (born November 16, 1955 in Los Angeles) is an American astrophysicist. Until 2017 he was a professor at the Rochester Institute of Technology in Rochester, New York. He received in 1982 his PhD in Astrophysical Sciences from P ...

( USA) *

Charles Messier Charles Messier (; 26 June 1730 – 12 April 1817) was a French astronomer. He published an astronomical catalogue consisting of 110 nebulae and star clusters, which came to be known as the ''Messier objects''. Messier's purpose f ...

(France, 1730–1817) *

Joel Hastings Metcalf Joel Hastings Metcalf (January 4, 1866 – February 23, 1925) was an American astronomer, humanitarian and minister. Reverend Metcalf graduated from Harvard Divinity School in 1892. He served as a Unitarian minister in Burlington, Vermont and i ...

( USA, 1866–1925) * Andreas Gerasimos Michalitsianos ( USA, 1947–1997) *

John Michell John Michell (; 25 December 1724 – 21 April 1793) was an English natural philosopher and clergyman who provided pioneering insights into a wide range of scientific fields including astronomy, geology, optics, and gravitation. Considered ...

( UK, 1724–1793) *

Elia Millosevich Elia Filippo Francesco Giuseppe Maria Millosevich (5 September 1848 in Venice – 5 December 1919 in Rome) was an Italian astronomer.br>boka - 0.indd/ref> He specialized in calculating the orbits of comets and asteroids, in particular 433 Ero ...

(Italy, 1848–1919) *

Edward Arthur Milne Edward Arthur Milne FRS (; 14 February 1896 – 21 September 1950) was a British astrophysicist and mathematician. Biography Milne was born in Hull, Yorkshire, England. He attended Hymers College and from there he won an open scholarshi ...

( UK, 1896–1950) * Rudolph Minkowski (Germany, 1895–1976) * Marcel Gilles Jozef Minnaert (Belgium, Netherlands, 1893–1970) *

Maria Mitchell Maria Mitchell ( /məˈraɪə/; August 1, 1818 – June 28, 1889) was an American astronomer, librarian, naturalist, and educator. In 1847, she discovered a comet named 1847 VI (modern designation C/1847 T1) that was later known as " Miss Mi ...

( USA, 1818–1889) *

Seidai Miyasaka is a Japanese astronomer. The Minor Planet Center credits him with the co-discovery of four asteroids he made with Japanese astronomer Hiroshi Abe during 1993–1997. The outer main-belt The asteroid belt is a torus-shaped region in the ...

(Japan, 1955–) * Yoshikane Mizuno (Japan, 1954–) *

August Ferdinand Möbius August Ferdinand Möbius (, ; ; 17 November 1790 – 26 September 1868) was a German mathematician and theoretical astronomer. Early life and education Möbius was born in Schulpforta, Electorate of Saxony, and was descended on his ...

(Germany, 1790–1868) * Anthony Moffat (Canada) *

Johan Maurits Mohr thumbnail, Mohr observatory in Batavia ( Dutch East Indies). Johan Maurits Mohr (ca. 18 August 1716, Eppingen – 25 October 1775, Batavia) was a Dutch- German pastor who studied at Groningen University from 1733 and settled in Batavia (Dutch E ...

( Netherlands, 1716–1775) * Samuel Molyneux ( UK, 1689–1728) *

Geminiano Montanari Geminiano Montanari (1 June 1633 – 13 October 1687) was an Italian astronomer, lens-maker, and proponent of the experimental approach to science. He was a member of various learned academies, notably the Accademia dei Gelati. Montanari's famous ...

(Italy, 1633–1687) * Patrick Moore ( UK, 1923–2012) * James Michael Moran ( USA, 1943–) *

William Wilson Morgan William Wilson Morgan (January 3, 1906 – June 21, 1994) was an American astronomer and astrophysicist. The principal theme in Morgan's work was stellar and galaxy classification. He is also known for helping prove the existence of spiral arms i ...

( USA, 1906–1994) * Hiroshi Mori (Japan, 1958–) *

Amédée Mouchez Ernest Amédée Barthélemy Mouchez (24 August 1821 – 29 June 1892) was a French naval officer who became director of the Paris Observatory and launched the ill-fated '' Carte du Ciel'' project in 1887. Life Born in Madrid, Spain, Mouchez em ...

(France, 1821–1892) *

Antonín Mrkos Antonín Mrkos () (27 January 1918, Střemchoví – 29 May 1996, Prague) was a Czech astronomer. Biography Mrkos entered the University in Brno in 1938. His studies were interrupted by the onset of World War II, and in 1945 he became a staf ...

( Czech Republic, 1918–1996) * Jean Mueller ( USA, 1950–) *

Masaru Mukai is a Japanese astronomer. He is credited with the discovery of 13 asteroid An asteroid is a minor planet of the inner Solar System. Sizes and shapes of asteroids vary significantly, ranging from 1-meter rocks to a dwarf planet almost 1000&n ...

(Japan, 1949–) * Gustav Müller (Germany, 1851–1925) * Johannes Müller (Germany, 1436–1476) * Harutaro Murakami (Japan, 1872–1947) *

Osamu Muramatsu is a Japanese astronomer and discoverer of asteroids and comets. He is credited by the Minor Planet Center with the discovery of 73 minor planets. He also co-discovered 147P/Kushida-Muramatsu, a periodic comet. Muramatsu works at the planetari ...

(Japan, 1949–) * bin Musa, Ahmad ( Persia, 805–873) * bin Musa, Hasan ( Persia, 810–873) * bin Musa, Muhammad ( Persia, (800–873) * Nils Mustelin ( Finland, 1931–2004)

N

Nilakantha Somayaji Keļallur Nilakantha Somayaji (14 June 1444 – 1544), also referred to as Keļallur Comatiri, was a major mathematician and astronomer of the Kerala school of astronomy and mathematics. One of his most influential works was the comprehensi ...

(India, 1444–1544) * Valentin Naboth (Germany, Italy, 1523–1593) *

Naburimannu Nabu- ri-man-nu (also spelled ''Nabu-rimanni''; Greek sources called him Ναβουριανός, ''Nabourianos'', Latin ''Naburianus'') (fl. c. 6th – 3rd century BC) was a Chaldean astronomer and mathematician. Classical and ancient cuneiform so ...

( Babylonia, sometime between 6th century BC and 2nd century BC) * Takeshi Nagata (Japan, 1913–1991) * Ahmad Nahavandi ( Persia, 7th–8th century) * Akimasa Nakamura (Japan, 1961–) *

Syuichi Nakano is a Japanese astronomer. He specializes in the study of comets, in particular calculating their orbits and making predictions about when periodic comets will return for another perihelion approach. It is considerably more difficult to predict t ...

(Japan, 1947–) *

Jayant Narlikar Jayant Vishnu Narlikar (born 19 July 1938) is an Indian astrophysicist and emeritus professor at the Inter-University Centre for Astronomy and Astrophysics (IUCAA). He developed with Sir Fred Hoyle the conformal gravity theory, known as Hoyle� ...

(India, 1938–) *

Naubakht Nobakht Ahvazi ( fa, نوبخت اهوازى), also spelled Naubakht Ahvaz and Naubakht, along with his sons were astrologers from Ahvaz (in the present-day Khuzestan Province, Iran) who lived in the 8th and 9th centuries AD. Nobakht was particula ...

( Persia, d. 776) *

Al-fadl ibn Naubakht Al-Fadl ibn Naubakht, (also written Nowbakht), was an 8th-century Persian scholar at the court of the Caliph Harun al-Rashid. He was son of the famous Naubakht, a former Zoroastrian, who had designed the House of Wisdom. He was appointed as a sch ...

( Persia, 8th century) *

Otto Neugebauer Otto Eduard Neugebauer (May 26, 1899 – February 19, 1990) was an Austrian-American mathematician and historian of science who became known for his research on the history of astronomy and the other exact sciences as they were practiced in anti ...

(Germany, USA, 1899–1990) * Grigoriy Nikolaevich Neujmin (

, 1886–1946) *

Simon Newcomb Simon Newcomb (March 12, 1835 – July 11, 1909) was a Canadian– American astronomer, applied mathematician, and autodidactic polymath. He served as Professor of Mathematics in the United States Navy and at Johns Hopkins University. Born in ...

( USA, 1835–1909) * Isaac Newton ( UK, 1643–1727) *

Seth Barnes Nicholson Seth Barnes Nicholson (November 12, 1891 – July 2, 1963) was an American astronomer. He worked at the Lick observatory in California, and is known for discovering several moons of Jupiter in the 20th century. Nicholson was born in Springfield, ...

( USA, 1891–1963) *

Albertus Antonie Nijland Albertus (Albert) Antonie Nijland (30 October 1868 – 18 August 1936) was a Dutch astronomer. He was professor of astronomy at the Utrecht University, Rijksuniversiteit Utrecht, and served as director of the ''Sterrewacht Sonnenborgh'' (now ...

( Netherlands, 1868–1936) * Tsuneo Niijima (Japan, 1955–) * Peter Nilson (Sweden, 1937–1998) * Hōei Nojiri (Japan, 1885–1977) * Jaime Nomen (Spain, 1960–) *

Toshiro Nomura is a Japanese astronomer and co-discoverer of 13 asteroids with astronomers Kōyō Kawanishi is a Japanese dentist, amateur astronomer and discoverer of 13 minor planets. He lives in the city of Akō in the Hyōgo Prefecture is a pref ...

(Japan, 1954–)

O

* Knut Jørgen Røed Ødegaard (Norway, 1966–) *

Okuro Oikawa was a Japanese astronomer and discoverer of minor planets. He is credited by the Minor Planet Center with the discovered 8 asteroid An asteroid is a minor planet of the inner Solar System. Sizes and shapes of asteroids vary significantly, ...

(Japan, 1896–1970) * Tarmo Oja (Sweden, 1934–) * Tomimaru Okuni (Japan, 1931–) *

Nicolaus Olahus Nicolaus Olahus (Latin for ''Nicholas, the Vlach''; hu, Oláh Miklós; ro, Nicolae Valahul); 10 January 1493 – 15 January 1568) was the Archbishop of Esztergom, Primate of Hungary, and a distinguished Catholic prelate, humanist and historiogr ...

( Hungarian, 1493–1568) * Heinrich Wilhelm Matthias Olbers (Germany, 1758–1840) *

Gerard O'Neill Gerard Michael O'Neill (September 1, 1942 – August 22, 2019) was an American journalist, newspaper editor, and writer. A long time investigative reporter for ''The Boston Globe'', he was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for Investigative Reporting ...

( USA, 1927–1992) *

Jan Hendrik Oort Jan Hendrik Oort ( or ; 28 April 1900 – 5 November 1992) was a Dutch astronomer who made significant contributions to the understanding of the Milky Way and who was a pioneer in the field of radio astronomy. His ''New York Times'' obituary ...

( Netherlands, 1900–1992) * Pieter Oosterhoff ( Netherlands, 1904–1978) *

Ernst Öpik Ernst Julius Öpik ( – 10 September 1985) was an Estonian astronomer and astrophysicist who spent the second half of his career (1948–1981) at the Armagh Observatory in Northern Ireland. Education Öpik was born in Kunda, Lääne-Viru, Go ...

( Estonia, Ireland, 1893–1985) *

José Luis Ortiz Moreno José Luis Ortiz Moreno (born 1967) is a Spanish astronomer, and former Vicedirector of Technology at the Instituto de Astrofísica de Andalucía (IAA), Spain. He leads a team working on minor planets at the Sierra Nevada Observatory in Granada ...

(Spain, 1967–) * Yoshiaki Oshima (Japan, 1952–) *

Donald Edward Osterbrock Donald Edward Osterbrock (July 13, 1924 – January 11, 2007) was an American astronomer, best known for his work on star formation and on the history of astronomy. Biography Osterbrock was born in Cincinnati. His father was an electrical en ...

, USA, 1924–2007) *

Liisi Oterma Liisi Oterma (; 6 January 1915 – 4 April 2001) was a Finnish astronomer, the first woman to get a Ph.D. degree in astronomy in Finland. She studied mathematics and astronomy at the University of Turku, and soon became Yrjö Väisälä's a ...

( Finland, 1915–2001) *

Satoru Otomo is a Japanese dentist, amateur astronomer and a discoverer of minor planets. According to the Minor Planet Center The Minor Planet Center (MPC) is the official body for observing and reporting on minor planets under the auspices of the Internat ...

(Japan, 1957–) * Jean Abraham Chrétien Oudemans ( Netherlands, 1827–1906)

P

Rafael Pacheco Rafael Pacheco Hernández (born 1954 in Madrid) is a Spanish astronomer of Catalan origin and a prolific discoverer of asteroids, credited by the Minor Planet Center with the discovery of numerous minor planets mostly in collaboration with astronom ...

(Spain, 1954–) * Bohdan Paczyński ( Poland, 1940–2007) * Ľudmila Pajdušáková ( Slovakia, 1916–1979) * Johann Palisa (Austria, 1848–1925) *

Johann Palitzsch Johann Georg Palitzsch (11 June 1723 – 21 February 1788) was a German astronomer who became famous for recovering Comet 1P/Halley (better known as Halley's Comet) on Christmas Day, 1758.Hoffmann, Christian Gotthold (1759 January 20) "Nach ...

(Germany, 1723–1788) *

Anton Pannekoek Antonie “Anton” Pannekoek (; 2 January 1873 – 28 April 1960) was a Dutch astronomer, philosopher, Marxist theorist, and socialist revolutionary. He was one of the main theorists of council communism (Dutch: ''radencommunisme''). Biograp ...

( Netherlands, 1873–1960) * Eugene Parker ( USA, 1927–2022) *

( UK, c. 1697–1764) * William Parsons, Lord Rosse (Ireland, 1800–1867) *

André Patry André Patry (22 November 1902 – 20 June 1960) was a French astronomer and discoverer of 9 minor planets in the late 1930s. Patry was orphaned at a young age, and began working as a 17-year-old at the Nice Observatory in southeastern France. ...

(France, 1902–1960) *

Cecilia Payne-Gaposchkin Cecilia Payne-Gaposchkin (born Cecilia Helena Payne; – ) was a British-born American astronomer and astrophysicist who proposed in her 1925 doctoral thesis that stars were composed primarily of hydrogen and helium. Her groundbreaking conclus ...

( UK, USA, 1900–1979) *

Ruby Payne-Scott Ruby Violet Payne-Scott, BSc (Phys) MSc DipEd (Syd) (28 May 1912 – 25 May 1981) was an Australian pioneer in radiophysics and radio astronomy, and was one of two Antipodean women pioneers in radio astronomy and radio physics at the end of the ...

(Australia, 1912–1981) *

Jean-Claude Pecker Jean-Claude Pecker (10 May 1923 – 20 February 2020) was a French astronomer, astrophysicist and author, member of the French Academy of Sciences and director of the Nice Observatory. He served as the secretary-general of the International Ast ...

(France, 1923–2020) * James Peebles (Canada, USA, 1935–) * Sir Cuthbert Peek, 2nd Baronet (UK, 1855–1901) * Manuel Peimbert (Mexico, 1941–) * Leslie Copus Peltier ( USA, 1900–1980) * Roger Penrose ( UK, 1931–) *

Arno Penzias Arno Allan Penzias (; born April 26, 1933) is an American physicist, radio astronomer and Nobel laureate in physics. Along with Robert Woodrow Wilson, he discovered the cosmic microwave background radiation, which helped establish the Big Bang ...

( USA, Germany, 1933–) * Luboš Perek (Czech Republic, 1919–2020) *

Saul Perlmutter Saul Perlmutter (born September 22, 1959) is a U.S. astrophysicist at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory and a professor of physics at the University of California, Berkeley. He is a member of both the American Academy of Arts & Science ...

( USA, 1959–) *

Charles Dillon Perrine Charles Dillon Perrine (July 28, 1867June 21, 1951) was an American astronomer at the Lick Observatory in California (1893-1909) who moved to Cordoba, Argentina to accept the position of Director of the Argentine National Observatory (1909-1936 ...

( USA,

, 1867–1951) *

Henri Joseph Anastase Perrotin Henri Joseph Anastase Perrotin (December 19, 1845 – February 29, 1904) was a French astronomer and a discoverer of minor planets. Some sources give his middle name as Athanase. In his early career, he and Guillaume Bigourdan were assis ...

(France, 1845–1904) *

Christian Heinrich Friedrich Peters Christian Heinrich Friedrich Peters (September 19, 1813 – July 18, 1890) was a German–American university teacher and astronomer at the Litchfield Observatory of Hamilton College, New York, and a pioneer in the study and visual discovery o ...

(Germany, USA, 1813–1890) * George Henry Peters ( USA, 1863–1947) * Mark M. Phillips ( USA, 1951–) * Giuseppe Piazzi (Italy, 1746–1826) *

Edward Charles Pickering Edward Charles Pickering (July 19, 1846 – February 3, 1919) was an American astronomer and physicist and the older brother of William Henry Pickering. Along with Carl Vogel, Pickering discovered the first spectroscopic binary stars. He wrote '' ...

( USA, 1846–1919) *

William Henry Pickering William Henry Pickering (February 15, 1858 – January 16, 1938) was an American astronomer. Pickering constructed and established several observatories or astronomical observation stations, notably including Percival Lowell's Flagstaff Observ ...

( USA, 1858–1938) *

Maynard Pittendreigh W. Maynard Pittendreigh is an astronomer, writer and an ordained minister in the Presbyterian Church (USA). As a minister, he has been a pioneer and leader in a movement toward multi-cultural/racial congregations, and in developing early Internet- ...

( USA, 1954–) *

Phil Plait Philip Cary Plait (born September 30, 1964), also known as The Bad Astronomer, is an American astronomer, skeptic, and popular science blogger. Plait has worked as part of the Hubble Space Telescope team, images and spectra of astronomical objec ...

( USA, 1964–) * Giovanni Antonio Amedeo Plana (Italy, 1781–1864) *

Petrus Plancius Petrus Plancius (; 1552 – 15 May 1622) was a Dutch-Flemish astronomer, cartographer and clergyman. He was born as Pieter Platevoet in Dranouter, now in Heuvelland, West Flanders. He studied theology in Germany and England. At the age of 24 ...

( Netherlands, 1552–1622) *

John Stanley Plaskett John Stanley Plaskett (November 17, 1865 – October 17, 1941) was a Canadian astronomer. Career He worked as a machinist, and was offered a job as a mechanician at the Department of Physics at the University of Toronto, constructing appar ...

(Canada, 1865–1941) * Norman Robert Pogson ( UK, 1829–1891) *

Christian Pollas Christian Pollas (b. 1947) is a French astronomer, known for the discovery and observation of minor planets and supernovae. Pollas is credited by the Minor Planet Center with the discovery of 26 asteroid An asteroid is a minor planet of th ...

(France, 1947–) * John Pond (England, 1767–1836) *

Jean-Louis Pons Jean-Louis Pons (24 December 176114 October 1831) was a French astronomer. Despite humble beginnings and being self-taught, he went on to become the greatest visual comet discoverer of all time: between 1801 and 1827 Pons discovered thirty-seven ...

(France, 1761–1831) *

Carolyn Porco Carolyn C. Porco (born March 6, 1953) is an American Planetary science, planetary scientist who explores the outer Solar System, beginning with her imaging work on the Voyager program, Voyager missions to Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune in t ...

( USA, 1953–) * Vladimír Porubčan ( Slovakia, 1940–) *

Charles Pritchard Reverend Charles Pritchard (29 February 1808 – 28 May 1893) was a British astronomer, clergyman, and educational reformer. He founded the Clapham Grammar School in 1834 and included sciences in the curriculum. A chapel was erected in 184 ...

( UK, 1808–1893) *

Richard Proctor Richard Anthony Proctor (23 March 1837 – 12 September 1888) was an English astronomer. He is best remembered for having produced one of the earliest maps of Mars in 1867 from 27 drawings by the English observer William Rutter Dawes. His map w ...

(England, 1837–1888) *

Milorad B. Protić Milorad B. Protić ( sr-cyr, italic=yes, Милорад Б. Протић; 19 September 1911, Belgrade – 29 October 2001, Belgrade) was a Serbian astronomer, discoverer of comets and minor planets, and three times director of the Belgrade Obser ...

( Serbia, 1911– 2001) * Ptolemy of Alexandria ( Roman Egypt, ca. 85–165) * Pierre Puiseux (France, 1855–1928) *

Georg Purbach Georg von Peuerbach (also Purbach, Peurbach; la, Purbachius; born May 30, 1423 – April 8, 1461) was an Austrian astronomer, poet, mathematician and instrument maker, best known for his streamlined presentation of Ptolemaic astronomy in the ''Th ...

(Germany, 1423–1461) * Pythagoras of Samos (Greece, 580 BC–500 BC) * Paris Pişmiş (Armenia/Mexico, 1911–1999)

Q

Adolphe Quetelet Lambert Adolphe Jacques Quetelet FRSF or FRSE (; 22 February 1796 – 17 February 1874) was a Belgian astronomer, mathematician, statistician and sociologist who founded and directed the Brussels Observatory and was influential in introduc ...

(Belgium, 1796–1874) *

Ali Qushji Ala al-Dīn Ali ibn Muhammed (1403 – 16 December 1474), known as Ali Qushji (Ottoman Turkish : علی قوشچی, ''kuşçu'' – falconer in Turkish; Latin: ''Ali Kushgii'') was a Timurid theologian, jurist, astronomer, mathematician a ...

( Ottoman, 1403–1474) * M. Shahid Qureshi ( Pakistan)

R

* David Lincoln Rabinowitz ( USA, 1960–) * Grote Reber ( USA, 1911–2002) *

Martin Rees Martin John Rees, Baron Rees of Ludlow One or more of the preceding sentences incorporates text from the royalsociety.org website where: (born 23 June 1942) is a British cosmologist and astrophysicist. He is the fifteenth Astronomer Royal ...

( UK, 1942–) *

Hubert Reeves Hubert Reeves (born July 13, 1932), is a Canadian astrophysicist and popularizer of science. Early life and education Reeves was born in Montreal on July 13, 1932, and as a child lived in Léry. Reeves attended Collège Jean-de-Brébeuf, a ...

( CA, 1932–) * Regiomontanus (Johannes Müller) (Germany, 1436–1476) * Julius Reichelt (Germany, 1637–1717) * Erasmus Reinhold (

, Germany, 1511–1553) *

Karl Reinmuth Karl Wilhelm Reinmuth (4 April 1892 in Heidelberg – 6 May 1979 in Heidelberg) was a German astronomer and a prolific discoverer of 395 minor planets. Scientific career From 1912 to 1957, Reinmuth was working as an astronomer at the Hei ...

(Germany, 1892–1979) *

Pieter Johannes van Rhijn Pieter Johannes van Rhijn (24 March 1886 – 9 May 1960) was a Dutch astronomer. Born in Gouda, he studied at Groningen. He served as director at the Sterrenkundig Laboratorium (Kapteyn Astronomical Institute) in Groningen. He died in Groninge ...

( Netherlands, 1886–1960) * Giovanni Battista Riccioli (Italy, 1598–1671) * Mercedes Richards (Jamaica, 1955-2016) *

Jean Richer Jean Richer (1630–1696) was a French astronomer and assistant (''élève astronome'') at the French Academy of Sciences, under the direction of Giovanni Domenico Cassini. Between 1671 and 1673 he performed experiments and carried out celestia ...

(France, 1630–1696) * Edward Riddle (England, 1788–1854) *

Adam Riess Adam Guy Riess (born December 16, 1969) is an American astrophysicist and Bloomberg Distinguished Professor at Johns Hopkins University and the Space Telescope Science Institute. He is known for his research in using supernovae as cosmological ...

( USA, 1969–) *

Fernand Rigaux Fernand Rigaux (1905 – 21 September 1962) was a Belgian astronomer and observer of variable stars, minor planets and comets at the Royal Observatory at Uccle, Belgium. In 1951, he co-discovered the periodic comet 49P/Arend-Rigaux with his ...

(Belgium, 1905–1962) *

George Willis Ritchey George Willis Ritchey (December 31, 1864 – November 4, 1945) was an American optician and telescope maker and astronomer born at Tuppers Plains, Ohio. Ritchey was educated as a furniture maker. He coinvented the Ritchey–Chrétien (R� ...

( USA, 1864–1945) *

David Rittenhouse David Rittenhouse (April 8, 1732 – June 26, 1796) was an American astronomer, inventor, clockmaker, mathematician, surveyor, scientific instrument craftsman, and public official. Rittenhouse was a member of the American Philosophical Society a ...

( USA, 1732–1796) * Hans-Walter Rix (Germany, 1964–) *

Arjen Roelofs Arjen Roelofs (1 March 1754 – 11 May 1828) was a Dutch astronomer. Early life Roelofs was born on the Hommema-sate (estate) near Hijum in Friesland, the youngest of four sons and two daughters. His father was Roelof Pytters, a tenant farmer an ...

( Netherlands, 1754–1824) * Nancy G. Roman ( USA, 1925–2018) * Elizabeth Roemer ( USA, 1929–2016) * Gustavo E. Romero (

, (1964–) *

Roger of Hereford Roger of Hereford (or Rogerus Herefordensis, or Roger Infans, or Roger Puer); a medieval astronomer, astrologer, alchemist and mathematician active in Hereford circa. 1178 - 1198. Roger's nationality, year of birth, and education are unknown. The e ...

(England) c. 1176–1198 * Ole Christensen Rømer ( Denmark, 1644–1710) * Otto A. Rosenberger (Germany, 1800–1890) *

Svein Rosseland Svein Rosseland (March 31, 1894, in Kvam, Hardanger – January 19, 1985, in Bærum) was a Norwegian astrophysicist and a pioneer in the field of theoretical astrophysics. Biography Svein Rosseland was born in Kvam, in Hardanger, Norway. Rosse ...

(Norway, 1894–1985) *

Bruno Rossi Bruno Benedetto Rossi (; ; 13 April 1905 – 21 November 1993) was an Italian experimental physicist. He made major contributions to particle physics and the study of cosmic rays. A 1927 graduate of the University of Bologna, he became in ...

(Italy, 1905–1993) * Marta Graciela Rovira (Argentina) *

Vera Rubin Vera Florence Cooper Rubin (; July 23, 1928 – December 25, 2016) was an American astronomer who pioneered work on galaxy rotation rates. She uncovered the discrepancy between the predicted and observed angular motion of galaxies by studyi ...

( USA, 1928–2016) *

Henry Chamberlain Russell Henry Chamberlain Russell (17 March 1836 – 22 February 1907) was an Australian astronomer and meteorologist. Early life Russell was born at West Maitland, New South Wales, the fourth son of the Hon. Bourn Russell and his wife Jane, ''née ...

(Australia, 1836–1907) * Henry Norris Russell ( USA, 1877–1957) *

Martin Ryle Sir Martin Ryle (27 September 1918 – 14 October 1984) was an English radio astronomer who developed revolutionary radio telescope systems (see e.g. aperture synthesis) and used them for accurate location and imaging of weak radio sourc ...

( UK, 1918–1984)

S

*Sir

Edward Sabine Sir Edward Sabine ( ; 14 October 1788 – 26 June 1883) was an Irish astronomer, geophysicist, ornithologist, explorer, soldier and the 30th president of the Royal Society. He led the effort to establish a system of magnetic observatories in ...

(Ireland, 1788–1883) *

Carl Sagan Carl Edward Sagan (; ; November 9, 1934December 20, 1996) was an American astronomer, planetary scientist, cosmologist, astrophysicist, astrobiologist, author, and science communicator. His best known scientific contribution is research on e ...

( USA, 1934–1996) *

Megh Nad Saha Meghnad Saha (6 October 1893 – 16 February 1956) was an Indian astrophysicist who developed the Saha ionization equation, used to describe chemical and physical conditions in stars. His work allowed astronomers to accurately relate the s ...

(India, 1893–1956) *

Edwin Ernest Salpeter Edwin Ernest Salpeter (3 December 1924 – 26 November 2008,) was an Austrian–Australian–American astrophysicist. Life Born in Vienna to a Jewish family, Salpeter emigrated from Austria to Australia while in his teens to escape the Nazis. H ...

(Austria, Australia, USA, 1924–2008) * Allan Rex Sandage ( USA, 1926–2010) * Hendricus Gerardus van de Sande Bakhuyzen ( Netherlands, 1838–1923) * Wallace Leslie William Sargent ( UK, USA, 1935–2012) *

Anneila Sargent Professor Anneila Isabel Sargent FRSE DSc (born Anneila Cassells, 1942, Kirkcaldy) is a Scottish– American astronomer who specializes in star formation. Biography Sargent was brought up in Burntisland, Fife, and schooled at Burntisland ...

( UK, USA, 1942–) *

Naoto Sato is a masculine Japanese given name. Possible writings Naoto can be written using different kanji characters and can mean: *直人, "honesty, person" *尚人, "esteem, person" *直登, "honesty, ascend" *尚登, "esteem, ascend" *直斗, "hones ...

(Japan, 1953–) * Alexandre Schaumasse (France, 1882–1958) *

Giovanni Schiaparelli Giovanni Virginio Schiaparelli ( , also , ; 14 March 1835 – 4 July 1910) was an Italian astronomer and science historian. Biography He studied at the University of Turin, graduating in 1854, and later did research at Berlin Observatory, ...

(Italy, 1835–1910) * Frank Schlesinger ( USA, 1871–1943) *

Bernhard Schmidt Bernhard Woldemar Schmidt (, Nargen – 1 December 1935, Hamburg) was an Estonian optician. In 1930 he invented the Schmidt telescope which corrected for the optical errors of spherical aberration, coma, and astigmatism, making possible for th ...

( Estonia, Sweden, Germany, 1879–1935) *

Brian P. Schmidt Brian Paul Schmidt (born 24 February 1967) is the Vice-Chancellor of the Australian National University (ANU). He was previously a Distinguished Professor, Australian Research Council Laureate Fellow and astrophysicist at the University's M ...

( USA, 1967–) *

Maarten Schmidt Maarten Schmidt (28 December 1929 – 17 September 2022) was a Dutch-born American astronomer who first measured the distances of quasars. He was the first astronomer to identify a quasar, and so was pictured on the March cover of ''Time'' mag ...

( Netherlands, 1929–) * Robert Schommer ( USA, 1946–2001) *

Johann Hieronymus Schröter Johann Hieronymus Schröter (30 August 1745, Erfurt – 29 August 1816, Lilienthal) was a German astronomer. Life Schröter was born in Erfurt, and studied law at Göttingen University from 1762 until 1767, after which he started a ten-y ...

(Germany, 1745–1816) *

Lipót Schulhof Lipót Schulhof (12 March 1847 in Baja – October 1921 in Paris; hu, Schulhof Lipót; german: Leopold Schulhof or Schulhoff; french: Léopold Schulhof) was a Hungarian-JewishAron Moskovits, ''Jewish education in Hungary (1848-1948)'', p. 94 ...

(Hungary, 1847–1921) * Heinrich Christian Schumacher (Germany, 1780–1850) *

Hans-Emil Schuster Hans-Emil Schuster (born September 19, 1934 in Hamburg) is a German astronomer and a discoverer of minor planets and comets, who retired in October 1991. He worked at Hamburg Observatory at Bergedorf and European Southern Observatory (ESO), ...

(Germany, 1934–) * Samuel Heinrich Schwabe (Germany, 1789–1875) *

Karl Schwarzschild Karl Schwarzschild (; 9 October 1873 – 11 May 1916) was a German physicist and astronomer. Schwarzschild provided the first exact solution to the Einstein field equations of general relativity, for the limited case of a single spherical non-r ...

(Germany, 1873–1916) *

Martin Schwarzschild Martin Schwarzschild (May 31, 1912 – April 10, 1997) was a German-American astrophysicist. Biography Schwarzschild was born in Potsdam into a distinguished German Jewish academic family. His father was the physicist Karl Schwarzschild and ...

(Germany, USA, 1912–1997) * Friedrich Karl Arnold Schwassmann (Germany, 1870–1964) * James Vernon Scotti ( USA, 1960–) * Frederick Hanley Seares ( USA, 1873–1964) *

George Mary Searle George Mary Searle (June 27, 1839 – July 7, 1918) was an American astronomer and Catholic priest. Biography He discovered the asteroid 55 Pandora in 1858. He also discovered six galaxies. In later life he became a member of the Paulist orde ...

( USA, 1839–1918) *

Angelo Secchi Angelo Secchi (; 28 June 1818 – 26 February 1878) was an Italian Catholic priest, astronomer from the Italian region of Emilia. He was director of the observatory at the Pontifical Gregorian University (then called the Roman College) for 28 ...

(Italy, 1818–1878) * Sadao Sei (Japan) *

Waltraut Seitter Waltraut Seitter (13 January 1930 – 15 November 2007) was a German astronomer and became the first woman in Germany to hold an astronomy chair. Life and work Waltraut Carola Seitter was born in Zwickau in 1930, where her father worked as ...

(Germany, 1930–2007) *Tsutomu Seki (Japan, 1930–) *Carl Keenan Seyfert ( USA, 1911–1960) *Grigory Abramovich Shajn (

, 1892–1956) *Pelageya Fedorovna Shajn (

, 1894–1956) *Harlow Shapley ( USA, 1885–1972) *Richard Sheepshanks ( UK, 1794–1855) *Shen Kuo (China, 1031–1035) *Shi Shen (China, fl. 4th century BC) *Shibukawa Shunkai (Japan, 1639–1715) *Yoshisada Shimizu (Japan, 1943–) *Shinzo Shinjo (Japan, 1873–1938) *Qutb al-Din al-Shirazi, Qutb eddin Shirazi ( Persia, 1236–1311) *Iosif Samuilovich Shklovsky (

, 1916–1985) *Vladimir Shkodrov (Bulgaria, 1930–2010) *Carolyn Jean Spellmann Shoemaker ( USA, 1929–2021) *Eugene Merle Shoemaker ( USA, 1928–1997) *Seth Shostak ( USA, 1943–) *Andrew Siemion ( USA, 1980–) * Willem de Sitter ( Netherlands, 1872–1934) *Charlotte Moore Sitterly ( USA, 1898–1990) *Brian A. Skiff ( USA) *John Francis Skjellerup (Australia, South Africa, 1875–1952) *Vesto Melvin Slipher ( USA, 1875–1969) *William Marshall Smart ( UK, 1889–1975) *Tamara Mikhaylovna Smirnova (astronomer), Tamara Mikhaylovna Smirnova (

, 1935–2001) *George Smoot ( USA, 1945–) *William Henry Smyth ( UK, 1788–1865) *Willebrord Snellius, Willebrord Snel van Royen (Snellius) ( Netherlands, 1580–1626) *Mary Fairfax Somerville ( UK, 1780–1872) *Sir James South ( UK, 1785–1867) *Sir Harold Spencer Jones ( UK, 1890–1960) *Lyman Spitzer ( USA, 1914–1997) *Friederich Wilhelm Gustav Spörer (Germany, 1822–1895) *Rainer Spurzem (Germany, 1956–) *Anton Staus (Germany, 1872–1955) *Joel Stebbins ( USA, 1878–1966) *Johan Stein ( Netherlands, 1871–1951) *Carl August Steinheil, Karl August von Steinheil, (Germany, 1801–1870) *Édouard Stephan (France, 1837–1923) *Denise Stephens ( USA) *Charles Bruce Stephenson ( USA, 1929–2001)) *David J. Stevenson (New Zealand, 1948–) *Edward James Stone (1831–1897) *F. J. M. Stratton ( UK, 1881–1960) *Bengt Georg Daniel Strömgren ( Denmark, 1908–1987) *Friedrich Georg Wilhelm von Struve, Friedrich Georg Wilhelm (von) Struve (Germany,

, 1793–1864) *Karl Hermann Struve (

, Germany, 1854–1920) *Gustav Wilhelm Ludwig Struve (

, 1858–1920) *Otto Struve (

, USA, 1897–1963) *Otto Wilhelm von Struve, Otto Wilhelm (von) Struve (

, 1819–1905) *Su Song (China, 1020–1101) * Abd Al-Rahman Al Sufi ( Persia, 903–986) *Matsuo Sugano (Japan, 1939–) *Atsushi Sugie (Japan) *Nicholas Suntzeff ( USA, 1952–) *Rashid Alievich Sunyaev (Uzbekistan

Germany, 1943–) *Shohei Suzuki (Japan) *Lewis A. Swift ( USA, 1820–1913) *Frédéric Sy (France)

T

*Akihiko Tago (Japan, 1932–) *Atsushi Takahashi (Japan, 1965–) *Kesao Takamizawa (Japan, 1952–) *Jill Tarter ( USA, 1944–) *Joseph Hooton Taylor Jr. ( USA, 1941–) *John Tebbutt (Australia, 1834–1916) *Ernst Wilhelm Leberecht Tempel (Germany, 1821–1889) *Thabit ibn Qurra ( Iraq, 826–901) *Thorvald Nicolai Thiele ( Denmark, 1838–1910) *Louis Thollon (France, 1829–1887) *Norman G. Thomas ( USA, 1930–2020) *John M. Thome, John Thome ( USA,

, 1843–1908) *Kip Stephen Thorne ( USA, 1940–) *Friedrich Tietjen (Germany, 1834–1895) *Beatrice Muriel Hill Tinsley (New Zealand, USA, 1941–1981) *François Félix Tisserand (France, 1845–1896) *Johann Daniel Titius (Germany, 1729–1796) *Yasuo Tanaka (astronomer), Yasuo Tanaka (Japan, 1931–2018) *Clyde Tombaugh, Clyde W. Tombaugh ( USA, 1906–1997) *Kōichirō Tomita (Japan, 1925–2006) *Richard Tousey ( USA, 1908–1997) *Charles Townes ( USA, 1915–2015) *Virginia Trimble ( USA, 1943–) *Chad Trujillo ( USA, 1973–) *Robert Julius Trumpler ( USA, 1886–1956) *R. Brent Tully ( USA, 1943–) *Herbert Hall Turner (England, 1861–1930) *Nasir al-Din Tusi ( Persia, 1201–1274) *Horace Parnell Tuttle ( USA, 1839–1923) *Neil deGrasse Tyson ( USA, 1958–)

U

*Seiji Ueda (Japan, 1952–) *Ulugh Beg (Uzbekistan, 1394–1449) *Antonio de Ulloa (Spain), 1716–1795) *Anne Barbara Underhill (Canada, 1920–2003) *Albrecht Unsöld (Germany, 1905–1995) *Takeshi Urata (Japan, 1947–2012) *Mo'ayyeduddin Urdi, Mu’ayyad al-Din al-’Urdi ( Persia d. 1266) *Fumiaki Uto (Japan)

V

*Yrjö Väisälä ( Finland, 1891–1971) *Benjamin Valz (France, 1787–1867) *James Van Allen ( USA, 1914–2006) *George Van Biesbroeck (Belgium, USA, 1880–1974) * Hendrik Christoffel van de Hulst ( Netherlands, 1918–2000) *Peter van de Kamp ( USA, 1901–1995) *Sidney van den Bergh (Canada, 1929–) * Martin van den Hove ( Netherlands, 1605–1639) * Hendricus Gerardus van de Sande Bakhuyzen ( Netherlands, 1838–1923) *Hendrik van Gent ( Netherlands, South Africa, 1900–1947) *

( Netherlands, 1920–2002) *

( Netherlands, 1886–1960) * Gérard de Vaucouleurs (France, USA, 1918–1995) *Zdeňka Vávrová ( Czech Republic or Slovakia, 1945–) *Jean-Pierre Verdet (France, 1932–) *Philippe Véron (France, 1939–2014) *Frank Washington Very (United States, 1852–1927) *Yvon Villarceau (France, 1813–1883) *Julie Vinter Hansen ( Denmark), 1890–1960) *Hermann Carl Vogel (Germany, 1841–1907) *Friedrich Georg Wilhelm von Struve (Germany,

, 1793–1864) *Otto Wilhelm von Struve (

, 1819–1905) *Alexander N. Vyssotsky (

/ USA, 1888–1973) *Emma Vyssotsky ( USA, 1894–1975)

W

*Arno Arthur Wachmann (Germany, 1902–1990) *Abū al-Wafā' al-Būzjānī, Abul Wáfa ( Persia, 940–997/998) *Walcher of Malvern (England d. 1135) *George Wallerstein (1930–2021) *William Wales (astronomer), William Wales ( UK, ca. 1734–1798) *Dennis Walsh ( UK, 1933–2005) *Qingde Wang ( USA/China) *Kazuro Watanabe (Japan, 1955–) *James Craig Watson ( USA, 1838–1880) *Edmund Weaver (astronomer), Edmund Weaver ( UK, 1663–1748) *Kim Weaver ( USA, 1969–) *Thomas William Webb ( UK, 1807–1885) *Rachel Webster (Australia, 1951–) *Alfred Lothar Wegener (Germany, 1880–1930) *Gary A. Wegner ( USA, 1944–) *Wei Pu (China, 960–1279) *Carl Friedrich von Weizsäcker, Karl von Weizsäcker (Germany, 1912–2007) *Godefroy Wendelin (Belgium, 1580–1667) *Richard M. West ( Denmark, 1941–) *Gart Westerhout ( Netherlands, USA, 1927–2012) *Bengt Westerlund (Sweden, 1921–2008) *J. G. Westphal (Germany, 1824–1859) *Johann Heinrich Westphal (Germany, Italy, 1794–1831) *George Wetherill (1925–2006) *John Archibald Wheeler ( USA, 1911–2008) *Fred Lawrence Whipple ( USA, 1906–2004) *Albert Whitford ( USA, 1905–2002) *Mary Watson Whitney ( USA, 1847–1921) *Chandra Wickramasinghe ( UK, 1939–) *Paul Wild (Swiss astronomer), Paul Wild (Switzerland, 1925–2014) *Olin C. Wilson ( USA, 1909–1994) *Ida E. Woods ( USA, 1870–1940) *Robert Woodrow Wilson, Robert Wilson ( USA, 1936–) *Rogier Windhorst ( USA, 1955–) *Vincent Wing (UK, 1619–1668) *Anna Winlock ( USA, 1857–1904) *Henry "Trae" Winter ( USA, 1972) *John Winthrop (educator), John Winthrop (Massachusetts Bay Colony, 1714–1779) *Friedrich August Theodor Winnecke (Germany, 1835–1897) *Carl Wirtanen ( USA, 1910–1990) *Jack Wisdom ( USA, 1953–) *Gustav Witt (Germany, 1866–1946) *Maximilian Wolf (Germany, 1863–1932) *Aleksander Wolszczan ( Poland, 1946–) *Edith Jones Woodward ( USA), (1914–2002) *Richard van der Riet Woolley ( UK, 1906–1986) *Frances Woodworth Wright ( USA, 1897–1989) *Thomas Wright (astronomer), Thomas Wright ( UK, 1711–1786) *Gillian Wright (Astronomer), Gillian Wright ( UK)

Y

*Issei Yamamoto (Japan, 1889–1959) *Masayuki Yanai (Japan, 1959–) *Yi Xing (China, 683–727) *Anne Sewell Young ( USA, 1871–1961) *Charles Augustus Young ( USA, 1834–1908) *James Whitney Young ( USA, 1941–) *Judith Young (astronomer), Judith Young ( USA, 1952–2014)

Z

*Franz Xaver von Zach (Germany, 1753–1832) *Abraham Zacuto (Spain/Portugal, 1450–1510) *John Zarnecki (UK, 1949–) *Yakov Borisovich Zel'dovich (Soviet Union, USSR, 1914–1987) *Zhang Daqing (China, 1969–) *Zhang Heng (China, 78–139) *Zhang Yuzhe (China, 1902–1986) *Lyudmila Vasil'evna Zhuravleva (

/ Ukraine, 1946–) *Felix Ziegel (Soviet Union, 1920–1988) *Zu Chongzhi (China, 429–500) *Fritz Zwicky (Switzerland, USA, 1898–1974)

Others who influenced astronomy and astrophysics

The following is a list of people who are not astronomers but made a contribution to the field of astronomy and astrophysics. *Hans Bethe (1906–2005), (physicist) *Niels Bohr (1885–1962), (physicist) *Andreas Cellarius ( Netherlands, Germany, 1596–1665), (cartographer) *Freeman Dyson (1923–2020), (physicist) *

(1879–1955), (physicist) *Karl Guthe Jansky ( USA, 1905–1950), (Radio astronomy, radio astronomer) *James Clerk Maxwell ( UK, 1831–1879), (physicist) *Thomas Young (scientist), Thomas Young (United Kingdom, 1773–1829), (physicist) *Abdus Salam (1926–1996), (physicist) *Riazuddin (physicist), Riazuddin (1936–2013), (physicist)

References

Astronomical Society of the Pacific: Women in AstronomyThe Oldest Living Astronomers in India honored by World Records India

Notable astronomers

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Others who influenced astronomy and astrophysics

References

See also