Marcel Golay (; 6 September 1927 – 9 April 2015) was a Swiss

astronomer An astronomer is a scientist in the field of astronomy who focuses on a specific question or field outside the scope of Earth. Astronomers observe astronomical objects, such as stars, planets, natural satellite, moons, comets and galaxy, galax ...

, professor at Geneva University and the eighth director of the Geneva Observatory from 1956 to 1992. Golay was a member of the

International Astronomical Union The International Astronomical Union (IAU; , UAI) is an international non-governmental organization (INGO) with the objective of advancing astronomy in all aspects, including promoting astronomical research, outreach, education, and developmen ...

and president of several of its commissions including "Stellar Classification" and "Astronomical Photometry and Polarimetry". In 1991,

University of Basel The University of Basel (Latin: ''Universitas Basiliensis''; German: ''Universität Basel'') is a public research university in Basel, Switzerland. Founded on 4 April 1460, it is Switzerland's oldest university and among the world's oldest univ ...

awarded him an honorary professorship. Asteroid 3329 Golay is named after him.

Honors and awards

Asteroid 3329 Golay – an 18-kilometer-sized member of the Eos family, that was discovered by Paul Wild at Zimmerwald Observatory in 1985 – was named in his honor. The official was published 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 Astronomical Union (IAU). Founded in 1947, it operates at the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory. Funct ...

on 1 September 1993 ().

References

External links

Golay, Marcel
in the

Historical Dictionary of Switzerland The ''Historical Dictionary of Switzerland'' (Dictionnaire historique de la Suisse; DHS) is an encyclopedia on the history of Switzerland. It aims to present the history of Switzerland in the form of an encyclopaedia, published both on paper a ...

Marcel Golay (1927–2015)
Geneva University, Geneva Observatory 1927 births 2015 deaths Scientists from Geneva 20th-century Swiss astronomers {{Astronomer-stub