Tarmo Oja (21 December 1934 – 18 November 2024) was an Estonian-born Swedish professor in

astronomy Astronomy is a natural science that studies celestial objects and the phenomena that occur in the cosmos. It uses mathematics, physics, and chemistry in order to explain their origin and their overall evolution. Objects of interest includ ...

Uppsala University Uppsala University (UU) () is a public university, public research university in Uppsala, Sweden. Founded in 1477, it is the List of universities in Sweden, oldest university in Sweden and the Nordic countries still in operation. Initially fou ...

who studied

galactic Galactic is an American funk band from New Orleans, Louisiana. Origins and background Formed in 1994 as an octet (under the name Galactic Prophylactic) and including singer Chris Lane and guitarist Rob Gowen, the group was soon pared down to a ...

structure and

variable star A variable star is a star whose brightness as seen from Earth (its apparent magnitude) changes systematically with time. This variation may be caused by a change in emitted light or by something partly blocking the light, so variable stars are ...

s. He was the director at the Swedish

Kvistaberg Station The Kvistaberg Station or Kvistaberg Observatory (; obs. code: 049) was a Swedish astronomical observatory and a station of the Uppsala Astronomical Observatory, which both belong to the Department of Physics and Astronomy at Uppsala University ...

of the Uppsala Observatory from 1970 until his retirement in 1999. As a senior professor he continued his work at the observatory at Kvistaberg until the spring of 2006, when he returned to Uppsala together with his wife Silvi. Oja died on 18 November 2024, at the age of 89.

Awards and honors

*In 2001, Estonian President

Lennart Meri Lennart Georg Meri (; 29 March 1929 – 14 March 2006) was an Estonian writer, film director, and statesman. He was the country's foreign minister from 1990 to 1992 and President of Estonia from 1992 to 2001. Early life Meri was born in Tallin ...

awarded Oja the

Order of the White Star The Order of the White Star (; ) was instituted in 1936. The Order of the White Star is bestowed on Estonian citizens and foreigners to give recognition for services rendered to the Estonian state. Design Classes The Order of the White Star ...

V Class for his contribution to science. *The asteroid

5080 Oja 5080 Oja, provisional designation , is a stony Florian asteroid from the inner regions of the asteroid belt, approximately 8 kilometers in diameter. It was discovered on 2 March 1976, by astronomer Claes-Ingvar Lagerkvist at the Kvistaberg Stat ...

, discovered at the Kvistaberg Station, was named in his honor in 1992.

References

1934 births 2024 deaths 20th-century Swedish astronomers Estonian astronomers Academic staff of Uppsala University Estonian emigrants to Sweden Academics from Tallinn Estonian World War II refugees Recipients of the Order of the White Star, 5th Class {{Estonia-academic-bio-stub