• Source: Paul Wild (Swiss astronomer)

Paul Wild (German: [ˈvɪlt]; 5 October 1925 – 2 July 2014) was a Swiss astronomer and director of the Astronomical Institute of the University of Bern, who discovered numerous comets, asteroids and supernovae.




Biography


Wild was born on 5 October 1925 in the village of Wädenswil near Zürich, Switzerland. From 1944 through 1950, he studied mathematics and physics at the ETH Zurich. Thereafter, he worked at the California Institute of Technology where he researched galaxies and supernovas under the leadership of countryman Fritz Zwicky from 1951 through 1955.
At the Zimmerwald Observatory, near Bern, Wild made his first cometary discovery C/1957 U1 (1957 IX) on 2 October 1957. The parabolic comet was later named "Latyshev-Wild–Burnham".
Professor Wild became director of the Astronomical Institute of the University of Bern in 1980, and remained in this position until 1991. He died on 2 July 2014 at the age of 88 in Bern.




Discoveries


During countless nights Wild observed the skies at the Zimmerwald Observatory near Bern and discovered numerous asteroids, comets and supernovae including:

4 periodic comets: 63P/Wild, 81P/Wild, 86P/Wild and 116P/Wild
3 parabolic comets: C/1957 U1, C/1967 C2 and C/1968 U1
The Apollo asteroid 1866 Sisyphus and the two Amor asteroids 2368 Beltrovata and 3552 Don Quixote
41 supernovae, as well as 8 co-discoveries. His first discovered supernova was SN 1954A in NGC 4214, while his most recent was SN 1994M in NGC 4493.
The best known discovery of a comet occurred on 6 January 1978. This Jupiter-family comet was designated 1978 XI, P/Wild 2 or 81P/Wild. Wild 2 was chosen by NASA for its Stardust mission launched in 1999. The stardust spacecraft flew through the comet's trail and collected samples of the tail's dust. After the return of the spacecraft to earth, analysis of the dust particles by different researcher provided new insights about the evolution of the solar system. Organic compounds such as glycine, a fundamental chemical building block of life, were found on a comet for the first time. In addition, evidence of the presence of liquid water was detected.




= List of discovered asteroids

=
He is credited by the Minor Planet Center with the discovery of 94 numbered minor planets during 1961–1994, one of which was a co-discovery with Czech-born Swiss astronomer Ivo Baueršíma.




See also


List of minor planet discoverers




External links


Media related to Paul Wild at Wikimedia Commons
Astronomical Institute of the University of Berne




References

Kata Kunci Pencarian:

• Daftar penemu planet minor
• Paul Wild (Swiss astronomer)
• Paul Wild
• 81P/Wild
• 2001 Einstein
• 3552 Don Quixote
• 1941 Wild
• 1906 Naef
• 1866 Sisyphus
• 1845 Helewalda
• Wild (surname)