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.[1][2]

Paul Wild
Paul Wild at University of Bern in 2006
Born(1925-10-05)5 October 1925
Died2 July 2014(2014-07-02) (aged 88)
Bern, Switzerland
NationalitySwiss
Alma materETH Zürich
Known fordiscoveries of comets and asteroids
Scientific career
FieldsAstronomy

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.[2][3]

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".[4][5]

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:

The best known discovery of a comet occurred on January 6, 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.[6]

1657 Roemera6 March 1961list
1687 Glarona19 September 1965list
1748 Mauderli7 September 1966list
1768 Appenzella23 September 1965list
1773 Rumpelstilz17 April 1968list
1775 Zimmerwald13 May 1969list
1803 Zwicky6 February 1967list
1830 Pogson17 April 1968list
1831 Nicholson17 April 1968list
1838 Ursa20 October 1971list
1839 Ragazza20 October 1971list
1844 Susilva30 October 1972list
1845 Helewalda30 October 1972list
1860 Barbarossa28 September 1973list
1866 Sisyphus5 December 1972list
1891 Gondola11 September 1969list
1892 Lucienne16 September 1971list
1893 Jakoba20 October 1971list
1906 Naef5 September 1972list
1911 Schubart25 October 1973list
1935 Lucerna2 September 1973list
1936 Lugano24 November 1973list
1937 Locarno19 December 1973list
1938 Lausanna19 April 1974list
1960 Guisan25 October 1973list
1961 Dufour19 November 1973list
1962 Dunant24 November 1973list
2001 Einstein5 March 1973list
2005 Hencke2 September 1973list
2029 Binomi11 September 1969list
2033 Basilea6 February 1973list
2034 Bernoulli5 March 1973list
2037 Tripaxeptalis25 October 1973list
2038 Bistro24 November 1973list
2040 Chalonge19 April 1974list
2080 Jihlava27 February 1976list
2081 Sázava27 February 1976list
2087 Kochera28 December 1975list
2088 Sahlia27 February 1976list
2129 Cosicosi27 September 1973list
2138 Swissair17 April 1968list
2151 Hadwiger3 November 1977list
2152 Hannibal19 November 1978list
2175 Andrea Doria12 October 1977list
2218 Wotho10 January 1975list
2229 Mezzarco7 September 1977list
2239 Paracelsus13 September 1978list
2262 Mitidika10 September 1978list
2303 Retsina24 March 1979list
2320 Blarney29 August 1979list
2337 Boubin22 October 1976list
2353 Alva27 October 1975list
2368 Beltrovata4 September 1977list
2429 Schürer12 October 1977list
2481 Bürgi18 October 1977list
2517 Orma28 September 1968list
2521 Heidi28 February 1979list
2565 Grögler12 October 1977list
2731 Cucula21 May 1982list
2843 Yeti7 December 1975list
2868 Upupa30 October 1972list
2914 Glärnisch19 September 1965list
2950 Rousseau9 November 1974list
2970 Pestalozzi27 October 1978list
2989 Imago22 October 1976list
3021 Lucubratio6 February 1967list
3026 Sarastro12 October 1977list
3060 Delcano12 September 1982list
3258 Somnium8 September 1983list
3329 Golay12 September 1985list
3468 Urgenta7 January 1975list
3491 Fridolin30 September 1984list
3552 Don Quixote26 September 1983list
3582 Cyrano2 October 1986list
3928 Randa4 August 1981list
4323 Hortulus27 August 1981list
4471 Graculus8 November 1978list
5369 Virgiugum22 September 1985list
5708 Melancholia12 October 1977list
5710 Silentium18 October 1977list
5986 Xenophon2 October 1969list
6475 Refugium29 September 1987list
6620 Peregrina25 October 1973list
7081 Ludibunda30 August 1987list
8061 Gaudium27 October 1975list
(9149) 1977 TD112 October 1977list
(9302) 1985 TB312 October 1985list
9711 Želetava7 August 1972list[A]
9716 Severina27 October 1975list
(10488) 1985 RS112 September 1985list
13025 Zürich28 January 1989list
14826 Nicollier16 September 1985list
(16415) 1987 QE721 August 1987list
19251 Totziens3 September 1994list
Co-discovery made with:
A I. Baueršíma

See also

References

  1. Schmadel, Lutz D. (2007). "(1941) Wild". Dictionary of Minor Planet Names – (1941) Wild. Springer Berlin Heidelberg. p. 156. doi:10.1007/978-3-540-29925-7_1942. ISBN 978-3-540-00238-3.
  2. Gsteiger, Simon (30 July 2014). "Ein Stern ist erloschen" [A shining star has fallen]. Der Bund (in German). Retrieved 4 August 2014.
  3. Lecture by Paul Wild about Fritz Zwicky, his mentor at Caltech
  4. "History of the Zmmerwald Observatory". University of Bern. 24 November 2015. Retrieved 1 July 2016.
  5. "JPL Small-Body Database Browser: C/1957 U1 (Latyshev-Wild-Burnham)". Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Retrieved 1 July 2016.
  6. "Minor Planet Discoverers (by number)". Minor Planet Center. 23 May 2016. Retrieved 1 June 2016.
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