Gerard and Antoinette de Vaucouleurs: A Life for Astronomy (Advanced Astrophysics and Cosmology)

402 Pages·1989·29.902 MB·English

by  Massimo Capaccioli (editor), Harold G Corwin Jr (editor)

Advanced Series in Astrophysics and Cosmology - Volume 4
GERARD AND
ANTOINETTE DE
VAUCOULEURS:
A LIFE FOR
ASTRONOMY
ADVANCED SERIES IN ASTROPHYSICS AND COSMOLOGY
series editors: Fang Ll Zhi and Remo Ruffini
Volume 1 Cosmology of the Early Universe
·edited by Fang U Zhi and Remo Ruffini
Volume 2 Galaxies, Quasars and Cosmology
edited by Fang U Zhi and Remo Ruffini
Volume 3 Quantum Cosmology
edited by Fang U Zhi and Remo Ruffini
Forthcoming
Volume 5 Accretion-A Connection oflnfluential Papers
edited by A Treves, L Maraschi, and M Abramowicz
Advanced Series in Astrophysics and Cosmology - Volume 4
GERARD AND
ANTOINETTE DE
VAUCOULEURS:
A LIFE FOR
ASTRONOMY
Editors
M. Capaccioli
Osservatorio Astronomico di Padova
Vicolo dell'Osservatorio 5
35122 Padova
Italy
H. G. Corwin, Jr.
Department of Astronomy
University of Texas
Austin Texas 78712
USA
''h
World Scientific
W
Singapore • New Jersey • London • Hong Kong
Published by
World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd.,
P 0 Box 128, Farrer Road, Singapore 9128
USA office: 687 Hartwell Street, Teaneck, NJ 07666
UK office: 73 Lynton Mead, Totteridge, London N20 8DH
The publisher and editors wish to thank the authors and publishers who
have given permission to reproduce published papers in this volume.
While every effort has been made to contact the publishers of reprinted
papers prior to publication, we have not been successful in a few cases.
Where we could not contact the publishers, we have acknowledged the
source of the material. Proper credit will be given to these publishers
in future editions of this work after permission Is granted.
GERARD AND ANTOINETIE DE VAUCOULEURS:
A LIFE FOR ASTRONOMY
Copyright © 1989 by World Scientific Publishing Co Pte Ltd.
All rlght1 reseTlled. This book, or parts thereof, may not be reproduced
in any forms or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photo
copying, recording or any information storage and retrieval system now
known or to be invented, without written permi1don from the Publisher.
ISBN 9971-50-636-X
Printed in Singapore by JBW Printers & Binders Pte. Ltd.
to the memory of
Antoinette de Vaucnuleurs
November 14, 1921 - August 29, 1987
This page is intentionally left blank
Foreword
by the Book Editors
The idea for this book first came to us in December of 1986. One Friday after
noon, the two of us were seated, together with Ron Buta, in the 'back room' of
the de Vaucouleura comer at Austin, fixing a pot of coffee and (probably) waiting
for the computer to come back to life. While the water was boiling, we began
discussing once more what else we cou14 do, besides the already-planned Paris
Symposium, to honor our masters and friends Gerard and Antoinette de Vau
couleurs on the occasion of his 10th birthday and consequent retirement from his
chair at UT. The first and obvious proposal - a reprinting of the 'opu' of the
de Vaucouleurs - was readily discarded. A glance through the 'list of publica
tions' printed at the end of this volume will immediately make the reason obvious
to the reader, too; in line with the tradition of many major French scientists, such
as Cauchy or Poincare, the de Vaucouleurs have been quite prolific!
While the coffee was cooling to a drinkable temperature, we slowly converged
on a reduced scheme: a reprinting of a sample of articles representative of the
numerous fields of astronomy explored by Gerard and Antoinette. This seemed
like a good idea in theory, but practical difficulties remained. Who would take
the responsibility of choosing the articles to be reprinted! If nothing else, each of
us was (is still!) biased by his own interests and unique experiences. In addition,
how could we link the chosen subsample in a logical way to the totality of the
de Vaucouleurs work!
The coffee was really cold by the time we worked out the solution: we would
ask a number of friends and colleagues to make the choice for us, as well as to
contribute an introduction to each reprinted article, in which they could combine
science with personal memories. We also agreed to keep this operation 'classified'
in order to be able to present this volume to the de Vaucouleurs as an unexpected
gift.
But our plans were to be upset by destiny. Now that the book is ready,
vii
vili Book Editors' Foreword
Antoinette is no longer with us to enjoy our gift. The only thing left to us -
symbolic since human beings can do little against the whims of nature - is to
dedicate the book to her memory.
The outline of the project was further refined after discussions with Frank
Bash and Harlan Smith. We made a list of possible topics and possible contrib
utors, and then we cross-correlated the two. For obvious reasons of space, we
were unable to consider every colleague who could and/ or would have liked to
participate in this expression of appreciation. We are also aware that this book
cannot do full justice to all of the work of the de Vaucouleurs and their many
collaborators.
The response from the various colleagues whom we contacted was enthusias
tic. Most even delivered their manuscripts on time - highly unusual behavior
for astronomers! The contributed introductions written in French were left in the
language that Gerard and Antoinette de Vaucouleurs learned first. At least in
three cases this was requested by the authors, who had "thought" their papers
in French. For all introductory contributions, the references to Gerard de Vau
couleurs' papers have been coded by the serial numbers (in square brackets) with
which they appear in the appended List of Publications. Those of Antoinette
alone or in collaboration with others are in a separate list.
In closing, we wish to thank all those who have made this work possible: our
colleagues who contributed their memories, the publishing houses who permitted
us to reproduce some of the de Vaucouleura articles, and also '!EX (or Il.'JEX),
the new toy (or, possibly, the latest bite noire) of scientists, as well as the Padova
'!EX 'guru', Massimo Calvani. We must also especially thank Ron Buta, Steve
Odewahn, and Annalisa Palacios-Odewahn for the countless hours that they spent
working with us on the preparation of the manuscript.
N~ther of us calls Gerard de Vaucouleurs by his first name (a respectful habit
toward our master). But now, the time has come for one exception. From the
two of us, from the other colleagues who contributed to this book, and from all
of your friends and 'fans',
Happy Birthda11, Gerard!
Massimo Capaccioli and Harold G. Corwin, Jr.
Austin, Texas - February 18, 1988
Table of Contents
Foreword by the Book Editors vii
1. Introduction
Frank N. Baah . 1
2. Les Debuts: Astronome Amateur
Jean Drageaco . 5
Reprint of
"Sur la Concordance de la Penode de Transformation Massive
des Materiaux de la Calotte Polaire Australe de la Planete Mars
et de celle d'Existence de sa Bordure Sombre en 1939" [106] . 11
3. Au Planetarium de Paris en 1937
Armand H. Delaemme ..•. 15
4. Etude des Planetes en France
A udouin Dollfua . . . . 19
Reprint of part of Introduction to
"Physique de la Planete Mars" [7J 25
5. Planetary Studies and U. S. Space Program
A. T. Young ........... . 31
Reprint of
"On the Opposition Effect of Mars" [145] 37