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Jacobus Kapteyn

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Jacobus Kapteyn

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Also known as Jacobus Cornelius Kapteyn, Jacobus Cornelius Kapteijn, J. C. Kapteijn

Dutch astronomer, best known for his extensive studies of the Milky Way and as the first discoverer of evidence for galactic rotation (1851-1922)

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Works
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  • Publications of the Astronomical Laboratory at Groningen, Issues 11-14

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Type
Person
Active from
1550-07-03
Active to
1591-07-18

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Key facts

Born
Jacobus Cornelius Kapteyn , ( 1851-01-19 ) 19 January 1851, Barneveld , Netherlands
Died
18 June 1922 (1922-06-18) (aged 71), Amsterdam , Netherlands
Alma mater
University of Utrecht
Known for
discovery of evidence for galactic rotation
Awards
Bruce Medal 1913
Fields
Astronomy

via Wikipedia infobox

Wikidata facts

Image
Jacobus Kapteyn.jpg
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date of birth
1851-00-00
date of death
1922-00-00
Commons category
Jacobus Kapteyn
Commons gallery
Jacobus Cornelius Kapteyn
name in native language
Jacobus Cornelius Kapteyn
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Article

Jacobus Kapteyn on the occasion of his 40th anniversary as professor in Groningen. Sir David Gill in background. Painting by Jan Veth. Jacobus Cornelius Kapteyn (19 January 1851 – 18 June 1922) was a Dutch astronomer. He carried out extensive studies of the Milky Way. He found that the apparent movement of stars was not randomly distributed but had two preferential directions: the two star streams. This discovery was later reinterpreted as evidence for galactic rotation. Kapteyn also suggested that these stellar velocities could be used to find the amount of non-luminous matter in the galaxy, which his student, Jan Oort, measured in 1932, referring to it as "invisible matter".

Biography

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