Alexander Boksenberg facts for kids
Alexander (Alec) Boksenberg CBE FRS (born 18 March 1936) is a British scientist who led the Royal Greenwich Observatory for many years. He is famous for inventing a special camera that helps astronomers see very faint objects in space. His work has helped us learn more about the bright centers of galaxies.
Meet Alec Boksenberg
Alec Boksenberg was born on March 18, 1936. He grew up to become a very important British scientist. From 1981 to 1995, he was the Director of the Royal Greenwich Observatory. This is a famous place where scientists study the stars and planets.
His Amazing Inventions
In the early 1980s, Alec Boksenberg created something really cool called the image photon counting system. Imagine trying to take a picture of something super, super dim, like a tiny firefly far away in the dark. This system is like a special electronic camera that can "count" even the tiniest bits of light from very faint objects in space. It helped astronomers see things they couldn't see before!
His main research was about something called active galactic nuclei. These are the super bright centers of some galaxies. Scientists believe these bright centers are powered by huge black holes. Alec Boksenberg's work helped us understand these powerful and mysterious parts of the universe.
Awards and Recognition
Alec Boksenberg has received many important awards for his scientific work.
- In 1998, he won the Jackson-Gwilt Medal from the Royal Astronomical Society. This society is for people who study space.
- In 1999, he received the Hughes Medal from the Royal Society. This is a very old and respected group of scientists.
- In 2000, he also won the Richard Glazebrook Medal and Prize.
To show how important his contributions are, a minor planet in space was even named after him! It's called 3205 Boksenberg. How cool is that?
