Andreas Gerasimos Michalitsianos facts for kids
Dr. Andreas 'Andy' Gerasimos Michalitsianos (Greek: Ανδρέας Γεράσιμος Μιχαλιτσιάνος) was a brilliant Greek-American astronomer and NASA astrophysicist. He was also known as Andrew G. Michalitsianos. He was born on May 22, 1947, and passed away on October 29, 1997.
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Early Life and Big Dreams
Andreas was born in Alexandria, Egypt, in 1947. He moved to New York City with his family in 1949. They lived in the Queens area.
His father was a sea captain on a Greek ship. Sadly, his father died in 1952 after his ship was caught in a hurricane.
From a young age, Andreas loved astronomy and physics. He won a science contest in 1959. He even led a trip to South America to see an eclipse as president of the Junior Astronomy Club in NYC.
Education and Becoming a Star Scientist
Andreas finished Newtown High School in 1965. He then studied physics at the University of Arizona in Tucson. He earned his bachelor's degree in 1969. To help pay for college, he worked at the Kitt Peak National Observatory. There, he helped test a telescope that could be controlled from far away.
He then received a special scholarship. He earned his Ph.D. (a very high degree) in astrophysics from University of Cambridge in 1976. His research focused on the sun.
Working at NASA and Amazing Discoveries
After his Ph.D., Andreas worked at the California Institute of Technology. Later, he became an astrophysicist at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center. He worked there from the 1970s until his death.
He was involved in big projects like the Hubble Space Telescope. He was also a leader for the successful International Ultraviolet Explorer project. He won many awards for his important work.
In 1997, Michalitsianos became the Chief of the Laboratory for Astronomy and Solar Physics at Goddard. He was famous for his amazing research on symbiotic stars. These are special star systems where two stars are very close. He received the NASA Meritorious Achievement Award for his contributions.
A Lasting Legacy
Andreas Michalitsianos passed away in 1997 after a long illness. He was still working hard on new ideas for space missions. He wanted to study how stars and galaxies change over time.
Today, a robotic telescope in Cefalonia, Greece, is named in his honor. It is called the Andreas Gerasimos Michalitsianos telescope. This telescope helps high school students in Greece learn about astronomy and physics. It helps inspire the next generation of scientists.
