Willem Jacob Luyten facts for kids

Willem Jacob Luyten (born March 7, 1899 – died November 21, 1994) was a famous astronomer. He was born in the Netherlands and later became an American citizen. He spent his life studying stars and discovering new things about our universe.

Life of a Star Gazer

Willem Jacob Luyten was born in Semarang, a city in Java. At that time, Java was part of the Dutch East Indies. His mother was Cornelia M. Francken, and his father, Jacob Luyten, taught French.

Early Discoveries

When Willem was just 11 years old, he saw Halley's Comet. This amazing sight made him very interested in space. He also had a special talent for languages. He learned to speak nine different languages!

In 1912, his family moved back to the Netherlands. There, he studied astronomy at the University of Amsterdam. He earned his first degree in 1918.

Becoming an Astronomer

Willem was a very smart student. He was the first person to get his PhD (a very high degree) from Leiden University with Professor Ejnar Hertzsprung. Willem was only 22 years old when he earned this degree!

In 1921, he moved to the United States. He started working at the Lick Observatory. Later, from 1923 to 1930, he worked at the Harvard College Observatory. He even worked at their station in Bloemfontein, South Africa.

While in Bloemfontein, he met Willemina H. Miedema. They got married on February 5, 1930.

Teaching and Research

After returning to the United States in 1931, Luyten began teaching. He worked at the University of Minnesota from 1931 to 1967. After that, he became an astronomer emeritus, meaning he continued his research even after officially retiring. He worked there until he passed away.

Studying the Stars

Willem Jacob Luyten spent his career studying how stars move. This movement is called "proper motion". He discovered many special stars called white dwarfs. These are very small, dense stars that are at the end of their lives.

Finding New Neighbors

He also found some of the stars closest to our Sun. One of these is now called Luyten's Star. He also discovered a star system named Luyten 726-8. This system includes a very active star called UV Ceti, which is known for its sudden bright flares.

Luyten created a huge list of stars. This list, called the Luyten Two-Tenths Arcsecond Catalog, has 17,000 stars with high proper motion. Scientists later found a planet orbiting one of these stars, called LTT 1445A.

Awards and Recognition

Willem Jacob Luyten received many important awards for his work.

Awards Received

• James Craig Watson Medal (1964)
• Bruce Medal (1968)

Named in His Honor

• An Asteroid was named after him: 1964 Luyten.
• The star he discovered is called Luyten's Star.

See also

In Spanish: Willem Jacob Luyten para niños