Albert George Wilson
Encyclopedia
| 1620 Geographos 1620 Geographos The asteroid 1620 Geographos was discovered on September 14, 1951 at the Palomar Observatory by Albert George Wilson and Rudolph Minkowski. It was originally given the provisional designation 1951 RA... |
September 14, 1951 |
| 1915 Quetzálcoatl 1915 Quetzálcoatl 1915 Quetzálcoatl is an Amor asteroid with an orbital period of 1479.7878569 days . The asteroid was discovered on March 9, 1953.-References:... |
March 9, 1953 |
| 1980 Tezcatlipoca 1980 Tezcatlipoca 1980 Tezcatlipoca is an Amor asteroid discovered on June 19, 1950 by A. G. Wilson at Palomar.- External links :*... |
June 19, 1950 |
| 10000 Myriostos 10000 Myriostos 10000 Myriostos is a main-belt asteroid discovered by A. G. Wilson on September 30, 1951 at the Palomar Observatory on Palomar Mountain, California.... |
September 30, 1951 |
| (118162) 1951 SX | September 29, 1951 |
Albert George Wilson (born July 28, 1918) is an American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
astronomer
Astronomer
An astronomer is a scientist who studies celestial bodies such as planets, stars and galaxies.Historically, astronomy was more concerned with the classification and description of phenomena in the sky, while astrophysics attempted to explain these phenomena and the differences between them using...
.
He was born in Houston, Texas
Texas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
. He received his Ph.D.
Ph.D.
A Ph.D. is a Doctor of Philosophy, an academic degree.Ph.D. may also refer to:* Ph.D. , a 1980s British group*Piled Higher and Deeper, a web comic strip*PhD: Phantasy Degree, a Korean comic series* PhD Docbook renderer, an XML renderer...
in mathematics
Mathematics
Mathematics is the study of quantity, space, structure, and change. Mathematicians seek out patterns and formulate new conjectures. Mathematicians resolve the truth or falsity of conjectures by mathematical proofs, which are arguments sufficient to convince other mathematicians of their validity...
from Caltech in 1947; his thesis title was Axially Symmetric Thermal Stresses in a Semi-Infinite Solid.
In 1949 he accepted a job at Palomar Observatory
Palomar Observatory
Palomar Observatory is a privately owned observatory located in San Diego County, California, southeast of Pasadena's Mount Wilson Observatory, in the Palomar Mountain Range. At approximately elevation, it is owned and operated by the California Institute of Technology...
, and led the Palomar Sky Survey. In 1953 he became assistant director of Lowell Observatory
Lowell Observatory
Lowell Observatory is an astronomical observatory in Flagstaff, Arizona. Lowell Observatory was established in 1894, placing it among the oldest observatories in the United States, and was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1965....
, and served as director from 1954 to 1957. He later worked at Rand Corporation and other private sector positions. In 1962 he became founding editor of the astronomical magazine Icarus
Icarus (journal)
Icarus is a premier scientific journal dedicated to the field of planetary science. It is published under the auspices of the American Astronomical Society's Division for Planetary Sciences . The longtime publisher was Academic Press, which is now part of Elsevier...
. In 1966, he accepted the position of associate director of McDonnell-Douglas Advanced Research Laboratories, which he held from 1966 until 1972. Wilson then became an adjunct professor at USC
University of Southern California
The University of Southern California is a private, not-for-profit, nonsectarian, research university located in Los Angeles, California, United States. USC was founded in 1880, making it California's oldest private research university...
, teaching courses in philosophy and science until his retirement. After retiring Wilson was assciated with the Institute for Man and Science and the Institute of the Future, lecturing and consulting for both groups.
He discovered a number of asteroid
Asteroid
Asteroids are a class of small Solar System bodies in orbit around the Sun. They have also been called planetoids, especially the larger ones...
s, and also co-discovered the periodic comet
Comet
A comet is an icy small Solar System body that, when close enough to the Sun, displays a visible coma and sometimes also a tail. These phenomena are both due to the effects of solar radiation and the solar wind upon the nucleus of the comet...
107P/Wilson-Harrington
107P/Wilson-Harrington
Comet Wilson–Harrington is a periodic comet .Little known about it distinguishes it from other comets, but for the fact that it is also designated an asteroid, 4015 Wilson–Harrington .The comet was discovered on November 19, 1949, by Albert G...
.