Vainu Bappu
Encyclopedia
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
n astronomer and president of the International Astronomical Union
International Astronomical Union
The International Astronomical Union IAU is a collection of professional astronomers, at the Ph.D. level and beyond, active in professional research and education in astronomy...
. Bappu helped establish several astronomical institutions in India——including the Vainu Bappu Observatory
Vainu Bappu Observatory
The Vainu Bappu Observatory, or VBO for short, is an astronomical observatory owned and operated by Indian Institute of Astrophysics. It is located in the Javadi Hills Kavalur, near vaniyambadi of vellore district in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu, 175 km south-east of...
named after him—and also contributed to the establishment of the modern Indian Institute of Astrophysics
Indian Institute of Astrophysics
The Indian Institute of Astrophysics , with its headquarters in Bangalore , India, is a premier national institute of India for the study of and research into topics pertaining to astronomy, astrophysics and related subjects....
. In 1957, he discovered the Wilson-Bappu effect
Wilson-Bappu effect
The Ca II K line in cool stars is among the strongest absorption lines. A small emission, which originates in the chromosphere, is present in its core. In 1957, Olin C. Wilson and M. K. Vainu Bappu reported on the remarkable correlation between the measured width of the aforementioned emission...
jointly with American astronomer Olin Chaddock Wilson
Olin Chaddock Wilson
Olin Chaddock Wilson was an American astronomer best known for his work as a stellar spectroscopist.Born in San Francisco, CA as the son of a lawyer, Wilson showed an interest in physics at an early age...
.
Early life
Vainu Bappu was born on August 10, 1927 as the only child of Manali Kukuzhi and Sunanna Bappu. His father was an astronomer at the Nizamiah Observatory in Andhra PradeshAndhra Pradesh
Andhra Pradesh , is one of the 28 states of India, situated on the southeastern coast of India. It is India's fourth largest state by area and fifth largest by population. Its capital and largest city by population is Hyderabad.The total GDP of Andhra Pradesh is $100 billion and is ranked third...
. He attended the Harvard Graduate School of Astronomy for his PhD
PHD
PHD may refer to:*Ph.D., a doctorate of philosophy*Ph.D. , a 1980s British group*PHD finger, a protein sequence*PHD Mountain Software, an outdoor clothing and equipment company*PhD Docbook renderer, an XML renderer...
after obtaining postgraduate degree from the Madras University. Bappu, along with two of his colleagues, discovered the 'Bappu-Bok-Newkirk' comet. He was awarded the Donhoe Comet-Medal by the Astronomical Society of the Pacific
Astronomical Society of the Pacific
The Astronomical Society of the Pacific is a scientific and educational organization, founded in San Francisco on February 7, 1889. Its name derives from its origins on the Pacific Coast, but today it has members all over the country and the world...
in 1949.
In a paper published in 1957, American astronomer Olin Chaddock Wilson
Olin Chaddock Wilson
Olin Chaddock Wilson was an American astronomer best known for his work as a stellar spectroscopist.Born in San Francisco, CA as the son of a lawyer, Wilson showed an interest in physics at an early age...
and Bappu had described what would later be known as the Wilson-Bappu effect
Wilson-Bappu effect
The Ca II K line in cool stars is among the strongest absorption lines. A small emission, which originates in the chromosphere, is present in its core. In 1957, Olin C. Wilson and M. K. Vainu Bappu reported on the remarkable correlation between the measured width of the aforementioned emission...
. The effect as described by L.V. Kuhi is: 'The width of the Ca II emission in normal, nonvariable, G, K, and M stars is correlated with the visual absolute magnitude in the sense that the brighter the star the wider the emission.' The paper opened up the field of stellar chromospheres for research.
Return to India
Optical telescope
An optical telescope is a telescope which is used to gather and focus light mainly from the visible part of the electromagnetic spectrum for directly viewing a magnified image for making a photograph, or collecting data through electronic image sensors....
and a research observatory led to the founding of an optical observatory of Kavalur
Javadi Hills
The Javadi Hills are a range of hills, one of the largest in the Eastern Ghats, in Vellore District, in the northern part of the state of Tamil Nadu in southeastern India. About 50 miles wide and 20 miles long, they are bisected into eastern and western sections by the Cheyyar and Agaram rivers,...
, inaugurated in 1986 by Rajiv Gandhi
Rajiv Gandhi
Rajiv Ratna Gandhi was the sixth Prime Minister of India . He took office after his mother's assassination on 31 October 1984; he himself was assassinated on 21 May 1991. He became the youngest Prime Minister of India when he took office at the age of 40.Rajiv Gandhi was the elder son of Indira...
, who named the observatory, and its large telescope after Bappu. The Vainu Bappu Observatory
Vainu Bappu Observatory
The Vainu Bappu Observatory, or VBO for short, is an astronomical observatory owned and operated by Indian Institute of Astrophysics. It is located in the Javadi Hills Kavalur, near vaniyambadi of vellore district in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu, 175 km south-east of...
is one of the main observatories of the Indian Institute of Astrophysics
Indian Institute of Astrophysics
The Indian Institute of Astrophysics , with its headquarters in Bangalore , India, is a premier national institute of India for the study of and research into topics pertaining to astronomy, astrophysics and related subjects....
, also initiated in its modern avatar by Bappu in 1971. Later, a number of discoveries were made from the Vainu Bappu Observatory.
Career overview
| Post | Institution |
|---|---|
| Honorary Foreign Fellow | Belgium Academy of Sciences |
| Honorary Member | American Astronomical Society American Astronomical Society The American Astronomical Society is an American society of professional astronomers and other interested individuals, headquartered in Washington, DC... |
| Vice-President | International Astronomical Union International Astronomical Union The International Astronomical Union IAU is a collection of professional astronomers, at the Ph.D. level and beyond, active in professional research and education in astronomy... (1967–73) |
| President | International Astronomical Union (1979) |
See also
- Extragalactic Distance Scale