William Stephen Finsen

William Stephen Finsen FRAS[2] (28 July 1905 – 16 May 1979) was a South African astronomer. He discovered a number of double stars and took many photographs of Mars. He developed the Finsen eyepiece interferometer to measure very close double stars. He was the final director of Union Observatory in South Africa from 1957 to 1965 (it was renamed Republic Observatory in 1961).[3]

William Stephen Finsen
Born(1905-07-28)28 July 1905
Johannesburg, South Africa
Died16 May 1979(1979-05-16) (aged 73)
Johannesburg, South Africa
Alma materUniversity of Cape Town[1]
Known forFinsen eyepiece interferometer
Spouse(s)Gertrude Ada Camerer (m.1928)
Scientific career
FieldsAstronomy
InstitutionsUnion Observatory, South Africa

Biography

Finsen was born in 1905 in Johannesburg, South Africa to Danish parents John Valgard Finsen & Marie Finsen (née Jensen).[4] He was the cousin of the Nobel prize winner Niels Ryberg Finsen. He obtained a DSc in Astronomy from the University of Cape Town and spent almost 50 years working at the Union Observatory in Johannesburg.[1] He succeeded Willem Hendrik van den Bos as director of the observatory from 1957 to 1965, during which time it changed name to the Republic Observatory (1961).[3]

Both Finsen and van den Bos were vocally opposed to South African government's plan to close and amalgamate the Republic Observatory with the Cape Observatory (Cape Town) and the Radcliffe Observatory (Pretoria) into the South African Astronomical Observatory at Sutherland, Northern Cape in 1974, as they feared it would lead to termination of the well-established programmes of observation of binary stars and asteroids. Their fears would later be proven correct as those programmes were terminated.[5]

Asteroid 433 Eros

Finsen invented an eyepiece interferometer which allowed measurement of very close double stars. His original device was used for many years at the astronomy department of the University of South Africa.[6] Finsen examined more than 8 000 stars, discovered 73 double stars and took 54 000 photographs of Mars. They were considered the best photographs of Mars prior to the first space probe pictures in 1965.[7][8] Finsen continued his observations of double stars after his official retirement from the observatory.[1]

During the second world war Finsen produced some basic films on astronomy which were used to train navigators. He also designed the Finsen Sun Compass to be used by armoured vehicle drivers in the desert campaigns. The standard magnetic compasses were useless owing to the large amount of metal in the vehicles.[1]

Finsen also developed a stomach contents sampler at the request of a specialist physician. Shaped like a pill, once swallowed the small device would open inside the patient's stomach after a pre-determined time and sample the stomach contents.[1]

Membership, awards and recognition

References
  1. Overbeek, M. D. (1997). "W. S. Finsen: More Than a Double Star Astronomer". Monthly Notes of the Astron. Soc. Southern Africa. 56: 74. Bibcode:1997MNSSA..56...74O.
  2. "Society Business: Candidates proposed; Fellows elected". Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society. 86: 62. 11 December 1925. Bibcode:1925MNRAS..86...61.. doi:10.1093/mnras/86.2.61.
  3. Hockey, Thomas (2009). The Biographical Encyclopedia of Astronomers. Springer Publishing. doi:10.1007/978-0-387-30400-7_455. ISBN 978-0-387-31022-0.
  4. "William Stephen Finsen (1905–1979)". Ancestry.com. Retrieved 23 August 2019.
  5. Docobo, J. A.; Andrade, M. (26 October 2012). "Dynamical and physical properties of 22 binaries discovered by W. S. Finsen". Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society. 428 (1): 321–339. doi:10.1093/mnras/sts045. ISSN 0035-8711.
  6. "Eyepieces". ASSA. 10 October 2012. Retrieved 23 August 2019.
  7. "Interesting Aspects about Astronomers". ASSA. 10 October 2012. Retrieved 23 August 2019.
  8. "History – Astronomers – FinsenWS". saao.ac.za. 22 September 2004. Archived from the original on 22 September 2004. Retrieved 23 August 2019.
  9. "Planetary Names: Dorsum, dorsa: Finsen Dorsum on Eros". Planetary Names. Retrieved 23 August 2019.
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