9.7 Results of the Visits to Mount Wilson
199
Fig. 9.20 Ejnar Hertzsprung as a young man. Aarhus Universitet [90]
Kapteyn). He was very moved by the news and Hale advised him to take a
short holiday.
For decades, in order to get a job as an astronomer at a Dutch university, it
has been (and still is) required to work some time abroad. This then goes back
to Kapteyn’s time. In the meantime, ‘postdoc’ positions have become commonplace and if one aspires to a career in astronomy in the Netherlands, applying
for those temporary positions is a first step after completing a PhD thesis.
Some Dutch astronomers, including myself, followed in Kapteyn’s footsteps
almost literally and worked as fellow of the Carnegie Institution in Pasadena at
what had become the Mount Wilson and Palomar Observatories. Many Dutch
astronomers stayed abroad; some became directors of American observatories.
There is an anecdote that when a young astronomer at a Harvard conference
explained that he came from the Netherlands, Harlow Shapley remarked: ‘Oh,
that’s where they grow tulips and astronomers for export!’
The annual trips to the United States also enabled Kapteyn to maintain his
contacts with American astronomers. On his way to and from Mount Wilson,
he regularly visited other observatories and astronomers who were friends of his.
He also received various awards. Already in 1907 he was appointed as ‘Foreign
Associate’ of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. In April 1913 he
199
Fig. 9.20 Ejnar Hertzsprung as a young man. Aarhus Universitet [90]
Kapteyn). He was very moved by the news and Hale advised him to take a
short holiday.
For decades, in order to get a job as an astronomer at a Dutch university, it
has been (and still is) required to work some time abroad. This then goes back
to Kapteyn’s time. In the meantime, ‘postdoc’ positions have become commonplace and if one aspires to a career in astronomy in the Netherlands, applying
for those temporary positions is a first step after completing a PhD thesis.
Some Dutch astronomers, including myself, followed in Kapteyn’s footsteps
almost literally and worked as fellow of the Carnegie Institution in Pasadena at
what had become the Mount Wilson and Palomar Observatories. Many Dutch
astronomers stayed abroad; some became directors of American observatories.
There is an anecdote that when a young astronomer at a Harvard conference
explained that he came from the Netherlands, Harlow Shapley remarked: ‘Oh,
that’s where they grow tulips and astronomers for export!’
The annual trips to the United States also enabled Kapteyn to maintain his
contacts with American astronomers. On his way to and from Mount Wilson,
he regularly visited other observatories and astronomers who were friends of his.
He also received various awards. Already in 1907 he was appointed as ‘Foreign
Associate’ of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. In April 1913 he