x
Preface
of statistical astronomy and the father of the spectacular success of Dutch
astronomy in the twentieth century. His Plan of Selected Areas, published
in 1906, involved a survey in 220 small areas, distributed over the full sky,
to map the distribution and motions of stars in the Milky Way. Its execution involved observatories from all over the world. Kapteyn’s work was the
pioneering effort that presently culminates in the European Space Agency’s
GAIA satellite. Kapteyn was one of the most prominent astronomers in
his days, but now seems mostly forgotten. Who was this astronomer from
the University of Groningen? Why is he mentioned so little in popular or
academic accounts of GAIA and Galactic astronomy?
Fig. 0.1 The Kapteyn Room at the Kapteyn Astronomical Institute of the University
of Groningen with Kapteyn’s desk and most publications. On the right are the celestial spheres (see Fig. 11.2). On the painting by Veth (Fig. 12.3), Kapteyn sits at this
same desk. On the right, the star chart, which he made as a teenager (see Fig. 2.2). It
has recently been moved to another wall and replaced by the portrait of his wife as
in Fig. 12.12. The books are, respectively, the Harvard-Groningen Durchmusterung,
the Cape Photographic Durchmusterung, collections of his articles (Fig. 0.3), and
the first volumes of the Publications of the Astronomical Laboratory at Groningen.
Photograph by the author
One reason is unfortunate timing. Kapteyn presented his ‘first attempt’ at
a description of the Sidereal System, as the Galaxy was usually referred to, in
1922, the year of his death. This was shortly after World War I and Kapteyn
had chosen the side of those who—to the strong dislike of a majority of American and British astronomers—unsuccessfully opposed exclusion of German
Preface
of statistical astronomy and the father of the spectacular success of Dutch
astronomy in the twentieth century. His Plan of Selected Areas, published
in 1906, involved a survey in 220 small areas, distributed over the full sky,
to map the distribution and motions of stars in the Milky Way. Its execution involved observatories from all over the world. Kapteyn’s work was the
pioneering effort that presently culminates in the European Space Agency’s
GAIA satellite. Kapteyn was one of the most prominent astronomers in
his days, but now seems mostly forgotten. Who was this astronomer from
the University of Groningen? Why is he mentioned so little in popular or
academic accounts of GAIA and Galactic astronomy?
Fig. 0.1 The Kapteyn Room at the Kapteyn Astronomical Institute of the University
of Groningen with Kapteyn’s desk and most publications. On the right are the celestial spheres (see Fig. 11.2). On the painting by Veth (Fig. 12.3), Kapteyn sits at this
same desk. On the right, the star chart, which he made as a teenager (see Fig. 2.2). It
has recently been moved to another wall and replaced by the portrait of his wife as
in Fig. 12.12. The books are, respectively, the Harvard-Groningen Durchmusterung,
the Cape Photographic Durchmusterung, collections of his articles (Fig. 0.3), and
the first volumes of the Publications of the Astronomical Laboratory at Groningen.
Photograph by the author
One reason is unfortunate timing. Kapteyn presented his ‘first attempt’ at
a description of the Sidereal System, as the Galaxy was usually referred to, in
1922, the year of his death. This was shortly after World War I and Kapteyn
had chosen the side of those who—to the strong dislike of a majority of American and British astronomers—unsuccessfully opposed exclusion of German