Schilt was born in 1894 in the Netherlands, and educated there under Jacobus Kapteyn. After the death of Kapteyn in 1922 he finished his PhD thesis in 1924 with Pieter Johannes van Rhijn 'On a Thermo-Electric Method of Measuring Photographic Magnitudes'. This work was mainly done at Leiden Observatory where he stayed from 1922 to 1925.
In 1933 he became the Chair of Columbia University's astronomy department, a position which he filled until his retirement in 1962, when he was granted the title of Rutherford Professor of Astronomy Emeritus.
Schilt's astronomical work included the invention of the Schilt photometer, a device which measures the light output (apparent magnitude) of stars on photographic plates, and, indirectly, their distances. He worked on the motions of star streams in the Milky Way Galaxy, and was director of the Yale-Columbia Southern Station in Johannesburg and Canberra, as well as Director of the Rutherford Observatory at Columbia.
Schilt was noted at Columbia for walking into his classes the first day after the launch of Sputnik 1 and commenting "Well, gentlemen, it is not every day we have something new in the sky to talk about", following which he devoted the entire class to proving that Sputnik had been deliberately launched into an orbit designed to make it invisible from the United States for as long as possible (six weeks).
Asteroid 2308 Schilt (1967 JM) was named in his honor.[3]
Published worksedit
Barney, Ida; Schilt, Jan (1927). "Discussion of the proper motions in the equatorial Zone". Astronomical Journal. 37: 181. Bibcode:1927AJ.....37..181B. doi:10.1086/104785.
Barney, Ida; Schilt, Jan (1930). "Analysis of the Yale proper motions in the zones between +50 degrees and +55 degrees and between +55 degrees and +60". Astronomical Journal. 40: 168. Bibcode:1930AJ.....40..168B. doi:10.1086/105000.
^. Archival Collections. Columbia University Library. Archived from the original on June 26, 2010. Retrieved September 27, 2013.
^Hockey, Thomas (2009), "Schlit 2308", The Biographical Encyclopedia of Astronomers, Springer Publishing, ISBN978-0-387-31022-0, retrieved November 19, 2012(subscription required)
schilt, february, 1894, gouda, january, 1982, englewood, jersey, dutch, american, astronomer, inventor, schilt, photometer, contents, biography, honor, published, works, also, referencesbiography, editschilt, born, 1894, netherlands, educated, there, under, ja. Jan Schilt 3 February 1894 Gouda 9 January 1982 Englewood New Jersey was a Dutch American astronomer inventor of the Schilt photometer 1 Contents 1 Biography 2 Honor 3 Published works 4 See also 5 ReferencesBiography editSchilt was born in 1894 in the Netherlands and educated there under Jacobus Kapteyn After the death of Kapteyn in 1922 he finished his PhD thesis in 1924 with Pieter Johannes van Rhijn On a Thermo Electric Method of Measuring Photographic Magnitudes This work was mainly done at Leiden Observatory where he stayed from 1922 to 1925 He emigrated to the United States in 1925 first to Mount Wilson Observatory in 1926 to Yale University Observatory and in 1931 he was appointed associated professor at Rutherford Observatory In 1933 he became the Chair of Columbia University s astronomy department a position which he filled until his retirement in 1962 when he was granted the title of Rutherford Professor of Astronomy Emeritus Schilt s astronomical work included the invention of the Schilt photometer a device which measures the light output apparent magnitude of stars on photographic plates and indirectly their distances He worked on the motions of star streams in the Milky Way Galaxy and was director of the Yale Columbia Southern Station in Johannesburg and Canberra as well as Director of the Rutherford Observatory at Columbia Schilt was noted at Columbia for walking into his classes the first day after the launch of Sputnik 1 and commenting Well gentlemen it is not every day we have something new in the sky to talk about following which he devoted the entire class to proving that Sputnik had been deliberately launched into an orbit designed to make it invisible from the United States for as long as possible six weeks 13 500 items of his papers are contained in the Rare Book and Manuscript Library of Columbia University 2 Honor editAsteroid 2308 Schilt 1967 JM was named in his honor 3 Published works editBarney Ida Schilt Jan 1927 Discussion of the proper motions in the equatorial Zone Astronomical Journal 37 181 Bibcode 1927AJ 37 181B doi 10 1086 104785 Barney Ida Schilt Jan 1930 Analysis of the Yale proper motions in the zones between 50 degrees and 55 degrees and between 55 degrees and 60 Astronomical Journal 40 168 Bibcode 1930AJ 40 168B doi 10 1086 105000 See also editIda BarneyReferences edit van de Kamp Peter June 1982 Obituary Jan Schilt Physics Today 35 6 67 68 Bibcode 1982PhT 35f 67V doi 10 1063 1 2915144 permanent dead link Papers of Jan Schilt 1931 1963 Archival Collections Columbia University Library Archived from the original on June 26 2010 Retrieved September 27 2013 Hockey Thomas 2009 Schlit 2308 The Biographical Encyclopedia of Astronomers Springer Publishing ISBN 978 0 387 31022 0 retrieved November 19 2012 subscription required New York Times obituary January 11 1982 Columbia University Library Bulletin In memoriam Dr J Schilt by J H Oort 1982 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Jan Schilt amp oldid 1184326120, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
