Gustav Andreas Tammann
{{Short description|German astronomer (1932–2019)}}
{{distinguish|Gustav Heinrich Johann Apollon Tammann}}
{{Infobox scientist
| name = Gustav Andreas Tammann
| image =
| image_size =
| alt =
| caption =
| birth_date = {{birth date|1932|7|24|df=y}}
| birth_place = Göttingen, Germany
| death_date = {{Death date and age|df=y|2019|1|6|1932|7|24}}
| death_place =
| relatives= Gustav Heinrich Tammann (relatives)
| residence =
| citizenship =
| nationality = Swiss
| fields = Astronomy
| workplaces = University of Hamburg, University of Basel
| alma_mater = University of Basel, University of Göttingen
| awards = Albert Einstein Medal, Karl Schwarzschild Medal, Tomalla Prize
}}
Gustav Andreas Tammann (24 July 1932 – 6 January 2019) was a Swiss astronomer and academic. He served as director of the Astronomical Institute of the University of Basel; as a member of the European Space Agency Space Telescope Advisory Team, and as Member of Council of the European Southern Observatory. His research interests included supernovae and the extragalactic distance scale. Tammann was a former President of the International Astronomical Union Commission on Galaxies.
Tammann is the grandson of chemist Gustav Heinrich Tammann.
Education and early career
Tammann studied astronomy in Basel, Switzerland and Göttingen, Germany. In 1963 he began a longtime working relationship with Allan Sandage at the Mount Wilson and Palomar observatories.{{cite web |url= https://astronomische-gesellschaft.de/en/member/obituaries/prof-dr-gustav-andreas-tammann-1932-2019 |title= Prof. Dr. Gustav Andreas Tammann (1932-2019)|author= |date= |website= Astronomische Gesellschaft |publisher= |access-date= April 28, 2025|quote=}}
Academic career
In 1972, he became a professor at the University of Hamburg.{{cite web |url= https://sps.ch/en/articles/obituaries/gustav_andreas_tammann |title= In Memoriam Gustav Andreas Tammann |author= |date= |website= Swiss Physical Society |publisher= |access-date= April 28, 2025|quote=}} From 1977 until his retirement, he was a professor and head of the Astronomical Institute at the University of Basel.{{cite web |url= https://www.eso.org/sci/publications/messenger/archive/no.176-jun19/messenger-no176-58-58.pdf |title= Gustav Andreas Tammann (1932–2019) |author= |date= |website= European Southern Observatory |publisher= |access-date= April 28, 2025|quote=}}
His work focused mainly on the determination of the Hubble constant as well as the use of supernovae as cosmic distance indicators.{{cite web |url= https://baas.aas.org/pub/2020i0303/release/1 |title= Gustav Andreas Tammann (1932–2019)|author= |date= |website= American Astronomical Society |publisher= |access-date= April 28, 2025|quote=}}
Accolades
In 1991 Tammann became a full member of Academia Europaea, and in 1993 became a corresponding member of the Heidelberg Academy of Sciences and Humanities.{{cite web|title=Member of HAdW|url=http://www.haw.uni-heidelberg.de/akademie/member.en.html?id=211|website=haw.uni-heidelberg.de|accessdate=8 April 2018|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20160803221952/http://www.haw.uni-heidelberg.de/akademie/member.en.html?id=211|archivedate=3 August 2016|language=German|url-status=live}} In 2000 he received the Albert Einstein Medal that is given for "outstanding scientific findings, works, or publications related to Albert Einstein"{{cite web
|url=http://www.nndb.com/honors/166/000115818/|title=Albert Einstein Medal|accessdate=2010-10-27}} and the Tomalla Prize for his efforts in measuring the expansion rate of the universe and especially for his pioneering work using Supernovae as standard candles.{{cite web
|url=http://www.tomalla.ch/prize_winner.htm|title=The Tomalla Foundation|accessdate=2010-10-27}} In 2005 he received the Karl Schwarzschild Medal.
The asteroid 18872 Tammann was named for him in 2001.{{cite web
|url=http://ssd.jpl.nasa.gov/sbdb.cgi?sstr=18872+Tammann
|title=Main-belt Asteroid: 18872 Tammann (1999 VR20)
|accessdate=2010-10-27
}}
Publications
References
{{reflist}}
External links
- [http://www.iau.org/administration/membership/individual/2374/ Gustav A. Tammann]
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Tamman, Gustav Andreas}}
Category:20th-century Swiss astronomers
Category:Albert Einstein Medal recipients
Category:People of Baltic German descent
Category:20th-century German astronomers