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Kapteyn’s Influence on the Style and Content of Twentieth Century Dutch Astronomy

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The Legacy of J.C. Kapteyn

Part of the book series: Astrophysics and Space Science Library ((ASSL,volume 246))

Abstract

Jacobus Kapteyn’s influence on Dutch astronomy has been profound, lasting even to this day three-quarters of a century after his death. In this paper I will focus on the first half of this period, from 1920 to about 1960. His influence was on both the content and the style of subsequent Dutch astronomy. Regarding the content, Dutch astronomy has been concerned with the structure of the Milky Way, and indeed of the entire Universe, ever since Kapteyn made this the quest of his career. Regarding style, three primary characteristics of twentieth-century Dutch astronomy are directly traceable to Kapteyn’s own style: (a) large-scale studies, (b) international collaborations, and (c) “interpretive astronomy”, i.e., a style intermediate between pure observations and theory.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Astronomy, University of Washington, P.O. Box 351580, Seattle, 98195, WA, USA

    Woodruff T. Sullivan III

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  1. Woodruff T. Sullivan III
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© 2000 Kluwer Academic Publishers

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Sullivan, W.T. (2000). Kapteyn’s Influence on the Style and Content of Twentieth Century Dutch Astronomy. In: The Legacy of J.C. Kapteyn. Astrophysics and Space Science Library, vol 246. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-010-9864-9_11

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-010-9864-9_11

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Dordrecht

  • Print ISBN: 978-1-4020-0374-5

  • Online ISBN: 978-94-010-9864-9

  • eBook Packages: Springer Book Archive

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