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Ernst Julius Öpik
Life Details
Born: October 23rd, 1893. Died: September 10th, 1985.
Introduction
Best known for his studies of meteors and meteorites, Ernst Öpik was an Estonian astronomer whose life work was devoted to understanding the structure and evolution of the cosmos.
Early Life & Education
Born in Kunda, which at the time was part of the Russian Empire, Öpik went to the University of Moscow to specialise in the study of minor bodies in the Solar System, such as asteroids, comets and meteors.
Astronomy Works
Publishing an article in the Astrophysical Journal, Öpik estimated the densities of visual binary stars. He estimated the density of o2 Eridani B, a white dwarf star to be 25,000 times the density of the Sun, but concluded that the result is impossible.
Other works by Öpik include an estimation of the distance of the Andromeda Galaxy in 1922. He correctly predicted the frequency of craters on Mars, long before they were detected by space probes. In 1932, he brought forward a theory that comets originated in a cloud orbiting far beyond the Kuiper Belt and Pluto. This cloud would later be called the Oort Cloud, or sometimes the Öpik-Oort Cloud in his honour.
In 1933, he headed a meteor expedition, along with Harlow Shapley and Samuel L. Boothroyd, and they detected around 22,000 meteors. Later, in 1951, he published a paper regarding the triple-alpha process. This process included the fusion reactions of helium into carbon. His paper listed this process being in use with red giant stars.
Personal Life
Öpik had to flee his native country in 1944, due to the increase in hostility from the Red Army. He lived in Germany as a refugee. In 1948, he was offered a position in Armagh, Ireland, where he remained for the rest of his life, despite offers from positions in America.
He was given a position at the University of Maryland, which he visited once a year for a semester. Due to the rise of air travel, and Öpik's refusal to fly meant he ended up ceasing this yearly event.
Ernst Öpik is the grandfather of Lembit Öpik, a politician for the Liberal Democrats in the UK.
