Hendrik Christoffel "Henk" van de Hulst (19 November 1918 – 31 July 2000) was a Dutch

astronomer An astronomer is a scientist in the field of astronomy who focuses their studies on a specific question or field outside the scope of Earth. They observe astronomical objects such as stars, planets, moons, comets and galaxies – in either ...

and

mathematician A mathematician is someone who uses an extensive knowledge of mathematics in their work, typically to solve mathematical problems. Mathematicians are concerned with numbers, data, quantity, structure, space, models, and change. History On ...

. In 1944, while a student in Utrecht, he predicted the existence of the 21 cm hyperfine line of neutral interstellar

hydrogen Hydrogen is the chemical element with the symbol H and atomic number 1. Hydrogen is the lightest element. At standard conditions hydrogen is a gas of diatomic molecules having the formula . It is colorless, odorless, tasteless, non-toxic ...

. After this line was discovered, he participated, with

Jan Oort Jan Hendrik Oort ( or ; 28 April 1900 – 5 November 1992) was a Dutch astronomer who made significant contributions to the understanding of the Milky Way and who was a pioneer in the field of radio astronomy. His ''New York Times'' obituary ...

and C.A. Muller, in the effort to use

radio astronomy Radio astronomy is a subfield of astronomy that studies celestial objects at radio frequencies. The first detection of radio waves from an astronomical object was in 1933, when Karl Jansky at Bell Telephone Laboratories reported radiation comin ...

to map out the neutral hydrogen in our galaxy, which first revealed its spiral structure. Motivated by the scattering in

cosmic dust Cosmic dust, also called extraterrestrial dust, star dust or space dust, is dust which exists in outer space, or has fallen on Earth. Most cosmic dust particles measure between a few molecules and 0.1 mm (100 micrometers). Larger particles are c ...

, he studied light scattering by spherical particles and wrote his doctoral thesis on the topic, subsequently formulating the anomalous diffraction theory. He spent most of his career at Leiden University, retiring in 1984. He published widely in astronomy, and dealt with the solar corona, and interstellar clouds. After 1960 he was a leader in international space research projects. In 1956 he became member of the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences.

Books

*van de Hulst, H.C., ''Light Scattering by Small Particles'', New York, (

Wiley Wiley may refer to: Locations * Wiley, Colorado, a U.S. town * Wiley, Pleasants County, West Virginia, U.S. * Wiley-Kaserne, a district of the city of Neu-Ulm, Germany People * Wiley (musician), British grime MC, rapper, and producer * Wiley Mil ...

, 1957; Dover, 1981), . *van de Hulst, H.C., ''Multiple Light Scattering'', New York,

Academic Press Academic Press (AP) is an academic book publisher founded in 1941. It was acquired by Harcourt, Brace & World in 1969. Reed Elsevier bought Harcourt in 2000, and Academic Press is now an imprint of Elsevier. Academic Press publishes referen ...

, 1980, .

Honors

Awards *

Henry Draper Medal The Henry Draper Medal is awarded every 4 years by the United States National Academy of Sciences "for investigations in astronomical physics". Named after Henry Draper, the medal is awarded with a gift of USD $15,000. The medal was established ...

of the National Academy of Sciences (1955) *

Eddington Medal The Eddington Medal is awarded by the Royal Astronomical Society for investigations of outstanding merit in theoretical astrophysics. It is named after Sir Arthur Eddington. First awarded in 1953, the frequency of the prize has varied over the year ...

of the

Royal Astronomical Society (Whatever shines should be observed) , predecessor = , successor = , formation = , founder = , extinction = , merger = , merged = , type = NG ...

(1955) * Rumford Medal of the

Royal Society The Royal Society, formally The Royal Society of London for Improving Natural Knowledge, is a learned society and the United Kingdom's national academy of sciences. The society fulfils a number of roles: promoting science and its benefits, re ...

(1964) *

Bruce Medal The Catherine Wolfe Bruce Gold Medal is awarded every year by the Astronomical Society of the Pacific for outstanding lifetime contributions to astronomy. It is named after Catherine Wolfe Bruce, an American patroness of astronomy, and was fi ...

of the Astronomical Society of the Pacific (1978) *

Karl Schwarzschild Medal The Karl Schwarzschild Medal, named after the astrophysicist Karl Schwarzschild, is an award presented by the Astronomische Gesellschaft (German Astronomical Society) to eminent astronomers and astrophysicists. Recipients SourceGerman Astronomica ...

of the

Astronomische Gesellschaft __NOTOC__ The ''Astronomische Gesellschaft'' is an astronomical society established in 1863 in Heidelberg, the second oldest astronomical society after the Royal Astronomical Society. In 1882, the ''Astronomische Gesellschaft'' founded the Centra ...

(1995) Named after him * Asteroid 2413 van de Hulst * van de Hulst approximation

Honors

* elected to the

American Philosophical Society The American Philosophical Society (APS), founded in 1743 in Philadelphia, is a scholarly organization that promotes knowledge in the sciences and humanities through research, professional meetings, publications, library resources, and communit ...

(1960) * elected to the

American Academy of Arts and Sciences The American Academy of Arts and Sciences (abbreviation: AAA&S) is one of the oldest learned societies in the United States. It was founded in 1780 during the American Revolution by John Adams, John Hancock, James Bowdoin, Andrew Oliver, a ...

(1960) * elected to the United States National Academy of Sciences (1977)

References

Bibliography

* 1918 births 2000 deaths 20th-century Dutch astronomers Utrecht University alumni Leiden University faculty Scientists from Utrecht (city) Foreign Members of the Royal Society Foreign associates of the National Academy of Sciences Members of the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences {{Europe-astronomer-stub Members of the American Philosophical Society